Irrigation!

How lucky are we?  A few weeks ago we had a Garden Volunteer Day and Rob Hoogeveen showed up and asked about our irrigation system (or lack thereof).

Four weeks later and several members of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Florida Irrigation Society showed up with work crews and tools and all the necessary pipes and tubing to install irrigation in our Gardens.

We started bright and early, 8:00 a.m. 

By eleven, the main irrigation line was in the ground and tubing was being stretched through the beds.

Kristin Brett and David Brett did most of the sprinkler installation, poking holes in the tubing and attaching the spray ends.

Ken Bishop from Kenny's Landscape and Lawn Service here in St Pete, did the work at Campbell Park, and Kenny

We are always so grateful for the hard work and generous spirit found in our community.  Thank you volunteers!

Kip Curtis, Ph.D.

Founder and Executive Director

Ohhhh Saturday Workday...

Ohhhh Saturday workday ….

Saturday may not be a day meant for work, but we had so many wonderful volunteers give up their day of play today to work in the gardens.  

Some near, some far            

 Some by bus, some by car                                                                                                                                    

Joining together       

No matter the weather

To let the community know   

 We can all plant a seed and watch it grow 

     

Thank you to all of our dedicated volunteers today (Melanie McCarthy and the Franklin Templeton Group , Elizabeth Herder and the College of Marine Science Team, Orlando Acosta and the Rotary Club, Ron Peters and the group from Northside Baptist ), it is through you that the organization, gardens and kids grow.

If you did not get to join the rewarding work today, or if you want to come back for more, we will be out again October 12!                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                           

One week in!

Well, we are officially one week into the re-opening phases of the Peace Patch Gardens!  There has been a lot of weed pulling and dirt moving in preparation for planting.  With the schools back in full bloom you can feel the excitement of the kids eagerly waiting to get their hands dirty in the garden.

This has been a really exciting week with volunteers reuniting and new ones joining the gardens.  We have already seen the community efforts coming together.  Today we almost completed the beds at Campbell Park elementary with the help of a local residents compost pile!

It is only a blank canvas now, but it is waiting to be painted with sprouting vegetables, smiling faces and stories of success! The Edible Peace Patch is growing!

- Alita Kane (Intern)

The Rotarians Strike Again! (St. Pete Sunset)

You might recognize some of these characters.  Many of them joined us late last spring and cut bamboo and helped us get some edging on parts of the garden.  This time we had them up at the break of day, 7:00 a.m.  It's time to de-solarize the beds for the school year, taking off the plastic that had cooked our soils and held back weed advance all summer.

We started at 7:00 a.m. sharp and before 9:00 a.m, these hard working community members (some of them with a bit of help from the magic tomato juice they sipped occasionally from the tailgate of one Rotarian's truck) helped us create this:

The work was tedious, we moved soil and pulled weeds and added a compost bin, but the hard work paid off and made this garden ready for the Campbell Park elementary students in the weeks ahead.

The whole gang, cheery and chipper, and smiling despite two solid hours of grinding garden work.  These guys and gals are AWESOME!

Volunteers make our organization hum.  Repeat volunteers are our favorite!  Thank you Rotarians!  Your service work really makes a difference in our community!

Kip Curtis, Ph.D.

Founder and Executive Director

The Edible Peace Patch Project

A Rotarian Work Day

Today we got started at 7:00 a.m. with a group of volunteers from the St. Petersburg Rotary Sunset Club, a lively and lovely group of early risers.  Board member Drew Chittick, and pineapple farmer Hank Broege also lent their hands this morning

Our task was to beautify the site.  As you can see, the spring drought and the general decomposition of our hugelkultur beds left them sunken and in need fo some TLC.

And so we cut and clipped and drilled and pounded and shoveled and forked and moved and after three hours of back-straining labor, we were left with a much improved landscape

You can see our new edging and the amended beds.  

We are always grateful for the hands of volunteers.  THANK YOU Rotarians!

Kip Curtis, Ph.D.
Founder and Executive Director
The Edible Peace Patch Project

Thank you Lucas Overby!

Two days ago I got an email from Cathy Dowling, Campaign manager for Lucas Overby, who is running for Congress.  "You guys need any help with anything?"

Lucas Overby and his daughter Raegan inspect the new garden edging.

We've just been harvesting bamboo for two weeks and have a pile ready to turn into bed edging.  And so for two hours, Sean Myers, Kofi Hunt, Michael Cargile, Cathy Dowling, Lucas Orverby, and his daughter Raegan, cut, clipped, drilled, and drove bamboo pieces.

The whole crew!

And when we were done, there were dozens of pieces of cut bamboo, six foot in length and completely cleared of their knuckles (the place where sprouting branches connect to culm).

New bed edges and a pile of material ready to assemble.

We are so grateful for the help of volunteers!

Thank you!

Kip Curtis

Founder and Executive Director

Together We Grow

Courtesy of Free People Blog

This semester in the Peace Patch has truly opened my eyes in more ways than I know how to put into words. The opportunity to learn from a teacher like Professor Curtis is a rare one, and I hope anyone reading this may have the same luck as have I and my classmates. As an environmental studies major, much of what I learn revolves around harrowing realities and seemingly insurmountable problems. So in this, at times, disheartening field of study, the Peace Patch gives me hope that I - one individual - am capable of playing a small part in revolutionizing our current system. 

Today was another beautiful day in the garden. I get to Campbell and feel a breath of fresh air among the stress of this semester coming to an end.

Andrea worked on writing out the scheduled shifts for Campbell Park to give to the front desk so teachers could sign on to bring classes out to the garden.

I see such beauty beginning to grow in the young Peace Patch and feel as though it really is together that we grow.

Until next time,
Alix

Dry Garden Blues

It didn't feel glorious to arrive to the garden today. I was looking forward to being out in the warm sunshine, but the garden didn't look too great. I found myself a little embarrassed as we showed the kids around. I was glad to find that they did not mind. The kids always manage to find a million things that they didn't notice the last time. Their sharp eyes are great at picking up on all the things we miss too. Like this escaped bean that the whole class was ecstatic about.

Last week we let the kids weed and water. I'm glad we did, because this week as soon as they got to the garden, they started to help us right away. Several little hands grabbed at the watering can, and even more were digging in the sand in seconds. I remember what it felt like when I was bit by the ladybug of curiosity about my mom's garden as a kid, and I also remember how happy she was to use my childish energy. It's funny how the events of my life, even the seemingly small ones, are moving in a circle.

It's so frustrating that some of our gardens aren't taking off as much as others, but that might take a couple of years of nutrients cycling through the soils, according to our fearless leaders. And water. Lots and lots of water. We need to do something about the bed sides too, because the sand on the paths is getting blown straight on top of the nice soil. We have been harvesting some local bamboo to border the beds, and we'll be building those next week. That should help keep sand out. Today I just kept finding myself staring with sad longing at the native lushness on the other side of the fence from our garden (shown below).

As with many things in life, gardening does take patience. We planted some nasturtium seeds a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't notice any sign of them until today (below). I was so happy to see them that I yelped. Did you know you can eat them? I hope they make it. I sang them a little bluegrass today, and that always seems to help. 

Wishing you a wonderful and healthy weekend, 

Emily Bornhop

One Sunny Peace Patch!

  

If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil."

- Rachel Carson

The return of Florida heat is upon us, and the coming of another sweltering summer isn't far off. But heat and all, days really don't get much more beautiful than today.

While the beds at Lakewood and Sanderlin are teeming with squash and colossal cabbage, Cambell's juvenile garden is struggling through these rainless spring days of brilliant sunlight. Andréa and I arrived at Campbell this afternoon to find some of last week's promising growth now looking pretty sad.
This poor Papaya was especially bummed out. 

Watering young Peace Patches like Campbell and Maximo is the first order of business in the garden. The logs lying 6 feet beneath the surface of these hugelkultur beds require saturation so they can effectively retain moisture and ultimately generate nutrient-rich soil. As we watered the parched garden, I was reminded of how much we share in common with plants. 

We ran into Principal Watson at the front desk, who was busy overseeing this week's administration of the FCAT. He arranged for a class to meet us in the garden.
This juxtaposition of the public school's system of standardized testing and the experiential learning that occurs among in the garden is interesting. I can only hope these children carry their experiences in the Peace Patch into their ever-growing understanding of the world.

Halfway through watering, Ms. Miller's First Grade class met us for their first tour through the Peace Patch. 

Another Hot Spring Day

After a beautiful weekend in St. Petersburg it was not surprising waking up today with the weather the high 80's and sunny. Even though the weather was great for us, it took a serious toll on the plants. For some reason some of the plants and vegetables growing in the garden seem to be at a stand still, when some are looking great. Many of the greens, such as, lettuce, kale, and cabbage are continuing to grow.

Most of the other vegetables are not acting the same way though. Last week there were many radishes and my group thinned them out so that the strongest could grow bigger. Today it did not seem like they had grown any larger and perhaps some died. 

We had two classes come out at the same time today. That made things a little hectic. Not only because there were two groups at once but also because neither had been at the garden before. When this happened normally I like to go over parts of the plants and talk about what parts we eat on different vegetables, but these second graders were way to active to sit and have a conversation, they wanted to get into the garden and do some work. 

I had my group help weed around the edges of the beds which most of the kids got really into. They kept asking if there were more beds that they could weed. When all of their little hands were full I brought them over to the compost and explained that whole system to them. Some of the students said that they had composts at their house that they used at their own gardens. 

Derek had a great idea and let the kids water the beds as well. It was clear to anyone looking at the vegetables that they needed water so the kids got to talk about what water does for plants and see a slight improvement after just a bit of time in the garden. 

Obviously we needed to water the gardens more than what the kids did so we spend the rest of our scheduled time in the garden watering. Derek, Andrea and I each took a turn watering each of the beds and getting these plants really soaked so that this hot day wouldn't dry them up. 

Dani Cleary

The Wonders of Water

This garden was in serious need of some TLC when we arrived today, and boy did we find some great helpers!

Andy, Emily, Kelsey, and I were settling into our traditional garden rhythm (uncurling the endlessly long hose, watering the beds, pulling stray sedge and weeds, inspecting the plants) when who should appear, but some wonderful watering helpers!

Our extremely enthusiastic class came out around 1, and stayed until 1:30, tirelessly watering and weeding to their hearts content. At Campbell Park, the plant beds are all quite new and lacking in a strong nutrient base. We had been discouraged the past couple of weeks at the apparent lack of growth in our seedlings and new plantings. This is largely due to the immense amount of watering needed. We typically water for an hour each time we visit, but this obviously hasn't been enough to really give our plants the boost they need. Today we watered for a record 2 hours straight, and the beds didn't even look muddy! I guess some plants were thirsty...

This week's lesson focused on revisiting the functions of each part of the plant (the flower, stem, leaves, and roots) and a fun game of Simon Says to help us remember. Fitting in with the theme of our work day, we also focused a lot on the benefits of water and weeding! We had a great group of helpers attack some of the sedge on the edges of our beds, and others took turns with the hose and the gardening can.


There are some new plants in our garden as well!  We made sure to especially water last week's planted pineapple, and we just put in some new radishes! Radishes are a fun vegetable in the garden, because they have an incredibly short germination period. We should be able to see some small roots within a few weeks!


Despite all of our watering efforts today, it's going to take a lot more care to reverse some of the effects that lack of water and nutrients has already had on the existing seedlings. Come on cilantro, stay strong!

Well, that's all for today...

Cheers!
Miranda