We’re busy taking advantage of our lovely winter weather in the garden. We’re eating curly and Ethiopian kale, mustard greens, lettuces, peppers; collards are just about ready and we’ve just harvested some purple yams. We’ve recently transplanted young lacinato and Portuguese kale plants as well as broccoli. More seeds have been started and we’re busy planning what’s next (a butterfly garden!).

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We continue to offer yoga in the garden – standing poises only, wear good shoes. Join us at 9:30am on the following Saturdays:

• February 16
• February 23
• March 23
• March 30
• April 20
• April 27

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Do you have leaves? We’ll take them! This is the time of year that we’re busy collecting leaves for our compost operation. We’re also collecting veggie scraps for our compost, so if you’d like to keep your compost materials out of the landfill, please bring to our garden and we’ll make dirt!

• Please feel free to bring leaves on Saturdays, 9am – 11am.
• Veggie and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells can be deposited in the white bucket in front of our garden labeled SHCG Compost anytime, or larger deposits can be brought by Saturdays 9am – 11am.
• We’ve been composting and making our own dirt for years, but just recently joined the MakeSoil movement as they expand across the Tampa Bay Area.  Learn more about MakeSoil.

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Visit us and see how we’re growing – we can always use help! Seminole Heights Community Gardens is open for visitors on Saturdays, 9am – 11am. Our address is 6114 River Terrace in Tampa, FL. Parking is available on the street.

We look forward to meeting you!

 

Garden business, garden friends, and a little beer and wine. Join us for our next planning meeting, 6:30pm on Tuesday May 15.

While we usually meet monthly at the library, join us at Southern Brewing and Winemaking, 4500 N. Nebraska Ave. (between Osborne and MLK Blvd.), for a nice change of pace. We’ll likely meet on the outdoor covered patio in the back, but if the weather’s not right the indoor area is a relaxed spot for mixing business and social, too.

Hope to see you there, Tuesday May 15!

Our Google calendar feeding the calendar to the right is a little wonky at the moment. >>>

We’re hoping it will all straighten out after the upcoming change to Daylight Savings Time this Sunday, 3/12/2017.  You didn’t forget, did you?

We’re in the garden at 6011 Highland most Saturdays from 9am – 12pm – stop by and visit if you see a member working in the garden.  And our monthly planning meeting is Monday, March 20th at 6:30pm (not 5:30!).

Join us!

 

It’s a gorgeous time of year. We haven’t been posting much because we’ve been busy in the garden: harvesting and planting.  We could definitely use some rain so the Water Lilies didn’t have to work so hard, but everyone tries to help give the garden a good soak on Saturdays.

We’re typically in the garden on Saturdays from 9am – 12pm – sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later.  Stop by (6011 Highland) and we’ll give you a tour!

Only 30 openings are available to our special Micro Irrigation Workshop, Saturday May 28.  Click here to RSVP today!

Micro irrigation, also called drip irrigation or drip line irrigation, delivers water right at the base of the plant through a system of flexible irrigation tubing, drip emitters, and micro sprays. Sheila Monahan, Water-Wise Program Coordinator– Florida-Friendly Landscaping from the UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension Service, will teach us about this efficient and effective way to keep your garden healthy and happy.

We’re hosting her presentation at the Garden (6011 N. Highland Ave) on Saturday, May 28, from 10 to 11:00 am.  We can only accommodate 30 guests for this special event, so don’t wait to RSVP — info.shcg@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you there. And our special thanks to Sheila!

Monday April 20th at 6:30 pm,  Seminole Heights Library

This meeting is open to all garden members and those interested in learning more about our garden. Join us at the Seminole Heights Library for our monthly meeting.

Saturday March 21st at 10:00 am,  6011 Highland Ave

We will have our open house at the garden and would love for you to spread the word. We are planning a pot luck brunch so please contact Denise with what you are interested in bringing. View our flyer here.

Join Us this Saturday 9am-12 noon or Sunday 1-4pm

 

 

Tomorrow, December 15th is our holiday mixer! We hope to see you all there.

Since June of this year, the Garden has worked to establish a new location at 6011 N. Highland Avenue in the Old Seminole Heights neighborhood.  With the assistance of a volunteer engineer, permitting was secured for the 9,000-sq. foot site, and then right away our members began the work of composting and preparing the soil.

During this time, our Board members have discussed the merits of continuing to split our efforts and resources between the two locations or of consolidating to the new site on Highland.  Finally at a meeting held this past Monday, the decision was made as a practical matter to indeed focus solely on Highland.

The move, which will be completed by year end December 31, is inspired both by necessity and also by a vision for the Garden’s growth.  This vision began to form when we first secured permission to utilize the property at Highland.  It’s a big step for our community garden, and I was taken by how Amy Espinosa, our club’s secretary, described it rather poetically in her newsletter emailed yesterday…

“Metamorphosis is defined as a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism. The garden is, in its own way, a living organism and the landscape on Highland is in the early stages of such a profound change. We have begun to plant and if you have not yet seen how just a few pools have transformed the landscape, it is worth a visit. “

Amy is certainly correct in encouraging you to visit us this Saturday morning. Our progress at Highland is impressive, where you can both appreciate the work accomplished and recognize the potential of what is yet to come.

If you’re a member whose involvement in the SHCG has maybe waned in recent months, well here’s an optimal time to “dig in” with us again.  And to all, I encourage you to invite your interested friends and neighbors to join the effort, too.

It is a constructive and exciting turning point for Seminole Heights Community Garden, and with the work of moving from the old site to the new, and of winter planting, will come the reward and delight of beginning a new phase with us.  We look forward to seeing you!

Denise Moore
President, Seminole Heights Community Garden