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Community
Garden Coordinator: Becky Kass |
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General
Information
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Work Day Snacks
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Evanston residents can rent garden plots from mid-March through mid-November through the Evanston Community Garden Rental Program. There are four Community Gardens:
Each site has water, wheelbarrows, compost and woodchips available. Full plots are about 400 sq. ft. and half-plots are about 200 sq. ft. James Park Gardens and Twiggs Gardens also have raised beds. Plots not rented by returning gardeners are available to new gardeners in the spring. The sign-up for the garden rental wait list is open and ongoing. Prospective gardeners will be put on the waitlist when the sign-up form is received by the Ecology Center. Gardeners on the waitlist will be contacted starting in April. If you are interested in renting, please stop by the Ecology Center at 2024 McCormick Ave. and pick up a brochure and sign-up form. To request a form to be sent via e-mail, contact Becky Kass. For additional information, please call 847/448-8256. Various items regarding the gardens, such as suggested community garden service projects and maps, are posted at each community garden message board and are updated regularly. Helplines
for Gardeners
Garfield Park
Conservatory Morton Arboretum
Plant Clinic Chicago Botanic
Garden Plant Information James (South of Oakton between McCormick Blvd. and Dodge). This is a locked site. In addition to full and half plots, this site has 3 raised beds. McCormick (Bridge & McCormick Blvd.). This site has full and half plots and only one raised bed. Twiggs (Bridge & Simpson). In addition to full and half plots, this site has 8 raised beds. Lighthouse (Sheridan Road, north of the Lighthouse). This is the smallest site, with only 9-1/2 plots. Each site has the following:
Gardening
Expectations
A spring meeting and an end of season meeting is held for new and returning gardeners, at the Evanston Ecology Center. The meeting is held to discuss topics regarding the gardens and to give the gardeners a chance to interact with each other. Service projects regarding the common shared areas of the community gardens are worked on during work days. It is a way some gardeners choose to complete their 3 hours of required community garden service. Other gardeners work on projects outside of work days. Work Days are held Saturday mornings once a month from April through October for James, McCormick, and Twiggs; they are held May and August for Lighthouse. The Garden Coordinator is present at the work days to help with the current projects for that day. A spring, summer, and fall/winter newsletter is issued each year to update the gardeners about the community gardens. In addition each site has a message board where information is posted. Gardeners can contact the Garden Coordinator with questions. Phone numbers of gardeners, who agree to release their numbers, are included in the spring newsletter (issued in June). Contact the Becky Kass, the Garden Coordinator, via one of the following:
Provide your first and last name (spell them if leaving a phone message), your full address including zip code, your phone number, which type of plot you want (full, half, raised bed), and which site(s). If you contact the Garden Coordinator by January 2005, you will receive a packet in February 2005 introducing you to the community garden program. Those who call after this time, will receive an introductory packet after February. Plot
Selection Schedule & Availability During January and February, returning gardeners sign up for their garden rentals. Once this is completed, during the months of March through May, remaining garden plots are available to rent to new gardeners. Pesticide
Use Seasonal
Rental of Default Gardens Post
Plot Numbers West
Nile Virus – Standing Water Prevention If you have a watering can, please place it upside down on a pole. Absolutely no large containers left standing to collect water.If your neighbor has forgotten to clear their tarp, etc. please do us all a favor and empty it for them. Hoses At James Park, there are many "splitters" on the spigots with hoses running many directions. Many times gardeners turn on a variety of hoses to get their one hose on, and leave the ones they are not using on. Letting water run unchecked wastes water and also can over-water other gardeners’ plots. When using a hose, find the end of the hose you intend to use. Then proceed to switch on the water to that hose. If you have turned other switches that do not control your hose, please switch them back off. Please also try your best to keep hoses from being piled up in pathways. Wheelbarrows Pets
at Community Gardens Plant
Waste & Trash Disposal Procedures
Insect
Relief: Cucumber
&/or Western Corn Root Worm Beetle
Some
Methods to Deter Pilferage Fencing in your individual garden can help. However, sometimes a pilferer will try to climb over a fence and damage it. Also, having a fence makes it a little harder to remove weeds/saplings growing along fence lines. One gardener at Twiggs put a cage around her tomatoes and then grew either beans or flowering vines on the cages to hide the tomatoes growing inside. She had success with this method. There are varieties of tomatoes that are ripe when they are green or yellow which are less appealing to the potential pilferer. Also, picking tomatoes just before they are fully ripe or sprinkling baking soda on your veggies to make them look undesirable can help reduce pilfering. Please note, if a garden looks untended and the vegetables are not being harvested, please do not help yourself. Call Becky to find out the status of the garden. Back to top. Deer
at the Gardens If you spot a deer at any of the community gardens, please call Becky and provide as much information as possible: description of the deer, color of the tags, tag number, and approximate time the deer was spotted. This information is helpful for our records and we share the information with other agencies who track the location of deer.
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