Dunsmuir Community Garden Group

 Winter Inspection is Completed! Most gardens have been put to bed or are working hard at outputting some winter goodness! The Garden looks GREAT!!! Especially considering it's winter.  We will be re-inspecting the few notices that went out on the 24th. Remember if you got a note... don't be alarmed! Just fix up the little bit or email us and we can work something out. A group of volunteers goes out in this miserable weather and kindly treks through the mud to keep us all on track. If you feel you have received an email in error... just let us know. Sometimes Errors are made :) :)  Thank you for being a member of our lovely garden community! All the best & Holiday Cheer!

  Winter Inspection      The chill is in the air and the nights are coming earlier...brrr. It's time for winter inspection. Official Winter Inspection will be happening this November 15-16. Winter Inspection Criteria: West & North Paths Weed Free Garden Tidy Garden Weed Free Cleared of Crops. (EXCEPT winter gardening and perennials) 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 garbage from the garden site. Thats It! ...

  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...