President's Report by Janet Crozier

Welcome to fall you ‘all! I guess technically we need to wait to call it that until the Equinox on or around the 21st. Up until this week, it has felt like anything but fall with non-ending 100-degree days and no rain. As I am writing this it is raining and it feels like fall! I felt guilty trying to urge potential gardeners to get started planting with such an unyielding climate.

I want to remind everyone, that fall is the best time to plant the vegetables that will be the most beneficial to our health through this time of the year. Our planting time is limited as history has proclaimed that the end of November is the first freeze date. With the climate change we are experiencing, we use it as a guide. Gardening has no absolutes. It keeps us mindful and attentive.

It's now time to rent your garden bed and get started on your way to a healthy lifestyle as gardening provides not only a food source, but gentle exercise and fresh air. Many of you know that we provide gardening instructions and through our experience have plenty of advice to pass on. If you are interested, please email lampasascommunitygardens@gmail.com or text me at 512-434-9293 to set up a time to check us out.

The big news is our upcoming Fall fundraising event, “It’s Fall Y’all!” to be held on September 30 from 4-7 p.m. It will be held at the Lampasas Community Gardens and the nearby pavilion. We have planned an event for the whole family. We have numerous activities for the kids of all ages and a silent auction and line dancing for the adults. (Kids will be welcome to join in too). Oh, I forgot to mention food. Dusty Dreher will be providing fajitas and the gardeners will be providing salads and desserts. (We need to lure you in somehow, ha). Tickets are available by clicking the QR code on the Facebook flyer and they will be available at the door if that is too techy. We all hope to see you there.

I want to give a shout-out to our fundraising committee: Karen Allen and Lindsey Jackson, our co-chairs, Kenya Martin, Layne Friedrichs, Bob Stockman, Ladonna Bishop, Karen DeZarn, Mabel Truman and our behind-the-scenes treasurer, Renee Alter. Of special note. Layne and Bob have worked almost daily to ready the gardens for this event by ridding the beds of dead vegetation and weeds.

Our ADA Compliant project is starting to take shape. We should be having the area excavated before the end of the month. We are waiting for the City’s contribution of the sidewalk to our fence line.

Have a good month!

Upcoming Event

President's Report by Janet Crozier

 

With over 30 days of 100 degrees, our gardens have taken a hit. It’s not unusual though for August to have extreme heat, but to have it this long and have water restrictions doesn’t encourage our plants to produce much. We remain optimistic because we know this won’t last forever and we must make plans for fall gardening.

We are planning a Square Foot Gardening class on Saturday, August 19, at 10 am at the Lampasas Co. Annex conference room. At this class, we will talk about Square Foot Gardening. Why we use this method, how to structure it, and what goes into the soil mixture, and why we make a grid instead of a row. After the instructions, we will go to the Lampasas Community Garden and create a Square Foot Garden bed and ready it for planting. Meanwhile, we need to decide what fall vegetables we want to grow. Maybe even experiment with a vegetable that we have never tried before. Many herbs do well in the fall and winter too.

We are planning our fall fundraiser to be held at LCG and the pavilion on September 30 from 4-7pm. We are looking forward to having activities for all ages, The Great Zucchini Race, which was such a hit at the “Arts in the Park” event, our bicycle blender, and there will be so many other activities for the kids—AND line dancing for those that want to learn this dance. All this and a silent auction that is turning out to have a fun selection of items that no one will want to miss out on.

Food reminiscent of fall flavors, such as anything pumpkin and zucchini as well as barbeque once again from Dusty Dees BBQ. If you have had it before, I bet your mouth is starting to water at the thought. We believe we will have a family event that will have something for everyone. We will have a photo shoot so you can remember the fun and share it with your extended family. More details will be forthcoming on Facebook.

Our goal is to raise all the funds for our ADA-compliant garden beds. We have come a long way with our earlier fundraisers, we have raised more than half of our projected goal, but there are last-minute additions that were not planned. We have our garden beds already purchased; a shed is being donated by Mike Irvin. Keypunch locks are needed for our gate and shed. Irrigation is another expense that we are looking at that we would like to get set up at the same time as the concrete pad. Please donate or contribute to this fundraiser. We need your help.

We appreciate all the donations received and have a banner with the names and logos of many of you mentioned. If we have missed anyone, I am truly sorry.

Square Foot Gardening Class

LCG President's Report by Janet Crozier

I guess I don’t need to tell you, IT’S HOT! Our gardens are taking a beating, but with the shade cloth and diligence, we are still producing eggplant, some zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers. Things are winding down. Many of our beans are not making flowers because of the hot weather and we planted a lot of them. They will be turned into the soil to add nitrogen as it decomposes. We are experimenting with sweet potatoes and have some good-looking okra that added that special something to the gumbo we had for dinner last night.

Our small pumpkins are just about ready to harvest. This was not the plan. I planted them too early. I had a plan in mind that they would be ready for our fall fundraiser, but evidentially I miscalculated the harvest date. That’s one more thing to watch for-the harvest date.

I have some exciting news for our supporters that donated funds for our ADA-Compliant Garden Beds. We finally have the banner you were promised, and I think Molly Lesley and her assistant Megan did a fabulous job on it. If you haven’t been out to see it yet come by and take a look.

I am also thrilled to tell you that we purchased the garden beds that will be used at the new garden site soon. Thanks to Tractor Supply, we purchased 8 garden beds at a very discounted price.

I am writing a grant to finish the project by providing the soil material -vermiculite, peat moss and combination composts to be used in the garden beds. We are getting quotes and planning for an irrigation system to supply water to the garden beds. I am also including a gas-powered chipper to help us mulch our compost. There are other miscellaneous items that will be needed.

By the way, the fall/winter gardening season will start in August. If you are thinking about gardening, this is the time to start planning for the fall vegetables you most like to eat. I’ve heard talk that we might have a food shortage. Not to scare you, but I believe in being prepared. It can’t be a mistake to grow a few things that are good for you and your pocketbook.

I want to thank the Wings of Eagles for their volunteer efforts to pull some of our sticker-burrs. They are really a “thorn in the side.” Sorry I can’t resist a pun.

Have a happy summer, do what you have to to stay cool and hydrated.

LCG President's Report by Janet Crozier

 

The garden beds are producing a bounty of squash, cucumbers, eggplant, peas, beans, and carrots. The tomatoes are producing flowers and fruit, but not many of us have ripened tomatoes yet. Our lettuce and spinach have bolted under the hot temperatures.

Squash bugs are making their appearance, and I have done my best to show the new gardeners where they are most likely to devastate the plant and where they lay their eggs underneath the leaves. We have used DE on them and for the most part with diligence, we are controlling them enough to be able to get a good amount of zucchini and yellow squash. I love to hear about the recipes the gardeners are creating with their produce.

I do believe the pests are not as bad as in other years. We have more pollinators and lizards running around, and I believe that they are helping to control the bug population.

Many of us have started to cover our beds with shade cloth to mitigate the damage from the very hot weather and wind.

We received the quote from T.J. Wright and Blue Springs Pool and Construction for $18,300.00. Barring any unforeseen extreme increases in materials, we should have the funds to start the ADA project. Our next fundraiser and other donations, material and financial, should help us complete the project.

I completed the Square Foot Gardening Foundation Grant on June 8. Lindsey Jackson wrote a grant for $1,000.00 through the company she works for.

LCG has been invited to be featured in the Senior’s Magazine published and distributed by the Dispatch Record to the Chamber of Commerce, banks, hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other businesses. We feel that this is a good way to show our commitment to the community and let newcomers know where we are and what we do. It will be coming out on June 23.

Molly Leslie is providing a proof of the banner celebrating the contributions made and donations received for the ADA Compliant Garden Bed project. Once that is confirmed and printed it will be placed on the fence at the Community Garden.

LCG President's Report by Janet Crozier

I am always amazed by all the things that take place within a month and this last month is no exception. It has been even more jam-packed than ever.

The first week in May we were visited by the Grapevine Garden Club who are enthusiastic gardeners taking an excursion through many Texas community gardens on their way to San Antonio. They gave a donation of $50 to our community garden. The very next day, we were descended upon by five shifts of third graders. Thank God for all the volunteers that showed up to help show them the features of the garden and answered their questions.

The next week and a half were spent in planning meetings to prepare for our wine-tasting fundraiser, “Happy Hour at the Gardens" which was held on May 11th. Not only did we plan for the event, but we also went out and procured donations of money and auction items, advertised in the Dispatch and Radiogram, and gave out flyers.

On the day of the event, we scrambled to set up tables and chairs in addition to tents to shelter the wineries and food, as there was always the chance of rain to deal with. With everything in place, including the music provided by Ben from Saloon 37 and our police officer in attendance, we pulled it off. More than 50 people attended throughout the four-hour event. Clean-up took place after the close of the event, and chairs were loaded to go back to the county annex the next day. We made our goal of $5,000! Thank you notes have been sent to all those who gave donations of money, and a banner is planned to showcase their businesses. A smaller banner will thank the donors of the auction items.

Square Foot Gardening Foundation invited me to write another grant for the ADA project. I have been working on this for about a week. I called a meeting with Chris Eicher and T.J. Wright to finalize the quote that T.J. had given me last year.

Both Chris and I had changes to the original plan. T.J. will be sending the updated quote which I need to complete the grant. T.J. believes the pad will be completed by August in time for the fall planting.

Mike Irvin is donating a shed for the ADA garden. He wants the dimensions so he can collect the materials to build it. I am having a rendering made to show him the design that will house the garden materials and our fundraising supplies.

Karen DeZarn and I are planning some canning classes. I am also waiting to hear from Hadley Barry about some nutrition classes. We will start promoting these very soon.