CCGC Garden Traditions

This CCGC Garden Traditions document was created for sharing CCGC Community Garden knowledges and practices with newcomers; to facilitate newcomer integration to the garden. In recognition of the diversity that can be brought into the garden by newcomers and old timers alike as we evolve, these guidelines are not written in stone but rather serve as a baseline from which we can continue to evolve in our methods.

With this we hope to develop an Ontonomy -- cultured traditions and norms -- and an Autonomy through which to alter these traditional norms in a traditional way. We hope to do this independent of norms defined with origin in the market (for-profit and non-profit) and state as we recognize that the market and state are servants of the grassroots, not the other way around (the grassroots servants of the market and state).

AUTONOMY

 * Process (Tied to time of year in which tradition/task is used) for updating traditions
 * Create calender of tradition to be adressed.
 * Have skillshare (15 minutes) on workday to show garden tradition.
 * Have follow up potluck with an agenda item being the discussion of the tradition in question and possible improvements, alteration, or change. Decision to be made in consensus.
 * Update this document with changes if any.

Bed preparation

 * Process
 * De-weed
 * Take unbroken down leaves out from paths
 * Throw in mulch from paths
 * throw green weeds upside down into the path (wire grass and pigweed into the woods)
 * Shape bed (assess whether we believe drought or not and accordingly round beds or flat top)
 * Amendments to bed
 * Feathermeal (4-8 lbs./ 100 sq. ft.) for roots and leafy greens
 * Chicken compost (For fruits)
 * Chop in
 * Seed or transplant at appropriate density

Planting seeds and transplants
(Spring, Summer, Fall)

Schedule
General schedule to be developed
 * Feathermeal acquisition (and other amendments)
 * Flat plantings
 * Dates for bed transplants or direct seeding

Planning
(before each season)
 * Open invitation to any gardener
 * Meeting to discuss what to plant taking into account:
 * Previous gardener's response to plantings
 * Quantity
 * Kind
 * Available seeds or seedlings (CCGC seed bank, donations from farmers)
 * map out beds for planting with variety to be planted
 * Make available on wiki and on kiosk

Mulching

 * Paths always have leaves in them
 * Beds, if without crop then mulched
 * After seedlings are strong and tall enough

Watering

 * Newly planted beds
 * water everyday until ready for mulch
 * Designated gardener who makes sure wiki scheduling is filled
 * Water in morning or evening
 * Stressed plants especially during droughts

Harvesting

 * one of the first things done during workdays
 * Harvest vegetable and fruits which are ready only. If varying degrees of readiness then harvest when and if demand.
 * Each vegetable is different (Check out harvest guide)
 * Harvest allocation
 * Divided amongst all gardeners who show up for workday
 * In summer when there is an abundance, amongst gardners who show up for Wednesday harvest.

Rotation and planting decision making

 * Timing (Schedule)
 * Amendments
 * Feathermeal
 * Chicken Manure