Old Ferguson West Community Garden

October Work Day - Harvest and Clean Up

2011-10-30T09:28:00.000-05:00

Our 2011 growing season has ended and we had several gardeners on hand to assist in garden and plot clean up. We trimmed back the hedge perimeter, cut back the knock out roses, cleaned out individual and sponsor plots and added a good layer of mulch to the plots. Several gardeners even planted garlic to winter over. The weather was perfect for our last work day, and we ended the work day with a lunch of cheese broccoli soup and bread pudding.

Thank you to all of our gardeners for another successful year (even with the scorching summer!) For those that weren't able to make it, please remember to have your plot cleaned out by Thanksgiving.

Have a great fall and winter and we'll see you all back in the spring!

2011 Kid's Fall Social

2011-10-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

We had a beautiful fall morning and a great turnout for our second annual Kid's Fall Social at OFW Community Garden. The garden offers 2 events per year free to children. Thank you to everyone who makes these events possible by helping our various fundraisers throughout the year!

Kids of all ages got to decorate mini-pumpkins, participate in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest, spit watermelon seeds and enjoy lunch in the garden with their families and new friends. The kids also learned about how composting works and had fun flinging cobs and rinds into the compost bin. Thank you to all that participated and we look forward to seeing you in the garden again!

Community Garden Fall Social Saturday October 15th!

2011-10-10T19:45:00.002-05:00

July 2011 Garden Work Day

2011-07-31T07:31:00.000-05:00

A minor break in the heat wave welcomed our gardeners yesterday morning, although it wasn't much relief. Julia, Gail, Irma, Sharon, Dwayne, Brian, and Dot joined us (along with the kids of course!) to a morning of weeding and mulching. How do weeds thrive so well in this heat!?! Larry and Brian worked on the tool shed and finished the roof. Many of our vegetables have not fared well in this heat. However the peppers are loving it! One thing that we've noticed is that people in the area have been picking vegetables from the individual plots. We'll have to put up a sign that says, "If you didn't plant it, please don't pick it."

We ended our day with a fantastic lunch for a hot day just as rain clouds rolled in. Julia prepared a build-it-yourself taco salad with all the fixings, and made too good to be true blueberry lemon bars. Brian thought it was too hot to eat, but the rest of us shook our head at him as our mouths were too full to talk.

Thanks to everyone for their sweat equity (literally!) at the garden. We're all looking forward to the cooler days of fall planting!

June 2011 Garden Work Day

2011-06-27T11:25:00.000-05:00

Beautiful weather greeted our morning workers and we managed to finish before the rain started. Dwayne, Freddie, Dot, Sue, Gail, Brian, Trudy, Julia and Irma all helped with weeding and general maintenance. Freddie tilled the community area, and Larry worked on the roof of the tool shed. Dot provided a wonderful and healthy lunch (our favorite part of the work days!) and as usual, with our bellies full, we called the day a success.

The Jolley Trolley and the Ferguson Bicyclers came by for a tour, and we all played tour guides for a bit. It's always fun to show off our progress and hard work.

Thank you to everyone who helped, and those that came by to see what we have done in only our second growing season!!!!

May 2011 Garden Work Day

2011-05-28T12:45:00.000-05:00

With lunch provided by Heidi and Martin (and fresh strawberry pie with strawberries from the garden!), many gardeners came out for some wheel-barrow fun and a cool morning to clean up the garden and enjoy the company of others. If only every workday could be cool and overcast! Thanks to everyone including Dwayne, Freddie, Sue, Gail, Irma and her sister, Gina and Clarence, Dot, Julia, Emily, Ed, Linda and Heidi and Martin. Also thanks to the Bike riders that stopped by, and several individuals just looking and asking questions.

It looks like this will be our first year of apples, and the grapes are tiny babies now, but it looks like we'll get loads of them in the late summer/fall. Perfect for wine making for a community garden get together! Also on the list of potential "finally" items, we may even finish the tool shed this summer!!

Thanks again for everyone supporting in person and in spirit. I can't believe how far this garden has come in such a short time, and kudos for EVERYONE that has made that happen over the past 3 years!

Children's Fun Day at the Garden - Mother's Day gifts

2011-05-07T09:22:00.030-05:00

The Children's Fun Day at the OFW Community Garden was so much fun. Kids from all over came to decorate small tin pots and plant a flower for their Mothers or Grandmothers. They also got to see the strawberries growing and see the grapes in their infant stages. Leftover flowers were planted in the children's plots. Kids and adults enjoyed hotdogs, fruit, pasta salad and lemonade. Of course the dirt and the wood chip piles were perfect for playing "King of the Hill." It was too wet to till the community portion to plant sweet corn and the rest of the seeds we had planned, but that didn't deter the good mood of all of those involved. Thank you to all that participated, and we look forward to the next Children's Fun Day in the fall!

Gardeners Welcome Spring (?)

2011-03-27T18:12:00.001-05:00

Turning over the beds

Ben checking out the tool shed structure

Overlooking the OFW Garden

Daruby garden before raised beds

Joe standing in front of the new raised beds in the SNOW!

It was time once again for the initial OFW Garden workday on the last Saturday of March. It was a blustery morning, but we managed to get the beds turned over, weeds pulled, (Thanks to Dot who did an excellent job of weeding all the Strawberry beds last week!) and the compost bins turned over. It was nice to be back in the garden among friends even if the weather was chilly! Thanks to Dwayne, Freddie, Martin, Julia, Dot, Brian, Trudy, John and Gail for the hard work and camaraderie.

We cut the morning short, and several of us headed over to Daruby Early Learning Center to assist Gateway Greening and Gail with the installation of 6 raised beds for the preschool. We enjoyed a chili lunch while waiting for the compost and lumber to be delivered. Then we completed our work just as SNOW started accumulating. There is a before and after shot above of Daruby's raised beds. Congrats to Gail and staff on having a proper garden to plant with the children!

We're looking forward to warmer weather on April's workday, and hope to get more planting completed as well as completing the tool shed. Thanks to everyone for their hard work!

October Work Day - Garden Clean Up

2010-11-02T16:01:00.000-05:00

Our first official growing season has come to an end. Many of us spent the morning removing tomato and pepper plants from our own beds and sponsor plots, while others helped with the building of our cedar tool shed. It was a beautiful morning to be out in the garden and chatting about what we would all do the same or differently next year.

Thanks to everyone who helped, and a special thank you to Julia for providing our delicious lunch of vegetarian chili and peanut butter and chocolate brownies. In fact, thank you to each of you that provided lunch on our scheduled work days!!

As time permits we plan to finish the tool shed, shred the compost material and put straw down on the strawberries. For all you troopers this year, the good news is that it won't be nearly as much work next season but will still be as fun and rewarding!!!

Fun at the Kid's Fall Social!

2010-10-18T13:49:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who helped out and/or attended our inaugural Kid's Fall Social!! The weather was unseasonably warm making it a perfect day for our events.

The kids started off decorating mini pumpkins, doing other crafts and picking some of the garden's ever-bearing strawberries. We then had a couple of rounds of the corn-on-the-cob eating contest. Unfortunately I was laughing too hard to remember to snap any pictures of that one! The children were also shown some of our popcorn harvest and got to sample some fresh organic popcorn. Most were unaware that popcorn grew differently than sweet corn.

A short time later lunch consisting of hot dogs, pasta salad, chips and lemonade was served up to the still mostly hungry children. Next up on the agenda was the watermelon seed spitting contest. The kids had so much fun with it that it stopped being a contest at some point, and just a fun way to remove the seeds from the watermelon they were eating. Four watermelons later there were some sticky yet happy kids, and plenty of rinds thrown in the compost bin.

It was a wonderful turnout and a great way for all ages to spend a Saturday morning. I can't wait for next year's events for the children. They will be the future stewards of our earth so getting them involved and excited is beneficial for everyone!

Beer Dinner Community Gardens Fundraiser Success!

2010-09-06T21:06:00.000-05:00

On behalf of the Ferguson Community Gardens (OFW and Robert Superior) I'd like to thank Joe Lonero, Brewmaster Josh Wilson, and the entire staff at Hill's Brewing Company for an amazing fundraiser! Josh paired each of the four courses with a perfect brew. While 8 oz servings accompanied each course, garden supporters were encouraged to try larger samples for free at the bar. As we were leaving, Joe gave each ticket holder a token for a free glass of wine at CORK, compliments of Mike Lonero. I couldn't imagine a more perfect representation of *COMMUNITY* than that night.

The first course was prepared by our resident gardener and executive chef, Freddie Holland. The Tuscan Meatballs on Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto included several ingredients from the gardens. The meatballs were made from Match (vegan meat alternative) and paired perfectly with the Munich Dunkel. The complexity of flavors from both appetizer and beer were the perfect start to an amazing taste sensation.

The next course was a beautiful springtime salad made with candied pecans, fresh strawberries, pineapple and bleu cheese crumbles paired with Hill's Hefeweisen Wheat. The fruit in the salad complemented the banana/clove flavor of the beer. Wonderful!

The main course was a blackened Mahi Mahi on a bed of rice with vegetables on the side. The fish was paired with the St. Louis Pale Ale to bring out both the spiciness of the hops in the beer and the cajun blackened spice.

Finally, the dessert was a gorgeous fresh cheesecake with strawberries paired with the Pecan Brown Ale. Who knew a cheesecake could be MORE delicious with the nuttiness and richness that the Pecan Ale provided?!?!

Thank you for all the garden supporters who were able to attend, and thank you again to Joe for making it all happen!!!!!!

August Work Day Update

2010-08-28T15:39:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day to come together with other gardeners and start one of our larger projects: building the tool shed. The finished shed will be a 10x10 red cedar structure. We can't wait to store the wheelbarrows and often used garden tools there soon! We set the four corners in cement this morning and still managed to get so much more finished at the garden by noon.

To make room for some of the fall crops, we pulled the finished corn stalks. Several of us were surprised at how easy they are to pull - *MUCH* easier than some of the weeds we have! We also put down four yards of mulch in the orchard and between the rose bushes and hedge row along Suburban. Heidi Lung brought an apple pie and her prize-winning peach blackberry pie. I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a "pie break" but that's what we took mid-morning! That hit the spot and regenerated us for more mulching and weeding until lunch. Lunch was an enchilada casserole and strawberry walnut salad served on compostable plates.

A very special thank you to everyone that came to the work day and put the "community" in our garden: Dwayne, Freddie, Martin, Julia, Dot, Sharon, Ed, Linda, Chase, Ben, Claire, Jeff, Analia and Teresa. Volunteers of all ages and levels of expertise are what keep us going strong! Thank you all!

July Work Day Progress

2010-07-31T15:13:00.003-05:00

Our July workday started early this morning to beat the heat, and the heat never seemed to get out of hand today. We were all a little disheartened to see how much the weeds have grown with all the rain. The orchard was nearly overgrown, and it has garden paper under mulch! Freddie, Martin, Heidi, Sue, Gail, Barbara, Dot, Jeff, and young twins Analia and Teresa helped us tame those summer weeds. It's unbelievable how much a group of hard working folks can accomplish. The orchard, strawberry beds, the hedges and a good part of the gourd patch are back under control. We filled a compost bin FULL of pulled weeds. Wow!

Speaking of control, the produce is LOVING the rain as much as the weeds, and is all growing out of control! We probably picked over 30 lbs of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions and corn. The first picture shows the harvest for the day. Most of that food was dropped off at our local food pantry.

The crowd dwindled by 11:30, but Gail's lunch was well appreciated by those of us left. She made a delicious orzo and spinach salad as well as a fruity, nutty couscous dish. The cookies were a great finishing touch to a hard day's work!

Thanks to everyone who participated and look forward to seeing everyone at the garden!

Garden Fundraiser at Hill Brewing Company!!

2010-07-26T08:53:00.000-05:00

Our First Corporate Donation!

2010-06-30T21:16:00.001-05:00

Our garden has been so blessed with donations from local businesses, neighbors, and garden lovers in general. Today we received a donation of two picnic tables from AT&T's office in Bridgeton, Missouri.

AT&T's Vice President of External Affairs in St. Louis wrote, "We applaud your efforts to improve local neighborhoods and we're pleased to make these tables available. We hope they will be enjoyed by all visitors to your community garden."

Children's fun days, garden work days, and garden tours will all benefit from our new garden tables!

Thank you to AT&T for recognizing our efforts and for your donation!

June Work Day Progress!

2010-06-26T14:16:00.000-05:00

Braving a St. Louis heat advisory, our volunteers accomplished so much today! Julia, Sharon, Bev, John, Emily, Ed, Linda and Gail helped mulch and weed and plant more cantaloupe in the community area. We also had the benefit of admiring Heidi's artistry as she painted whimsical characters and flowers on our picnic table. We made sure to stay hydrated and rested as often as necessary. Julia brought a kiddie pool for the kids, but several adults got their feet wet to cool off!

Lunch was a good stopping point and we devoured a vegetable "bread pudding" and strawberry shortcake provided by Ed and Linda. Linda had soaked the strawberries in Limoncello and it was a refreshing end to our workday!

Prior to lunch we had a group of friendly bicyclists stop by to quickly tour the garden. Craig and Blue Tapp Scheffer and Gerry Noll were among the group. It's fun to share our progress with anyone who stops by. In fact, area resident Marvin Bruce comes each work day to "supervise" for a few minutes! There is a great picture of him in front of the corn above.

Thank you to everyone who participated and to each and all of you that support our garden through hard work, donations, and especially well wishes!!

Progress of the Community (shared) Crops

2010-06-06T11:10:00.001-05:00

The individual plots are doing great although a few of us had issues with lettuce bolting. Best to plant something else where that lettuce was growing because once it bolts it is too bitter to eat.

It is time for a community crop update. Here is the status by the pictures ordered 1-5:

This is the corn that was planted about a month ago during the children's fun day. If you haven't seen it in person go check it out! It is already about 16 inches high! The second round of corn and the popcorn planted last week are coming up too and are about 3 inches tall.
The grape vines are all growing (even the one we thought we lost) and the one in the picture has started attaching itself to the trellis. It is so much fun to watch how each fruit or vegetable grows. They each have their own growing personalities! We may get a small grape crop this year, but next year should be excellent.
The herb garden has several plants ready to share. The lemon balm can be picked and used fresh to flavor drinks or dried to use in teas. The cilantro could stand to grow just a bit more, but feel free to take a small amount to flavor your Mexican dishes or guacamole. Sage, Rosemary, Dill and Basil can be snipped for individual use. Please only take what you need so others can enjoy it too!
The strawberries have been producing very well. If you see any ripe ones, enjoy them! I let one of the neighborhood boys pick one while he was helping me weed. He said "it looks just like a *real* strawberry!" What a great opportunity to share where our food actually comes from!
The watermelon plants are growing! As are the squash, eggplants, cucumbers and pumpkins. Late summer and early fall should be fun!

The community blackberries are starting to form berries now and are growing quickly. The apple trees in the orchard are continuing to grow, but we aren't expecting apples until next year.

All of the plots got a drink of water today, and it is impressive how well everyone is keeping the weeds pulled. Great job to each and every one of you!!

May Work Day Update - Mural and Chair Installation!

2010-05-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

We had around 20 gardeners gather in the sunshine today for our monthly work day. Several folks were harvesting food from their individual plots. Our garden is definitely growing!

We were able to accomplish the following:

Built a frame and installed the completed garden mural against the fence
Installed Ann Fink's beautiful mosaic chair in the orchard - set the posts in concrete
Painted the first coat on the picnic table (Heidi Lung will add some whimsy to the table this week!)
Planted flowers in the children's garden
Planted popcorn, sweet corn, pumpkins, watermelon, eggplant and cucumbers in the community area
Mulched around grapes and blackberries
Weeded, weeded and weeded some more
Turned the compost bins
Enjoyed some freshly picked strawberries from the community pyramids

A special thanks to Sue Odell for providing an excellent lunch. Gardeners looked for a piece of shade to enjoy a meal of pasta with peas and squash and a spectacular salad (with lettuce from the garden!) with strawberries, cranberries and nuts. Her homemade cookies were a hit too! There is something very rewarding about working hard and then eating well.

Thank you to everyone who joined us today or stopped by to say hi. We look forward to our next workday the last Saturday in June!

Great Turnout for Children's Fun Day

2010-05-08T19:25:00.000-05:00

What a fantastic day to play in the dirt!

Kids of all ages enjoyed decorating a flower pot and planting a flower for Mother's Day. Many had the chance to help artists Heidi Lung and Mary Nichols paint the first panel in our garden mural. The panel is nearly complete now. Heidi will have the second panel at the Ferguson Farmers Market on May 22nd for more budding artists to assist!

Between seed planting, eating, hula-hooping, eating, painting, flower planting, eating and playing king/queen of the dirt pile, the kids had a great time! Did I mention eating? It was nice to see all the fresh fruit devoured. Many also took take home a packet of flower seeds to try their green thumbs at home.

There were probably 60 people in the garden throughout the day, happy for the opportunity of a *free* fun-filled day. We look forward to doing it again next year!

Upcoming Children's Fun Day at the Garden

2010-05-06T07:59:00.001-05:00

Old Ferguson West Community Garden
CHILDREN’S FUN DAY!!!!

When: This Saturday May 8th From 9:00am – 2:00pm
Where: Community Garden (Corner of Mueller and Suburban in Ferguson)

Fun Activities: (FREE!!!!)

Decorate a pot and plant a flower for a Mother’s Day gift
Help our local artist paint part of the new Garden Mural
Help plant sweet corn, pumpkin and watermelon seeds
Help plant seedlings for a local food pantry
Hula Hoop, jump rope and blow bubbles!!

Free Lunch for Kids!
Hotdogs, pasta salad, fresh fruit, water and lemonade

For more information contact:
Larry at 314-308-5631

We have a WINNER!

2010-04-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

The "Growing Together" Mural contest winner is: HEIDI LUNG!!!

Here is an excerpt from her Artist Statement: "The theme of my design includes hands emerging from the soil holding vegetables, fruits and flowers. These hands represent the diverse people of our community, from past and present. The hands also symbolize our community, working together to create not only a beautiful space, but dedicated to the process of staying connected and working together."

Better yet is Heidi's process:

Public Painting and Art Happening, Collaborative Process with the Community
Under the direction of the artist, children and adults will be given the opportunity to paint parts of the mural in a “paint by number” style in order to maintain the overall vision and continuity of the art. The artist will coordinate volunteer artists and Northern Arts Council members from the community to assist with public events.

Public events could include one or all of the following possibilities:
1) A booth at the Ferguson Farmers Market
2) OFW Garden Children’s Event, May 8
3) an artist event/party with community artists at the artist’s home.

-------------

Heidi's winning sketch won't be shared. ;-)

Stay tuned for the installation of the final mural on the last Saturday of May!

April Work Day Update

2010-04-24T22:03:00.003-05:00

Spring fever is definitely in the air! Seeing seedlings come up, and plants once dormant that are now reaching for the sun served as inspiration today. The enthusiasm, volunteers, work, dirt, and laughter managed to keep the "April Showers" at bay until we finished early this afternoon.

Rain or shine was the call, and the following volunteers answered: Peggy, Sharon, Sue, Gail, Bev, John, Julia, Heidi, Freddie, Dwayne, Trudy, Brian, Darius, Tony, Jessica, Chase, and garden gnomes Ben and Claire. It's a good thing Peggy planned to feed 24, because there were 20 of us there standing in line for lunch! (more on that in a bit!)

As a community of gardeners we weeded, planted rose bushes along Suburban, put down garden paper and mulch, turned over the compost bin, finished the grape trellises, constructed most of the weather-proof sign, put up the last blackberry post, planted the last two blackberry plants, moved the hedge from in front of the sign, planted grasses and cannas near the fence in the orchard, and spread the wood chips around the strawberry pyramids. Did I mention that we had so much fun we didn't even notice how much work we had done?!?!?

Lunch is always provided during our work days, and Peggy created a moment of garden hilarity by her presentation. Spaghetti salad was served out of flower pots, and cheese garlic bread was served on an inverted flower pot (email me for pictures if anyone wants ideas!) The best was the cake with a miniature square foot garden!

Also, by now most of you have heard about Ferguson as a finalist in the "All-America City" competition by the National Civic League. Each and every one of you should be proud to have contributed to the success of this great City! Check out the NOCO blog to learn more about this great honor:

http://nocostl.com/2010/04/ferguson-a-finalist-in-2010-all-america-city-competition/

Call for Artists for a Garden Mural!

2010-04-11T22:53:00.000-05:00

Fom the NoCo blog today! http://nocostl.com/2010/04/sunday-news-clips-411/ (Thanks Shannon!!!):

• If you’re a talented local artist, why not consider submitting a design in the Old Ferguson West Community Garden’s “Growing Together” mural contest! Both groups and individuals are invited to enter the competition, which will yield two 4×8-foot painted MDF panels that will serve as a backdrop to the garden. Judging will be based on which design best represents what a community garden means in a diverse neighborhood, and you should be prepared to explain your concept in those terms. The application deadline is April 23.

Please contact me for the application or the rules! (hlrobinett@yahoo.com)

Volunteers Tackle Ambitious Agenda

2010-03-27T22:58:00.001-05:00

As kids we learned, "March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb." Today's cold March wind proved otherwise. However, in a battle between the spirit of our volunteers and the weather, we'll call it a tie. :-)

Our first official workday was beyond successful. Aside from the physical progress we made in the garden, several new friendships were cultivated. Who could ask for anything more?

Agenda items completed:

* Ed, Linda, Cortez, Freddie, Peggy and John carried wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of mulch between the beds where Bev, Sue, Sharon, and Gail raked it all out evenly
* Brian, Larry, Martin and Keith dug holes for the posts for entryway posts and blackberry posts
* Dwayne and Larry constructed the 4x4 herb communal herb bed and the last raised bed
* Martin and John finished the last 2 pieces of screen in the compost bin
* Sue and Bev helped plant lettuce and onions in the sponsors' plots
* Bev helped neighbor kids plant onions in one of the children's plot.
* The crew replanted 4 hedges and mulched that entire line.

* Several gardeners were impressed by Julia's square foot gardening guides in her plot, and were inspired to do try their own this spring. (If anyone is interested in more details of square foot gardening please email me for more information.)

* Special thanks to Bev for feeding our hungry volunteers. Everyone raved about her taco salad, orange slices, and brownies. Word has it Ed had 4 helpings of salad, and the brownies disappeared quickly.

It's hard to believe that a year ago this "little garden that could" was an overgrown and abandoned lot. We should *ALL* be proud of what we have accomplished, and excited about the potential in the years ahead!

Picture of the lot from mid-April 2009:

First Official Workday for 2010

2010-03-26T01:00:00.001-05:00

Fellow Gardeners,

The last Saturday of March is upon us, which means our first formal group garden workday! Mother Nature has tried to dampen our spirits today by reminding us how fickle spring weather can be, but the weather man
says Saturday will be cloudy and a high of 62 with little to no chance of rain!

What will be doing?

- We have a fresh pile of nice hardwood chips (thank you Sanders Tree Service!) to spread in the orchard and in between the raised beds, we need 3" of depth.

- The City delivered a load of mulch that we can put down around the hedges.

- We will construct the herb bed and one last raised garden bed to square things off.

- Finish 2 pieces of screen in the last compost bin.

- We plan to finish the garden posting sign so we can post all our flyers and important data.

- The water line to the strawberries needs to be installed.

- We will be digging the holes and setting the posts for the gates and the tool shed.

- And you can plant in your beds!! We have some free plants left (onion sets, broccoli, lettuce, and a few cabbage plants.) If you can find brussels sprouts, herbs, or other sets they can go in now also.

It is a good time to plant the following seeds: leaf lettuce, spinach, radish, carrots, peas, beets, scallions, and turnips.
What to bring: Shovels, rakes, & hand tools for your bed work and a friend!!

Bev Walker will providing lunch (yeah Bev!) and we would like to hear from the rest of you which date you would be interested in providing lunch. You can pick from any of the open dates below. We have a grill if you need it, and bottled water is always supplied by the garden.

March 27 - Bev Walker
April 24 - Peggy Carson
May 29 - Sue Odell
June 26 - Available
July 31 - Available
August 28 - Available
September 25 - Larry Robinett
October 30 - Available

Your Garden Coordinators,
Larry & Heather

Boy Scout Troop 686 Deserves Two Green Thumbs Up!

2010-03-20T20:37:00.001-05:00

On behalf of the OFW Community Garden, I would like to extend a heartfelt "thank you" to the wonderful volunteers of Boy Scout Troop 686, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. They joined several of our garden members and lined the pathways between the plots with garden fabric and then covered it all with mulch.

UMSL's Neighborhood Leadership Academy class toured the garden early this afternoon and the Boy Scouts had already finished. It looked fantastic. We will be happy to "hire" them again!!

I would also like to thank each and every one of you that were able to make it to our initial garden meeting. The turn-out was excellent and the energy was a lot of fun. People are excited to get digging.

See you at the garden!

Opening Gardening Meeting

2010-03-17T21:32:00.000-05:00

CALLING ALL GARDENERS!!!!

We will have our opening gardening meeting at 6pm at The Corner Coffee House in Ferguson, Thursday March 18th. Hope to see everyone interested there!

Some people pay for mud baths, right?

2010-03-14T11:54:00.000-05:00

Wheelbarrows and several inches of mud made for a serious workout. The group of troopers yesterday was able to mound dirt in each of the raised beds and finish and fill the strawberry beds. A couple of boys in the neighborhood even came by to help.

Many thanks to the volunteers on a chilly Saturday morning: Ed and Linda, Gail, Cortez, Dwayne, Ben, Chase and the friends shown in one of the pictures above. A good portion of the mud in the garden made it home with each of us. (shoes, boots, gloves, socks, pants, hair... you name it!)

Next Saturday a group of Boy Scouts is going to meet us at the garden at 9:00am to assist in moving mulch between the beds. That will help in controlling the slip-n-slide Mother Nature has so graciously provided.

Don't forget about the garden meeting at the Corner Coffee House this Thursday evening (March 18th). Larry will be sending a reminder to everyone. Don't miss the kick-off to this fun-filled planting season!

Raised Beds!!!

2010-03-12T16:44:00.000-06:00

The weather was a little cool and damp, but was no match for our volunteers today! Led by Mara and Amber from Gateway Greening, 17 of us built 20 raised bed in under five hours. The "before" picture is just above this paragraph, and the "after" is the first picture posted. What a difference! We also moved the three strawberry pyramids in place (each has a built-in sprinkler.)

Thirty-nine yards of dirt is a lot. The sore shoulders and backs around the neighborhood are proof. Shortly after a chili lunch in the rain, we breathed a collective sigh when someone suggested calling it a day. I believe it was Shannon who so eloquently put it, "I'm not moving ANY MORE DIRT." We'll finish topping off the beds and filling the strawberry beds tomorrow.

A very special thank you to the big crowd that was able to make it on a Friday morning: Bev and Emily, Keith and Shannon, Martin, Julia, Dwayne, Sue, Angelique, Peggy, Joe, Molly, and Ben the garden gnome. Thank you all for the hard work, the laughs and the reminder of how great this neighborhood truly is.

Gateway Greening Grant! Please help March 12th and/or 13th!

2010-03-05T10:05:00.007-06:00

Here are some tomato seedlings we planted just waiting for warmer weather to enjoy some fresh air, sunshine and great soil. The good news is after next weekend the garden will be one step closer to accommodate them!

The following is a letter that Larry sent out last week. We are very excited to be building raised beds next weekend but we'll need help! We are also going to construct the strawberry beds this weekend to have in place for the soil that's being delivered. We are so close to planting and digging in the dirt!!!!!!

-----------------------------------------

Garden supporters,

I am very pleased to share the news that we attended the Gateway
Greening (GGI) awards ceremony and were presented with a grant to
cover all the lumber soil to cover construction of 5 of the raised
beds!! We also will be using Gateway Greening's resources to to get
the best possible price on the rest of the materials that we need to
construct the remaining beds not covered by the grant.

Equally or even more important than the financial support is the fact
that we are a part of the Gateway Greening community circle now.
Attending the Growing Gardener training classes I have found that the
Gateway Greening community is an awesome support mechanism for any
project or issue that you need help with in your garden. They have a
staff horticulturist who is willing to share her in-depth plant and
gardening knowledge, they have wonderful advice on anything we may
find that we need help on in the future. The have master gardeners
that are members of the the gardens they already support and they are
willing to come when needed. The also give grants for garden
expansions so we may be able to get additional financial assistance in
future years for an irrigation system.

We have targeted March 12th & 13th to do the raised bed construction.
We have 12 raised beds that have applications on them and we plan to
build 15 this spring in the event some late applications come in. The
plan is that GGI will deliver all the materials on Thursday and we
will begin constructing the beds on Friday morning. GGI also will
bring an array of tools needed for the construction. Saturday will
consist of filling the beds with soil, so we will need all the
wheelbarrows, shovels, and strong backs we can muster for the 2 day
event. I know Friday many of us will be working, but please come
either day, whenever you can and stay as long as you are able. If you
have a wheelbarrow or shovel bring that along as well. Hopefully the
weather will cooperate!

It is almost here!
Your Garden Coordinators

Meeting with Ferguson Police Department about the Garden

2010-01-28T21:26:00.003-06:00

Community gardening on what was once an overgrown and forgotten lot has led to some interesting questions from potential gardeners. Two questions seem to come up repeatedly. The first is, "How can we make sure what we plant isn't taken?" The second is, "How safe is the area where the garden is located?"

Several of us met Thursday to discuss these two questions with 3 members of the Ferguson Police Department; Officer Dee Fuller, Officer Steve T, and Lieutenant Ray Nabzdyk. Officer Dee and Officer Steve have been patrolling the Plaza Heights area for a while now along with Officer White. They have gotten to know the kids in the area, and the parents as well. Their candid discussion and suggestions, along with Sue Odell's personal experience gardening along Suburban left us with a much more positive feeling.

Regarding potential food theft, we should all plant more than we need. There will be community crops (apples, grapes, corn, melons, strawberries, etc) that should draw would-be thieves away from individual plots. If critters become an issue we can find funds to put up small wire fences around each plot.

Regarding safety while gardening, we discussed the following "Common Sense" approach to doing anything in an area that doesn't feel like "home" yet:

1. Gardening is prohibited from dusk till dawn, so while you are gardening during the day, if you feel safer with the buddy system, use it. It might be an inconvenience, but your safety is paramount.

2. Keep your cell phone on you while gardening. Program the non-emergency number for the Ferguson Police on your phone (314-522-3100), and call if you see any suspicious activity. You may also call that number and let the dispatcher know you will be at the Old Ferguson West Community Garden, and ask that the on-duty officer patrol the area more frequently. If you feel immediately threatened, call 911.

3. While gardening, please lock your car and keep purses, etc out of sight. Officer Steve said that people are far less likely to mess with the gardeners as they would be to notice a window down and something in plain sight while walking or biking past.

4. Lieutenant Nabzdyk offered to put the garden as a watch point, meaning that officers will drive by it more frequently, and may even pull over near it to do paperwork. The offer of extra police presence was greatly appreciated. The City in general has been a strong supporter of its Community Gardens, and that goes for all departments.

5. Relax. Kids will come by and ask questions. Teach them how to weed. Our hope is that one of the plots will be maintained by a family on Mueller. We will also have 2 children's gardens to keep kids occupied and interested. (Seriously though, make weeding seem like fun, and your plot could be weed-free all summer long!)

6. Have an open mind. We all hope to learn and laugh and enjoy this opportunity we have. If something doesn't work this first year, let's figure out how to make it work next year. If you have questions, please ask. If something bothers you about the garden, please bring it to our attention. We too are learning and appreciate candid thoughts. This is a community endeavor, and we hope that each and every one of you feels comfortable and is successful!

Come learn more details about the OFW Garden!

2010-01-14T08:17:00.003-06:00

Please plan on attending the Old Ferguson West Neighborhood Association meeting this evening, Thursday, January 14th from 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the Corner Coffee House.

A presentation will be given outlining how to apply for garden plots, volunteer opportunities for those that don't want to commit to a plot, progress and upcoming plans for this year. We will also be discussing OFWN's new website that will make applications and volunteering much easier! (The website should be available next week.)

This is going to be a great year for both our community and the garden!!!

Perfect weather for concrete and grapes

2009-11-07T12:18:00.004-06:00

Taking advantage of the unusually warm weather in November a great group of volunteers gathered early, ready for the tasks of the day. As a group we were able to pour the concrete into the mold for the path approach and sidewalk, pour the concrete for the water splash pad, and plant the six grape vines. Three of the grape vines are Chardonel grapes for community garden wine-making. :-) The other three are seedless eating varieties: Interlaken, Canadice, and Reliance. We may get a small crop next year, but the year after should be very nice!

A special thanks to all of the hard workers today: Ed, Linda, Dwayne, Brian, Cliff, Julia, Randy, and last but not least Ben for cleaning out the wheelbarrows. Also thanks to Larry for making two kinds of chili for lunch: regular and vegetarian.

It was a perfect day to gather with friends and neighbors in OFW's community garden. We're really looking forward to next spring when full-scale planting will take place!

Fall Projects

2009-11-01T10:58:00.002-06:00

The forms have been built for the concrete approach and the splash pad. We are hoping that the weather stays dry enough to pour concrete next Saturday morning. We will also be planting the grape vines and the remaining shrubs to meet the neighbor's fence. We'll be sending out an email for volunteers for next Saturday once we get all the details lined up.

September Workday Progress

2009-09-27T22:03:00.003-05:00

The cool weather was wonderful on Saturday morning as we embarked on our overall mission of weeding, mulching and mowing. The clouds rolled in - the combination of the grill failing and rain pouring down put an early end to our workday.

That said, we got more done by lunchtime than we had hoped. With the help of Sue, Dwayne, Ed, Ben (our garden gnome!), and Larry, we were able to complete the following:

* Weeding around all the shrubs and the orchard.
* Mulching the shrubs, and replacing one of the dying shrubs with a replacement on hand.
* Mowing most of the garden (thanks to Ed!)

We may have another garden workday next month. Stay tuned!

Last Scheduled Work Day

2009-09-21T10:40:00.002-05:00

Join us this Saturday (September 26th) anytime between 9am and 3 or 4pm for our last scheduled Volunteer work day! We will provide lunch and bottled water.

Tasks Include:

Weeding
Adding mulch around the shrubs for fall
Adding mulch in the orchard for fall
Sorting and moving remaining mulch pile
Framing the approach for the driveway

Tools to bring if you have them: Weeding tools, shovels, wheelbarrow, rake

You are welcome to join us anytime throughout the day. We look forward to seeing you!

CORK Wine Bar Fundraiser for the Ferguson Gardens

2009-09-21T09:54:00.004-05:00

We still have a few tickets available for this event. Hurry to get yours!

Robert-Superior Water Tank Progress

2009-08-30T21:19:00.004-05:00

We were sorry to have to cancel our volunteer day yesterday due to few "non-big-machine-or-construction" projects lined up. However, that gave us the great opportunity to both watch and assist our neighbors at Robert-Superior for the burying of the water cistern.

While OFW Gardens had a water line put in, (donated by Dan Flynn Plumbing,) R-S wanted to catch running water flowing down the street, and keep it in a tank whereby kids and adults could hand-pump water for their garden.

This was a big deal. Permits, Inspectors, big equipment to move the dirt... you get it.

To Craig and Angelique Kidd: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

Work Day Update

2009-07-25T16:07:00.004-05:00

We were blessed with beautiful weather and we almost finished our ambitious list of things to do!

Gail and Chase planted flowers around the sign. Larry and Cortez put up the grape trellises then moved on to finish the pergola on the compost bin. All of us worked on getting the garden paper down in the orchard and re-mulching - some of us ALL DAY! That was an important lesson learned: Garden paper is your friend. Use it early and often. We won't make that mistake again! (The layer of mulch we had in the orchard already did not prevent grass and weeds from growing through it, so it was starting to look bad.)

Thanks to all the volunteers who showed up and those that volunteered to babysit: Gail, Sue, Cortez, Denise, Chase, Brian and Trudy. We definitely have a lot to show for this workday!

Volunteer Work Day Saturday July 25, 2009

2009-07-23T08:14:00.002-05:00

Come join us at the corner of Mueller and Suburban Saturday morning at 9:00 (or anytime throughout the day!) for another volunteer workday in the garden!

There will be plenty of work for all ages and skill levels:

Beautify the area around the sign with annuals
Put landscape paper down in the orchard and re-mulch
Replace bricks damaged by heavy equipment
Clear more brush back by the creek
Put wire up for the grape trellises
Finish the pergola for the compost bins

We'll provide plenty of cold bottled water and lunch for volunteers.

See you on Saturday!

Fundraiser and other updates

2009-07-18T11:54:00.004-05:00

Major success for both community gardens at last night's fundraiser. Good music, good weather and good friends helped us raise $480! Each of our gardens will put $240 to good use as we continue working on garden infrastructure.

Two recent updates to the garden: The compost bin is almost complete. This was an elaborate design, but we chose to make it a focal point rather than the standard "bin." After all, that's where the "black gold" will be stored!

Also, a big thank you to Dan Flynn, our local plumber who just installed our water line/tap for no charge. The garden has water!! He also installed it in such a way that if we decide to put in an irrigation system down the road, no more digging will have to be done. This means no disruption to future beds!

Next volunteer work day is next Saturday. I'll send out a reminder mid-week. Thanks again for everyone who made the fundraiser such a success!!

Another Concert Series Fundraiser this Friday!

2009-07-13T19:42:00.003-05:00

We are excited to be invited back to run the food booth at Ferguson's CityWalk Concert Series.

Come support the community gardens and enjoy the amazing talent of Jeanne Trevor, the "First Lady of St. Louis Jazz!"

When: Friday July 17, 2009 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Where: Victorian Plaza (20 S. Florissant Road)

http://fergusoncity.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=429

Food booth items will include: Brats, Italian Pulled Beef Sandwiches, Veggie Burgers, Roasted Corn, Cookies, Chips, Rice Krispie treats, and Soda/Water - all at reasonable prices.

Bring your family and friends and enjoy this free concert!

PESTO FESTO 2! & The EarthDance Mission Awards

2009-06-30T22:50:00.004-05:00

Hello all,

Please mark your calendars for the upcoming PESTO FESTO this summer! Molly Rockamann and EarthDance have booked the 2nd annual Community Celebration of local FARMS - Food, Art, Relationships, Music, & Sustainability at the Savoy on Saturday, November 7th, 2009.
Tickets will sell out quickly. Order yours now!!

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/72363

Thanks to St. Louis Earth Day -- this will be a ZERO WASTE EVENT!
www.stlouisearthday.org

All proceeds benefit EarthDance's Organic Farming Apprenticeship Program & Camp EarthDance!

http://www.earthdancefarms.org

HOT! Volunteer Work Day

2009-06-27T14:09:00.004-05:00

It is hard to believe that the Dog Days of Summer now start in June! Thank you to the courageous volunteers who gave 100% despite the 100+ heat index: Sue, Gail, Dwayne, and Joe. Even though we weren't able to work much past 1:00pm, we still managed to get quite a bit accomplished today. The hedges are all mulched on the Mueller side, we set the trellises for the grape vines, we dug the holes for the compost area, and we put up the sign! It's been so much fun seeing the small steps add up and make a BIG difference.

Also, thanks to those that stopped by and offered encouragement. That positive energy is just what our Community Garden needs!

Volunteer Work Day Saturday June 27, 2009

2009-06-24T10:53:00.002-05:00

Come join us at the corner of Mueller and Suburban Saturday morning at 9:00 (or anytime throughout the day!) for some good old-fashioned hard work. Some of the tasks (from low to increasing manual labor effort) include spreading mulch around remaining hedges, spreading more woodchips in the orchard, clearing more brush back by the creek, building the trellises and building the compost bins.

We plan on bringing our grill and providing volunteers with brats and hot dogs for lunch and we'll have a couple coolers with bottled water to keep everyone hydrated in the heat.

Items to bring if you have them: wheelbarrow, rake, gallon jugs (empty milk jugs will work!)

We'll see those of you that can make it on Saturday!

Successful Fund Raiser & Garden Signs

2009-06-21T16:20:00.005-05:00

This past Friday evening, we hosted a food booth at the Ferguson Concert Series as a joint fundraiser with Robert-Superior's Community Garden. Even though it was H-O-T, the turnout was pretty good and several folks were very generous in supporting our efforts. We managed to clear about $100 per garden and had a good time doing it. We were also invited to do another sometime this summer, so if you couldn't make this past one we'll give plenty of notice for the next.

In other news, we got the garden signs ordered this past week. Our intent is to be able to put them up at the next work day (Saturday June 27th!!) The picture above is of the main sign and then we'll also have a separate Sponsors Sign to be used beginning next year.

Concert Series Fundraiser this Friday Night!

2009-06-16T12:40:00.009-05:00

Click to Enlarge

News: The Good, the Bad, and the Good

2009-06-08T20:13:00.004-05:00

First the good news: We finished mulching the row of hedges along Suburban Avenue, mulched around the apple trees, and covered up the stump holes.

Now the bad: We lost one of the apple trees and noticed one of the hedges was broken at the base.

Turning the bad news into good news: We found a replacement apple tree on sale (the same type) and replaced the nearly-dead one. Also, we kept 10 spares for the hedges and easily replaced that one. Then the remaining spare hedge plants were potted. We'll keep an eye out on the hedge row for the next couple weeks and replace any that aren't thriving. We also hope to have good news over the next week regarding the signs for the garden.

Weekend Update

2009-06-06T15:11:00.004-05:00

Friday evening we finished planting the remaining hedge plants. A group of cousins stopped for a while and learned the differences between night crawlers, grubs and good ol' earthworms. They helped throw the leftover clods of dirt into a pile and enjoyed throwing several of them into a puddle. We told them they could stop by anytime we were working and help. That suited them just fine.

Today is Mueller's block party and Larry went down there to hand out movie night flyers and chat up the garden with the residents there. We were told that the garden was where people had parked for the party in previous years. We had a moment of horror about someone driving over our newly planted "little guys". No plant was harmed and here's why: When Larry actually pulled into the garden (where the road/pathway will go), Cortez across the street came over yelling "you can't park there!" When he realized it was Larry, he told him that he was keeping all of our (and Cortez's) hard work safe!

That's exactly what we had hoped for: A vested interest in the immediate area!

We'll probably finish mulching the hedges Sunday evening. Volunteers are appreciated! (5:30pm)

Hedge Update

2009-06-05T10:11:00.006-05:00

The stumps were removed and we were able to move about 20 wheelbarrows-full of the ground-out remains. One stump in particular happened to be in the way of the hedge line, so the timing was perfect on getting it taken care of. Due to rain earlier in the week and a recalculation in placement, there was more digging to be done than we hoped. Craig handled the lion's share of that effort while several of us handled the planting. There were a total of 50 hedges planted, with maybe 20 more left still to do. Not too shabby for an evening's work!

Thanks to all the volunteers, especially on such short notice!! Craig, Sue, Carole, Randy, and Freddie

Stump Removal Today

2009-06-04T08:49:00.004-05:00

Mr. Baker is planning on taking out the 6 stumps today for pennies on the dollar of what he normally charges. (He's so fun to talk to too!) This means we'll have more wood chips to move to the back of the lot. If anyone planning to show up tonight has a wheelbarrow we'll be happy to put it to good use!

Volunteer Opportunity Thursday June 4th

2009-06-03T20:11:00.004-05:00

The hedges were delivered today from Miller Nurseries. These 2 year plants don't look big, but they are fast growing (up to a foot per year). We decided to go with these "tallhedges" because the description said that it grows green, thick, and heavy foliage all the way to the ground to keep unwanted "guests" out. That's exactly what we're trying to accomplish with these!

Most of the prep work has been done to get these planted. Larry staked out and spray-painted the lines for planting, and our friend and fellow Ferguson resident, Joe Reyna, dug most of the holes yesterday. We are asking for volunteers to help us plant the 70 or so hedges. We'll start on Thursday evening around 5:30. Hope to see you there!

Our first work day was a success!

2009-05-30T13:44:00.000-05:00

We woke up this morning to thunderstorms but were undeterred. So were several others that joined us at the garden this morning for some good hard work. It is truly amazing how a collective effort can make short order out of a LOT of work that needs to be done. The clouds blew over after a couple of hours and we were left with a beautiful morning to enjoy the different tasks, working in mud, and laughing with neighbors and new friends.

Together we got the following accomplished today:
* Cleared out a large portion of the brush along the MSD creek to make room for the fence
* Got the rest of the trees cut up, and hauled the logs to the edge of the property
* Lined the orchard perimeter and area around each apple tree with bricks
* Moved the pile of clipping chips to the orchard and spread them there
* Polished off 3 pizzas and lots of water
* Participated in a couple impromptu wheelbarrow races
* Agreed that the little snake in the brush was most decidedly NOT a copperhead

Special thanks to Sue, Craig and Angelique, Cortez, Dwayne, Bev and John, Randy, Linda, and Carole. Also, thanks to Officer Dee and Officer Ray for each stopping by and offering words of encouragement. We all had a great time and will undoubtedly sleep well tonight!

Volunteers Needed This Saturday!

2009-05-25T13:36:00.000-05:00

Gearing up for our first Volunteer day!

2009-05-25T09:26:00.000-05:00

This was most definitely a "get the gardens" moving weekend. Saturday Larry helped our friends Craig and Angelique from Robert-Superior's community garden take down 2 trees on that lot. (It looks so much better!) Today Larry and Dwayne James are building a backstop for the mulch pile next to the orchard. We still have two trees on the OFW lot that need to come down very soon.

Next Saturday (May 30) is the first volunteer work day. We picked up 350 bricks that will outline the orchard and could use a few folks for that. The city will be chipping the branches Larry took down and our intent is to build a path with the chips back to where the storage shed will soon be. We will also need folks to help clean out the back of the lot by the MSD sewer. This will help get the lot ready for the fence at the back. The 2nd Volunteer day will be June 27th. We hope to be planting the hedge border along Suburban and Mueller during that day.