Electric Lawnmowing & Trimming

Dear Allotment Bed folk & DIGS members,

As you may know, the mowing of the grass at the DIGS community garden is the responsibility of the Allotment Bed folk. There is a schedule that shows whose turn it is to mow and trim at DIGS, both inside and outside the fence.

 Today at the Saturday work party we briefly discussed the tricky business of the Allotment Bed & DIGS members using our brand new electric lawnmower without prior instruction on its delicate parts and battery insertion direction etc.

How will we go about making sure that every Allotment Bed person knows exactly how to use the new lawnmower without breaking it? (For example, Kevin told us that getting too close to structures on the sides causes catching of the side bits of the mower). How can they learn to weedwhack (or whipper-snipper) successfully and at the right angle so that the string doesn't run out from breaking off countless times? How do you charge the batteries, and when should you change batteries?

How does one move the hoses that are lying on the ground? How do you mow around so many hoses?

Should you keep the mower going between patches of mowing, or should you turn it off to save the battery so you don't run out of battery before you're finished?

Where and when are the batteries charged? How high should the grass be cut?

What do you do when you're unsure? Where is it dangerous (rocky) to mow?

Last season when the mower was purchased we held an announced training day for Allotment folk, but none of them attended. So can anyone use the comment button below, or make suggestions as to the best way to keep our lawnmower safe from forgetful/stubborn/hasty/unsure human use? 

One suggestion that Jim Harris made was for the mowing to be done Saturday morning during the work party so we all could be there for it. Another person suggested putting the instructions up on a clearly printed large outdoor poster? But would people read it and follow it?

We really need to solve this going forward. Thanks for any and all help with this conundrum. Please help, thanks.

Jen for Jim/Veronica/Kevin etc.

Metal roofing raised beds

 Here at DIGS, we need to rebuild and replace some of our raised beds, and since the lumber we used to use (4" x 4" yellow cedar) has become prohibitively expensive at approximately $500 for a 24 foot by 4 foot garden bed, we took a look at two local designs that utilize a timber frame mounted with corrugated metal roofing.

 Firstly, a brief field trip to the Co-Op Greenhouse at Beban Rec. center gave us a good look at their use of horizontal metal roofing (click on photos to enlarge):

The design requires plenty of costly 2x4" wood, and the Co-Op volunteers showed us how the longest pieces of wood do warp, bend and bow over distances, which looks slightly irregular. Also the flaw in this particular build was that the wood is exposed to the wet soil where it would rot and need replacing at the corners. The above beds were obviously also too tall for our uses at DIGS (they filled the height of the beds utlizing "hugelkulture" to save on the amount of soil required) so we'd need to re-think the design for our own uses.

On the other hand, utilizing the metal roofing vertically, as our P.I. neighbour Gordon did in his garden on Pirates' allows perfectly strong and stable beds of any length, and have no wood exposure to wet soil at all. Just brilliant. The cost is approximately $140 worth of metal for a 24 foot by 4 foot garden bed (we still have to price the lightweight lumber). Plus we have the nearby expertise of the inventor himself, who has built several, to show us the easiest way to put them together. What a win all around!

click on photos to enlarge

Note that all the roofing comes pre-cut from the store, and has standard nut fasteners that affix it to the lightweight wood.

Note too that in the preferred second design, with the metal used vertically, there are no corner posts at all. The strength of the product is in its vertical positioning.

Jim Harris has asked that we take more DIGS garden measurements and really sort out how many beds will fit. Our priority is to plan on the maximum grow area for the left front of the garden where the beds will be replaced first (the clematis and rose trellis area will be replaced with public and possibly some allotment veggie beds). All of this will be voted on and planned as we go.

We can put the new beds closer together than lawn-mower-width, Jim suggests, and use mulch on the paths instead of lawn, as long as the paths are wide enough for wheelbarrows. So this could be fun to work out using graph paper and little paper pieces, if folks are into it.

We should also decide on whether, over time, all the rotten timber should be replaced with vertical metal roofing in this new design. They should last for decades without the need for further investment. The Zinc coating is foodsafe and does not break down over time, and the 1"x3" trim will be Yellow Cedar. (Red Cedar suffers from a powder beetle problem).

So this is part of the success of our tiny field trip this week, as well as finding the structural engineer who will help us build a healthy/organic footing for the greenhouse (timber, gravel, rebar anchors etc.).

All the news, now for some measuring and planning!

Jen (for Jim Harris) (who doesn't use computer)

Little Diggers April 2nd start

 

The community garden will once again be offering a "Little Diggers" program. The program this year will be a series of Sunday morning lessons dealing with plants and will be held in the community garden each Sunday morning starting April 2 until September 2023. The lesson will start at 10:00 am and go until 12:00 and children of all ages are welcome. There is a $5.00 registration fee per child payable at the first lesson.

All parents are asked to accompany their children so they can help them with some activities.

Jim Harris

March plantings

 These past few Saturday work parties have been full of fun and greenhouse work and baked goods. Many new crops have been started, and many many more are at people's homes, started as seedlings (such as Snowpea, Onion, Leek, Tomato) waiting to be planted in the Community Garden. Here are some photos from the past two weekends.

Firstly, so many hanging baskets, Geraniums, Sweetpea pots, Annuals (such as Pansy, Viola & Petunia) and outdoor perennials have been transplanted in huge numbers by some pretty amazing volunteers. They move tiny plants on to larger and larger pots, in readiness for the plant sale on May 13th, and for transplanting into our own community garden beds too. This is steady work, and we are so grateful to those who come on weekdays as well to transplant so much!

click on photo to enlarge

Started two weeks ago, in Bed 17 we have repeated the spring planting for "The Coleman Project" with two kinds of Radishes and some mixed Lettuce (Mesclun) to start off (see last year's success!). Later there will be Turnip, Carrot and other crops added. These Radish varieties are not "hot" and are very juicy and delish, plus will be completely worm-free as they were grown beneath "Reemay" cloth which keeps the chewiest of bugs out of them.

 Meanwhile, in the larger public beds, the Garlic and Kale have been joined by Broadbeans and Potatoes! The Reemay cloth is to stop the birds from making a buffet out of newly sprouted beans.

The compost corral now out of sight at the back of the garden, has begun again, with layers of dry leaves and seaweed starting to be piled up alternating, inside of a pallet wood rectangle next to Joyce's Greenhouse. We no longer mow the leaves to break them down, as we're using an electric lawnmower now instead of gas, so we will be adding beneficial bacterial powder to help break the leaves down faster. We lost a couple of years of composting over lockdown so have to speed it up again so we can constantly replenish the beds. Folks with raked and bagged leaves at home are welcome to donate them to DIGS to add to our compost corral. 

 Although it's difficult to photograph, I did note that chicken manure was top dressed over the Rhubarb crop (yummy for them!) and also thanks to volunteers, the heavy-duty arches were raised in beds 2 &3 to support the Squash and Beans plantings.

click on photos to enlarge

Finally, we'll be researching changing the raised veggie beds from (expensive) wood to corrugated metal roofing material with wooden top edging this week. Many of the beds have rotten wood now, and they fragment. It will be a large ongoing project to gradually replace them with more affordable alternatives. Photos of the metal beds will appear on the blog shortly so stay tuned.

Jen

P.S. Good tips on how to get more food in less space from Linda Gilkeson! See the pdf here from March 2022.