About the Introduction and Orientation on Sat. Feb. 21, 1:30 - 3 pm

Organic Garden Group
Introduction and Orientation
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009
This IS a Hands On Experience!!

1:30 pm, Introduction
Welcome to my home, my backyard and my neighborhood
EVERYONE is needed in this group – with or without any gardening experience!

About me:
I’ve lived in this Holladay neighborhood most of my life
My husband and I have been in this home for 26 years and raised our 4 children here.
I live in my Grandparents home. My Grandfather was a gardener.
He grew fruit trees.
I’m an Outdoor Adventure Guide/Instructor
I have several Kayaks and Trampolines.
I love my big Fire Pit in my backyard

1:45 pm, Larry Leishman, experienced gardener and hiking buddy
“How to Grow Vegetables from Seeds”

2:15 pm, Orientation
About my home/backyard.
Lots of trees surround our home - good for beauty/bad for growing veggies
Big tree trunks still need to be split
We cut several big tree branches last fall, making room for more sunshine in the garden
Tuff Shed - What goes in there – all garden tools and equipment – small and large. Before anyone leaves each week, please help me get all of my equipment put back in the shed.
Flower pots – empty all the soil inside

When you come over to my home:
Where to enter: Don’t ring the doorbell, just come around to the backyard. Go thru the gate on the east or by the boat on the west.
Where to park – Avoid parking in front of the fire hydrant or too close to the stop sign across the street from my home. Either place could get you a ticket.

History of my garden: Last year my Garden Group planted 65 tomato plants, along with several jalapeno peppers. We started too late last year which is why I’m SO excited about starting a lot earlier this year.

About my support team:
My GOOD husband, Dave – married for 30 years and still in love!
My 4 adult kids, ages 18 - 29
My assistants: Oscar, Anna, Mike, Julia
My consultants: Larry Lieshman, Linda Worstell, Thain Tagge
My neighbors (for letting us grow plants on their property): Jim Deans, Lois Haroldsen, Sheila Land and others.

Why I started the Group – I believe anything can be accomplished if you have a support group. That’s why I have organized several groups i.e. Kayaking, Hiking, Snowshoeing, Camping, Bike Riding, Trampoline Jumping, and the Garden Group.
How it relates to my FAF Classes – My goal is to help ALL of us spend MUCH less money for food but enjoy a higher quality AND abundance of food while becoming more SELF RELIANT. I don’t like being SO dependent on grocery stores and food manufacturers for everything we need.

When do we meet? During the early spring, it will be a little more unpredictable due to weather. Watch your email and I’ll keep you posted. I want to meet EVERY week if possible – hopefully 3 times a week. Once we get closer to May, we will be meeting EVERY Tuesday and Saturday, early evenings (6 – 8 pm) for at least 2 hours and many Friday mornings from 8 – 10 am.

Communication:
Garden Blog – Check it often. It will keep you informed and up to date on our progress.
Email – Main source for communication.
My Cell phone - use for emergencies only
What to prepare for – my weekly emails will let you know what to prepare for and what we’re working on next.
Plan to meet more often during Harvest Time – which starts in July with many fruits
Attitude – Prepare to do anything you are asked to do. If you see something that needs to be done, just do it and don’t wait to be told.

Besides improving your Garden Skills, increase your People Skills – I challenge ALL of us, to get to know at least ONE new person EVERY time you come. We have a lot of really GREAT people in this group!! Learn their first name, what motivated them to join our group, their interests and hobbies, etc.

About the Garden Punchcard
Why it is important to bring it – My name is on the line when we start going into my neighbor’s backyards to plant gardens on their property. I want to feel confident that I know who is attending our Garden Meetings.
25 hours of work – You are required to put in at least 25 hours of work in the garden – the bulk of that needs to happen before Harvest Season (July)

What to wear – clothes that can get dirty, wear long pants and a long shirt to avoid scraped up arms and legs, hat, layers if it is cool outside
What we grow here – On my property we’ll mostly be growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, flowers, herbs, etc.
Other Garden spaces we’ll be working on nearby – I’ll let you know when we get ready to go to other locations. We’ll plant other fruits and veggies on the additional properties.
Ultimate Garden Goal: To duplicate in your own yard what we do here in our Community Garden

About young children – Try to get a babysitter or barter with other young mothers in our group to take turns babysitting. Just down the street from me is Cottonwood Elementary School. It has a lot of fun playground equipment that the kids would love.
My Trampolines and Kids – Kids LOVE Trampolines but unless I am having a Tramp party, no one is allowed on the tramps for liability reasons.
Any adults who love jumping on Trampolines should sign up for my Trampoline Aerobics Class in the Spring

A variety of People are needed in this group:
Tree Climbers
Lifting heavy objects
Equipment operators – Wood Splitter, Tiller, Wood Shredders, etc.
Using hand tools, raking, weeding, watering, etc.
Hold baskets/buckets up for the tree pickers
Digital Photographers – we want photos every time we work in the garden so everyone can see the progress we are making. If you have a digital camera, bring it and take some photos when you are here.

I need someone to type out some handouts and email them to me so I can post them on my site

Types of Free Food you’ll receive:
Besides all the veggies that we grow in the garden, you’ll receive
Plums, Apples, pears, maybe peaches, grapes, apricots, blackberries, etc.

You’ll also get emails about Free bagels, breads, pastries, and a bunch of other very delicious food that needs to find a home asap. Most of the food can be taken home and put in the freezer.

Bathroom – Try to go to the bathroom before you come but if you need to you can use mine. For the most part, I’m trying to keep us outside as much as possible.