[Communications] Fwd: ACGA March/April 2020 Newsletter
Amy Olson
akeo at me.com
Tue Mar 31 10:40:45 CDT 2020
Thank you Julie!
We can include the ACGA seed info in the newsletter and perhaps a link to the ACGA website to folks can read about the growing projects mentioned in this email.
Amy
> On Mar 30, 2020, at 2:28 PM, Julie Samuels via Communications <communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org> wrote:
>
> This notice is interesting and supportive of our goals like "backyard gardening" ........and possibly getting some free seeds!!
>
> -
> From: ACGA <info at communitygarden.org <mailto:info at communitygarden.org>>
> Date: Sun, Mar 29, 2020 at 5:56 PM
> Subject: ACGA March/April 2020 Newsletter
> To: <jsamuels1966 at gmail.com <mailto:jsamuels1966 at gmail.com>>
>
>
> View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/1528b2c9faf6/acga-february-2020-newsletter-917633?e=e2e8ba817b>
>
> What you'll find in this month's newsletter:
> Letter from The President
> Community Garden Guidelines During the COVID-19
> 2020 ACGA Conference Speaker Request for Proposals
> Backyard Gardening with Bobby Wilson
> The Crazy Chile Farm: Effort adds spice to church's outreach programs
> 2020 ACGA Conference
> Produce of the Month Spotlight on Arugula
> Recipe of The Month: The Reset Salad
> Share your garden stories with us for our next issue
>
>
> Letter from the President
>
>
>
> Safe Way to Gardening
>
>
>
> Dear Community Gardeners and Growers
>
> During these trying times, let us all do our part in keeping everyone safe. Make sure you follow the CDC
> guidelines and follow the mandated orders that has been put in place in your area. Here are the CDC
> recommendations for halting the spread of COVID-19 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- <https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019->
> ncov/prepare/prevention.html
>
> As we go through these trying times remember Gardening/Farming is a major part of living. As
> community gardeners and growers we must continue to grow food for the community. Food is essential
> for all living things to live. All living things need plants to survive. Plants help keep the air clean by
> releasing oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. This not only freshen up the air, but also eliminates
> harmful toxins. Our bodies need fresh fruits and vegetables to keep our immune systems built up to
> fight off diseases. At this time, we don’t know where this pandemic will lead this world to.
>
> ACGA is offering free seeds to those who want to grow their own vegetables. Contact us at
> info at communitygarden.org <mailto:info at communitygarden.org> to request your seed. If you cannot plant in a community garden you can
> always plant at home.
>
> ACGA will always put your safety first. Please remember to follow all safety guideline that has been put
> forth.
>
> This too shall pass.
>
> Cathy Walker, ACGA President
>
>
> ACGA 2020 Conference, Los Angeles
> REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
>
> "We at ACGA continue to monitor the effects of COVID-19 and will make a final decisions on the annual conference in Early June. With Growing food and protecting our ecosystems at top of our priority we remain hopeful with ACGA education."
>
> The mission of the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) is to build community by increasing and enhancing community gardening and greening across the United States and Canada.
>
> Each year, ACGA organizes an Annual Conference hosted by a different city. The 2020 ACGA Annual Conference will be in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Hotel and adjacent East Hollywood Community Garden from Thursday, August 6th to Sunday, August 9th. Workshops will be held from 9:45 am to 4:00 pm on Friday, August 7th and from 8:30 am to noon on Saturday, August 8th. Each workshop will be 60 minutes long including Q&A. We welcome workshops in Spanish as well as English. The theme of this year’s conference is “Community Gardening Without Borders”.
>
> We are seeking proposals for workshops on themes that relate directly to community gardening. Workshop Leaders will receive a $100 discount off the conference registration price of $275. This discount can be split across the leaders if there are multiple presenters. ACGC is not able to pay stipends or travel expenses for workshop leaders. You may choose to donate your conference discount to ACGA.
>
> If you are interested in leading a workshop, please complete and submit the information below by June 1st, 2020. Our Education Committee will review all proposals and let you know if your proposal has been accepted. Questions?
> Please contact Fred Conrad at fred.conrad at communitygarden.org <mailto:fred.conrad at communitygarden.org> or 404-397-6028.
>
> Link to the form for Request for Proposals https://forms.gle/ApRCJBSnPUaDAabc6 <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=5e0a75518b&e=e2e8ba817b>
>
> 3271 Main St College Park, Georgia 30337
>
> Themetroatlantaurbanfarm.org 404-788-2432 bobbymauf at gmail.com <mailto:bobbymauf at gmail.com>
>
> Backyard Gardening
>
> From the Field of Metro Atlanta Urban Farm (MAUF)
>
> By Bobby Wilson
>
>
>
> Have you and your family ever considered planting your own backyard garden? Could Covid-19 and the impending lock-down threaten your access to fresh vegetables? If you think so, then the time may be right for families across this great nation to experience the joy and excitement of planning and planting a backyard garden?
>
>
> A backyard garden can serve as a great teaching tool for parents who are homeschooling their children during these challenging times. One can hardly turn on the television or radio without hearing breaking news on the Coronavirus. To quiet the anxiety, NOISE-free gardening can be used as a source of relaxation along your journey to having fresh vegetables at your fingertips. Gardening can also be used as a tool to teach many subjects and life skills, especially S.T.E.A.M., science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics.
>
>
> Additionally, gardening can help improve a child’s reading and language arts skills. In today’s times of constant noise, a small backyard garden can serve as a NOISE-free sanctuary for the entire family, a place to relax, reconnect, discover and gain new skills.
>
>
> Metro Atlanta Urban Farm can serve as a resource to assist you in designing a garden to suit your needs. We are also available to provide you with seeds, technical assistance, or to answer any questions you might have.
>
>
> Here are just a few tips for planting a garden:
>
>
> Location: 8 – 10 hours per day of sunlight;
>
> Irrigation: Source of water close by;
>
> Soil: Prepared by turning it over, either with a shovel or a tiller;
>
> Optional: Build a small 4x4 or 4x8 raised bed; add bagged soil
>
>
> For more information, please contact Metro Atlanta Urban Farm, 3271 Main Street, College Park, GA 30337; bobbymauf at gmail.com <mailto:bobbymauf at gmail.com>.
>
>
> We look forward to hearing from you.
>
> Community Garden Guidelines During the COVID-19 Pandemic
>
> As we know, community gardens vary in size and scope and serve different populations. Yet, all community gardens provide a space for community members to be proactive, relieve stress, nurture the earth, and take care of their emotional health. During the coronavirus pandemic, we want to help our community garden committees and leaders make the best decisions and spread the most useful information to the communities they serve. Below are guidelines to help gardeners protect each other and implement best practices during these times of uncertainty.
>
> Stay informed. Establish ongoing communication with your local public health department. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says building strong alliances before an outbreak may provide your organization with the support and resources needed to respond effectively. For a list of health departments in North Carolina, see https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/county-health-departments <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=f0e318eb60&e=e2e8ba817b>. For an update on the state’s response to COVID-19 see the Department of Health and Human Service website <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=7dce1d6e15&e=e2e8ba817b>.
> Communicate. Contact garden members to let them know what the advisory committee is doing to keep people safe and how they plan to move forward during this public health crisis. Keep the gardeners informed.
> Enjoy the outdoors. Continue to remain open to your members as the garden is in an outdoor environment. Please limit the number of people in the garden to no more than 10 at a time.
> Keep your distance. Follow the CDC’s social distancing guidelines within the garden. This means gardeners should maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from other gardeners.
> Cancel events. Do not host workshops, potlucks or any other garden group gatherings.
> Stay sanitary. Wear gloves and sanitize any home tools that you use in the garden. Also, sanitize your hands before and after using any shared tools.
> Stay home. If you are feeling sick, have a temperature or cough, stay home and get better.
> Stay sanitary, part 2. Sanitize all gates, shed handles and all other communal spaces and equipment that people touch regularly after using.
> Avoid isolation. Remember, social distancing is necessary, but not social isolation. Continue to keep the garden members engaged by giving online workshops, and sending recipes and newsletters. Use this time to do the planning and organizing you never have time for.
>
> The information below comes from the CDC website <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=37d34474d6&e=e2e8ba817b> recommendations for community and faith-based organizations:
>
> Provide COVID-prevention supplies to staff, volunteers, and those you serve
>
> Ensure that your organization has supplies, such as hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, tissues, trash baskets, and disposable facemasks for staff, volunteers, and those you serve. Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily (e.g., tables, countertops, light switches, doorknobs, and cabinet handles) using a regular detergent and water.
> If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent and water prior to disinfection. For disinfection, a list of products with Environmental Protection Agency-approved emerging viral pathogens claims is available from the American Chemistry Council Center for Biocide Chemistries (CBC). Visit https://www.americanchemistry.com/Novel-Coronavirus-Fighting-Products-List.pdf <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=3468ba3d85&e=e2e8ba817b>
> Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products.
> M. Alyssa McKim
>
> Community Garden Coordinator
>
> Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T
>
> N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University
>
> Crazy Chile Farm:
> Effort adds spice to church’s outreach programs
>
> BY MARLYS WEAVER-STOESZ <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=d2aa6fae06&e=e2e8ba817b> / PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEBBY WOLVOS <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=d148ff0407&e=e2e8ba817b> | SEPTEMBER 15, 2018
>
> <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=ace705cc7e&e=e2e8ba817b>
> Shirley Johnson’s and Janet Zuber’s fingers rhythmically slice in half red-orange peppers—some small and round like young strawberries, others shaped like a curly jalapeño. A few people crouch in the nearby chile field, cutting the scarlet pods from the leafy plants to drop into small plastic buckets.
>
> This is a typical Monday morning at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Mesa, at least during harvest season for the 1,100 Chimayo chile plants outside the church buildings.
>
> Now in its fourth year, the Crazy Chile Farm started as an effort to raise money for the church’s outreach programs, particularly one that provides meals through United Food Bank. A group of church leaders wanted to continue and expand those programs without continually asking parishioners for more money.
>
> “We started looking into community gardens and the rate of failure is pretty high,” said Bill Robinson, the Crazy Chile Farm’s manager. “One of our guys said, ‘Hey, why don’t we work like a commercial farm and raise a commercial crop, sell it, and use the money to support the outreach programs?’”
>
>
>
> <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=d34d533047&e=e2e8ba817b>
> The church now grows hundreds of pounds of Chimayo chiles, producing dozens of pounds of ground Chimayo chile pepper. After expenses, all the profits from the farm’s sales go to United Food Bank, Apache Junction Unified School District, Mesa Public Schools and emergency relief efforts, like communities hit by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
>
> “Most of the chile powder that’s sitting on a shelf in the grocery store is usually a chile mix. It’s got cumin in it and oregano and garlic and a bunch of other stuff,” Robinson said. You can find pure chile powder in grocery stores, he continued, but you don’t know how old it is and “it seems to be primarily geared for heat, rather than flavor.
>
> “The Chimayo chile powder is a medium heat and it has a distinct flavor,” he said. “One of the things that is definitely noticeable is that there is a sweetness to it—not a sticky sweet, but definitely a sweetness you can taste.”
>
>
> <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=0b9505df2e&e=e2e8ba817b>
> On trips to New Mexico, Robinson had loved the namesake peppers he ate around the town of Chimayo. When the church group found Chimayo chile seeds in Native Seed/SEARCH’s catalog, they connected with University of New Mexico’s Agricultural Science Center at Alcalde for advice on growing them a state farther west than where they usually grow.
>
> “The village of Chimayo is almost at 6,000 feet and we’re at 1,600 here,” Robinson said. “We didn’t know if it would even work.”
>
> “We ended up with a crop that [first] year that not only covered all of our start-up expenses, it gave us about $600 to $700 at the end of the year to start dumping into outreach programs,” Robinson said. The group had learned a lot by planting, growing and harvesting the first year’s crop, and in the second year brought in more profit from the 4,000-square-foot plot.
>
>
> <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=9d4e2d4384&e=e2e8ba817b>
> Last year, church members were excited about another prosperous chile season. The plants were doing well, Robinson said, and produced 36 pounds of chile peppers the third week of harvesting. The following week, though, Robinson and other volunteers returned to chile plants that seemed emaciated. Eventually, most of the plants dried up and died. Pathogens had built up in the ground and the fungal disease called verticillium wilt had taken hold in the plants, Robinson said. He blamed growing the peppers three years in a row in the same field.
>
> Seeing firsthand the importance of rotating crops, the group established a second field to grow the chiles while the original plot now bears Yoeme blue corn. Volunteers will rotate the two crops every two years, Robinson said.
>
> “We had to make a lot of adjustments, but we made it work,” Robinson said. “Our first year’s crop was puny compared to what we have now.” This summer, volunteers have been collecting between 50 and 80 pounds of chiles each week.
>
>
> <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=d68da09734&e=e2e8ba817b>
> Those successes, though, have come from a lot of learning, persistence and figuring out decision making within a team of volunteers. The Rev. Robert Saik, rector of Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, applauded the several people who have dedicated the time and energy to make the farm work.
>
> “We’ve had a group of people, particularly Bill, who have really stuck with it regardless of what happens,” Saik said. “So, all along the way, just like many farmers, we’ve had plenty of issues. We’ve had issues with varmints, we’ve had issues with birds, we’ve had issues with water, we’ve had issues with diseases—that’s the biggest one. We’ve had questions about how we’re supposed to pick, how we’re supposed to process, how we’re supposed to sell, how we’re supposed to package. There have been issues with all that stuff, but each time somebody’s found an answer and we keep going.”
>
>
> <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=0733afdc99&e=e2e8ba817b>
> Crazy Chile Farm volunteers include mostly church members, but also others who heard about the project and wanted to help. Laura Ward started regularly coming to work with the chiles after Robinson contacted her about bringing her pair of draft horses to the church to plow and establish the church’s second field. The area, which had been a parking lot, was so compacted that the horse-drawn plow wasn’t able to turn the soil and a parishioner later rented a tractor to break ground. Ward has continued helping out in other ways, including bringing the Clydesdales to the annual Chile Pepper Harvest Festival.
>
> Along with the chiles and the Yoeme blue corn, the church is growing brown tepary beans, Mexican oregano and some native varieties of squash and pumpkin. Seeds for those native types of corn and beans are very limited, Robinson explained, so the church partnered with Native Seeds/SEARCH and the Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture to help build up the supply.
>
> By selectively saving seeds from the chiles year to year and as the plants adapt to their new environment over time, the church is creating a new landrace variety of the Chimayo chile, Robinson explained. The church has named its chiles “Campo Dorado,” meaning “gold field” in Spanish, in honor of the Goldfield Mountains just to the north of the church.
>
> But how did the farm get its name?
>
> Robinson described how, soon after the church’s vestry had decided to embark on the small farm project, several of the group were attending an annual conference for the Episcopalian church diocese. The final night of the conference, the bishop was speaking on the Biblical parable of the sower, where a man scatters seeds across a path, onto rocks, in thorns and some on good soil.
>
> The bishop mentioned that his wife was from a farming community and that if anyone there would have been so careless with seed, people would have said they’re crazy. Robinson says the fellow parishioner sitting next to him elbowed him in the side and exclaimed, “We must be the crazy chile farm!”
>
> Born into a farming family in northern Indiana, Marlys Weaver- Stoesz grew up as involved in growing and harvesting food as in eating it. Her passion for food and farming began on that small, heritage-breed dairy farm, but it has also taken her to harvesting coffee beans on a farm in Peru and working at natural food cooperatives and farmers markets. Marlys’ writing work focuses on agriculture and education. Learn more at marlysws.com <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=8da2e03747&e=e2e8ba817b>.
>
>
> <https://communitygarden.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dabf5464da64e1cd36e90b8f7&id=488f7d8af1&e=e2e8ba817b>
> Chile Pepper Harvest Festival
>
> Pick up Crazy Chile Farm chile powder, compete in a cookoff and enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride at the farm’s third annual Chile Pepper Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018.
>
> The event is from 8am to 2pm at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, 514 S. Mountain Rd., Mesa.
>
> A variety of Crazy Chile Farm products and other area goods will be available at a farmers market during the festival. The day will also include live music, Clydesdale-drawn wagon rides, a freethrow shooting contest, a children’s art booth, tours of the farm and a chile cookoff.
>
>
> --
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