Hello Members,
Happy New Year 2023 from the LBCG Board!
It is so nice to see so many beautiful gardens. We have enjoyed a great fall/winter season and the food bank donations have been bountiful. All your donations are greatly appreciated. Please keep up the good work.
Saturday January 7th Work Party — We really need members to show up for this as there is a lot of work to be done. It is a new 6-months so time to get your 2nd 2-hour requirement met if you haven’t already. There are four (4) more work parties before the deadline to complete the full 4 hours for the year. Weather is good and cool for a 2-hour period of work so get your hours in before it gets hot. You can also email lbcg.orchard@gmail.com if you would like to help in the Orchard on Tuesdays. We really appreciate your needed help.
Please reply to this email and RSVP if you plan to attend the Saturday work party. It really helps us plan the assignments.
Weeds, Weeds & More Weeds — Yes, the rains and warmer weather coming will bring the weeds and grasses commonly seen in the spring. Everyone should get out and clear weeds NOT ONLY from your garden but from your PATHWAYS — and then chip them. DO NOT simply cover the weeds with chips or you will have a bigger mess in a month or so. Dig out the weeds and then mulch.
Friendly Reminder Notices – You can get a friendly reminder notice on your plot every month. It’s just to remind you that you have some small issues that need to be done in your garden. These are not violation notices. Just a friendly reminder from your row monitor. These are not correction notices either. There seems to be some issues between these documents.
OVERGROWN ROSEMARY, LAVENDER & OTHER PERENNIAL PLANTS — According to the rules, “perennials shall be maintained so as not to reach a height and width of greater than 3 feet and the main stem shall not be greater than 1-2 inches in diameter”. R&A page 3, VI. F. Recently, strong men have had to remove extremely overgrown rosemary and lavender plants in several plots. Face it, nobody needs that much of these perennials. Keep in mind there is a Community Herb Garden in the boxes on the South side of the Orchard – help yourself. If your plants are too large for you to remove, notify the President – or he may be notifying you.
Composters — When using a composter, please don’t fill it with trash from your garden. Don’t put big branches in them and dead plants; they’ll never break down into compost. Do not use: pineapple tops, potatoes or tomatoes – these cause disease in your soil. Styrofoam and plastic never breaks down. You also need to turn or work the composter every week.
We will be checking all composters for compliance. “Composters are not to be used for trash storage because they attract animals, cause spread of disease and create a foul odor. If used only for trash (whether plant material or paper/plastic, etc), they must be removed from the plot.” R&A page 5, X. D.
Spring/Summer Planting — It’s a bit early but start thinking about summer planting — clearing areas of your plot and placing amendments and manure over them. We have plenty of manure now but it goes fast so don’t miss out. Summer planting will usually begin in early March so you have 6-8 weeks to get prepared.
Upcoming Renewals — Renewals will be emailed in February and must be returned no later than April 30th. If you do not plan to renew your membership, please respond to this email so we can plan accordingly. We do not want plots to turn to weeds and we like to orient new members before the spring/summer
If we all do our part, our crops will be so much happier 🙂
Happy 2023 and Happy Gardening!
Greg Marcotte