Thanks to everyone who showed up for the work day today! Even with the poor weather, we were able to accomplish a few essential tasks. The signs from the old Little League have been moved to the dugout, along with the hardware cloth. Shelves inside the shed have been labeled for personal items and free items available for the taking. Thanks to Dan Trail and Maria Byford for pressure washing the shed so we can paint it next time we have some good weather. And thanks to those who raked the paint chips up. Also, thank you to the compost committee for shifting through the bins to find us some black gold. Looks good!

There is still plenty to be done out at the site, though. If you are interested in working on the site committee, contact Bob, or just look at the "To Do" list hanging on the bulletin board on the west side of the building (once it has been painted). Remember to sign off on the task, along with the date you accomplished it.

Remember, if you have questions about the site, check out the Site Instructions and Bed Maps at the Garden Site Information page.
The minutes from our first spring member meeting are up here and the latest rules and regulations are here. Watch for the next announced work day and member meeting. See you all out there!

It may be in the single digits lately here in Wrangell, but it is now March and time to start thinking about the upcoming gardening season. We have a couple of announcements to start off the season:

-Maria Byford has accepted the vacant board member seat. Maria is committed to the community garden.  She stays in constant contact, shares ideas, helps-out at site work parties, has a wealth of knowledge, and she has an continued interest in being part of this community project. Congratulations to Maria!
-Renewing bed members have an extension until March 5th to submit a renewal application. Otherwise the bed will be reassigned to new member applications.
-A limited number of new applications will be accepted starting April 2nd at the Wrangell Health Fair, 10 am to 2 pm at the Nolan Center. Please visit our booth early on to get in your application. Applications can be found here.
-Watch for upcoming meetings!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we look forward to seeing everyone out there as we start our second year as Wrangell's Community Garden!

The site manager says a few words on the Work Day  success and cover the bases for winter use of the garden site:
"Thank you very much to the following folks who came out yesterday and braved the nicer than expected day to get the garden ready for the winter.  Thanks to Cindy Martin, Cindy Sweat, Vivian Mork, Maria and Bill Biford, Maria Burke, Ruby McMurren, Catherine Ivy, Angie Eldred, Britta Schroeder, Dan Trail, Kris Reed, Dave Butler and Melati Kaye.
 
A special thank you goes to Maria, Britta, Catherine, Ruby, Angie, Vivian, and both Cindys for tackling the odiferous task of taking down all of the compost towers and moving all of the compost inside the fence into the bin and for cleaning up all of the bags of shredded paper and grass clippings.  The site looks much better overall and your efforts will be appreciated by everyone.
 
All of the beds but one or two have been put to bed and covered with horse manure and seaweed.  Another special thanks to Bill and Maria for making the trips out to Kitty's for the manure and to Dave, Cindy Sweat, and Melati for helping me with the truckloads of seaweed.
 
Both hoses have been drained, pulled and stored in the shed and the water will be turned off for the winter later this week unless there is a special request to postpone until a later time.
 
To those at the workday who were interested in the scrap wood as firewood, just a reminder to you that it is there.
 
Please spread the word to folks who bring compost to the garden to now put it into the wooden bin in any of the three sections.  I will be putting covers on the compost in the near future but they will be available for use all winter.
 
Thanks to all of you who gardened this year and participated in the garden in some way.  The first year went well and should only get better next year.  Thank you all for being responsible gardeners and for working so well with each other to keep this community effort going.
 
Have a good winter and see you out there in the spring!"

At the September 26 meeting, the Wrangell Community Board approved a new set of rules and regulations. One of the most significant changes was that plot renters are no longer restricted from selling the items grown in their garden. Other changes include overwintering and returning renters information along with the latest application deadlines. For the latest copy of the rules and regulations, click here.