Midway Green Spirit Community Garden is open for Community Garden Day on 8/11

On Saturday, August 11, 2012 community gardens across the State of Minnesota will celebrate Community Garden Day, a statewide community garden open house . On this day, 60 participating community gardens will host events in their garden that are free and open to the public.

In the Midway,  Horton Park Community Gardens & Midway Green Spirit Community Garden BOTH  will be hosting events.  See Horton's schedule here (including an 11:30 guided tree tour) 

Here is the schedule for Midway Green Spirit Community Garden:

The garden will be open from 12-3 pm and visitors can do our Show and Tell Activity at their own pace, meandering through the garden to read what our gardeners have learned and what makes them proud!  

~1 pm Community Circle: One of our gardeners will talk about the volunteer effort to grow and donate food to a local food pantry. 

~1:15 pm Growing Peppers for Seasoning: Another gardener has been growing peppers for 10+ years and has developed his own method for preparing the peppers to make spice blends.

~1:30 pm Beehive Demonstration:  One of our bee-keepers will talk about caring for the beehives at Green Spirit. 

The purpose of Community Garden Day is to provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about these community spaces directly from the people who steward them and the events will be as unique as the gardens in which they are located.

Gardening Books for Winter Reading & Inspiration 2011

These Books were recommended by Hamline Midway neighbors and community gardeners who attended the 'All Community Gardeners Potluck' at Horton Park on September 25, 2011.

• "Prairie Style Gardens" Lynn M. Steiner

• "Abundantly Wild" Terese Maroon

• "Just Weeds: History, Myths, and Uses" Pamela Jones

• "Gardening with Prairie Plants" Sally Wasowski

• "Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off the Land" Kurt Timmermeister

• "Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota" Lynn M. Steiner

• "Healing Gardens" Romy Rawlings

• "Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer" Novella Carpenter

• "The Feast Nearby: How I Lost My Job, Buried a Marriage, and Found My Way by Keeping Chickens, Foraging, Preserving, Bartering, and Eating Locally (All on $40 a Week)" Robin Mather

Rain Fall Summer 2010 at the Midway Green Spirit Community Garden

HMEGer and community gardener, Everett, set-up a rain gauge this season at the Midway Green Spirit Community Garden. The rain gauge is located inside the bee hive enclosure. This is a table of the weekly rain fall for 2010 as measured each Sunday for the previous week.

• 6/27 - 3.75"
• 7/4 - 0.25"
• 7/11 - 1.50"
• 7/18 - 1.50"
• 7/25 - 0 .75"
• 8/1 - 0.4"
• 8/8 - 0.4"
• 8/15 - 4.4"
• 8-15-9/12 - 1.25"
• 9/19 - 1"
• 9/24 - 3"
• 9/24-10/17 - 0"
  

Average about 1.1"/week during prime growing season.

Thanks Everett for your diligence in collecting this data. For comparison, or more climate data (this year and historical) the University on Minnesota has collected measures on this page.

Some labels for your plant swap transplants

This Saturday is the Hamline Midway Plant Swap! Have you started collecting some plant divisions and seeds for trade? To facilitate swapping, we have a pre-made label for you. Try to fill out as much as possible, but its OK if there is missing information.

To download a pdf sheet of 6 labels go here:
http://tinyurl.com/HMEGplant-labels

We will see you at the swap!

First Annual Hamline Midway Plant Swap

Sat, October 2, 10am – 2pm

	At the Hamline Park Building (SE corner of Snelling & Lafond)

First Annual Hamline Midway Plant Swap Set For October 2nd

All plant loving neighborhood residents are invited to the First Annual Hamline Midway Plant Swap, 10:00am - 2:00pm, Saturday, October 2 at the Hamline Park Building (SE corner of Snelling & Lafond). Bring perennial plants (or seeds) to trade or give away.

The swap will be simple, bring plants to give away or trade. If you don't have any plant to give away, come anyway as I am sure there will be someone who has more than they need of a particular plant.

The plant swap is sponsored by the Midway Greenspirit Community Garden and will coincide with the Hamline Midway Tree Team free tree give-away at the same location. We hope there will be synergy between these two events. See www.hmeg.org for details on the tree event or email treeteam (at) hmeg.org.

See you there.

Stephen Mitrione
Garden Coordinator
Midway Greenspirit Garden
St. Paul, MN
smitrione (at) iphouse.com

HMEG Photo Site

Have you clicked through the HMEG photo collection? Some recent additions have been made this week. See all the albums at our photo site http://picasaweb.google.com/hortonpark. Have other pictures to contribute or willing to fill in captions? Contact steph at hmeg dot org .

HMEG Events and Other Projects

Jun 4, 2010

photos: 12

Market Days - Midway Barter Market

Aug 2, 2009

photos: 6

Friends of Horton Park

Jul 12, 2009

photos: 92

HUMC Maxine Smith Raingarden

Feb 7, 2009

photos: 36

Snelling Avenue Planter Project

Jan 26, 2009

photos: 49

HMEG Rain Barrel Workshops

Jun 8, 2007

photos: 17

Hamline Thomas Intersection Improvements and Community Garden

May 24, 2007

photos: 33

Midway Greenspirit Garden

Feb 7, 2007

photos: 19

Hamline Midway Tree Team

Sep 26, 2006

photos: 46

Hamline Midway Bugs n' Bikes Community Garden Tour

Spend the day biking between Hamline Midway gardens, participating in activities, eating wonderful food, and having a great time at the:

Hamline Midway Bugs n' Bikes Community Garden Tour Saturday, August 21st, 10 am – 2 pm

Part of the Gardening Matters “Parade of Community Gardens”


Here is the list of the SIX community gardens participating in Hamline Midway neighborhood and the exciting activities and events each site is planning. This day will celebrate these sites and the people who volunteer to make them happen. Lots of fun to be had right in the Midway!

Pump up those bike tires and chart your course:


41. Snelling Planters
755 Snelling Ave N
::Bug hat activity
::Composting information/demonstrations
::Sidewalk sale & free popcorn at Hamline Hardware

at Mosaic on a Stick
595 Snelling Avenue N
::Free community mosaic on a stick project 12-2pm

42. SPROUT Garden
1514 W Englewood Ave
::Bike check-ups, tune-ups, and education with Terri from Now Bikes and Fitness
::Bike Activity with Scott and Carrie from the Hamline Church
::Crafting project for kids!

43. Maxine Smith Rain Garden
Hamline Church-W Minnehaha Ave & N Simpson St.
::Rain garden information
::Capitol Region Watershed District staff present to answer questions on managing rain water runoff
::Face painting and cargo bike demonstration.

44. Midway GreenSpirit
W Pierce Butler Route & Hamline Ave N
::Check out the new orchard!
::Eat honey sweetened treats
::Ask Master Gardeners and beekeepers everything you ever wanted to know
::Beehive Demo at 1 pm; kids activities

45. Horton Park Gardens
W Minnehaha Ave & Hamline Ave N
::View beautiful native plant gardens
::Get questions about tree growing & emerald ash borer answered by experts
::Learn about the neighborhood tree inventory and how to get a free or low cost tree for your yard
::Refreshments and activities

46. Hamline Thomas Garden
Hamline Ave N & W Thomas Ave
::Information on monarch butterflies
::Learn the history of the garden – from decay to beauty!
::Come at 1:00 for a 15 minute lively and informative stuffed animal show by playwright, ::performer, and teacher Leslye Orr of Dreamland Arts.


Note: the numbers on the map correspond to the numbers above, which correspond to the listings posted at www.gardeningmatters.org, which will correspond to the bright orange directional signs you will see on the Parade day. A poster/flier for the Bugs n' Bike Tour for printing can be found here.

This map can also be accessed online at Google Maps

Six Hamline-Midway Community Gardens participating in the 5th Annual Parade of Community Gardens!

Bike, walk, run, skate, drive if need be to explore and celebrate a variety of green spaces and the bugs that help them grow on the Hamline-Midway Bugs n’ Bikes Community Garden Tour! Saturday, August 21 10am-2pm, six Hamline-Midway community gardens will offer fun, educational, and creative activities and treats for all ages as part of the 5th annual Parade of Community Gardens. Stop by any location to start your tour and pick up a map and schedule of events. Locations include:

• Hamline-Thomas Community Garden at Hamline and Thomas Avenues
• Hamline United Methodist Church at 1514 Englewood Ave
• SPROUTS Community Gardens at 1514 Englewood Ave
• Horton Park at Minnehaha and Hamline Avenues
• Midway GreenSpirit Community Garden off of Pierce Butler between Hamline Avenue and Albert Street
• Snelling Avenue Planters at Hamline Hardware at 755 Snelling Ave N

For further information or to get involved with these Midway garden sites and their events, please email junelune1@gmail.com.

Ramsey County Master Gardeners supporting Midway and Frogtown neighborhoods

This is a moment to shout out to Ramsey County Master Gardeners (RCMG) in the Midway. So many Midway and Frogtown garden projects are nicely highlighted in the RCMG year end report from 2009. I particularly want to shine a light on Diane's work. She is successfully working hard within this organization to bring in intern Master Gardeners from diverse backgrounds. She also takes her Master Gardening service time to our urban neighborhoods, augmenting community efforts in growing their own food. She would want you to check out another organization she works for called "Growing Food and Justice for All".

Here is that Master Gardener 2009 report (pdf). In it you will find summaries of Hamline Midway and Frogtown community garden projects including Aurora-St. Anthony Peace Garden, Horton Park Community Garden, Snelling Avenue Planter Project, Frogtown Gardeners, Frogtown Orchard Project. Also supported and not mentioned are projects at Galtier Elementary, Hamline High Rise, LEAP Academy, HUMC Rain Gardens, and Midway Green Spirit Garden.

Master Gardeners are a well used resource in our St. Paul neighborhoods. Many thanks to their members!