The Citizen Gardener program now has about 60 graduates from the class who are seeking to complete their volunteer hours. We are looking for additional community gardens that would like to have volunteers help them out. (how is that for an easy sell?) The requirements are that the students need to benefit from actual gardening activities that will help them learn and gain experience (not just sorting thousands of seeds or spending 4 hours making labels). Most valuable are locations with experienced gardeners who will be present and available while the volunteers are helping.
A subsection of the NorthTexasVegetableGardeners.com website has been created that displays a map of the current Citizen Gardener volunteer locations and lists them out also. The map will provide students an easy way to find participating gardens near where they live. If you know of a garden that is interested in being on the Citizen Gardener volunteer list, please have a representative from the garden contact us via the comment section below, or email citizengardener@northtexasvegetablegardeners.com.
I’ll forward to Nancy Hudson Wilson our Donation Garden Supervisor at Lake Highlands Community Garden
Does Composting Count? i can forward to our Composting coordinator too.
We can accommodate a number of volunteers if I know when people will be coming.
Our community garden (www.facebook.com/kalachandji.garden) is at 1018 Graham Ave, Dallas, TX 75223 which is just down the road toward I-30 from Promise of Peace where the second class was held. It’s about three blocks northwest of the intersection of I-30 and Garland Road, and is right across the street from Kalachandji’s Restaurant, which is a very popular vegetarian restaurant.
We have a few people who have vacated plots recently. The plots are 4×10 raised beds and most have drip irrigation already installed. Volunteers would be doing exactly what community gardeners do: weed and clean up the plot as needed, amend the soil as needed (I’ll give guidance on this), plan their layout, and plant fall and winter veggies either from seed or from transplants or both. If they like, they could even maintain the plots and harvest if they don’t live too far away.
How is this volunteering? Well, I have to weed and clean up abandoned plots and prepare them for the next plot owner, so believe me, this is definitely a big help.
I can also teach volunteers about the native Dallas soil. It’s officially called “Houston Black” – the state soil – and unofficially called Black Gumbo and worse. I can teach how to successfully and easily grow veggies in this soil, for much less money than the SFG method of buying soil, etc. That’s what we have in the garden, we did not buy any soil – and we had good success our very first season (2010). BUT you have to know how to deal with it, and all the local talk show gardening gurus don’t tell you what I’ll tell you. They say it takes buying various amendments (which they often sell) and putting in tons of compost, and it takes a few years.
Check out our 2010 pictures on Facebook if you don’t believe me. :)
I can also teach volunteers how to use a refractometer to test the quality of your fruits and veggies – including what you buy. This is an indispensable tool for those who want to grow high quality foods and who care about what they eat. You can put lots of organic matter in the soil but that is not a guarantee of better quality in the end. First you need to have an objective and easy method to test the final quality – and that’s what a refractometer does, along with a brix chart. You can just imagine the possibilities.
And of course there are the usual community garden things – we got overrun with bermuda grass over the hot summer, and there is some other general cleanup to do as well, including spreading mulch in the pathways, etc. We’re a small garden – far smaller than Promise of Peace – but we maximized our growing space. I’d love to put in a picnic table, and a sandbox and play area for kids – but that’s too much to expect right now. :)
And if anyone gets hungry the number one vegetarian restaurant in the metroplex is right across the street.
Shalagram, _I_ want to volunteer in your garden already! I want to know more about using a refractometer also.
Heather, I think helping with composting would be very valuable, as long as someone didn’t try to make that fill 100% of their time.
Shalagram, I’d like to volunteer in your garden, too! I’m also contacting a couple of community gardens in Oak Cliff to see if they’re in need of volunteers.
Brian, I think it would be fun. And they are easy to use – I taught a small class on it once and people liked it. Everyone should bring fruits and veggies to sample – store-bought is fine. You can samples of both organic and conventional of a particular type, and compare them. I have yet to find an organic carrot locally that tests higher than a conventional. I’ve higher brix carrots myself – but I’ve not grown “excellent” yet. YET! :) I only have one refractometer right now, I had three others but I sold them or gave them as gifts.
Clint – sure, come on! We’re doing a lot right now to clean up the mess that developed during the really hot weather and I just got 10 yards of mulch for the pathways today – we’re still a very new garden. I’m looking for more rabbit manure – I called some people 3-4 days ago who advertised some for and they have not responded yet. Chicken manure would also work, but rabbit manure is perfect for Dallas soil. If anybody knows of any sources please let me know.
Regarding Oak Cliff, there is a garden called Mustard Seed that is on Hampton Road between Camp Wisdom and Wheatland. I have not been there, but I met a couple of guys that were part of it and told me about it. We would probably have to go there, I have no contact information and I doubt they have information online. At least I think that is in the Oak Cliff area – I don’t know of any other gardens in that area.
Hi Shalagram,
I am interested in volunteering in your garden. I am available Saturday morning. I need to leave by 11am since I have other plans for the afternoon. How early are you starting work that morning?
Regards,
Swetha
I just read your reply to Brian on the forum. Sunday morning works much better for me this week and in general.
Yes, Swetha, as we discussed I will see you Sunday morning, thank you! I’ll be there at 8:30 unless it is raining hard, which would also be nice. Come any time after that.
Would like to know more about NorthTexas Gardeners programs ?
Gene, we just started the classes in DFW, and only have classes during the fall and spring planting seasons. Have you checked out the information at northtexasvegetablegardeners.com/cg ? I’m happy to talk with you about it, let me know!