Simcoe work party needs your tools and muscles

[Angela]

April 17th we plan to put up the fencing required by the city. This
is an opportunity to participate. We need various hand tools and
small equipment for this job too. Can you help out? Just show up, if
you like, but if you can contribute tools, please reply here to the
list or to me personally. Here's the list:

Post auger
wire cutters
heavy duty mallet for metal posts
pliers and or vise grips
nails
hammers
a few scrap 2x4s
a tarp
shovel
twine
level
heavy gauge staple gun with staples
screwdrivers

Everyone is encouraged to bring work gloves, a hat, weather
appropriate clothing (long sleeves as we will be working with wire)
and a fun-loving attitude.

Thanks.

[Angela]

Hey, a couple of people have come forward with some of these items,
but we do need more. And work volunteers, too. If you want a plot on
the site, this is a great time to step forward and help out. The
steering members have been working hard and consistently for about a
year to put so many things in place, but we can't do it all ourselves,
nor should we. Please do join in.

[Angela]

This is the type of fencing we will be using - t-post and mesh. Have
a look if you like to familiarize yourself with what we are doing:

http://www.unchainyourdog.org/FenceMesh.htm

So far three people have contacted me that I have not met in person.
I look forward to meeting you, and would appreciate any emails from
anyone else who wants to let me know they're coming. If you want to
just show up, that's okay too, but it's nice to have a feel for who is
coming and how many.

[Angela]

Should have posted this earlier!

April 17th, Saturday at Simcoe Park south/southwest corner.

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. but we can carry on longer if people have the time
and energy.

[Angela]

We hope to see you at Simcoe Park tomorrow 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and
probably working later than that.

Rob and I have just returned from picking up all the supplies
necessary for the fencing. Whew! There are a couple of additional
things it would be helpful if people could bring:

work gloves for yourself -- wire fencing is rough to handle
Any large 5 gallon or so containers you can spare to mix concrete in
a matt knife or two for cutting a couple of things
water for yourself to drink and possibly some GORP or other fuel
sturdy shoes for safety

And think about when we should have the next meeting for planning
exact bed layouts. Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday evening this week? Say
6:30. We don't have a venue right now, but we could meet under the
big tree on site if nothing else. It's dry there even during rain, I
have found.

We are hoping to do sod cutting next weekend.
Anyone with gate-building skills?

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[Angela]

Our planned 3-hour work party resulted in completion of the fencing in
just 4 hours. Several people had committed to staying as long as it
took to get it done, but in the end only an extra hour was needed --
amazing results, I thought. The fence has one opening at the north
end where we are to attach a swinging gate to the concrete set posts.

Here's how it went:

By a few minutes after start time, despite drizzling rain, about 10
volunteers had shown up. I brought all the supplies and equipment and
Rob brought his detailed plan for taking the role of foreman for the
day. Shortly, Brennan and Tim started drilling the corner post
holes. Untreated cedar posts were installed and a twine guideline was
installed for the next step. Holly, Leah, Carole, Ben, Mirza,
Jacqueline, David and several others whose names I can't recall got to
work cutting wire in preparation for a later step in the job. I
hardly lifted a literal finger, but I facilitated the flow of
information, materials and processes to help things along smoothly,
knowing who had brought which tools and what was needed so the next
step could proceed apace.

We had a few arrivals just after we got started and Lori and Vladimir
joined the others to work as a team pounding in 45 or so metal T-
posts. Before long it was time to attach the seven 50-foot rolls of
mesh. The final two gate posts were to be set in concrete, so Carole
and two others set out with buckets to obtain water in the
neighbourhood. A block away they succeeded and lugged it back to
Simcoe where our planned waterline is not yet installed. Suzanne
arrived from her busy day just as she had offered to, and brought a
generous spread of snacks and drinks that the hard-working group
enjoyed and appreciated.

All were in good spirits and no incidents or injuries occurred. A few
items were lost and found when the dust cleared: blue bucket, small
wire cutters with blue handle, a large paint container. Please
contact Rob or nwcommunitygardens directly to get these back.

Thanks,
Angela

[Steering Committee Members]

We will meet April 27 at 6:30 p.m. under the big tree by the Simcoe
Park garden site (fenced).

Agenda to include getting as far as we can towards a final layout plan
as well as planning out as many work parties and tasks as possible.

Remember to check this thread for updates if you do not have these
messages delivered to your mailbox.

[June]

Hello
So glad things went well last weekend! Is there a work party planned
this weekend or not?
I will see you at the Tuesday night meeting otherwise.
June Brinkman

On Apr 19, 9:51 pm, Steering Committee Members

[Angela]

We are just working on that. Stay tuned. Also, thanks for replying
here in thread.

Just for anyone who hasn't noticed (I know you did, June), there are
two options, reply (which is in thread) and reply to author (which
goes to author's email). IMportant difference. I mention this to
help keep most information flowing publicly and in one place.

On Apr 20, 10:59 am, June <jbwindan...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Is there a work party planned
> this weekend or not?

[Angela]

A couple of people have asked when they will know if they have a plot
at Simcoe. I can relate because I paid my membership and I want a
plot, too. The general target was to be planting in May. For that
reason applications close April 30 for first selection of plots. That
is still the objective.

However, we cannot assign plots until the plots exist. If you have
seen the site you know it is currently fenced grass. The first step
is to remove the sod. A steering member is looking into the
possibility of doing that this weekend. If it is to happen, she will
send out an email and post here, I believe is the intention. I can't
be there as I have a course all weekend. It is a matter of renting
equipment, gathering some people to help move sods, and having a
knowledgeable steering member there to make sure all associated
details are taken care of. (I won't elaborate here.)

(1) A further basic project that needs a leader and team is designing,
pricing, and building a small shed or large tool chest to protect the
water access and store hoses and tools. We have had discussions about
this and will have more at the planning meeting next week, but we need
someone with the skills and time to make it happen ideally in early
May so that gardeners have those services available to their plots.

(2) I have a request for a volunteer or two to work on a small project
ASAP, though. If a couple of people would be willing to go down there
with tape measures and get the lengths of all the sides and the width
of the opening, and post those numbers here, that would be very
helpful to further steps. If you're able to do this, just post your
intention and results here and you will be helping to move this
along. When I have those numbers, the waterline point can be
specified to the city.

Thanks,
Angela

[Ben]

Hi Angela,

About your request #2, here are the measurements that I made:

Gate Opening: 1.77m (5' 10")
North West Side: 9.2m (30' 2")
North East Side: 9.2m (30' 2")
East Side: 32.3m (105' 11")
South Side: 15.6m (51' 2")
West Side: 30.5m (100' 1")

Best regards,
-Ben Lake

[Angela]

Thanks, Ben. This is very helpful for working out details on how many
plots we should have, paths, etc, so I hope people coming to the
meeting on the 27th think about this.

On Apr 21, 8:08 pm, Ben <ben.l...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Gate Opening: 1.77m (5' 10")
> North West Side: 9.2m (30' 2")
> North East Side: 9.2m (30' 2")
> East Side: 32.3m (105' 11")
> South Side: 15.6m (51' 2")
> West Side: 30.5m (100' 1")

[Angela]

Check out the winners in the Pandora Park community garden shed design
competition:

http://www.greenshedcompetition.com/winners.htm

Interestingly, a non-shed was the winner. Perhaps we could adapt this
simple-looking design to our site.

We have money for materials, just need a shed team to plan and build.
It will be both cheaper and better than an off-the-shelf generic shed
from the home&garden shop.

[Steering Committee Members]

We will meet under the tree next to our fenced area at Simcoe at
6:30. Bring your pencils, erasers, a ruler, a hard notebook for
writing support and a calculator. We are going to adapt Rob's CAD
sketch to the site as it exists and to the needs of our members.
Bring your voice, your thoughts, your willingness to volunteer, and a
raincoat and something to sit on. It's supposed to rain, but it's
pretty good under the dense foliage of that tree we noted during the
fence building, so don't worry.

I expect we can get this job done in an hour, but if more time is
needed we will take it.

I have sketched out the dimensions taken by Ben and if you want to try
it yourself before tomorrow, it fits well on ordinary graph paper at 4
squares per 10'. Path width and overall layout of beds are key to
effective and enjoyable use of space, so please think about it and
bring your best thoughts.

Angela

[Angela]

We plan to meet Sunday May 2 at Simcoe garden site to remove sods.
The details of this plan were worked out at last night's meeting.

Angela and Tim will rent the sod lifting equipment and wheelbarrows to
be onsite by 10 a.m. Most people from last night are able to attend
Sunday, and as well we have a team of 5 from Growing City
(www.growingcity.ca) in Vancouver who have volunteered to help. We
will have to mark out the plots with turf paint. The sods will be cut
in long strips in one direction on the site. Then sections will cut
with a shovel be removed to reveal the plot layout. The sod sections
will be rolled up and moved to various locations onsite by
wheelbarrow. Some staking will be needed to mark points where keyhole
plots are back to back.

What to bring:
Some heavy pliers would be helpful to remove some tacks from one
section of fence to shorten the distance some sods will be moved.
Shovels or other sharp tools are needed to cut pieces of sod from the
long strips.
A hammer or two would be helpful for some of the staking (short wooden
stakes) that needs to be done.
Gloves are always useful, as well as other work appropriate
clothing.
If you do have access to a wheelbarrow, please bring it. If you can
borrow one but need a ride to pick it up, post here and maybe someone
can carpool with you.

At the meeting last night, we decided that both keyhole and rectangle
styles of bed layouts have many advantages. Rob and Angela are
working on calculating the productivity of layouts that combine both
styles. The keyholes will be on the larger side of the site, as they
were more popular amongst the dozen people present at the meeting.
Since we are not putting in plot edge hardscaping this year, due to
the city's statement that the garden is not permanent until the school
plan is complete, and also because we do not have enough funds for
that yet, we can learn from our experience of the first year and make
a final decision next year whether to have all keyholes or a mixture.
However, if all goes well, plots could be useable after Sunday.

Not discussed at meeting, but previously discussed in steering group:
We may or may not need compost or other soil amendment at this time.
After removing sods and test digging several areas, we will have a
better idea. Bringing in compost would delay plot assignment for a
week if people are ready for the hard work of moving soil the
following weekend.

Just a note re shed -- I am wondering if we have anyone with carpentry
skills in our group. We need to put up a shed so we can buy equipment
like wheelbarrows and hoses and not have people carting them around in
their vehicles. We do have enough funds for this, even for a kit
shed, but it would be much nicer to be able to customize. I envision
a peak roof profile with one side extending over the shed and the
other extending forward for a shaded gathering area in front of the
shed. Both roofs could lead to a gutter for rainwater collection.

Bring your strong arms on Sunday, please. Although I am usually quite
physically able, I'm quite physically drained from pulling up 2x10
square metres of grass, roots, and so on in another garden site over
the past 2 weeks.

[Angela]

With regret I must let you know of my decision to resign from both of
the roles I was asked to take, that of facilitator of the design and
development working group as well as being the "go to person" for
Simcoe. I feel sure there are others eager to take charge of Simcoe
and also do the other volunteer work, so I am not leaving the system
in disarray. All contacts on the NWCGS gmail account have been
notified that the Simcoe updates are posted in this thread, so it is
easy for the next person to communicate with people
interested in Simcoe.

The effort to keep things together for NWCGS was taking too much of my
time, and having reassessed my priorities I see that right now I need
to focus on my studies and a job search.

Thanks,

[Angela]

These guys have a craigslist ad right now.

http://www.thetreepeople.ca/

I'm hoping to try out their mulch at another garden site outside New
West this week. Here's their ad:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/zip/1724693504.html

The guy said it is mulched trees, not lumber. He said it's mostly
wood, but there would be leaves (ie needles) that would be green,
which I don't see as a huge problem.

[Angela]

I got a personal email asking what type of mulch and saying cedar is
not good because it will limit plant growth. Given that this mulch is
for the paths not the beds, is this still a problem? I am not sure.

Anyway, when I originally spoke to the guy, he said it's mixed as they
trim various trees in their business. He mentioned hemlock, spruce
and deciduous trees.