Volunteer of the Week: Anna Kong
Posted on | May 22, 2013 | No Comments
We praise the big milestones our gardens go through, and the individuals who helps make them happen! This series of posts is to give shout outs to the unsung heroes that make those milestones happen. JFK said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” And these people not only try, they do – remarkably and repeatedly – make a difference in ways big and small.
Through October 15, we are celebrating the individuals who make your garden a success and make Peterson Garden Project work. Each week, we’ll tell the story of one of our amazing volunteers. And, as a small thank you, they will be able to pick out a pair of wonderful Wells-Lamont gloves from Matty K’s – our local hardware store.
This week we would like to recognize Anna Kong. Anna is a a year-round PGP supporter! She helped with our exhibit at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show in March and continues to help in lots of other ways too. Anna, stop in to Matty K’s for a pair of free gloves for being so awesome!
Gardening Season Heats Up
Posted on | May 21, 2013 | No Comments
Well, we think it’s safe to say that warm weather is here to stay for gardening season. It’s wonderful to feel the sun shining as the gardens continue to heat up. With the sun’s spotlight on gardens, it seems an apt time to share some helpful gardening tips for bolstering a sense community, because after all, that’s a large part of what our gardens are about. Read below for more details, plus more gardening tips, things for kids to do, and more. Put on your sunscreen and we’ll see you in the gardens!
Volunteer of the Week
With gardening season comes volunteer season! Peterson Garden Project would not be what it is without all of our wonderful, devoted volunteers, so each week we will be highlighting a volunteer who has really gone above and beyond to lend their talents, time, and energy to helping us. Each “Volunteer of the Week” will receive a free pair of Wells Lamont gardening gloves from Matty K’s Hardware (4874 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60625).
This week we would like to recognize Anna Kong! Anna is a a year-round PGP supporter! She helped with our exhibit at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show in March and continues to help in lots of other ways too! Anna, stop in to Matty K’s for a pair of free gloves for being so awesome!
Two New Gardens Growing
The last few weeks have been busy building the garden at Swedish Covenant Hospital (Carmen and California) and Ashlandia (Hollywood and Ashland). These “small” Pop-up Victory Gardens (about 40 beds each) are new for 2013 and we’re excited about the communities that will form there. Special thanks to all the volunteers who made these gardens possible.
We Beat Our Goal!
A giant thank you to the 182 (!) people who made a pledge to Bees and Seeds, our Kickstarter for the new Seed Saving Garden going in at Global. You helped us raise almost $6,400! We’ve selected a spot for the project and will announce a work day soon for building and filling.
Water at LOL and Vedgewater
We’re on the schedule to have these installed/turned on, but we do not know when it will happen. We’ll update you soon as we know more (but thanks for all the emails asking anyway!)
Garden Updates
Land on Lincoln
- We had a great work day last Sunday, weeding and numbering beds.
- We’ll send out an e-mail with bed assignments this week, so you are able to put landscape cloth in your bed, and fill it with soil. You are now free to garden!
- Note that while we hope water installation will happen soon, it hasn’t happened yet. As soon as we have details, we will let you know! Until then, if you plant, please bring your own water to the garden to water your plants.
- There are some plots in what will become the central aisle; we can’t place them in their final destination until the water goes in. Please work around those until we complete water installation.
Upcoming Grewbie Classes
Our last Grewbie class (click here for more info) is on May 25 at Global. We’ll help you get settled into your garden plots and cover all the how-to’s.
What’s happening in the garden? Come find out at the first of our monthly classes taking place June 1 at Global Garden. These classes are designed to help new gardeners understand what to expect month-by-month in their gardens. Each session covers new ground and is advised for all new gardeners.
Gardening Tip
Community gardening is 10% gardening and 90% community
When you garden in a community garden, you not only make new friends, you’re likely to meet neighbors you’d never have encountered even when they live right down the block from you. And just like your neighbors down the block, you want be “neighborly.” Here’s some tips for keeping things friendly:
- Keep the aisles clear. It’s tempting to expand your plot by adding pots, walls, and trellises that stick into the aisles. Structures and pots that block the aisles can be a safety hazard and will need to be removed. If you want to extend your space, think about sharing plantings — instead of you and your four “corner” neighbors each planting one thyme, one rosemary, one sage, and one oregano, have each of you plant just one of those. There will be plenty to harvest, and even dry, for everyone’s use. And you can use the extra space for other types of veggies.
- Pull those weeds! Make sure you keep the aisles and edges neat in this way too. Pull or cut back weeds on the outsides of your plot. Never let a weed go to seed or it will be a bigger problem next year. Chop it off or pull it out!
- Make sure kids are accounted for. Not only should you keep your kids close (so that they aren’t running on, or in, someone’s bed, or picking someone’s veggies), but be aware if there seems to be an unattended child. And keep the gate closed, so kids aren’t tempted to run into the street.
- If you have a neighborly tip for a PGP garden, or any garden, make sure you post it on the Facebook page!
G2G Update
Ashlandia and Swedish Covenant Garden Need Grow2Give Volunteers!
Interested in helping Us grow food for pantries and nutrition programs? We need your help! Send an email to g2g@petersongarden.org if you are interested in helping with our pantry donations program at our newest two gardens! You don’t have to be gardening with us, and you don’t have to be an experienced gardener to help us try to grow one ton of food for pantries and nutrition programs in 2013.
Help Us Keep Our Classes Free
Did you attend a Grewbie 101 class at our “Grewbiepalooza” last weekend (16 classes in two days!)? We’re thrilled that funders like Dr. Scholl Foundation help us to offer these programs free of charge, but grants don’t cover the full cost. Won’t you consider making a tax-deductible donation today by clicking on http://j.mp/PGPdonate right now to make a gift? Thank you!
It’s Time For Summer Camp Music Festival
This Thursday, our very own Lester and volunteer, Amy of the Green Earth Institute, will be camping out at this year’s Summer Camp Music Festival. At the fest PGP will be hosting a good ol’ Seed Swap, carrying out workshops/demos, and some of our fantastic shirts and hats will be up for purchase.
Throughout the weekend we’ll be collecting donations to raise money for things on our wishlist, like a PA system for our Summer Music & Master Gardeners Night!
To add to this PGP will be live on stage to have a 45 minute discussion/performance set with the Ragbirds at the Soulshine Tent on Sunday, May 26th at 2:30. Be sure to listen in to this radical band and how they infuse their love of the environment through their music.
Tags: chicago community gardens > Urban Gardening > Victory Gardens
Volunteer of the Week: Jen Berman
Posted on | May 15, 2013 | No Comments
We praise the big milestones our gardens go through, and the individuals who helps make them happen! This series of posts is to give shout outs to the unsung heroes that make those milestones happen. JFK said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” And these people not only try, they do – remarkably and repeatedly – make a difference in ways big and small.
Through October 15, we are celebrating the individuals who make your garden a success and make Peterson Garden Project work. Each week, we’ll tell the story of one of our amazing volunteers. And, as a small thank you, they will be able to pick out a pair of wonderful Wells-Lamont gloves from Matty K’s – our local hardware store.
This week we would like to recognize Jen Berman, a Montrose Green block captain and longtime Peterson Garden Project gardener. Jen, stop in to Matty K’s for a pair of free gloves for being so awesome!
Volunteer of the Week: Emily Bergstrom
Posted on | May 8, 2013 | No Comments
We praise the big milestones our gardens go through, and the individuals who helps make them happen! This series of posts is to give shout outs to the unsung heroes that make those milestones happen. JFK said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” And these people not only try, they do – remarkably and repeatedly – make a difference in ways big and small.
Through October 15, we are celebrating the individuals who make your garden a success and make Peterson Garden Project work. Each week, we’ll tell the story of one of our amazing volunteers. And, as a small thank you, they will be able to pick out a pair of wonderful Wells-Lamont gloves from Matty K’s – our local hardware store.
This week we would like to recognize Emily Bergstrom, a neighbor to our Learning Center, and a gardener at Global. Emily, stop in to Matty K’s for a pair of free gloves for being so awesome!
April Showers Bring May Plant Sales
Posted on | May 7, 2013 | No Comments
As the temperature warms and the birds chirp, we’re affirmed that gardening season is indeed upon us. In case we needed further proof, we’re reminded by the hordes of hard-working Peterson Garden Project volunteers and gardeners, laboring to prepare the gardens and get things started. It’s a heartwarming sensation. And speaking of plants, this weekend is our Plant Sale, running May 10 through May 12 (more details below). Make sure you come by and stock up on heirloom seedlings and baked goods! Plus, wouldn’t some heirloom seedlings make for a sweet Mother’s Day treat?
Plant Sale
This weekend!
Friday, May 10 through Sunday, May 12
10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. daily
Peterson Garden Center Learning Center, 4642 N. Francisco (immediately adjacent to the Francisco stop on the Brown Line)
The sale will be BYOBag! See our recent blog post for creative re-use items to bring with you to carry your plants home.
We’ll be offering a very special selection of seedlings that were personally selected by Peterson Garden Project gardeners for growing in Chicago. All seedlings will be heirlooms sourced from our friends at Seed Savers Exchange, and they will be organically grown by Lake Street Landscape Supply.
Heirloom seedlings and delectable baked goods aren’t the only treats you will find this year at the PGP Plant Sale!
We’ve added new color combinations to our line of stylish Peterson Garden Project t-shirts, and also new for this year – baseball caps with full color PGP logo in khaki or charcoal.
However, we are perhaps the most excited about our exclusive Grewbie Bags: PGP’s square foot gardening kit in a bag. Included in each Grewbie Bag is all the hardware you’ll need to set up your 4′ x 8′ raised bed for square foot gardening:
One laminated PGP Quick Start Square Foot Gardening Chart
One Corona garden hand tool
Several packets of assorted seeds
32 wood craft sticks for labeling plants
20 wood screw eye bolts
100 ft of nylon rope
And best of all, all of these Square Foot Garden essentials are conveniently packed up in our charming organic cotton tote featuring assorted hand-carved and hand-printed PGP garden designs by local artist, Global Gardener, and mother of two, Danielle Reiner. (We were thrilled to collaborate with Danielle on these exclusive designs – check out Danielle’s story at http://shop.instolenmoments.com/about).
Supplies are limited, so come by early to get your favorite garden design!
Grewbie Bag/PGP Square Foot Gardening Kit: $30
PGP Tshirts in Men’s and Women’s styles (S, M, L & XL): $20
PGP baseball caps: $20
We’re looking for volunteers to help us out at our Plant Sale! Visit our Classes & Events page for dates and hours, and to sign up for a shift. Your helping hands are much appreciated! If you’re a Master Gardener or experienced edible gardener, we’d REALLY need your help at the plant sale. If you’re interested in lending your gardening expertise, please e-mail lindsay@petersongarden.org.
Garden Updates
A NOTE ON COMPOST: Please make sure to put only enough compost in your bed to fill to the edge. If your soil is mounded in the middle of your bed, this will only create a mud puddle for you and those around you when it rains. Please share so that we have enough compost for everyone.
Land On Lincoln: We are still awaiting help from the city to hook up the water. It is a matter of scheduling, and we will let you know as soon as we know more details. Just know that we’re on it, and we are as eager as you are!
Vedgewater: Water status is the same as Land On Lincoln. Good news, you will be receiving another compost delivery on Wednesday for those who have yet to top off their beds!
Montrose Green: You will be receiving another compost delivery on Wednesday for those who have yet to top off their beds.
Global Garden: Lots of action at Global this weekend, great to see you all out!
Swedish Covenant Workplace Garden: SCH gardeners, It’s time to build your garden! We’ll have an “after work” work party on Wednesday, May 15 at 5:30pm, to attach chicken wire to the perimeter of the fence, spread the wood chips to the fence edge and lay out the beds. RSVP here to join your colleagues for a fun evening!
Ashlandia: We have a new garden, folks! Thanks to all the volunteers who came out, the beds were built and filled with soil over the weekend- this garden is small but mighty! Once you have attended new gardener orientation, you will be given your plot number and gate code and are free to garden. Orientation dates are Tues, May 15th at 7:00pm/ Sat, May 25th at 12:30pm/ Sun, May 26th at 12:30pm. Location: 4642 N. Francisco Ave (adjacent to the Francisco Brown Line stop.
Gardening Tip!
What’s the difference between “intensive” gardening and “square foot gardening”?
According to Square Foot orthodoxy, it’s not square foot gardening if you don’t use a grid. In other words, Square Foot gardening is a type of intensive gardening that uses a physical grid made of lattice or laundry line to mark off individual planting areas. You can use the principals of intensive gardening without building a grid (but the grid helps). Learn more tips and definitions like this one at Grewbie 101 and Fearless Food classes!
Volunteer of the Week
With gardening season comes volunteer season! Peterson Garden Project would not be what it is without all of our wonderful, devoted volunteers, so each week we will be highlighting a volunteer who has really gone above and beyond to lend their talents, time, and energy to helping us. Each “Volunteer of the Week” will receive a free pair of Wells Lamont gardening gloves from Matty K’s Hardware (4874 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60625). This week we would like to recognize Emily Bergstrom! Emily is a neighbor to our Learning Center, and a gardener at Global, and has donated a lot of time and supplies lately. Emily, stop in to Matty K’s for a pair of free gloves for being so awesome!
International Biodiversity Day at the Field Museum
In honor of International Biodiversity Day on May 22, we’ll be joining The Field Museum, Seed Savers Exchange, and Jewell Events Catering for an event celebrating seed diversity at the Edible Treasures Garden. The highlight of the evening, which runs from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., will be a lecture on FOOD ORIGINS by the renowned photographer and seed saving advocate David Cavagnaro. Cost to attend is $10. For more information and to register, click here.
Summer Camp Music Festival: Update
PGP will be paired up with musicians, The Ragbirds (http://www.theragbirds.com/) at this year’s Summer Camp Music Festival. Be sure to stop by the Soulshine Tent on Sunday May 26th at 2:30pm to hear The Ragbirds perform live and to hear us pass on PGP’s mission to the many fest-heads at attendance! We’ll also be providing workshops, a seed swap, games and prizes throughout the festival.
Grow2GiveTM
Planting time is coming! We’ll be planting our first warm-weather crops May 25, 26 and 27 at the various sites. Watch your email, the newsletter, the Classes and Events page on the website, and the Facebook page for information about planting dates and volunteer scheduling.
Tags: chicago community gardens > Urban Gardening > Victory Gardens
BYOBag!
Posted on | May 3, 2013 | No Comments
- Brown paper or reusable grocery bags
- Box tops (from shoe boxes, or cardboard filing boxes)
- Pizza boxes, with the tops cut off
- Milk crates
- Clear storage containers
- Baking pans or sheet trays
- Wine crates
- Serving trays
Plant and Bake Sale Seedling List
Posted on | May 2, 2013 | No Comments
Peterson Garden Project will host its second annual spring plant sale and bake sale fundraiser!
When: Friday, May 10 through Sunday, May 12, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m each day.
Where: Peterson Garden Project’s Learning Center, 4642 N. Francisco, Chicago, IL (adjacent to Francisco Brown Line stop).
All proceeds from the sale will benefit Peterson Garden Project learning programs. Seedlings will be locally-grown, organic, heirloom herb and vegetable varietals hand-selected by Peterson Garden Project for growing in Chicago. Baked goods will be hand made from local Chicago pastry chefs and bakeries.
There is no cost for admission. Cash and credit cards will be accepted. BYOB! (Bring Your Own Bag). We ask that you please bring your own bags/trays for carrying your seedlings home, we will not be providing any.
Drumroll, please! We are pleased to present the list of organic, heirloom seedlings that we will offer for sale at the 2013 Peterson Garden Project Plant and Bake Sale Fundraiser. We sourced our seeds from our friends at Seed Savers Exchange, who attest to their heirloom and USDA organic authenticity. To grow them, our buddies at Lake Street Landscape used organic methods, too — so we are good to go, and can not WAIT to get these seedlings in the dirt. Get them while you can at the sale!
Volunteer of the Week: Colleen Cetera
Posted on | May 1, 2013 | No Comments
Colleen is the one in the turquoise sitting on the ramp. Hi Colleen!
We praise the big milestones our gardens go through, and the individuals who helps make them happen! This series of posts is to give shout outs to the unsung heroes that make those milestones happen. JFK said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” And these people not only try, they do – remarkably and repeatedly – make a difference in ways big and small.
Through October 15, we are celebrating the individuals who make your garden a success and make Peterson Garden Project work. Each week, we’ll tell the story of one of our amazing volunteers. And, as a small thank you, they will be able to pick out a pair of wonderful Wells-Lamont gloves from Matty K’s – our local hardware store.
This week we would like to recognize Colleen Cetera, hardworking LOL gardener and an exceptional volunteer. Colleen, stop in to Matty K’s for a pair of free gloves for being so awesome!
Meet Rebecca and the North River Commission
Posted on | April 29, 2013 | No Comments
Becky organizing volunteers on Cesar Chavez Day
I lived in Albany Park for five years and still work in Albany Park for a non-profit community organization, North River Commission (NRC), housed at Lawrence and Kimball. Over the 10 years I have lived/worked here, Albany Park has experienced many changes. I’ve enjoyed the hustle and bustle of this vibrant neighborhood, but I’ve also seen so many of my neighbors move when rental buildings turned into condos. I’ve seen storefronts and lots sit vacant year after year.
One such lot was at the corner of Lawrence and Sacramento, two blocks from my apartment.
Day after day, I walked past the lot on the way to the park with my kids, so I was delighted when I had the opportunity to help plan a community green space for the land when the City of Chicago purchased it in 2010. I imagined a place that was full of life, a place that reflected the people in the neighborhood; performances would be held, beautiful plants would grow, sculpture would be appreciated, community ties would be strengthened.
I have been fortunate to see even more than what I imagined spring up almost overnight (no pun intended…well, I guess intended) in that once empty lot.
I am also fortunate that part of my work at NRC supports Global Garden, a refugee training farm and community garden.
I imagined performances: sure enough, gardeners share their talents with their neighbors on a DIY stage.
I imagined public art: Global has fabric fence art and sculptures, and the wonderful Buddha heads from the Ten Thousand Ripples project by artist Indira Johnson.
Buddha head
I imagined beautiful plants: over 400 people grow organic food from their home countries as well as heirloom vegetables.
I imagined a strong sense of ownership and community: new friendships have been formed, civic groups have been revitalized, and neighbors help each other.
We’re helping each other do great things, and you can help, too. Even if you don’t garden, don’t live in the area, and don’t even know us, you can help everyone at Global Gardens by supporting our Kickstarter campaign.
I can’t wait to see the garden in full bloom this year, with bees from the new bee hives helping to pollinate the vegetables and volunteers taking care of a new seed saving garden. This is even more than I imagined.
Visit our Kickstarter page here: http://j.mp/GlobalKickStart
What I’m Planting, by Leah Ray
Posted on | April 25, 2013 | No Comments
Every year, the question we get most often from new gardeners is, “What should I plant?” If you’ve asked, then you know what we’ll say:
Land on Lincoln plot
Land on Lincoln garden bounty
