Taken from the main entrance to the garden from Grandview

Ashley & Mario Rivera

Left: trellis in place for food bank pole beans to go in.
Right: Ledlie, Scrivner, Wickes

Michael Nolan

Jodi & Rob Wenz

Melina Van Matre & Chris Jackson

Lori & Sam Johnson

Anyone who knows Joe Lamp’l knows that he doesn’t do anything half way and the new community garden installation he designed for the FISKARS Project Orange Thumb program was absolutely no exception.  When I arrived they had already been hard at work for just over three hours in the sweltering heat, but their progress was incredible.

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Several gardeners will be having a small workday at Riverside this morning so if you stop by and see them be sure to pitch in if you can.  Unfortunately I won’t be there today as I am on the radio show this morning and then going to spend some time with author and gardening expert Joe Lamp’l (better known as joegardener) as he works with FISKARS and Home Depot on Project Orange Thumb.  They will be installing a new community garden in the Little Five Points neighborhood.

Joe Lamp’l, (aka joe gardener®) is the host of two National television shows: GardenSMART on PBS and DIY Network’s Fresh from the Garden. He’s also a syndicated columnist and author, including his latest book; The Green Gardener’s Guide; simple significant actions to protect and preserve the planet.

Joe’s passion and work related to gardening and environmental stewardship through multiple media platforms has positioned him as one of the most recognized personalities in the “green” sector today. For more information: www.joegardener.com.

You can follow Joe on his blog as he grows a $25 Victory Garden.

Eight of our fourteen plots were started today and tons of beautiful veggie plants are now in the ground.  It was exciting to see all of the activity on what proved to be a perfect day for working in the garden.  There is still a lot of work yet to be done including the planting of the plot for the Atlanta Community Food Bank which I will be starting tomorrow thanks to the beautiful donated plants we have on hand so far!

Here are a few photos of the progress we made today.  Clicking on them will enlarge the image:

Thanks so much to everyone for your hard work and to our donors who are supporting this effort even though they aren’t gardening with us this year.  Keep your eyes open for some great upcoming announcements about planning future gatherings in the garden throughout the summer and early fall!

Those who have already reserved and paid for their plots have a plot assigned now and I am working to amend the beds with some top soil now to make the soil a bit more receptive to new plants and seedlings.

What Do I Do Now?
If you are wondering what you should do to prepare for the grand opening and planting day, now is the time to start picking your plants and seedlings and bringing them home from the store so they are with you when you come to the garden on June 6th.  If you have any questions about what you should (or should not) try to grow, just email me (Michael) and I’d be happy to give you some advice.

What Do I Need To Bring?
If you have gardening tools, bring them.  You should also plan to bring a pair of gardening gloves and any plants you want to put in the ground.  The beds are 40 square feet each, so if you will be square foot gardening that leaves you 40 spaces for a wide variety of plants and I will be on hand to help mark off your plot if you decide that is how you want to work it.

I also ask that you bring a vegetable seedling of your choice to be planted in the community plot that will benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank.  Without their help this garden would not be possible in 2009!  If you’d like to donate a food plant to this plot, send me an email so I know how many plants I will need to buy. 

Even if you are not gardening with us this year please feel free to stop by and join in the fun or just spend some time getting to know your neighbors!

I couldn’t help but to share a little sneak peek of the progress in video form. 

Get ready to have a lot of fun at the garden!

A member of the community seemed more than a bit surprised and even taken aback that the dues for plots in the Riverside community garden would cost $50 per year, even asking if that’s “really” would they would cost. In case others may have these concerns as well, allow me to give a small break down of what my partner and I have put out to get the garden into its current condition and ready for growing:

>  approx. 21 hours mowing / weed eating (plus gas)
>  approx. $100 in lumber to lay out plots
>  approx. $30 in top soil to amend the existing soil
>  approx. $100 in new tools for the garden
>  approx. $35 to rent a truck to haul these items

And this does not even address the water on-site yet.  I am working this week to have that turned on which will have to pay $95 to get that established.  Anyone who lives here knows that water bills are not going to be cheap with more than a dozen people watering their plots on a regular basis, either.

I hope this helps garden members and others to better understand the costs involved in setting this garden up and understands that I am not here to take anyone’s money.

Now, the Progress…
On Saturday May 23rd we dodged the rain, purchased the (untreated) lumber and staked out the initial plots (see the photo above).  I also purchased some top soil to amend the existing earth that understandably has a high clay content.

In order to further break down the soil in our plots I bought the materials to build a 2×2 sifting box – a lumber frame with 1/4” metal mesh on the bottom – to remove rocks, plastic, glass, roots and anything else that shouldn’t be in our gardens.  If anyone has a circular saw it would be helpful as I need to cut an 8"’ piece of lumber into four two foot pieces to put it together.

I also have to throw in here that thanks to an unexpected gift from my better half I am now the proud owner of a small gas-powered tiller so we will be able to continue to expand the garden beyond the initial plots (as I had hoped) without having to dig new plots by hand.

Finally, the Big News…
I am proud to announce the official Grand Opening of the Riverside Community Garden will be taking place on Saturday, June 6, 2009!  Garden members will  be receiving a formal announcement via email in the next couple of days but in the meantime mark your calendars everyone and plan to stop by the gardens on June 6th!

Here’s a direct link for you.

Also, be sure to stay tuned as Michael will be back on the show in-studio with Kate Copsey on June 20th for the whole hour!

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