Greetings everyone, and to our loyal blog followers (along with the blue skies, warm breeze, and green grass…) a hearty welcome back. As we get set to kickoff another growing season at Tipton’s Hardacre Community Garden we’ve decided to revitalize this blog, along with our Facebook page, in hopes of sharing news of our work at Hardacre farm with friends from near and far. As in the past you can look to these online resources for lots of photos and updates on garden activities, and stories of how we are incorporating sustainable agricultural practices for the benefit of Tipton and surrounding communities.
A new feature that we will be unveiling this year (right now, actually) will involve blog posts that list tasks and chores in current need of attention. We’ve always maintained a pretty loose and easy going volunteer system out at the garden; anybody is welcome to come out at anytime and just pitch in however they see fit, but we realize that some folks might prefer a bit more guidance and structure. Through this site we can offer regular updates on things that need done, and when appropriate provide further instruction. Volunteers can then head out to the garden and help with these tasks at their convenience.
With that said, let’s get started…
You’ll see these red buildings at the end of the lane, and notice the mulch piles and bushes in the field to the east.
Although things are about to shift into overdrive with the weather shaping up, right now the one big chore we would like to focus on is mulching. Out at the site in the plot east of the house and red sheds are a couple of big piles of mulch, and along the north border of that field is a row of shrubs (burning bush.) We simply want to spread that mulch around the plants, in one continuous line approximately two feet wide with the shrubs going right down the middle. The mulch should be spread about 6-8 inches deep. You’ll want to bring a shovel and something to carry the mulch (such as a bucket or bushel basket.) A wheel barrow would also be handy, but for the most part the bushes are a very short distance from the mulch pile.
Piles of mulch with line of burning bush close by.
Row of burning bush along the north edge of the field.
You’ll notice some existing mulch around the base of the shrubs. This is from last year, but it’s time for a fresh batch. Spread the mulch roughly two feet wide and 6-8″ deep, all the way down the line.
Mulching here will serve a number of purposes. For the sake of the bushes, it will suppress weeds and help to retain moisture. It will also help with maintenance, as it will eliminate the need to mow between the shrubs (and any little bit of mowing we can do away with not only saves time, but also decreases fuel consumption and emissions that are destructive to the environment.)
We will soon have more mulch delivered to be spread around the lilac bushes that run north-south along the western edge of the field in front of the house, so once that arrives it can be spread there just as instructed above.
A little later this spring we will be installing a High Tunnel on the property (click here to learn more about these structures) and of course as the season progresses there will be plenty of opportunity to help with planting, weeding, harvesting and distribution. Please keep a close eye on our Facebook page for updates, and be sure to sign-up to receive notice of new blog entries via email by providing your information in the column at the right. Also, feel free to utilize these channels to leave comments to let others know when work has been done or to ask questions. We’d like for this to be as interactive and as social as possible, so don’t be shy!
Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in being a part of the team at Tipton’s Hardacre Community Garden. Here’s to making 2014 the best season yet!
Hardacre Community Garden 