A tribute to the late Denis-St Jean

Denis was an active member of the Nepean Allotment Garden Association (NAGA) from its inception in 1991 until his death on March 14, 2017.

BACKGROUND: In early spring of 1991 the then City of Nepean (City) stopped funding the gardens on Viewmount Drive for financial reasons. The City after receiving many letters and phone calls agreed to host a public meeting to discuss the future of the gardens. The City spokesman at the meeting agreed to let a volunteer group operate the gardens. At the intermission, a hastily formed volunteer group informed the City spokesman that a volunteer group will take over the gardens. The attendees at the meeting were invited to go to another room. In that group was Denis where an Interim Board of Directors was appointed. Denis became the Publicity Director: a post he held for many years. Denis also held the position of Vice-Chair and Director.

Over the years Denis helped in many ways: cutting the grass. He liked to cut the grass in the early morning before sunrise, looking after the distribution of mushroom compost, and tidying up the garden waste especially at the end of the garden season. Denis, an experienced gardener, helped many inexperienced gardeners get started in the right way. 

Mary, his wife became the garden registrar in 1996. Mary held that position for many years. Denis was very supportive of Mary during her years at the gardens.

Denis will be missed, not only by his family but, by all the NAGA gardeners.

Ian Reid, NAGA Gardener                                                               16-March 2017

Kazimierz Senkowski (April 8, 1936 - September 27, 2016)

Long time NAGA gardener, 'Kaz' passed away 27 Sept 2016. His obituary is posted at the Ottawa Citizen.


NAGA member and friend to Kaz, Ian Reid provided the following tribute to Kaz:

Kazimierz Senkowski passed away on September 27, 2016. I’ve known Kaz for about 25 years at the NAGardens. We shared neighboring plots for both the Annual and Perennial gardens during the past 25 years. Stakes mark the boundary corners. We only marked the plot boundaries, not by a string as most gardeners do, but by a foot path made by a shovel between the stakes. Kaz knew where my boundary was and I knew where his was. We never augured about the boundary .Kaz never stole from me nor I from him. To sum up you couldn’t ask for a better neighbor.

Volunteer work

Kaz volunteered for many jobs over the years: Here is a picture of Kaz and I cleaning out a compost bin to make room for the next year’s supply of plant material.




Here is that same Bin after being cleaned.




I’m showing this to point out that there is not a speck of compost in the bin even though it was being filled with plant material the next day. Kaz was a perfectionist. Most people wouldn’t bother cleaning out a bin like Kaz did. Everything Kaz did was done right, no short cuts. His gardens were laid out in straight lines and were weed free.

Cutting Grass

Kaz took over from me and cut the grass for several years. I used to ask him if he serviced the Mower (changed the oil, oil filter etc.) If he didn’t say it outright, he basically said that I have a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering (I think I’m right, correct me if I’m wrong) and in addition he said that I worked in a garage back in Poland. Kaz as it turned out he knew more than me about servicing the Mower than I did. He did a fine job.

Kas will be missed at the gardens and elsewhere..

Thanks for being my friend. Ian Reid.

Garden Update - 18 May 2015

Dear NAGA members,

The annual plots have been tilled, and data was taken with respect the tilling depth on the east and west side of the garden. Last autumn the east side annuals were not tilled as part of an experiment.

The water cannot be turned on until the gardens were tilled. The small delay we have had since tilling is that our NAGA plumber has been out of country until today. I expect the water will be on in a few days, if there are not major repairs required. If there are repairs required of the plumbing it is likely the result of the extensive Hydro construction that used a lot of the NAGA space for their efforts over the winter time, and/or the tilling.

Mike Chebbo, the Chairperson, has met several times with Hydro with regards to correcting many issues left behind by Hydro over the winter. Little by little things are getting fixed and put back.

New signs were made (from NAGA funds) and erected a few weeks ago. These are signs that remind gardeners to take home any and all garbage they generate at the garden, for disposal in their home garbage pickup. Too many people abused the old system and forced the hand of the Board.  Also, NO DUMPING signs were erected, this is a reminder to members and the public. Note that the City of Ottawa By-Law is quite harsh, with a fine of up to $25,000 for illegal dumping. If you dump at NAGA, you are dumping illegally on a City Park, and if caught we will prosecute. Don't make yourself 'the example.'

Incredibly, already, some members have left garbage by the former garbage location. They left it right under the signs, even leaning up a piece of wood against one of the new signs. This is the height of ignorance and a lack of respect for NAGA and it's gardeners. If you see a member leaving garbage at NAGA, report it to the Board, and be sure of which plot the gardener tends to so that we can take corrective action.

Craig
Dir. at Large

The 2013/14 Data Gathering Project

This is the presentation given at the NAGA AGM on 12 April 2014

AUTUMN PLOWING / SPRING ROTOTILLING, COMPOSTING, plus some additional info on (STONES, WEEDS and HARD CLAY)

Data was gathered both on Autumn 2013 and Spring 2014; it was collected from several allotment gardens, farms and consultation with fellow gardeners.

Where information came from:

• Troy Allotment Gardens Website, Wisconsin (USA), similar in latitude and climate to Ottawa;
• Blackburn Hamlet, and Kilborn Allotment gardens, a visit with George Bushell, President of the Gloucester Community Gardens.
• Talking to local farmers, and a visit to a working plantation in Charleston, SC (USA). 

Problems: Big stones in gardens

Immediate action required before May rototilling:

• Removal: the stones can damage plow equipment, even rocks the size of apples could damage prongs of rototiller.
• Walked around the garden and saw several large rocks, one nearly 2ft x 3ft!
• We need to remember that these gardens plots are part land-refill (i.e.: clay, rocks, pavement chunks, concrete pieces with metal, etc.) all of which would damage the farmer’s equipment.

Proposed Actions:

• NAGA Board sends communication to all gardeners to identify and remove any large rocks as soon as gardeners came across them, at any time of the year. If these rocks are too large for one person to safely handle, we’ll help. 
• I removed some rocks last fall before freeze-up and will champion this project but need assistance of several strong bodies and our riding-mower/trailer to immediately haul them off to our stone drop-off pile before rototilling begins.

Plowing / Rototilling

NAGA standard practice:

• Autumn: plots are plowed
• Spring: plots are rototilled

Other Allotment gardens standard practices:

• Spring: gardens are rototiller
• Autumn: NO plowing/ rototilling

"Backyard gardener's" standard practice is usually just a spring cultivating of their garden plot.

Farmers in the area have moved onto minimum soil cultivation, i.e. one plow disc, or single harrow between rows of the previous years crop.

The city-contracted farmer who plows our allotment gardens questioned me as to why we plow in the autumn. He stated that rototilling is enough and is all that is required. Benefits of big money ($) to be saved here, plus the added environmental benefits of no additional plowing.

“Plowing/Rototilling Experiments” done at the gardens last autumn and this spring 

• Experiment #1: two plots P290, P283 were not plowed in the autumn, they will be rototilled only this SPRING. This was a 'worst case' plot selection; as both these plots are heavy clay (had never had composting), and were in a low area under several inches of spring water melt. 
• Experiment #2: 1/3 of plot P289 rototilled only in the autumn; 1/3 of plot P289 was rototilled only in the autumn, with 6 bags of leaves (not shredded) added prior to rototilling; 1/3 of plot P289 was rototilled only in the autumn with 6 bags of shredded leaves added prior to rototiling. 

Action: Compare the cultivation results between all plots in May (depth of rototilling and amount of soil break-up), and if results are comparable, do only Spring rototilling in the future.

*Additional food for thought: could it be done in Fall vs. Spring? 

• Pros: not waiting on the city’s spring plowing time schedule, you could plant when you wanted to, and also plant some crops on your annual in the fall (e.g: garlic); and 
• cons: would our clay soil be better aerated/broken up by waiting until soil is completely dried later in the spring?

Composting

• Troy, Wisconsin (USA) allotments: everything is composted right on each individual’s plot.
• Boone Plantation Commercial Farm, Charleston, SC. (USA): everything is composted on same spot where it was harvested. All farmers compost on the same harvested field.
• Blackburn: some gardeners do compost on their plot. The rest move their compost to the edge of their plot in the fall. A farmer is then hired ($) to clear it to the far end of the field. Once there, it is NOT USED  (as in never) as the gardeners find it too much work to reclaim it. The Chair cannot get any action or consensus on composting on the plots, is frustrated and has given up.
• Kilborn: everything is composted right on each individual’s plot.

NAGA: we are the only ones to have compost bins.

As of today there are “ 22 COMPOST BINS” on the grounds, ... 20 small, 2 large. There also appears to be 18 additional new bins made from pallets (looks kind of fort-like) at the fire-station end of the gardens, ...some have compost in them, locks on them, others have garden fencing, poles, cages, chairs stored in them.

EVERY COMPOST BIN is presently FULL and/or OVERFLOWING onto the surrounding area. We seem to be inundated with the stuff! They also have GARBAGE and STONES thrown into and around them. Gardeners who have the temporary bins next to their plot have to move the soil back to level their plot every year because the tractor can’t plow or rototill in the desired direction because the bins are in the way.

                                 

Currently gardeners are encouraged to carry their plant material from their plots and place it in “TEMPORARY BINS.” As these fill-up, all the compost is moved again to large “HOLDING BINS” to compost for a year. It is then turned over and any un-composted material is moved to a “Second Bin.” Gardeners are then encouraged to dig out the composted material and return it back on their garden plots. As this is very heavy and hard work and getting volunteers has not been a reliable solution, money is paid out ($) to do the emptying, transporting, and turning the compost throughout the season.

Reasons given by NAGA gardeners on why they don’t compost on their own plot:

• Some gardeners thought “they were required” to tidy and remove all season-end plant materials off their plots each fall. NOT TRUE, just cut up pieces into small enough bits so as not to tangle the rototiller. 
• Some were afraid of plant diseases if left on plot and not going through a full year of composting. NOT TRUE, discard any diseased plants to the garbage immediately as you would normally do. ALL FARMERS compost directly on their fields, I’ve been doing it for over 15 years on my plot with zero problems. 
• Most gardeners I polled don’t use the binned compost as they find it too hard physically to separate out the uncomposted materials, rocks, plastic, glass, wood pieces, twine, rope etc. They preferred the free ($1000/yr) mushroom compost provided by NAGA in the spring. 
• Some were concerned that leaving weeds to compost on their plots would result in hugely larger number of weeds sprouting next spring. NOT TRUE, you will always have weeds. Just the physical act of pulling one weed that has gone to seed will disperse hundreds of seeds onto your plot. 

Most of our NAGA garden’s common weeds produce anywhere from a few hundred - to thousands of seeds per full mature plant. And the seeds can remain fertile in the soil for years, for example a single lambsquarters plant can produce 39,000 seeds in one season and can germinate up to 40 yrs later. Scary eh!?!  Miss one weed (or your neighbour misses one), add in the results of plowing/ wind/ birds and every plot will get more than its fair share of weeds every year. I did three walkabouts of our allotment gardens last year (early summer, late summer, and fall). Every plot always had some weeds, ...including my own!

Proposed Actions: 

• Removal of these temporary bins and Phase Out the Large Holding Bins. Seems these temporary bins are very labour intensive and also just too convenient a drop-off spot for strewn garbage and stones. This will get gardeners doing their own composting on their own plots, putting garbage where it is should be, (in the main garbage bins) and taking their stones to the rock pile. 
• And here’s an Easy-Lazy Way to do it ...with no lugging heavy stuff from bin to bin to bin and then back to your plot: Just leave your compost material right there on your plot where it came from!!! ...your soil will thank you.

Darn Weeds

Here’s some tips on how to manage your weeds:

• Pull/hoe weeds regularly “before they go to seed,” and leave them to dry-out in a sunny spot in your garden for mulch. Expect the same of your neighbour. 
• Remove (or dry-kill) ALL quackgrass rhizome roots before you plant your garden, they will just continue to spread through your crop and then they’re really hard to remove. Dig a trough around the grassy side of your plot to prevent entry of these grass rhizomes. 
• Use plenty of mulch to keep weeds from sunlight and inhibit growing. 
• Plant veggie rows close together to shade out weeds. 
• Make a little time for weed control each time you visit your plot, ...it’ll pay huge dividends and give you time for more visiting with your fellow gardeners.

 Hate your hard clay soil?

We understand, yes it soaks up water like a sponge, and gets rock-hard when dried out ... but it does have tons on nutrients/minerals in it for your plants.

So we did a Leaf Shredding/Composting Experiment last autumn to help out the hard clay:

• I bought a used leaf shredder and Ron Elmer (with his generator) shredded leaves (free leaves from the curbside) and added them to 4 plots. Shredded leaves compost very fast compared to full leaves and don’t blow around during the winter. 
• Curious of the result? Check out the soil structure improvement results due to added leaves/shredded leaves on these plots P221, P229 (perennials), and A86 (annual). 

At the AGM I brought a 14 inch long, straight carrot I dug up on April 11  from my perennial plot P221. My plot has 15 years of just adding a few bags of leaves from the curb each year. A great improvement from the 1st year I dug my hard clay plot, bent the prongs on my digging fork, and had stunted short carrots. 

With a Leaf Shredder one can add way more leaves and amend the soil quicker. An added bonus is you don’t have to dig the leaves into the soil to prevent the wind from blown them around in the fall/winter.

*note: if you use a substantial amount of leaves or wood chips to amend your soil composition, you WILL HAVE TO ADD a bit of Nitrogen fertilizer to the soil to replace the Nitrogen used up in the composting of the leaves and wood chips! 

• I will also use these chopped leaves as mulch during the growing season to control weeds and retain moisture for the plants. Bonus ...it’ll turn into compost by next year. 
• So if you can’t grow long straight carrots in your hard clay, simple...just keep adding some leaves along with your plant residue to compost right on your plot!

Any interest out there in the community on exploring the benefits of the leaf shredder? ...let us know.

I hope to put together some information deck for our website soon, on Introduction to Managing your Soil better with Organic Gardening, other methods to improve soil structure and using less chemical fertilizers but still getting way more nutrients into your veggies. 

Happy gardening! 

Jim 

Getting ready

As daytime temperatures are rising, every gardener at NAGA wants to get into their gardens and start planting. Many are uncertain however, as to which vegetables can be direct seeded prior to the last spring frost, which in Ontario is around Victoria Day.

As soon as your soil is dry enough to work, you can begin seeding these types of crops:  

• Radish
• Onion Sets
• Spinach
• Beets
• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Greens (beans) and Peas

Good luck!

Companion Planting

This is a section that appeared in Ritchie Garden News - April Newsletter 2013 

Companion Planting

With the terms "going green" and "organic" on everyone's mind these days, some might be interested in trying companion planting in the garden. The idea behind companion planting is planting varieties of plants together that would benefit from being positioned within close proximity of each other. A couple of phrases used in regards to companion planting are "nursery plants" and "trap crops". Nursery plants would include herbs, which are attractive to beneficial insects by providing shelter and food. Beneficial insects include pollinating insects and predator insects which are both beneficial to the other surrounding plants. Trap crops refer to plants that deter unwanted insects away from desired plants. Flowers, leaves, and roots of some plant material contain substances that create an odour and/or taste that naturally repels unwanted insects. Another belief about companion planting is the improved flavour and growth that may occur when certain varieties of edible plants are planted adjacent to one another.


Suggestions for compatible companion plantings in the garden are:

Alliums can confuse and deter slugs, aphids, carrot flies, and cabbage worm. They are ideal to plant near carrots and cabbage.


Flax is a multi-tasking plant. It repels potato bugs as well as improving the taste and growth of carrots and potatoes.


Mints enhance the growth and flavouring of cabbage and tomatoes while discouraging white cabbage moths.


Rue is not recommended for planting near cabbage, basil, or sage but it is an excellent beetle repellant for roses and raspberries.


Nasturtium is a great edible annual and it attracts predatory insects while repelling and distracting cabbage lopers, squash bugs, white flies, and cucumber beetles.


Petunia is another pest deterrent annual that repels and distracts leafhoppers, Japanese beetles, aphids, and asparagus beetles.


Marigolds are a tried and true pest deterrent. People have been using this annual for years to repel beetles, nematodes, and other garden pests. 

Ritchie Feed & Seed
1390 Windmill Lane, Ottawa, ON, K1B 4V5
613-741-4430 www.ritchiefeed.com

3rd Annual Potluck

Last weekend we had our 3rd annual potluck/picnic/bbq at the gardens. 

About 20 gardeners, as well as Ward 9 Councillor Keith Egli, came out for good food, fun and friendship. A good time was had by all, atleast until 3pm when the rain arrived, prematurely ending our party. Lets hope for better weather next year!

We are growing!

This past weekend almost 20 gardeners, and gardeners to be helped, did bring our current expansion project to fruition. Eight raised beds were started, to be completed later this fall. A big thanks to Lee Coates who organized the team.

Plant a Row Grow a Row update

Nepean Allotment Gardens Association’s Donations to the Food Bank at Debra Dynes Family House – Summer 2012

July 3, 2012

• 2 lbs garlic scapes
• 0.5 lb lettuce
• 2.5 lb zucchini
• 2.75 lbs swiss chard
• 1.25 lbs kale

Total: 9 lbs produce


July 4, 2012

• 5.25 lbs onions
• 1.25 lbs garlic scapes
• 1 lb lettuce

Total: 7.75 lbs produce


July 17, 2012

• 3/4 lb carrots
• 7 lbs chard
• 5 lbs kale

Total:  12 .75 lbs produce



July 31, 2012

• 6 lbs beets

Total: 6 lbs produce



Aug 7, 2012

• Chard/kale 13.4 lbs
• Corn 2.75
• Green and purple beans 1.25
• Tomatoes 4.25
• Summer squash 1
• Green beans 3.40 lbs
• Green pepper .6 lb
• Onion .5 lb
• Lettuce 1.9 lb

Total: 29.05 lbs produce

Cucumber Wilt

Do your cucumber plants look like this?


If they do, you've got cucumber wilt.

When it comes time to dispose of your plants, please put them in a garbage bag and throw them out. Lets keep them out of the compost to limit the spread of the disease.

For more information on cucumber wilt, see http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/hortcrop/pp747w.htm

Links from our gardeners

Here are some interesting links from one of our members:

Summer Vegetable Gardening: http://www.your-vegetable-gardening-helper.com/summer-vegetable-gardening.html

Edible Bus Stop turns London transit routes into a network of community gardens

http://grist.org/list/edible-bus-stop-turns-london-transit-routes-into-a-network-of-community-gardens/

Volunteers with us this summer

We have volunteers helping us in our gardens this year!

A big thanks to the students from the Explore program who will be with us every Wednesday in July.

A big thanks to the folks at the Mathew House who will be helping us with some maintenance and in individual plots.

Cow pots

One of our gardeners wanted to share this blog post with you. You can purchase seed starting pots made from cow poo. Want to find out more?

http://ecoproductsthatwork.com/cowpots-gardening-with-cow-poo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cowpots-gardening-with-cow-poo

Got Potato Beetles? Read this!

Here is some advice on how to combat Colorado Potato Beetles from one of our gardeners

We seem to have a plague of Colorado Potato Beetles this year. If we let them get going, they are going to be very difficult to get under control They are voracious and if you don't keep a good handle on them, they can eat a potato patch right down to the ground in a few days. (I saw them do this to Lee Coates' garden one year). They are also very fond of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers etc.

Over the years, I have come across a few hints for dealing with them. There are several stages at which they can be controlled with a bit of luck and work. The adults are those large yellow and black beetles. The larvae start out as small black things and as they grow older and larger, they become orange and more shaped like the beetle (but soft). The eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves in small clusters, and are bright gold and pointed, shaped a bit like miniature rice grains. The entire cluster is usually about 2 cm or so across. 

1. Wear a rubber gloves if you are in the least bit squeamish and carry a can half full of soapy water. Pick or knock the insects into the can. I haven't tried it, but you can likely spray the small black stage with soapy water. There are often too many of these to pick. You can also just squish them between two fingers. 
2. Examine the underside of the leaves for the egg clusters. These can be crushed between your fingers. 
3. I've found Diatomaceous Earth to be fairly effective to control what you miss by hand picking. It consists of finely ground fossilized sea shells. It isn't harmful to animals or humans (but like any powder, you don't want to breath in a whole bunch of it). I buy it in bulk at Arbor Environmental on Bank Street. I put mine in a squirt bottle and sort of puff it onto the plant. Don't forget to do the underside of the leaves. It needs to be reapplied after a rain storm. It doesn't hurt the plant, but it will also kill pollinating insects. Diatomaceous Earth is sometimes called 'Fossil Flower' and can be an ingredient in other insecticides. It is a mechanical control. The sharp edges of the ground shells pierce the insect and cause it to lose its body fluids and die. Sort of 'death by a thousand cuts'. Diatomaceous Earth is also fairly effective for the striped cucumber beetle. Dust the undersides of the leaves and the stem where it comes out of the soil to prevent the beetles from following the stem down and laying their eggs on the roots of your squash, melon, pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini etc. 

Hope that this information helps hold them at bay until we can get to the workshops. 

Jayne Huntley

First plant a row delivery!

A huge thank you to contributors from Debra Dynes Family House and the Ottawa Food Bank.

Today's delivery included:

• 2 lbs garlic scapes.
• 5 lb lettuce
• 2.5 lb zucchini
• 2.75 lbs swiss chard
• 1.25 lbs kale

Later today there were more donations that will be dropped off tomorrow. They are being kept cool until then. This donation includes

• 5.5 lbs onions
• 1.25 lbs garlic scapes
• 1 lb lettuce 

The Nepean Allotment Gardeners donated a total of 16.75 lbs food this week. What an impressive beginning!

If you have any procduce to donate, please contact Louise at donohue.miller@sympatico.ca

Plant a Row, Grow a Row kick off

On Monday June 4 NAGA officially kicked off our participation in the Plant a Row, Grow a Row program with our community partner the Debra Dynes Family House. A great time was had by all. Do you want to participate in Plant a Row, Grow a Row with us? More details coming soon!

From left to right NAGA Chairman Mike Chebbo, Ottawa Food Bank's Community Harvest program coordinator Jason Gray, Debra Dynes Family House coordinator Barbara Carroll, Ward 9 Councillor Keith Egli.

Bales of straw available

Bales of straw will be available on Saturday June 9, at 10am at the gardens. The cost will be $6/bale.

If you are planning on getting some, please email Mike Chebbo at nagagardens@gmail.com

Thanks!

NAGA Grows a row for the Debra Dynes Family House

Nepean Allotment Gardens are participating in Plant a Row, Grow a Row benefiting the Debra Dynes Family House!

We are having a kick off celebration Monday June 4 at 7pm. Festivities will include:

• Light refreshments
• Free seeds to participating gardeners, donated by McKenzie Seeds
• A look at Plant a Row's growing guide
• A visit from special guests Keith Egli, our ward 9 councillor and Barbara Carroll, the coordinator of Debra Dynes Family House and Jason Gray, coordinator for the Ottawa Food Bank's Community Harvest program.

If you are not a member of the garden, but still want to contribute, please contact Amanda at a.lncstr@gmail.com.

We hope to see you there!

The Gardens are ready!

All this past week several gardeners have been busy staking out the plots so that everyone can get in the dirt. The staking was completed Thursday night. 

Get growing guys.

Spring Clean Up 2012

Wow! What a great turnout we had this year. Around 20 gardeners came to the garden on Sunday April 22 to clean up the gardens. Thanks to everyone who came out to help! We all appreciate your efforts. I forgot to bring my camera, but here are some pictures I took the next day!

We empttied the small composts...

...into the large compost pile. Whoa! That pile is higher than the shed!

We picked up rocks.

We picked up garbage.

We weeded the front flower beds.

We tidied the shed and painted tools.

See you next time!

Amanda