09/04/11, 12:09 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 626
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I am the garden advisor for the Kingston Farm and Garden Co-op Giving Garden project. Our garden focus is different then yours in that it is a volunteer project to grow food for our local foodbank to distribute and ultimately will have a school program connnection as well.
The land and water for irrigation is provided by one of the primary organizers/volunteeers - we have a very large area next to a grape growing operation with good sun exposure. Everything else has been donated - supplies, seeds, seedlings, time, etc. I put in three hours of volunteer time every Saturday (9:30 am until 12:30 pm) to do weeding, watering, planting, and other maintenance tasks and 1 hour on an evening each week to assist with the harvesting. We split the harvest chores up and do it 2 times a week the night before a scheduled delivery for a distribution day at the foodbank.
My job as garden advisor/coordinator is to basically provide direction. How to best use the volunteer time to keep the garden well tended and keep it evolving as the season progresses. We are currently wrapping up earlier planted items, harvesting from the summer crops like mad, and have a whole new section of fall crops going that we are ensuring gets off to a good start. In about two weeks, we will be putting up some long grow tunnels over the fall/winter items. Next weekend, I have one of my volunteers busy coordinating a work party to load trucks with some well composted (worm composted in fact) llama poo to bring to the garden where we will spread it later this fall. We periodically have a guest at the garden during our volunteer work time - a local bee expert to talk about creating bee habitats, a worm composting expert who helped us set up a worm box, and another farm preservation group that told us about their specific project.
Keeping every one working productively but at a pace that is pleasurable and allows for lots visiting is important - volunteers fade fast if it is not fun and rewarding. One of our other volunteers brings a large jug of ice water and sets up an awning and lays out some fresh fruit, sliced cheese, and crackers - so at noon we stop and all have a light bite and talk rest and plan a little for the week ahead. It's a nice wrap up and again makes it fun.
The garden itself is my primary focus - I make sure I have a plan of action each week. I get there a half hour before the other volunteers are scheduled to arrive and do a walk through and list mentally what we need to do that day. I triage the important things and get workers right on that first and then work down the list depending on how many of us show up that day. I did the seed acquisition and provide a lot of my started seedlings, but also had a large donation of seedlings from another community member as well. I make the decision on what we are planting, when, and in what manner. Often we talk about it, but everyone depends on me to just set the direction and lay out the work plan each week.
It's a significant commitment of time, but a labor of love. The recipients at the food bank are thrilled with the quality and diversity of produce we are bringing them and the need is so great right now that anything we can do feels like time well spent.
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