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.

Tree Tour at Horton Park Arboretum on Community Garden Day 8/11

Horton Park Community Native Plant Gardens to take part in Community Garden Day 2012!

You are invited to visit Horton Park on Sunday, August 11th, as part of the Twin Cities wide Community Garden Day.  Come and enjoy free refreshments, music, and tours of the gardens and arboretum.  You will get to see the latest blooms and butterflies in the gardens and may even get a chance pitch in!  

Event Time: 11:30-2pm (tree tour at 11:30)

Street Address: 1383 Minnehaha Ave W, St. Paul

Also note: Midway Greenspirit Garden is also open from 11am-3pm! Make a plan to traverse Hamline Ave in the Midway to reach both gardens.  At Greenspirit, you will find an interactive garden show-and-tell  where gardeners have provided reflection on their plots and experience and demos on their foodshelf donations, beehive and growing peppers.  See this link for details.

Arboretum Tour
Over 60 new trees were planted in the park at an Arbor Day event this year by the city and the Friends of Horton Park to greatly expand the park's role as an arboretum.  Come at 11:30 to get a tree tour hosted by a St. Paul forester. It's a great way to learn about trees that do well in our area.

 Garden Tour
The neighborhood group Friends of Horton Park maintains the community native plant gardens at Horton Park.  We have native oak savanna, shade, and prairie gardens planted and maintained by volunteers with the support of the St. Paul Parks Department.  Our gardens provide a wonderful place to learn about gardening with plants native to Minnesota, which are often beautiful, easy to maintain, and provide nectar and seeds for native insects and birds.  Garden tours will be offered as requested between noon and 2 pm.

About The Friends of Horton Park
The Friends of Horton Park maintains the Native Plant Gardens at Horton Park.  We have native oak savanna, shade, and prairie gardens planted by volunteers with the support of the St. Paul Parks Department and neighborhood volunteers. Our gardens are a great place to learn about gardening with plants native to Minnesota, which are often beautiful, easy to maintain, and provide nectar and seeds for native insects and birds.

For More Info: hortonpark @ gmail.com

Rescheduled: 'Insect pests of fruit trees' to be at the Heartwood Festival on June 2nd

The rain chased away the demonstration table about 'Insect pests of fruit trees' on Arbor Day 2012, but HMEG,  Extension Master Gardeners & the Local Food Resource Hub are bringing it back for the Midway's big to do, the Heartwood Festival on Saturday, June 2nd! Anyone who got a fruit tree last fall in the HMEG give-away, or is a part of the Midway Local Food Resource Hub, or just is an aspiring home fruit tree grower will find this demo a great resource.

Stop by to learn the fairly simple ways of detecting the presence of fruit tree insects to determine when, or if any treatment may be needed. Learn to identify the Curculio, Coddling Moth, Apple Maggot fly, various leafrollers, sawfly and more. Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the method stressing least harm to the environment and consumer will be the key approach taught at this demonstration to provide home growers with successful fruit crops. Various insect traps and bagging fruit methods will be demonstrated. Lots of chances to ask questions.

'Insect pests of fruit trees'  at Newell Park on Saturday, June 2nd. from 1-4pm

Find the demo at the HMEG table! 

About the instructor: Ann Aurelius has been a dedicated Ramsey County Master Gardener for 7 years. She specializes in urban food growing and has spent extensive time with the Gibbs Farm apple orchard trees--learning about the pests that love to snack on them!

This event is part of the 2012 Midway Local Food Resource Hub educational opportunities.

Arbor Day Plant and Play at Horton Park

• Looking for a reason to spend some time at a Midway park with the family?
• Ever wanted to plant a tree in a local park?
• Want to learn more about what you can do with your outdoor space?

Come out to Horton Park on April 28th for the city of St. Paul’s Arbor Day celebration at Horton Park! With the guidance, volunteers will be planting over 70 trees in Horton Park. After the planting, the Midway Frogtown Arborators will share some brass tunes. Tours of the park’s trees will be offered periodically, as well as slack line and tree climbing opportunities for the kids. In addition, Friends of Horton Park will be opening the community gardens for the season and attendees can partake in that activity too. While at the park, you can get a tattoo, press plants for a City Herbarium with Works Progress, learn about fruit tree pests and diseases from Ramsey County Master Gardeners, make a stem-dwelling native bee nest with Befriending Bumble Bees, climb a tree, listen to the Midway Frogtown Arborators, and more! The planting will start at 9:00 a.m.(you can register on site beginning at 8:30), rain or shine, and run until 10:30. The rest of the day’s events will run 10 am until 1:00 p.m. There will light refreshments provided, but visitors who plan to be there for long are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch. This event is co-hosted by Friends of Horton Park, the Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG) and St. Paul’s Natural Resources. Come anytime during the event! You can pre-register to help with the planting by heading to this registration link, or if needed by contacting Andy at 651-632-2411 or Andy.Rodriguez@ci.stpaul.mn.us. For other inquiries contact steph@hmeg.org.

Location:   Hamline and Minnehaha Aves in the St. Paul Midway
Date:         Saturday April 28th
Times:       Registration for planting: 8:30am
                  Planting: 9-10:30am
                  Activities, refreshments, demonstrations and community garden opening: 10am -1pm

Central Corridor bike tour, community greening, community herbarium all converging at Horton Park on Oct 16th

The Hamline Midway community gardeners and residents will be greeting folks from The Central Corridor Roadside Attraction Bicycle Tour at their stop at Horton Park on Sunday Octover 16th at 10:00 am. The visit will be brief, but will give the neighborhood a chance to convey why we are involved in gardening & greening efforts, and what our hopes/dreams are for the future of plants and people along the Central Corridor. The stop would be about 15-30 minutes. The bike tour-goers will stop at Horton  to hear about a vision for the future for Horton Park, for the surrounding neighborhood(s), and/or for our urban environment generally speaking. Thinking big, this could include ideas around reviving the arboretum/more education efforts about plants? More/larger community gardens? A community farm/orchard? More citizen science projects in the neighborhoods?

We will share some the story of Horton Park: how/why it was created, the plants that are there and efforts that are already underway to share information about these plants with people who visit, it's "invisible" or "sleepy" presence. It is also an opportunity to think big and riff on hopes and dreams.

Works Progress will be playing host too and will highlight possible roles for collaborative artists in the process of dreaming a future for plants and people. They are hoping to launch a public art project next year that would engage a broad array of Twin Cities residents in this conversation by enlisting them to help collect and press plants for a Community Herbarium. Sunday attendees will get to trial the first efforts around the community herbarium where stories will accompany the pressed plants. Visitors can take part in an activity pressing some plants from Horton Park.

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

The Green Alley work day pilot yields tremendous outcomes!

The thick of the alley work event

Over 30 volunteers turned out for our alley clean-up on Saturday Sept. 24th! The crew pulled weeds, pulled trees, disposed of garbage, mulched, and planted!  Many thank-you's go out to neighbors, Hamline-Midway Environmental Group (HMEG) members, Hamline Midway Coalition's Community Building Committee (CBC),  and our Master Gardener Diane Fraser.  The alley was transformed when trash-filled, overgrown, and untidy spaces were cleaned up and planted. Plus, some block residents connected for the first time while others strengthened their relationships throughout the process. Better neighbor connections and well-kept spaces can help prevent crime such as illegal dumping, graffiti, and residential burglaries. The vision of the project was to support residents who want to improve their alleys for water quality, safety, food production, and aesthetics. This block on Charles Ave between Griggs and Syndicate got 20 property owners on board with a green alley pilot project, and in exchange, received organizing help and volunteer assistance for a Green Alley Work Day from the CBC and HMEG. One alley resident and work day volunteer expounded on the benefits of the event:

"Many alley [spaces] that looked derelict now look clean and tended-to. I met neighbors I'd never spoken with before, and had great conversations with residents I almost never see. [Plus] I got to use a weed wrench!" Another volunteer said, "Extreme Alley Makeover should be the name of this program - beautiful transformations of neglected space!"

Dozens of block residents turned out only to be greeted by many volunteers from the greater neighborhood who were there just to lend a hand for the day. HMEG and the Southeast Como Improvement Association lent a large supply of tools that included a Weed Wrench.  There was a second, and larger, Weed Wrench provided by Midway neighbor Chad from the U of MN.   Our Master Gardener, Diane, was an inspiration and energetic leader that would not accept an unfinished job.  Further, she lent her truck that was used to rip out stumps of weed trees (this activity went on for about 5 solid hours).  The crew hauled 10 truckloads of weeds and brush to the compost site, and 1 truckload to the Ward 4 Clean-up day (concurrent timing was all part of the plan). Lots of transplant daylilies and hostas came from area yards, and a nice batch of natives plants came from Horton Park community gardeners and friends from the University of MN.  Short native plants will hopefully colonize some of the cleared spaces, and provide food for native pollinators.  

Once the majority of the hard work was done, the group came together for a chili feed potluck.  A perfect accent to the productive day.

See the photos of the work event here.
Some before & after shots are in this album.

Residents along the alley are saying that it looks great and they are very thankful. They recognize many benefits from this type of greening, including community building, crime prevention, and beautification.

Acknowledgment goes to Faith Krogstad for contributing to this article.

"Care of Young Fruit Trees" Workshops on Sept. 17th - Free

The Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG) and Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply are offering two "Care of Young Fruit Trees" workshops taught by Rebecca Koetter. The classes will be held on on Saturday Sept 17th at Egg|Plant during HMEG's tree distribution day. The 45 minute sessions will be held at noon and 3:00pm. Topics to be covered will include fruit tree planting, mulching, watering, pruning (very basic), reasons for fruit sanitation, rodent protection, and product supply needs. These classes support HMEG's goal of offsetting tree canopy losses in the Midway due to emerald ash borer and help ensure good production from fruit trees that are included in this distribution.

These workshops are specifically designed for the HMEG Tree Team fall 2011 distribution, but they are free and open to anyone. No reservations required.

For those planning on planting- be sure to call Gopher One before you dig: (651) 454-0002

About the instructor: Rebecca Koetter is a Research Fellow at the UMN and a full time manager of several edible trees and shrubs at the TRE Nursery and on the St Paul U of MN campus. She works on urban forestry outreach education programs with the Department of Forest Resources in St. Paul.

What: "Care of Young Fruit Trees" classes

Where: Eggplant Urban Farm Supply, 1771 Selby Ave., St. Paul.

When: 12:00 pm (noon) & 3:00 pm

Who: Taught by Rebecca Koetter, sponsored by Hamline Midway Environmental Group (HMEG) and Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply

Midway All-Community Garden Potluck & Books on Sept 25th

You are invited to the “Hamline Midway Community Garden Potluck” at Horton Park on Sunday, September 25 at 12:00 p.m. This invitation extends to ALL fellow HM community gardeners, supporters, interested friends, family members, and neighbors, to make this a CELEBRATION of neighborhood community gardening!

In addition to enjoying lunch in the park, we will also have the opportunity to view a short Public Art St. Paul video that highlights Hamline Midway community gardens! The footage for this video was taken during a gathering this summer at Groundswell where a number of community gardeners from the Midway described gardening together, the gardens themselves and the important placemaking roles of these spaces. The staff from Public Art St. Paul synthesized our comments and overlaid them with video they shot in the gardens.

Further, we are inviting attendees to the potluck to bring a new or favorite gardening book! Soon we will be under a blanket of snow, and garden inspiration will be a welcomed antidote. After perusing each other's titles at the potluck, we will have new book wish-lists ready for the upcoming dark and cold nights.

On the 25th, bring along any kind of food that you would like to share, your own place setting to eat from, and of course a book! Horton Park is located between Minnehaha and Englewood Avenues, and between Hamline and Albert Avenues. Look for us at the picnic tables in the middle of the park. We look forward to seeing you and celebrating the fruits of our labor.

*Note - the Hamline Thomas Community Garden potluck for September 18 has morphed into this event and will NOT be held on the 18th - See you at Horton on the 25th!

Summer Events at the Hamline Thomas Community Garden

• Plant & Produce Swap! Bring plants or produce that you would like to exchange with others. 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Sunday July 17
• Tomato Tasting! Bring your favorite tomatoes from your garden. 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Sunday August 21

• Locally Grown Potluck! Bring a dish to share with locally grown ingredients. 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Sunday September 18

Join your neighbors for some fun! We will be providing garden maintenance during these events. Please bring gardening gloves if you would like to help. Contact Emmy Vadnais with questions atekvadnais@hotmail.com.

Two Compost Bin and Rain Barrel Sales for Ramsey County Residents

Ramsey County is offering two upcoming sales for compost bins and rain barrels at reduced prices. By composting organic waste (vegetable scraps and yard waste) and capturing rainwater from the roof, you can reduce the need for expensive fertilizers, reduce your water bill, help keep waterways clean, and reduce waste. The Recycling Association of Minnesota will have its sale in Saint Paul on April 30 and May 1 (pre-registration required). The City of Roseville, in partnership with several other cities in Ramsey County, will have its sale on May 7. For more information, see below.

Please note: These types of compost bin offerings usually happen only once in a year.

Rain Barrel and Compost Bin SALE!

Order now to pick up at the
Rock Tenn Paper Mill-St. Paul April 30th & May 1st!
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day.
Accepting orders until sold out.
Hurry, while supplies last!

Compost Bin Available

$55

The Earth Machine

Dimensions: 33" x 33"

Capacity: 10 cubic feet

Rain Barrel Styles Available

Both styles $69

The Rain Catcher

Dimensions: 24" W x 34" H

Capacity: 54 gallons

The Systern

Dimensions: 34" H, 26.1" in diameter

Capacity: 55 gallons

Payment by credit card only. Prices listed above do not include sales tax.

City of Roseville Bin & Barrel Sale
Website for the 1 Day Sale

Saturday, May 7, 2011
9:00 - 3:00 pm (or earlier if sold out)

Roseville City Hall
2660 Civic Center Drive
Directions

Help yourself, help your wallet and help your earth at the same time.

Purchase a rainbarrel and/or compost bin at our one day truckload sale Saturday, May 7 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm (or until sold out) at Roseville City Hall, 2660 Civic Center Drive.

Compost bins will be $45 and rainbarrels $55. There will also be kitchen collector pails ($7) and compost turning tools ($15) available to purchase as well.

Food scraps such as fruit and vegetable wastes, breads, pastas, grains, coffee grounds, egg shells, and tea bags as well as weeds, non-woody shrub trimmings, faded flowers, and vines are among the things you can put into your compost instead of your garbage. Compost can be used as mulch and plant food in your yard. Keeping organic waste out of your garbage reduces your trash volume so you could switch to a smaller garbage cart.

Capture rain in a rainbarrel and have a free source of water for your garden. In addition to saving you money, rainbarrels can keep moisture away from your foundation and prevent debris from washing into our storm sewers.

For more information contact Recycling Coordinator Tim Pratt.

HMEG and Mississippi Market to screen the film "Lunch Line"

Join us for a screening of the film Lunch Line on Wednesday, March 9 at 6 p.m. at the Hamline-Midway Public Library, 1558 W. Minnehaha Ave.

Lunch Line (http://lunchlinefilm.com/) portrays the story of six kids from a tough Chicago neighbor­hood working to fix school lunch. Their journey parallels the dramatic trans­formation of school lunch from a weak patchwork of local anti-hunger efforts to a robust national feeding program. Along the way, Senators, Secretaries of Agriculture, entrepreneurs, and activists from across the political spectrum add top-down perspective to a bottom-up film about the American political process, the health and welfare of its future, and the realities of feeding more than 31 million children a day.

This event is being sponsored by the Hamline-Midway Environmental Group and Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op. All are welcome to attend. If you plan to attend the film, please RSVP with the number attending to 651-690-0507 or info@msmarket.coop to reserve your seat. There is limited space in the library auditorium. Mississippi Market will be serving organic popcorn!

Gardening for Bees: Library Lecture now arranged by Xerces and HMEG

Gardening for Bees: Pollinators are essential to the health of our ecosystem and also to the integrity of our food supply. Elaine Evans from the University of Minnesota and the Xerces Society will present information on how your garden can benefit from having a healthy pollinator population. You will also learn what steps to take to encourage native pollinators in our gardens. Made possible by the Hamline Midway Environmental Group (www.hmeg.org) and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (www.xerces.org).

Note, this lecture is part of the Library's spring gardening series.

Date: March 2nd, 2011
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm
Location: Hamline Midway Library

Elaine Evans Conservation Consultant, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR, and PhD Candidate at the University of Minnesota. She completed her B.S. in Biology in 1993 from Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA and her M.S. in Entomology at the U of M, St. Paul, 2001, where she studied the impact of floral resource competition between honey bees and bumble bees on the reproductive success of native bumble bees as well as tomato and cranberry pollination and bumble bee rearing. A summary of bumble bee rearing is in the book ―Befriending Bumble Bees: A Guide to Raising Local Bumble Bees. (ALA Godort 2008 Notable Government Document Award Winner) She also authored a chapter on bumble bee pollination in a forthcoming book on bees by fellow Xerces staff member Eric Mader. The focus of her work is to promote conservation of native pollinators. Elaine has worked as a Conservation Consultant for the Xerces Society, a non-profit insect conservation organization, where she worked for Xerces since 2007 studying declining North American Bombus populations. She is currently studying native bee populations in North Dakota.

Climate change bike ride: Send-off the 350 Solutions Revolution bikers on Oct 16th

350 Solutions Revolution is a bicycle journey across America filming the story of local communities’ working to solve the climate crisis. They started biking from Portland, Oregon to Washington, D.C. and along the way, they are filming a documentary of local communities’ solutions to the climate crisis. On November 16, they will meet with senators in D.C. to share the homegrown solutions with them. Then they will take a train to Florida and sail to Cancun, Mexico for the United Nations Climate Change Conference November 29 – December 10, 2010.


Everyone is welcome to join! You are invited to ride for a day or the whole way. The next ride is on:

Participation Pedal: Sendoff Bike Ride – Oct. 16, 10am @ Walker Sculpture Park

Further, there is a Reception and Fundraiser on October 13, 5-8pm
Celebrate the halfway mark of our journey! Minneapolis, Minnesota! Riders Alec Neal, Katherine Ball, and Malkolm Boothroyd will share stories, solutions, photos and videos about the journey thus far. We will also have art for sale and light refreshments provided by the fabulous pastry chef and author Zoe Francois (www.zoebakes.com)
This reception is also a fundraiser, but their is no obligation to contribute.
Please RSVP: 313.605.2924, info@solutionsrevolution.org
Wednesday, Oct. 13, 5-8pm
Home of Craig and Patricia Neal, 3600 Zenith Avenue S. #101, Minneapolis, MN 55410


What does the number 350 mean?

350 is the most important number in the world—it’s what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Right now we’re at 387 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere. We need to get below 350ppm to stabilize the climate and prevent complete disaster. Our friends at 350.org are supporting this ride and working to get our leaders to craft policies that will put the world on track to 350. Visit 350.org for more information on the science behind 350.
“The Solutions Revolution: Here’s a team that’s spreading the most important number in the world–350–one mile at a time across the middle of the nation. The ride is waking up a country that needs waking up, because our Congress holds one of the keys to solving the climate conundrum!”

- Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org

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)

350.org Community Biking Event @Hamline Midway Library: Bike drive, workshops, & kid's activities

Community members in the Midway are joining the Global Work Party organized by 350.org campaign! Be a part of the world wide action day by participating in the FREE community biking event at the Hamline Midway Library. The joy of biking need not end when the snow starts to fly!

Our Free Winter Biking Workshop and Community Bike Drive takes place on Saturday, October 9, 12:30-4 pm. Learn some tips for your winter riding, AND contribute to a used bike drive to collect unwanted bikes to help power Sibley Bike Depot's community bicycling programs.

Here is the schedule line-up:

• donate used, unwanted bikes to Sibley Bike Depot, a suggested donation of $10 to cover bike repairs/parts is requested if possible. Used bikes power Sibley Bike Depot's great community programs. No bike turned away! (12:30-2:00pm)
• chat with Smart Trips and Bike/Walk Ambassadors about year-round bike resources (1:00 - 1:30pm),
• attend the winter commuting workshop (1:30-3:00pm),
• attend the “How to Fix a Flat (Bike) Tire” workshop (3:00-4:00pm).
• Kids' activities and treats available.

To pre-register, or for more information, contact Carrie at carriepomeroy (at) tcq.net. All are welcome to attend even if you don't sign up ahead of time, but pre-registering would be helpful for planning purposes.

The next day, we also have the chance to join our efforts with the larger Twin Cities communities at two exciting events on Sun., 10/10/2010: 1) a 10-mile group bike ride starting at Como Park and ending near the Stone Arch Bridge, and 2) a celebration at the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis to gather together the many people working on climate change in our communities and to share stories and information.


Why 350? Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO₂ in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. The thing is, we are presently at 390 ppm. Global Work Parties address the fact that communities need to keep trying to reduce their carbon emissions.

This event is co-sponsored by Sibley Bike Depot, Hamline Midway Environment Group, Hamline Midway Library Association, 350.org, Twin Cities Bike/Walk Ambassadors, and St. Paul Smart Trips.

About the photo: Was taken at the 350 Bicycle Ride in Mumbai, India. Students in Mumbai, India hosted a bike ride and formed a human 350 in celebration of the 350.org International Day of Climate Action in 2009. This was one of 5,200 creative demonstrations that happened around the world.

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

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.

The importance of native pollinators

The importance of native pollinators as posted on MidPoint Green

The Midway community gardens are hatching a plan for the August event called the Parade of Community gardens on 8/21/2010. Its too soon to let you know about all the fun details, but it will involve six Midway community garden sites, and will give visitors a peek at pollinators. Even in our urban area, pollinators are vital. In this photo, my Leadplant is being visited by bees. at the Midway Greenspirit garden, the beehive there are increasing yields of tomatoes, peppers, blueberries, strawberries, , raspberries, apples, melons, sunflowers, pumpkins, plums, and squash both in the garden and for miles around. Native pollinators can be even more efficient at the job, such as bumblebees increasing yields even more. The Xerces Society is an organization looking into the importance of invertebrates. Below is some quality information from Xerces on how to encourage native pollinators which were developed for roadsides. While a small residential urban yard may need to be selective from this list of practices, most are applicable for our cities too. I see it in my own yard and in my community gardens regularly. Xerces research show that using native plants in a landscape can double the number of bee counts and increase the types of bees found there by 35%. So you want to get the most out of your food production gardens? Plant for the bees too!


From Xerces:

Eighty-seven of the world’s 124 most commonly cultivated crops are insect/animal pollinated. Between 60 to 80% of the world’s 250,000 flowering plants depend on animals for pollination.
In the United States, the National Research Council (2007) reported noteworthy losses of both managed and wild pollinators. Habitat loss, pesticide use, diseases, parasites, and the spread of invasive species are the major causes of pollinator decline. Threats to pollinator communities affect not only pollinators themselves but also natural ecosystems and agricultural productivity.


Key design factors & practices to enhance flower diversity for bee habitat around farms, gardens or roadsides include:

Planting choices
1) Use native wildflowers and grasses, with high densities of flowers.
2) Plant a minimum of 3 blooming plant species during each season.
3) Aim for season-long blooming plants, early and late season blooming plants are especially important.
4) Plant a range of wildflowers of varying colors and shapes. Bees mainly visit blue, white, yellow, and purple flowers.
5) Plant flowers in single species clumps for best results.

Providing Nest Sites
6) Warm season, clump-forming grasses provide bumble bee nest sites.
7) Have a mix of forbs and shrubs.
8) Don’t mow or hay entire grassy meadows or roadsides, leave some for pollinators.
9) Conserve habitat for rabbit burrows and groundhog burrows for bee nesting sites.
10) Reduce tillage and avoid plastic sheeting for ground nesting bees.

Reducing the Impact of Mowing and Spraying
11) Intensive mowing or grazing impacts abundance of bees.
12) Avoid or minimize the use of insecticides.