Kinnelon Community Gardens Update, Events, Website

Have you been keeping up with the Kinnelon Community Gardens (KCG)? Let me update you...

Kinnelon Community Gardens Website

Kinnelon Community Gardens has a website: www.kinneloncommunitygardens.org which includes photos and writeups of recent KCG events.  Definitely check out the photos from the Two Pond Farm visit in West Milford!

Kinnelon Community Gardens Update

This from Galina Adair:

"Hello everyone – I wanted to give you an updated account of what is happening at the Kinnelon Community Gardens. We have started to meet with the Open Space Committee. The Open Space Committee extended an invitation to the Kinnelon Community Gardens and we accepted.

The Kinnelon Open Space Public Advisory Committee and the KCG’s meetings have been going extremely well. With the help of the Open Space Committee, we realized that in order to obtain a parcel of property, there are steps necessary to follow and a clear course of action was determined. A list of potential sites was discussed, and the OSPAC is investigating these possibilities. It was agreed that the KCG would attend any future OSPAC meetings in order to keep up to date on what was being accomplished. So, KCG is very optimistic of our forthcoming plot of land!"

Kinnelon Community Gardens Events

Did you know that Kinnelon Community Gardens organizes monthly seminars that take place at L'Ecole Museum (25 Kiel Avenue) in Kinnelon? These sessions are great fun, informative and seem to consistently involve tastings of food created by local Kinnelon garden enthusiasts.

The first we attended took place on October 6 with local beekeeper Don Lynch.  We'll share more notes in a separate post.

Ted discussed the history and making of hot sauces with tastings of his SR Fresh Hot Sauces on December 8th.

Upcoming Kinnelon Community Gardens seminars include:

Jan. 5, 2011:  Bill of ‘Bill’s Figs’
Bill Muzychko of Bill’s Figs from Flemington, NJ has been growing figs for ~ 7 years. He has over 100 fig trees and his mature trees (i.e,. 4 years old or older) produce between 200 and 300 figs during a growing season. This is a major accomplishment since fig trees are semi-Tropical and not used to cold winters. Bill has developed a system that not only extends the growing season, but encourages rapid growth. Here is a link to a presentation he shared in 2008 on the caring and growing of fig trees.  Bill will also have some of his fig trees available for sale.

Feb. 2, 2011  Diane Nelson – wild flowers of the Highlands

March 2, 2011 Movie 'Power of the Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil'  with wine/cheese.
This documentary, a People's Choice Award winner for best international film at the Aotearoa Environmental Film Festival, explores how rapidly an economy can become self sufficient as oil supplies dwindle? Cubans didn't have a choice in the matter and figured out how to grow their own food and use alternative forms of energy to power refrigeration, light, transport etc.

April 6, 2011 Allyson Hosford from Two Pond Farm in West Milford on onions and garlic....saving seeds....small farm farming and farmers

May 4, 2011 Beer (?) Field Trip

June 8, 2011 Indian Herbs & Indian Cooking

As you can see, lots to look forward to about our Kinnelon community, and what's possible with gardens.

If you have any questions, please contact KinneconCommunityGardens@gmail.com.  See you at an upcoming seminar!

Come to the Hot Sauce Talk at L'Ecole, Wed. Dec. 8th at 7 PM

Kinnelon Community Gardens has invited me to talk about Hot Sauces and the making of Hot Sauces as a part of their Monthly Education Seminar Program, so .. that's what I'm going to do, on the evening of Wednesday Dec. 8 at 7 PM at L'Ecole, 25 Kiel Ave. in Kinnelon. I will also bring some of the Hot Sauces that I make for tasting and sale.

I myself have liked spicy and hot food including Hot Sauce since my late teens and have been making Hot Sauces for over 20 years. Check out The Fresh Hot Sauce Blog, and the SR Fresh Hot Sauce website for more information, including reviews of popular hot sauces, in my inimitable writing style.

I attended the Bee Keeping Talk earlier this fall and enjoyed it a lot. We had a good crowd and I am not surprised since most people do like honey, after all.

I'm wondering if there are enough Hot Sauce enthusiasts out there interested in hearing about the history of Hot Sauce in America, from McIlhenny's commercial  introduction of Tabasco in 1868 (yeah, that long ago), to more boutique and colorfully named brands such as Dave's Insanity and Blair Lazar's "Death" Sauces in the last 2 decades of the 20th century.

I will also talk about popular methods of crushing, chopping and juicing peppers and related hot sauce ingredients and methods of preserving and bottling the results as Hot Sauce.

Do you like Hot Sauce?

Wanna make some???

No?

OK. Just come and listen!

Don't like Hot Sauce???

I am sorry for you -- you can stay home.

~Ted

Kinnelon Community Gardens - 8/30/10 Meeting Notes

Galina Adair shares the following notes from the 8/30/10 Kinnelon Community Gardens meeting at the Kinnelon Library [per previous post about the KCG].

I've also included details on the first Kinnelon Community Gardens group outing taking place 9/27/10 to Two Pond Farm in West Milford, NJ. See below!

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We reached out to other community gardens and invited them to a panel discussion. The visiting garden representatives included:

• Wendy Watson-Hallowell from the West Milford Community Gardens, 
• Dennis Mahony from the Denville Community Gardens,
• Joe Jorgensen from Pequannock Community Gardens.

The panel discussion was a learning curve for us. Wendy, Dennis and Joe were a wealth of knowledge – they offered so much good advice. A short synopsis of how each of the above gardens got started and how they function today:

Pequannock Community Gardens: (Joe Jorgensen)

* Their garden got started as a result of a Pequannock Municipality push to sustainability.
* Their local paper picked up on this at the town meetings.
* Many articles were written about the community gardens – free publicity.
* Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops helped a lot with the building – Eagle Scout Awards and Gold Awards (one Boy Scout not only raised money for a fence he also built it).
* If people want a raised bed they have to build it themselves on their plot
* They have dedicated plots JUST for food pantry
* Pequannock Community Gardens falls under Parks and Recreation
* Their logs were donated and cut
* It took the coordination of about 50 people to get this garden started
* Local businesses such as the Van Wergerden gardens all helped:

See Pequannock community garden flourishes during growing season

West Milford Sustainable Community Gardens: (Wendy Watson-Hallowell)

* Their garden is completely sustainable and organic
* Gardening education is very important to them
* They charge $35 a plot
* People have to be NEAT and manicured with their plot otherwise they do not get one next year.
* Their garden is located on private land (leasing it )
* 50-60 people are continuously involved
* Very active community gardens, every other month something is going on – canning, cooking lessons, farmers market
* Barrels collect their water – Wendy said ACCESS TO WATER IS VERY IMPORTANT
* Fencing is very important
* They have a website [click on section title]
* Communication is important

Denville Community Gardens: (Dennis Malony)

* Denville garden was started in 1972
* It is town land
* It was started by rogue gardeners in 1972 and has since grown considerably
* Access to water is VERY IMPORTANT – they have timed access to water
* Fence against critters is very important
* Garden neatness is very important
* The Community garden seems to take care of itself
* They have 4.5 acres, 160 plots and 125 families are members – AND there are people on the waiting list
* They charge $6.00 a year

Click on the section title for link to Denville Community Gardens' website.

See story titled Community Gardens for more on the Denville Community Gardens. Note that the article refers readers to the American Community Gardening Association for help starting a community garden.

Kinnelon Community Gardens Takeways

We came away with the following impressions/observations:

1. What is the purpose to our gardens?

2. Water control is very important.

3. Community Gardens SHOULD NOT be under any commissions.

4. Guidelines should be set-up BEFORE garden opens.

5. Kinnelon does NOT have a town center – having a garden in close proximity of the town hall and library would only enhance our sense of community.

Kinnelon Community Gardens Group Outing: Two Pond Farm Trip and Tour, West Milford, NJ

Allison Hosford has kindly invited Kinnelon Community Garden Group to a tour of her wonderful West Milford Farm. She will talk about 3 kinds of gardening and will show us many of her heirloom veggies ...eggs and chickens too.

Date: Sept.27, 2010....Monday.... (2 hour tour)

Meet at the Public Library in Kinnelon at 9:30a.m....  (if you can, carpool with a friend )

*Bring pad and pen to take notes
*Bring a camera to take photos for the Smoke Rise and Kinnelon Blog!
*Wear low heeled comfy shoes
*Bring water
*Allison will offer us seeds from her huge collection...bring a few plastic sandwich bags.

If you plan on attending, please send an email to: kinneloncommunitygardens@gmail.com and include in the subject heading "2 Pond Farm".

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Thank you, Galina!

I can't wait to hear about the visit to 2 Pond Farm and to see pictures.

By the way, while researching the resources I came across a mushroom picking class that Allison Hosford teaches at the end of September via Glenwild Garden Center in West Milford, NJ.

Kinnelon Community Gardens - Update 8/16/10 Meeting

The Kinnelon Community Gardens (KCG) held its first meeting on August 16, 2010 at the Kinnelon Library.  Galina Adair reports as follows on the meeting and next steps, including the next meeting to be held Monday August 30, 2010!

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Kinnelon Community Gardens Timeline

The timeline for breaking ground for our Kinnelon Community Gardens would be by OCTOBER 1st.

Kinnelon Community Gardens Mission Statement

We spoke about creating a Mission Statement, but we did not want it to be complicated. Sustainable West Milford has a GREAT mission statement – so, we recycled it a little and made it our own:

Kinnelon Community Gardens hopes to empower residents to be advocates for sustainable communities. Enabling community members to transform Kinnelon into an environmentally friendly and sustainable community through their personal participation and leadership.

Kinnelon Community Gardens Property Search Committee

I guess the biggest question on everyone’s mind is Where Will The Kinnelon Community Garden Be?  We do not know yet, Mary Cobell and Galina Adair volunteered to do a property search. 30 acres behind rec and behind town hall as well as areas around schools were suggested.

Kinnelon Community Gardens Master Gardener List

A list of Kinnelon Master Gardeners needs to be put together, because we will be deferring to them for help. Possible sources mentioned were Frelinghuysen and Rutgers Co-op Extension. Theresa Haulser will be looking into this.

Kinnelon Community Gardens PR Committee

Kathy Valischeck and Kim Mazurkiewicz

Kinnelon Community Gardens Resource List

Mary Derstine

***If you would like help w/any of the above committees please contact the individuals involved already.

Decisions Made

We did decide upon the following issues:

* The Kinnelon Community Gardens are going to be ORGANIC!!!
* It can be a Public Garden/Education Center.
* Approach local business for work donations.
* Glenwild is a local GREEN garden center… Glenwildgardens.com
* Is this going to be just vegetables or include flowers also?

Next Kinnelon Community Gardens Meeting

Monday, August 30th, 7-8 will be the next meeting. Local community garden representatives will tell us how they got their gardens started. We will be able to ask questions. RIGHT AFTER this meeting, we will have our Kinnelon Community Garden meeting.

There were a multitude of other questions as well…..will we need insurance, how long will the plots be, should we charge, etc. For next time.

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All exciting news! 

Do you want to be involved? Attend the 8/30/10 meeting or contact Galina Adair via email at: Kinneloncommunitygardens@gmail.com.

Thanks, Galina! Congratulations, Kinnelon Community Gardens!

Kinnelon Community Garden (KCG) Holds First Meeting: 8/16/10

Did you attend the 4th Annual Kinnelon Conserves Earth Day Fair? If so, you may have noticed the Kinnelon Community Garden sign and petition.  I'm delighted to share with you the following message from Galina Adair about the Kinnelon Community Garden [aka KCG].

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Hello everyone! This message took a long time coming.  However, here we go and let's get the ball rolling! I am very EXCITED that so many of you signed the petition to start a Kinnelon Community Garden. As many residents know, it is difficult to garden in Kinnelon - we seem to grow nothing but rocks :-), many yards do not get enough sun, the deer are a problem, etc. Basically, all of us in Kinnelon would like a Community Garden where we could gather on a sunny piece of land where we can learn how to garden, exchange ideas on gardening so that we could eventually reap the benefits of all our sweat by eating a nice juicy tomato.

I know you have questions.  I do, too.  And, although I've gotten guidance from Carol Sventy - thank you, Carol !!!!:):):) - I know that before any of these questions can be answered a Kinnelon Community Garden Committee must first be formed.

So, the purpose of this email is to announce the very first KCG (KINNELON COMMUNITY GARDEN) meeting on August 16th, 2010 at 7pm here at the Library. It is our hope that a KCG Committee can be created at this time with volunteers from this meeting. Ideally, to start things off there should be a committee of at least 3-4 people who are determined, ambitious, organized and hard working enough to see this worthwhile project through.

These are the topics to be discussed:
1. Where will the garden be?
2. Who will the committee members be?
3. Organic? Sustainability?
4. Do we need a mission statement?
5. Do we need insurance?
6. How large should each plot be?
7. How much should be charged for a single plot?
8. Publicity? Website, Garden Blog, Newspapers
9. Please feel free to make your own notes and share, the only bad idea is an idea that is not shared!

You will not be alone; there are many who are willing to help from Kinnelon's Environmental Commission, Kinnelon’s Open Space Advisory Committee, Kinnelon's Historical Commission, L'Ecole as well as various members of the Kinnelon Library Staff and Kinnelon Conserves.  All of these resources are available, but the Kinnelon Community Garden Committee needs a few dedicated, focused people to take the lead and marshall these resources.  Remember the old adage: Many hands make for light work! - but, you need someone to direct the hands and the work.

Additionally, we would like to have a second meeting toward the end of August, probably August 30th, to be confirmed. This 2nd meeting will be a brain-storming session, during which members of other municipalities’ Community Gardens will help guide us through their trials and tribulations of how they started their own community gardens.

This is all exciting news!  Please let us know at Kinneloncommunitygardens@gmail.com whether you will be be attending the August 16th meeting.

Feel free to bring your friends! We need for the KCG to ‘get up, get out and get gardening'!

We look forward to seeing you and meeting you on the 16th.

Happy digging!

Galina Adair –

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Thank you, Galina!

I love the idea of a Kinnelon Community Garden.  In Demarest, where we lived before Kinnelon, we had our own garden. And although we had to fight a groundhog for it, we really enjoyed growing tomatoes [surrounded by marigolds and basil which protected the tomatoes], peppers, maybe zucchini, cucumber or some beans.  I remember learning so much in High School from a pathetic radish growing experiment, that I'd love to share those marvels with my daughter. One thing is for sure: it will NOT happen in our back yard!  Too much competition from Kinnelon Critters!

Will you attend the meeting of the Kinnelon Community Garden? Please do, and let Galina know.