You Grow Girl™

Posted: 20-03-09 17:35

Okay here's the deal. I've managed to secure some space in a local greenhouse to grow seedlings this spring. Because You Grow Girl is a community, I've wrangled enough space for more than myself, but for a community to grow. I realize many of you may not have anywhere reasonable to grow your seedlings and thought this would be a good opportunity to share in.

This has come about quickly so I haven't had much time to work through this but what I am thinking is that a few of us share the shelf space and in turn share the workload of watering, checking up on seedlings, etc. We can arrange a day to work together to get seeds started so if you are new no worries, I'm happy to walk you through the process.

The greenhouse itself also has some expectations as far as membership goes but they are around volunteering time to the park and greenhouse, not payment.

Seed growers always overdo it so I figure that there should still be enough plants left over to donate to a charity that can use them.

Are you interested? The greenhouse is in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

I'd like to get an idea of interest and then decide how to proceed from there. We don't have much time so if you're in please comment and we can continue to work this out together.

Joined: 20 Mar 2009 Posts: 6 Location: Blansdowne

Hi, Gayla, I followed this here from your Tweet.

I would love to participate. I am an absolute beginner when it comes to seeds. I usually plant seedlings.

Posted: 20-03-09 18:19

The Christie Pits community garden group is also using some space at the greenhouse there! We will be there tomorrow afternoon to start some seedlings. We would totally like to get in on the sharing of watering duties and such Smile

Posted: 21-03-09 14:00

I just joined too - I've offered to help get the greenhouse organized, ie their log book & shelves labelled . If any of you can think of suggestions to make it run more smoothly, please let me know and I'll try to work them in - right now I'm waiting for things to get set up - then I plan to go in and type & laminate. I'll be at a conference in Oregon next week - back on 6 April...

Posted: 21-03-09 16:02

Ruby Petunia: I would absolutely appreciate a collective watering sharing type situation. I realized this week that there is no way I can pull this off without help. My schedule is just too insane and I am too far away from the greenhouse.

Bre: I was away during the big cleanup and haven't had a chance to get over there to see how it has changed since the last meeting. I know there were some pest problems so I am most interested in ensuring that the pest problem can be curbed so that we can all grow the healthiest plants possible.

Heather: Great. Please spread the word if you know anyone who needs space. There isn't much time to arrange this but I would like to use the space as effectively as possible.

Posted: 21-03-09 16:24

The greenhouse is looking much better just since last weekend when we stopped by to claim a shelf and help with clean-up. There is a lovely low, wooded table in the center of the room for potting up your soil and seeds. We used it today and it was perfect. I havn't heard anything about the pest problems but I know there was some concern about some leaks. Maybe we should have a clip-board for concerns or things we notice while there or maybe there already is one? Either way, I'm super excited to have a little greenhouse space!

Posted: 22-03-09 0:03

The greenhouse was totally emptied of furniture and a large portion of the stuff was hauled away and the greenhouse was thoroughly vacuumed before the new shelves were brought in. It really does look a lot better.

Great idea to have a clipboard for concerns that need to be addressed. There is a black notebook now for signing in - maybe a clip can be added to the front of it for this purpose.

Hopefully the pests have been dealt with!

Someone is going to get a new fan and fix the east roof vents which were not opening when the set temperature is reached. They have been advised to turn the thermostat down to 15C. It was set at 26C. Shade clothes have been ordered and will arrive in 3 weeks I think. The fence that was put up to stop soccer balls from hitting the greenhouse is blocking light along the south wall - I think it is going to be fixed too.

Posted: 22-03-09 7:55

Awesome Bre! My name is Mandy by the way! I'm sure I will see some of you around soon Smile

Posted: 22-03-09 10:12

Hi Mandy - we may have even worked together on Saturday during the clean up - what a nice opportunity to be part of a greenhouse!

Hi Gayla - great to see this opened up for others who now have this opportunity also!

Joined: 21 Mar 2009 Posts: 5

Hi Gayla,

Yes, I'd like to participate too. I live around the corner from Bellwoods and have been wondering how to get involved -- am interested in growing plants for the park or others. Looking forward to hearing what's next and how to connect.

Posted: 22-03-09 12:03

Bayleaf: Excellent! I've been getting a bit worried about finding enough people in such short notice... it's so Toronto, West End specific so I know the location will make it difficult for many... it does for me too.

Here's what I am thinking: We really need to get started on some seeds... we're already past due for broccoli and other early plants.

So I am thinking of arranging to do the first round as a group: next Saturday (March 2 Cool

at 1:30pm.

We meet up for an hour or 2 at most, discuss what we'd like to do, the greenhouse expectations, do a quick "plant along" (less intense than a full workshop), and walk everyone through the general care of seedlings. I'll bring a sowing chart so everyone knows when to plant what. We'll begin with what needs to be sown now and can go from there.

I have a bunch of seeds that I can bring and share with the group as well as some other supplies I've been given along the way. And of course you are welcome to bring your own seeds if there are specific varieties you'd like to try.

Posted: 22-03-09 12:13

I have to go through my seed stash but I think the only seeds I am low on or don't have at all are: broccoli, cauliflower, corn, tomatillo, okra, collards, winter squash, brussel sprouts, eggplant.

I have tons of assorted: tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, melons, cucumbers, swiss chard, some cabbage, onions, calendula, (a few types of basil).

I'm not listing direct sown seeds such as peas, beans, lettuce, radish, carrots, lettuce...

Will have to check my stash for additional flowers. To be most practical and make the best use of the space, I'd like to focus on food, but of course, that doesn't exclude edible flowers. What do y'all think about limiting what we grow to edibles?

Posted: 22-03-09 15:54

Good news! We've got one more person involved. She requested space to grow native plants and I thought that was a good idea. So ignore my request to keep it exclusive to edibles.

I've put an email in to the greenhouse coordinator to determine if all of this is going to be okay and to answer a few more questions, but so far this is looking good.

Joined: 10 Feb 2009 Posts: 4 Location: Toronto, ON

Hi-
I'd love to get involved. I have been gardening in the country for the past few years but am staying in the city this year am having serious spring planting withdrawal. Would love to help with the responsibility of taking care of plants in a greenhouse that I can bike or transit to (I am up on St Clair/Christie area). I will plan on coming to meet next Saturday if that goes ahead. I can for sure put in some time planting and commit to a regular (ish) schedule of coming in and watering etc. I've got a smattering of corn and winter squash seeds I can bring, along with some other veg you already have.

Ruby- I would also like to get involved with the Christie Pits garden--sounds great!

Ancient Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 1380 Location: Toronto

Ciao Gayla-

I can't commit my time, but I can send you lots of seeds. PM me your address and I'll get them in tomorrow's post so you'll have them for the weekend.

Joined: 21 Mar 2009 Posts: 5

Hi Gayla,

Unfortunately I have a commitment this Saturday (I'm usually more flexible, but loved ones' birthdays are non-negotiable) -- could do Sunday tho'. If most can make it Saturday anyways, then I'll can catch up later. I have too many seeds, so no problem there.

Posted: 22-03-09 19:58

I popped over to the greenhouse today and it looks great! Everyone that was there for the cleanup did an amazing job.

Pictures: 1 & 2

I started a few seeds really quickly with a little kit I got for free just as a trial to see how they do based on the location of our shelves. There are ingredients to mix up seed-starting soil there but I am concerned about the containers, which are used and not cleaned. There is a hose but nowhere to wash with warm water and soap.

I prefer to start with 4" transplant containers from the get-go since it means we don't have to transplant into bigger pots as the seedlings grow.

If you have used and cleaned, 4" pots please bring them. I'll collect those I have on hand but I don't think I will have enough, although i will try to acquire more.

If you come on Saturday you might want to bring along a towel to dry your hands. I had to use my pants.... which is a bad habit I am trying to break.

Bayleaf: I am still waiting to hear back more but will pass it all on when I do. No worries about next Saturday. I just put it out there as a way to get things going as soon as possible. I am crazy swamped right now and it was the best time I could whittle in. There is still plenty of time to start other seeds, but wanted to get peppers and tomatoes going right away. We will discuss all of this further once I hear more back from the greenhouse coordinator. I'm still not sure about issues like greenhouse keys. But once we get going we can always arrange more days to start seeds that get going later... squash, zucchini. cucumber, etc...

Sorellina: That is brilliant! You are very generous. Big love!

Rachel09: Also brilliant.

Posted: 22-03-09 21:33

Me AGAIN. Okay we have go ahead for Saturday and some other questions have been answered.

The greenhouse is also going to be open to the public during Earth Hour that evening so anyone is free to come check it out then.

Posted: 23-03-09 8:45

Ruby Petunia: How many people do you have in your group? Looks like we have 5 or 6 people so far. Between the two groups we should have no problems keeping each others' plants healthy.

Posted: 23-03-09 9:24

Gayla- I'm not totally sure how many people will be tending to the plants in the greenhouse from the Christie Pits group. So far, there are 3 of us from the group who have keys and will be going regularly. So let's say 3 for now and I can always update later. I will try to make it Saturday to introduce myself and stuff Smile

Rachel09- That is awesome! We need all the help and support we can get! We will be having a community outreach meeting this Wednesday across from the park.
http://www.tcgn.ca/wiki/wiki.php?n=Events2009.ChristiePitsCommunityGarden

Anyone interested in getting involved can come! If you can't make it, e-mail us at christiepitscommunitygarden@gmail.com. We have not yet assigned plots so people interested in that can also e-mail and we will get you an application.