BS July 23, 2013 Agenda and Minutes
- GTECH and Grow Pittsburgh have joined forces to create an awesome tour of community greening projects. Scheduled for Saturday, August 10, there will be two bicycle route options and one bus tour route (with three departure times throughout the afternoon). Grow Pittsburgh, who has helped us out a great deal, is featuring the Community Garden at Bandi Schaum Field on the long bike tour route. It’s one of the middle stops, so riders will probably be there between 11:30am and 1:30pm. They will be in groups of ten, and will stop for 0-15 minutes at each garden. GP expects 75 riders to sign up for the long ride. This will be taking place rain or shine. There are no obligations for your garden to become a stop except to make sure that your water is turned on and available for riders to fill up their water bottles. However, this is a great opportunity to show off your garden, fundraise, and build support for the project. They need gardeners on hand to welcome riders, and/or give tours, provide free produce samples, sell some item as a fundraiser, offer a hands-on activity, etc.
- Several gardeners in attendance volunteered. Volunteers will also be solicited via the blog. We will make a welcome sign. We will also solicit anecdotes about gardening at Bandi Shaum. Do you have a story to tell? Contact Jessica McNally at jessica@growpittsburgh.org to share your story about gardening at Bandi Shaum.
- Volunteers needed to make a welcome sign.
- Schedule harvest party: Date chosen was September 28th at 5 pm. Can we get electricity by then? If not, music will be acoustic.
- Painting the shed: Grow Pittsburgh purchased new paint. Rick McLain has dodged the raindrops to try to finish; others have volunteered, so should be done by the end of the month.
- Bulletin Board: Still awaiting word from City Arts Commission for approval of bulletin board design submitted by Grow Pittsburgh. In the meantime, a bulletin board will be hung on the interior of the shed door.
- Solidify the decision making process (i.e. if someone wants to build something or grow something in public areas, how do they get approval? How is steering committee chosen? How are changes made to agreement?): Gardeners were asked to outline their suggestions and post them to the blog (http://bandishaum.wordpress.com). Members will vote on their choice at next general meeting.
- Update on bees: See agenda for details of Burgh Bees presentation: It was decided by the membership in attendance that a vote on accepting bees should be unanimous, given allergies. Since attending gardeners voted against it, we will revisit the topic in a year or two, when Burgh Bees will be invited to answer questions.
- Grilling: The city has no objection, but the grills cannot be permanent, i.e. brick or stone.
- Tree tending: Cem at the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation is monitoring the drainage to see if we will be able to plant more fruit trees. The next round, the herbs, will arrive soon. The fruit tree tenders need to be diligent about removing weeds. One of the berry bushes is planted too deep and will need to be raised.
- When to call the City: Gardeners need to attempt to resolve conflicts by talking directly to their fellow gardener about the issues. If the issues cannot be resolved, they should be referred to the steering committee, who will contact the parties involved. Issues that involve violations of the garden agreement will be dealt with by the Department of Public Works. Do not call the city for minor issues such as grass cutting, weeds, or water; we do not want to aggravate the very people who are assisting us. Consuming alcohol on the premises is not illegal per se, but drunken, disorderly behavior and/or underage drinking should be referred to the Police, not the city.
- Empty plots: The steering committee refers the empty plots to the city as soon as they become aware that the plots are abandoned. It is up to the city to notify the gardeners that they no longer have the plot and choose from the waiting list. Gardners may not plant on or erect structures on others’ plots, even if they appear to be abandoned.
- Composting: Those gardeners who signed up to compost should be turning the compost pile on a regular basis. Please do not put anything in the compost pile that is larger than the palm of your hand. Fruit and vegetables should be cut up first. Please refer to the Bandi Shaum blog for directions on what can and cannot be composted. This group should meet soon to discuss schedule and process; please contact each other.
- Weeds: We will be moving the weeds location shortly, as it impedes the city’s ability to mow the grass. Look for signs that direct you to the new weeds location.
- Green N’at Garden Tour, August 18th: Green N’At, a South Side public gardening and beautification organization, will hold its second Garden Tour on August 18th. More than a dozen South Side gardens will be featured. Posters will be hung at neighborhood businesses that indicate where tickets can be purchased. Green N’At is looking for volunteers to facilitate the tour at the homeowners’ gardens. Volunteers need only work for two hours and will receive a free ticket to the tour. Email Carla Garfield at cgarfield829@gmail.com to volunteer or to purchase tickets.
- Food bank plans: The Food Bank Committee will place a white milk crate under the current bulletin board table. Donations will be gratefully accepted in this basket on Mondays and Thursdays and delivered to local food banks. Please weigh your produce and record it in the binder before you donate it.
- New items:
- The food scale is in the shed and will soon be hung on the outside of the shed. Please weigh all of the produce you harvest and record the weight in the binder. This information helps us to obtain grants and other garden aid.
- We hope to soon have a gas lawn mower donated to Bandi Shaum, which will be stored in the shed. Anyone know how to maintain it?
- Many gardeners are interested in a fundraiser to help raise funds for garden equipment and social events. Please attend the next meeting or post on the blog to share your ideas.
- At the meeting, it was suggested that:
- A mediator be added to the list of garden job
- Shelves and a peg board and hooks be added to the shed’s interior. Does anyone have materials/expertise to donate?
- Is the bat box supposed to be in the sun? If not, can it be moved?
- Next year, since the waiting list is so long, each address should only be allowed one plot.
- Gardeners need to use the rain barrels! The rain water is better for the plants and for the environment than city water. A hose and nozzle will be added to the rain barrels so that gardeners won’t have so much difficulty turning the water on and off.
- Gardeners who want to offer free gardening classes/workshops need only advertise them on the blog, they don’t need to register.
- Since we just had a meeting, our next meeting doesn’t need to be as soon as August 7th, as originally planned. A Doodle message will be sent out to see what date works best for our next meeting.
- Who is running the facebook pages?
