1. When can you offer input and socialize with other gardeners?
Karel's Thursday Garden Gatherings Each Thursday of the week. - 6:30-7:30pm
Come build your volunteer hours. For those of you without any hours, this is an easy, pleasant opportunity! Meet at the garden for some fun projects and learning opportunities gardening with others.
or
All Gardener's Meeting
The first Monday of every month there is an All Gardeners Meeting at Standley Lake Library from 6-8 pm. Please join us to get to know your garden neighbors and offer input and expertise!
2. How can you meet our Star-Acre's Farms neighbors?
Star-Acres Farms First Friday Our neighbors to the south (the big barn in the parking lot) have a first Friday during the harvest season. Plants and veggies are sold, vendors, live music, Palisade peaches and community. Please join them and know the parking lot gets full so use the dirt just north of the parking lot is optional parking.
3. What should a gardener do with excess harvest?
Give to the Food Bank!
The produce pick up is from the west barn fridge & baskets on Monday and Thursday mornings. If the fridge is full, please place large squash in one of the bags or baskets next to the fridge. To help the Food Bank, if your veggies are muddy, please just rinse them before going in the fridge. Last year, for the first time, the Gardeners collectively donated over 2,000 lbs of fresh produce to the Food Bank!! This years goal... beat last years donations!
4. What goes in the compost pile and how does it work?
NO sunflowers, rocks, trash, food garbage (attracts animals) or diseased plants. Dedicated volunteers use a mower to chop up the staged items, so imagine how that reacts when chopping your discarded items. Please follow the do and don't list on west bins. Remember these bins, with the correct mixture of greens and browns, get to temps around 140 degrees killing a lot of things but not rocks. Thank you for helping produce amazing compost, rich in nutrients for all gardeners use. Help yourself and feed your veggies!
5. What should a gardener do when they go on vacation?
Water signs when you're on Vacation! We all go on vacation or away for the weekend at some point. As part of getting to know you neighbors, you can ask them to help you out with watering or the garden offers blue tear drops to put in your plot to signify your absence. They are housed in either barn. Please make use of them over a timer.
6. What If I have a fabulous seasonal recipe to share?
Please Add to the Recipe Binder - In the west barn lives a binder for all your delicious recipes made from your garden harvests. If you've made something new with all the zuks we've seen, please share them with fellow gardeners by putting them on a 8-1/2" x 11" paper and place in the binder.
You can also email your recipe and a photo to membership@roserootsgarden.org and we will be sure to include it in our news blasts!
7. What is the Bloom of Honor?
Bloom of Honor - A "secret santa" style decoration carefully hidden in random gardens to make your day! It will still proudly be moving all over the garden this year. When you see it in your plot, enjoy it a couple days then give it to someone's garden you admire. Share the love!
8. Why can't we use timers in our individual gardens?
Food forests get timers but we don't? As Denver Urban Garden (DUG) members we are not allowed timers for several reasons like flooding and not getting to know your community. Being available to water your own plot enhances the community in the garden. Whereas for the food forests the community already exists and the timers prevent over watering or drought conditions due to another volunteer already watering someone else forgetting to water the community food forest. Great enhancement to the food four forests which are there for the community to pick fresh fruits and veggies from.
9. If I registered for a plot, what resources do I have access to?
Tools: Both the east shed and the west barn hold a dizzying array of tools. Use them, clean them, and lock them up when you're done.
Water: After the last frost, gardeners are informed when the hoses go in and the water is turned on. Please use sparingly.
Organic Fertilizer and compost: At the start of the season and end, a manure pile is available to gardeners outside of the west fence line and gardeners often spread this with the organic compost pile also provided. Please remember the piles are for around 100 gardeners and leave enough for others.
Seeds and starter plants: Fellow gardeners often share and sell starter plants at the start of the new season. Watch the "Rose Roots Dirt" Mail Chimp Email and the Public and Closed Rose Roots facebook groups for availability.
Wood Chips: The City helps us replenish the wood chip pile. We also seek out local tree trimmers for possible donations. Help yourself to the wood chips. The effective use of mulch helps to keep weeds down, retain moisture in the garden and beautifies the area.
10. How can I learn locally to be a better gardener?
Sunday morning with Master Gardeners Meet Up! Every Sunday morning last summer, community Master gardeners Gina and Jessie were at the garden from 7-9am and often till closing! They have a great following from friend of the garden, Arvada Fire Department and a variety of volunteers show up weekly. The Butterfly Pavilion visited to offer guidance on pollinator choices for the garden. The Masters still continue to answer questions, help identify plants, talk about possible diseases on your plants and care for our garden spaces. A special thank you to Gina and Jessie for their hard work and passion for making the entry a beautiful part of our garden! It is truly the most peaceful place to enjoy a cup of tea on a Sunday morning. Watch for these opportunities in the upcoming gardening season!
You can also sign up for Master Gardener Classes in Jeffco through CSU Here.
Happy Gardening!
