April Updates from Steve: GrowNYC Plant Order Placed

Our pick up date will be Saturday May 12 10:00a.m. in the Bronx, reachable by public transportation if you can volunteer to help us. With good organization we can have the plants back to the garden by 11:30 that morning and have a plant sale.

April Monthly Meeting  this  Saturday April 14, 2012    12 Noon

If you cannot attend send comments, issues, reports by email by Friday

2012 Dues need to be paid this month. see Ivy , or Michelle, or Steve

Bokashi II Workshop this Sunday with Shig Matsukawa and Carey King
 

Archive of City Garden Photos

Our City used to have many productive gardens. The NYC Parks Department has photos in their online archive.

Vokashi Invitation, October 29th in Fort Greene

From Steve:

Dear Carrie McCracken TRUCE garden composters,

Looking forward to another  food waste deposit. I have prepared  an area

in a new planting box.  I am forwarding a communication from Vandra;

eco-entrepreneur and activist Board Member of the New York City Community

Garden Coalition. Vokashi  http://nyccgc.org/

She has invited us to be a part of an  exciting event reviewing

progress in spreading the potential benefits of Bokashi recycling.

I spoke with Vandra yesterday; and she would like to know if we

can attend and present word of our collaboration. Please share

with the participants at HCFS to see how many can attend and

share the flyer with your networks. The  sooner we get this technology inot

widespread use for environmental and agricultural benefits; the greener our

urban communities will be.

Invitation from Vandra:

As seasoned or new fermenters, I would really appreciate your attending this demonstration. While the program will include the basics of fermenting from making the bran, to watching a couple of the composting practices, I would also like to introduce other gardens using fermented food waste and the research that is going on at Brooklyn College.

 Want to recycle your food scraps? and help urban composting? Have you heard about fermenting food scraps? Do you know that fermented food scraps is good for composting and worm bins?
hear the developing story
of fermenting food waste in NYC
from fermenters, scientists, gardeners,
households and small businesses, all recycling their organic food waste and providing valuable resources for community garden composting
Saturday, October 29 @ 11:00 AM—2:00 PM*
Trilok Fusion Center for Arts and Education
143 Waverly Avenue, Fort Greene
rsvp to 718 623 1911 or vokashi@gmail.com
* made possible with grant from Councilmember Letitia James

Many thanks,

Vandra

Vokashi – kitchen waste solution
2nd Place Winner – BPL’s PowerUp! Business Plan competition
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/business/powerup/2009winners.jsp
www.vokashi.com

Aromatics in the garden

watch video here

 

Many thanks to Linda / Belrivers for this video from the garden’s Labor Day picnic.

Garden is storm ready

 

sawing plywood to fit the shed sides

We prepared for hurricane Irene on Saturday morning. Harlem is elevated ground and our area has not been evacuated.

We temporarily enclosed the tool shed with plywood and moved all tools and loose items inside, to prevent them from blowing in the wind.

Larger furniture is stacked. tied and anchored.

Special thanks to Mike, Roy, Steve, Marta and Michelle for preparing the garden.

Roy secures shelter posts, hammering bolts into the ground

the tarp roof removed

benches tied together

all benches and chairs stacked and tied

trees as anchors

 

Most of our gardeners have experienced hurricanes before. Steve led a repair train to the yard for the MTA during the last one to hit New York and is relieved to be retired today. Roy and Mike have seen many hurricanes on the islands. Michelle was in a flooded house in North Point. It was great to share stories and advice.

We send best wishes to our friends and loved ones still working to secure the City and hope everyone else enjoys their forced staycations.

good excuse to clean out

Mike and Steve install temporary plywood on tool shed

Garden Portraits

Roy is one of the most committed stewards of our garden. Every week he spends many volunteer hours keeping the garden open, planting and watering crops, identifying problems and helping less experienced members get started. He is a great resource, chat with him when you see him! One of Roy’s pet peeves is crops rotting on the ground or vine. He has lots of experience and is always willing to help. If you plan to be away you can let him know your harvest schedule and how you want your plot tended to.

Roy with cucumber and very large tomato

It’s not always the amount of produce but the quality time spent outdoors without going far from home that makes community gardens a great experience. Justin is a third-year grower with the garden, having planted sunflowers the past two years. This year his mom and dad started seeds indoors, joined the garden and have their own planting space. They are now harvesting the fruits of their labor and family unity.

Justin enjoys the garden with his family

Star gardeners Sage and Tiana with a tomato picked from our garden today. Thanks to Lydia for sharing these lovely photos. Lydia also invites artists interested in performing or presenting in the garden to reach out to us!

Tiana and Sage with gorgeous August tomato

 

2011 Harlem Community Gardens Tour Saturday, July 30 from 10a.m. to 4p.m.

 Harlem Community Gardens are pleased to announce that “HARLEM GREEN,” the  6^th Annual  Harlem Community Gardens Tour, will  take  place on Saturday, July 30^th  (raindate, Sunday, July 31st^st)2011, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.  The Tour will begin with a breakfast in the Joseph Daniel Wilson Community Garden at 219 West 122^nd Street, and the last stop will be at the William A. Harris Garden on 153rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, where Tourists will experience a traditional, home-style Harlem Barbecue.

The Harlem gardens, all managed by community volunteers, are among New York City’s  most extraordinary  and best–kept secrets. Tourists will discover an amazing variety of trees, vegetables, herbs and f lowers as well as ponds, gazebos, rain-water harvesting systems, and more.  The gardens are host to people of all ages.  Some are shade gardens where folks can come to relax or cook a meal.  The gardens run programs for toddlers, young mothers, youths and seniors; some have tutoring programs and environmental studies workshops for teens and other community folks.  There are canning and preserving workshops.  Some gardens host Community Supported Agriculture programs,  “CSA’s”.

“Harlem Green” has been made possible with assistance from the following agencies and  organizations:  the Green Guerillas of NYC;Greenthumb; The NYC Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC); the Parks and Recreation Department of NYC ; Project Harmony, Inc., and the William A. Harris Garden.

For more information call 212.662. 2878 or 917.288.8053.

State Senator Bill Perkins Visits Harlem Garden

Gardeners welcomed Senator Perkins to the garden and gave him a tour.

Eren tells Senator Perkins about the garden

Michelle, Bill, Eren, Pee Wee and Marilyn

gardeners gather with Senator Perkins

Mike takes a break to greet Perkins

Pablo David Event Saturday, May 28: Planting, Food, Music

Event flyer here

PabloBrochure2011

Satruday, May 28, 2011 at 1p.m.

Plant seeds, take home a seedling
Food, Music
With a special tribute program celebrating Pablo’s beloved Garifuna culture.
Carrie McCracken TRUCE Community Garden, St. Nicholas Avenue between 117th & 118th Streets

Meet the Upper Harlem Green Committee, May Events

Developing a green initiative within the community is often to travel a rocky, winding trail. Only with dogged perseverance is the Green Standard raised. As one  great philosopher said, “Righteous persistence brings reward.”  Such is the case with Activist Cheryl Minor and the small band at the Fred Samuel houses.

Nearly frustrated to the point of disbanding; new energy has been breathed into their struggle to overcome Ecological with apathy, overload, and inertia among NYCHA (public housing) residents and the surrounding neighbors. The impetus was a recent meeting with NYCHA’s progressive Commissioner Hon. Margarita Lopez.

We now have a call from their Uptown Harlem Green Committee to greening activists to Rally in support of them.  With all the jawing about the conversion of pre-war buildings for higher income residents (i.e. gentrification); it would seem to be a no-brainer to show active support for improving the most ambitious reuse of such properties in Harlem.

If one doesn’t know who Mr. Samuel was; or his place in the history of Harlem political Giants: then one may not see how crucial support for resident action at the housing and Green sites that bear his name are. For those; who do know; there’s no excuse for not lending material support to Cheryl (Poet) Minor and the Upper Harlem Green Committee.

A few links:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/features/blackhistory.shtml

http://www.blogger.com/profile/00709755132323652010

Cheryl recently wrote to all activists: Any service, advice, support you can give would to help the Green Committee would be greatly appreciated.

1) Green Committee Meeting Date

Fred Samuel Community Center, 2nd Floor

669 Lenox Avenue between West 143rd St & West 144th St

Monday, May 16

5:30pm-6:30pm

*Meetings opened to Fred Samuel residents and public/community.

2) Playground-West 143rd Street between 7th Ave & Lenox Ave

Green Committee Cleaning & Planting

Saturday’s – May 14, May 21

9am-11am

*Need cleaning equipment & plants & materials.

Contact: Cheryl Minor   Work-718-433-3187

Can we at Carrie McCracken TRUCE send a contingent to help out?