top of page
Use Of Funds
there are many reasons as to why we are in need of funds, and here they are
now of course we could theoretically just leave an empty plot of land and sprinkle some seeds and hope for some things to grow within a few months.
but with proper steps, we can ensure a huge harvest and fun summer, filled with activities. this method would also fail in many ways
Fencing
a fence may be the most crucial part of this entire garden, in the previous years about 65% of the plants grown here in pots or buckets were simply just stolen... people would walk in and around the property and go shopping so to say... and then walk off. so in order for us to make sure all the hard work stays for the members we need to install a fence, Daniel has offered to install it for free, as well as remove it by succos time as it'll be in the way of the success, and will be put back up the next summer.
the fence we've chosen is both cheap and useful for plants to grow on and climb on. resulting in a larger harvest.
Seed starting
Seed starting involves growing seeds, whether before planting them in the ground, or direct sowing them in, if grown doors they have a much higher chance of growing to a mature size that can be planted outdoors, the benefit of this too is that you can put a 1-month-old plant that's already big outdoors at the same time it's warm enough to start seeds by direct sowing.
so you're getting a 1 month headstart, and therefore have an extra month of the plant-producing fruit. but if we were to start seeds on the day it became permanently warm. it would have to be far into the year, maybe late May or early June, so this way the fragile seedlings aren't damaged by the cold weather.
it's important that the seed trays are designed correctly and have room for a taproot, and room for air to reach the roots.
once the seed starter trays are obtained we need to use a special mix of soil, just for starting seeds, it contains a chemical that boosts rooting and a perlite mixture to increase oxygen.
many people add in coco coir (ground up coconut skins) to help with water absorbtion.
the method shown here is soil blocking, it's another method to start seeds.
on the left are small peat pods, which expand in water for a no-mess seed start, great for kids.
Lighting
a crucial part of gardening is lighting,
whether natural or artificial they both work.
with natural lighting, you need to find the correct position, with artificial lighting you can decide how much light the plant gets which can change many factors in its growth
below are some examples of grow lights being used, both in seed starting as well as in the care of mature plants.
if we plan on buying fruit trees or fruit bushes as an addition to the community garden we'd need to have a year-round source of lighting, as many of these plants cannot be kept outdoors.
sowing seeds
now that we've obtained everything necessary for starting seeds, it's time to start them.
first we'll need some seed starting soil (with added coco coir depending on the seed type)
once placed in the trays, each row should be labeled to avoid confusion in each variety.
Growing seeds
Now we can combine everything and start growing the seeds and set them aside for as long as each variety takes to germinate.
with a hose we'll slightly mist the seeds every day or so.
Transplanting
It's been some time and the seeds have sprouted, they've outgrown their seed trays/blocks
and it's time to transplant them into the garden, their forever home.
once again we'll need some materials to achieve this.
in order to plant them in the garden we first need to amend the soil (typically done in spring)
with many different fertilizers
at this point, we need the necessary tools, those being shovels, rakes, pitchforks, tillers, and mini versions of everything for the kids.
caring for the plants
ok so all of our hard work has paid off, now we need to put these into the ground, we have our tools, so its time to put these in the ground, some people keep their plants in grow bags (something we will cover in the garden)
bottom of page