Dunsmuir Community Garden Group

  Dunsmuir Garden Group         SATURDAY Day of Painting!         Sept 5 11am – 3pm Main SHED       Open to All Members! Please practice Social Distancing if you show up     Show up this Saturday to the Main Shed and grab (or bring your own) a paint brush     remember let us know via email if you  volunteered!   

 Whew... Are we out of the Weeds? Well our Summer Inspection has been completed and those not complying have received an email or a phone call. Re-Inspection of those plots will commence  between August 28 - August 31. Inspectors this year are gardeners who volunteered to step up and help out by checking plots. We really appreciate that you all made their job quite easy this season! Our gardens look great! Thank You!

 Summer Inspection      The summer growing season is in full swing! This is just a reminder of our basic summer criteria.  Official Summer Inspection will be happening this August 13-15. Summer Inspection Criteria: West & North Paths Weed Free Garden Fully Planted Garden Weed Free Perimeter of fence Weed Free Active Gardening In Play (harvesting, weeding, care taking) Other:  NO use of paint or stains permitted in garden plots (exception is bird houses, but must be mounted on untreated, unstained and unpainted poles). NO chemically treated wood. Immediately remove. Trees & Shrubs must be in southwest corner of plot or else approved location by board, They should not shade or create damage or root problems for neighbours. They should not overhang onto paths. Max Height 6 foot 6 for Green Houses and must be pre-approved by board BEFORE construction. No storage of excess rubbish such as boards, boxes, plastic or metal Plot holders must remove their own...

CARROTS So why feature carrots this week? Well... because CARROTS are great for succession planting. We all plant them and then have delicious bounty. We put a row in the ground, let them start, thin them out and voila... wait. What we often don't remember is that we can keep planting them every two weeks from Spring to mid summer. So break out that seed packet and repeat!   What about those little thinning carrots you have pulled? Those little thinning can be replanted! So don't just throw them out try thinning and taking the little guys to a new spot. How? Select a spot and push a pencil down about the depth of your little carrot sprout, pop it in and repeat every inch or so.  I will be trying this out next week... As it looks like I have a carpet of carrots growing in patches.

July In the Vegetable Garden Why is it time to pick your courgettes? ... Because if you don't they will become Zuchinni's... ha ha ha! Sometimes,  when I arrive at my plot I water, I weed, I harvest then… I fuss with something that was not on ANY to do list. I treasure that time, the absolute sense of peaceful purpose.  Yet, like every gardener, I am forever learning. I like reminders and refreshers so I thought I would look up what other gardeners thought should be done in July.  I also  explored what else we can be planting or planning.    Squash:  Nip off the growing tips of squash and courgette plants to encourage branching. Cucumbers:  train stems upwards instead of trailing over the ground, to make the most of the space available.  Aubergines:  pinch out the growing tip once they have 5 or 6 fruits. You can expect to start harvesting young plants mid- to late summer. Broad Beans:  Tackle blackfly by pi...

Spring 2020! Wow... it's been quite the start to the new season. Our gardens are looking beautiful! Please make sure you stay safe and enjoy your gardens responsibly. COVID Update: Please remember to continue to keep 2m (6ft) apart from other gardeners. DO NOT share tools. Our wheelbarrows are locked up as well as the community tool shed. Please do not wheel the green bins to your plot, they are not wheelbarrows. We need to comply with the NO SHARING per our city guidelines, we want to keep gardening.  Our AGM is still on hold. Other News: Our Spring NEWSLETTER has just been released! WE HAVE NO GARBAGE. Please take home your garbage do not put in the GREY BINS. This is not collected. Please do not leave things in the waste bin... I spy two car batteries and garden chairs... please take things you do not want home to dispose of.... don't dump them at our lovely garden. The Large City Bin is just for WOOD. WOOD ONLY. :) Please Sign up to Volunteer...we ...

Best practice guidelines for community gardens during COVID-19 Community gardens are a key component to neighbourhood food security. While we are in an ever- evolving situation, it is important that community garden coordinators, members and volunteers change the way we organize based on the most recent public health information. The City of Surrey encourages community gardeners to monitor the following resources for COVID-19 updates: ➢  City of Surrey ➢  Fraser Health ➢  BC Centre for Disease Control ➢  Public Health Agency of Canada Public health advice may change, so please check the above resources for the most current information to protect you, your family and fellow community gardeners. Keeping each other safe in the community garden Every person entering the garden is responsible for preventing the spread of infection. Here’s how you can safely tend the community garden: ➢   Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds ➢ ...