Gardening in Texas isn’t for sissies

 In this issue:

Is Community Gardening for You?

Community Service Reminder and Opportunities * Fall Crop Suggestions

* September Work Day Details

* Open Board Position

* Donation/Butterfly Gardens Update and more…

Congratulations!  You have made it through the Spring/Summer season.

Now is the time to evaluate:

            What crops did well?

            What would you do different?

            What does your plot need: Soil, weeding the pathways, raised framing, etc?

The harder question: Is Community Gardening for you? What do you want to do next year?  Some ways to evaluate that question:

            Did you find yourself looking forward to driving to your plot to plant/weed/water/harvest?

            Did you enjoy the vegetables you harvested?

            Did you find yourself telling family and friends what you were growing and what you are going to do next?

            Did you attend the Work Days and will you meet the 12 volunteer hours as required in the Garden Agreement you signed?

            Did you harvest crops when ripe, not letting produce go to waste, or give items to the Donation garden to prevent waste?

            Have you kept your walkways clear of bermuda grass?

If you answer no to most of these questions, community gardening is not for you. The wait list for the garden has 89 people, and more are added weekly.  Garden Management schedules a meeting in the winter for current gardeners to renew or list open plots for the wait list – take a moment in August to truly evaluate your commitment to your plot and the Community Garden.  Life’s priorities change, as do interests.  You may contact any Board Member or Pam Walsh This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss your plot.

Community Service Reminder - Pam Walsh

The Gardeners' Agreement provides that each plot will contribute at least 12 hours of community service hours annually to the garden.  We are an all volunteer organization and  there is a large amount of infrastructure work required to maintain the garden.  This includes the hundreds of hours that have been spent by some of our gardeners on irrigation installations and repairs on hot summer days and cold winter nights, but MUST be done if we can continue to operate. This includes the hundreds of hours required over the last two years getting our legal incorporation, tax-exempt status,  web-site/e-mail and other mundane tasks done.   

On the annual surveys, several gardeners commented on the need for options for community service other than work-days, and we have tried to do that this year.  We have publicized and made appeals for help for everything from weekly trash pick-up to buying and cooling drinks for work day to manning a booth on "Earth Day".  It currently appears that quite a few gardeners are not contributing to the Community effort. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board under the rain-barrel shed to log your community service hours whenever you work on your own or you can e-mail your hours to Pam Walsh.

      Volunteers are currently needed for:

• Watering Butterfly Garden - weekly - contact Lois Diggs
• Watering Donation Garden - weekly - contact Nancy Wilson
• Gleaning Donation Garden - weekly, monthly or one-time - contact Nancy Wilson
• Turning Compost - weekly or monthly - contact Pam Walsh
• Trash/recycle pickup/haul-off - monthly or one time - contact Pam Walsh 
• Bringing in load of horse manure - one-time-truck preferred - contact Pam Walsh

There are also several volunteer options listed below related to Workday or Dallas Green.  We are tracking community service hours for grant applications.   Each gardener will also need to report the total per plot of community service hours completed for Garden Year 2010 when they renew for 2011. 

September Garden Work Day – Saturday, September 11, 7:30 am – 2:30 pm

Be sure and sign in 

Specific projects will be bermuda control, donation garden work, general garden clean-up and maintenance.

Need volunteer from 7:30-11 and another from 11-2:30 to help setup/cleanup and "man" volunteer sign-in

Need volunteer to purchase drinks and arrange for cooling them, etc.

Contact Pam Walsh or Lois Diggs is you can help with setup/cleanup, man the sign in or handle the drinks.

Volunteer Opportunity

Saturday, September 18, Dallas Green Festival – Road Rally for 20+ smart cars is a fundraiser for the Texas Discovery Gardens.  The LHCG is one of the check point locations, giving us the opportunity to man our canopy and offer information to participants about organic gardening and community gardening.  The Boy Scouts have volunteered to help, but we need LHCG gardeners to attend the event and help out also. To volunteer, sign–up at the work day or contact Lois Diggs 214-341-0739

Open Board Position

The Board is made up of 5 individuals. Currently there are four serving.

            Kent Binfield, President

           Maggie Mantheiy, Vice President

           Pam Walsh, Secretary

            Nancy Wilson, Donation Garden

          Open Position

As Treasurer, Van Lane, works actively with the board, but is not a board member

The duties of the Board are as follows:

            Availability to meet once a month (last Tues of month 7-9p) for board mtg,

            Active involvement in planning/organizing community garden events (e.g. work days, special events, etc),

            Assisting with membership renewals/communications,

            Providing positive role model for community garden.

If you would like to know more or are interested in joining the Board, please contact any of the current Board Members through the website email page, or contact them by phone as listed on your gardeners contact list that was attached to the May newsletter.

August is the time to plant Fall crops:

            -you may access a pdf file from North Haven Garden with vegetable suggestions for the Fall garden

            -if you plant seeds or tender seedlings you will need to water daily

            -the new plants would benefit from shade, so construct a lean to or poles that allow placement of shade material or covers to protect them during the heat of the day.

Here is a blog posting from ivillage garden web about shade for gardens: 

Water Management - Thanks to everyone who has reported water issues over the past months.  We've made a lot of progress in our efforts to cut waste.  Please remain vigilant and continue to report problems to Steve Clary at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The new meters have been a big help toward early leak detection.  Continued thanks go to the Garden Management folks who have been out in the hot sun digging up trenches and replacing broken pipe.  The no-timer rule is proving beneficial in reducing water usage and limiting our downhill water run off problem.

Donation Garden – Nancy Wilson

     We have donated 280 pounds of food so far this year.  The cub scouts were out last weekend to harvest Asian long beans, carrots, peppers, chard and melons.  When preparing the former potato patch for planting black eyed peas, they found a few more potatoes in the ground.  We gave the week of 7/22’s harvest to the children's day care program at Roseland Homes.  The director there will create an activity for the kids with some of the food---for them to eat--and the rest will be divided up and sent home to parents in need. 

     Improving the irrigation system at the DG is the top priority--any creative minds or generous hearts, contact Nancy Wilson This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

      Nancy is sourcing donation recipients every week, so please put any extra produce in the fridge.  We are keeping the fridge setting at almost its warmest since our fresh food tends to freeze and ruin if the fridge is set any cooler.  Thanks to all gardeners who have contributed recently!

Butterfly Garden info – Lois Diggs

Butterflies have discovered the plot. We have had sightings of queen, gulf fritillary, cabbage white and black swallowtail on the nectar plants: pentas, lantanas and cornflowers. These butterflies have left their eggs on the host plants: fennel, milkweed, passion vine and parsley, resulting in caterpillars eating away. More anchor plants will be added in November and the information sheets posted in a mailbox in the coming months.

Contact Lois Diggs for more info.

Tax exempt status approved

The LHCG is under the nonprofit group Dallas is Gardening, Inc. and with the hard work from our Treasurer, Van Lane, DIG, Inc. has now been given nonprofit 501(3)c tax status from the IRS.

FYI – PR links

PR pieces on behalf of the LHCG

Back to the Garden for July

Community Garden earns non-profit status