Attending: Lisa, Mikki, John, Heike, Jaryd, Amber
Meeting Start Time: 7:30 PM
Garden Orientation
Garden Orientation will be postponed to a later date due to the heavy snow cover on the site.
Budget
Mikki says our budget is good until May 31, 2023 regardless of the date that Lisa wrote into the document.
Purchases
Our future hose should be 50′ long at least… but not too long. It may need a metal pressure regulator. We have a plastic one that we will use first. We will need a quick release piece that will go on the user end of the hose.
Watering Bags
Our trees are getting to be 5 years old… and so by now, we shouldn’t need to use watering bags any longer. We will not put them on this spring.
Storage Bin
The Storage Bin was vandalized with spray paint. The images were offensive. In response, Christine used Chad’s battery operated sander to sand off the images. We will repaint the Storage Bin doors something “less white” in the spring, so that it isn’t as noticeable in the doldrums of winter… but we have to wait until the weather is warmer.
There has been discussion about building a RAMP in the entrance of the Storage Bin. The purpose of the ramp would be to make loading the hose reel easier for the gardeners. There are some worries about building a ramp. Discussion revolves around the space a ramp would need in front of the shed, and the potential tripping hazard. Space is very limited there… it is somewhat restricted because of the adjacent raised garden beds. If the ramp flipped up and out of the way, it would block the entrance of the shed. Discussion ended with the suggestion that we try the VERY light weight hose that we are planning to buy soon. We hope that this hose will be so lightweight that it will not require a reel and so easy to maneuver that it can be “piled” inside of the shed with ease. Hopefully then, the hose reel will only be pulled out when the lighter hose is being used by another gardener.
Bees
We have a bee expert in our midst… Introducing our very own “BEE Ed” Jaryd!!
We have purchased a mason bee house, corn tubes and mud bath for this spring. In addition, we are bringing in 20 mason bee larvae in May for our garden. The Wild Bird Store is hosting a “Create a Mason Bee Habitat” on April 12, 2023: https://www.wildbirdstore.ca/event/create-a-mason-bee-habitat-2/ which some of us will be attending.
Donation & Historical Beds
Usually Bed #1 is used as a donation bed and has grown potatoes for the past 3-5 years! It needs to be rotated away from potatoes. It can be rented on the condition that it doesn’t grow another season of potatoes or we can use it for food donation again… anything but potatoes!
Bed #24 is a small bed that is harder to rent out. We decided to use that as a donation bed instead of Bed #1. In the future, we can also rent out bed #24 in combination with an adjacent bed to make one bigger bed.
The Historical Bed is located outside of our boundary in the lawn and is designated for public picking.
Heike and John are interested in gardening these beds for public picking/donation.
Renfrew Community Garden 