Monday, February 27, 2012

Progress Update

We are waiting for a lease agreement from the North Clackamas School District, however we have moved forward with our planning.
The garden will have 28 plots to rent, ranging from about 50 square feet up to 200 square feet. The cost to rent a plot is still being figured out; once we know more about the operational costs (especially the cost of the lease), we will set the fee. We expect it to be in the range of $30 for a small plot and $60 for a large plot. The garden will also have four plots where volunteers will grow crops to harvest for donation.

We have commitments for two major donations:
  • Wichita Sanitary Service is donating the pick up of a can of weekly plant debris from the garden. This generous donation will help our gardeners by limiting the amount of debris they will need to haul to their homes for disposal.
  • Landscape East & West is donating the materials for getting water to all of the plots (pipe, hose bibs, back flow prevention, etc.) AND they have some employees who are willing to donate their time to help us install the pipes! Our garden volunteers really appreciate the help Landscape East and West's of highly skilled labor.
If anyone knows of other local businesses that would be willing to help, let us know. Here is a list of a few of the things we need:
  • Water meter installation
  • Chain link fence and gates
  • Lumber (preferably cedar or juniper)
  • Tools (heavy duty, professional quality shovels etc.)
  • Hoses and nozzles
  • Mulch & Compost
  • Tilling, or rental of tillers (North Clackamas Parks will do the initial tilling for us, but we will need to till amendments into all of the planting beds)
  • Refreshments for volunteers
Registration is open now, you will find the form on a tab at the top of the page. We will assign plots to those living in the Hector Campbell Neighborhood first, and then open it up to the entire city (assuming plots are still available) on April 15th. If registration numbers exceed the plots available, we will create a waiting list. At this point we do not know when the garden will be ready for planting, a lot depends on the weather in March and April.

We are looking for volunteers to help build the garden. If you are able to help, please let us know! Call Sarah Smith: 503-653-0015 or email hectorcambellnda@gmail.com Here are a few tasks we will need help with:
  • Tilling and grading
  • Staking off planting beds and paths
  • Edging beds
  • Moving compost
  • Building paths
  • Installing water lines
  • Building fence
  • Planting community beds
Thanks to the steering committee for their hard work on the planning of the garden, and to those who have committed to donating to the garden. This garden will be a great addition to our neighborhood!