Grow Regina Community Garden

Beautiful clouds full of moisture hung over the garden this morning just before a very welcome rain.

A good rain will get the weeds growing.  It is very important to get a good start on weed control in June. If the weeds are not managed now they will take over the garden.

The clay in our Regina soil forms a crust on the surface when you weed and dig around the plants the crust is broken up allowing water to seep into the soil.

One of the toughest weeds in the garden is quack grass, it takes patience and persistence to control this grass eliminating it can be a yearly struggle.

Quack grass rhizomes are very hardy and often grow further than you expect. Lift the exposed roots out of the soil and check to see that you got the whole plant. Any broken roots likely will sprout a new patch of quack grass.

Found these two foes in the garden today. The first photo is of potato beetles and the second is of a cut worm, both of these insects are very destructive and they must be removed. I put them in a small plastic container and threw them away.

Grow Regina is a pesticide free garden no herbicides or insecticides permitted. Our community garden values chemical free food and nurturing the natural environment.

What a lovely rain this afternoon! The hail was dramatic but did not cause any damage. The last few days have been very busy at the Grow Regina Gardens as many of you are already finished planting. If you are not finished yet no worries there are still 2 more weeks of planting time left this spring.

I would like to remind all of the gardeners to respect your neighbor’s garden do not walk on it or take anything from any plot that is not yours. There are tools and wheelbarrows for all to use at both sheds just put them back after use.

May is finally here! There is lots of activity in the garden already. The soil is still too cold to plant but the dandelions and the chives do not mind. Best to plant later in the month because the soil is not warm enough yet, but clean up and roto-tilling can be started anytime.

Let’s get this season started!

Annual General Meeting —  Monday April 29, 2019  at  6:00 pm for plot assignment, payments and refunds. 7:00 Meeting 

     St. Mark’s Lutheran Church , 3510 Queen Street

Plowing for people will be at the AGM to take your rototilling orders.

John Fagan award will be presented

MacKenzie Art Museum will present ideas for August programming in the garden.

We will be announcing a new project in our garden that is to build more accessible gardens with funding from Farm Credit Canada. More details at the meeting.

In the next day or two new gardeners will be told whether we were able to find them a garden plot this year or whether they will be on a wait list.

A newsletter to all of the 2019 gardeners will be sent out very soon.

Garden applications are closed for 2019.

In spite of the cold and snow spring is just around the corner.

John Fagan Award nominations are open for a gardener who like John contributes over and above to the garden and who promotes the social, economic and cultural well-being of others through community gardening. How to apply for the John Fagan Award                                       Deadline for nominations is March 15^th

The Mackenzie Art Gallery will be offering programming in our garden 2 evenings in August. This programming is associated with the gallery’s summer long retrospective of Victor Cicansky’s works titled,  The Gardener’s Universe. To learn more about the artist and how he has contributed to our garden go to  Victor Cicansky Sculptures

Remember the deadline for garden applications in March 25th. We are receiving many applications from new gardeners which will be accepted on a first come basis. 

Winter is half way over and with spring on it’s way so now is the time to start planning for the 2019 growing season. Applications are now being accepted.  The cut off date to apply is March 25 2019. Application forms can be found HERE.

The 2018 Grow Regina season is finished. Thank you to all the gardeners for a fantastic year and for finishing the fall clean up. See you next spring!

Grow Regina is inviting everyone to help us if you can buy a tractor for our garden.

Grow Regina sees many benefits of purchasing a dependable garden tractor with appropriate attachments – benefits for volunteers, for the gardens, for gardeners and their families, and for the bees! But we need your help! We already have a good start to our savings, but just need a little more.

Click under the dream tractor image to the right or click on the Facebook link to help us reach our goal. We will be accepting tractor donations sent in with the 2019 applications and also at the Annual General Meeting.

Any dollar amount is welcome, just like our work-bees, “many hands make light work”.  Thank you.