The Compost Heap
News, Views, and Features from the Posh Squash Garden
The Sea Ranch, California
Organizational Issue, Early Spring 2003, Volume 2, Issue 1
Hello Again…
Last year we set out ambitiously to put out a bimonthly newsletter, only to be amazed at year’s end with our own tenacity: Six issues! Who knows, maybe we will get out a monthly issue this year. Our purposes stay the same: to improve communication among Gardeners, to share information, to build community and sustain continuity. We report on meetings of the Steering Committee and other news, feature articles on aspects of the Garden, offer recipes, reviews of garden-flavored books and films, poetry and other literary bits. We invite your ideas and contributions as well as comments on how we are doing. Our stellar website is on the net for all to enjoy. It carries the newsletter, plus gorgeous photos, reference material and fast-breaking news and announcements.
The
Newsletter Group
The Posh Squash succeeds because it has evolved into a hugely collaborative, cooperative and collective effort. Also because it has evolved a lean, clean, minimal way of taking care of business. Here are the 2003-4 Season’s people and things that give direction, focus and continuity to the Garden.
Co-Coordinators
Mary Austin
Tom Warnock
The Co-Coordinators do what the title says, they coordinate. Both are busy with all affairs of the Garden, though Mary’s work puts her emphasis on seeds, planting, growing. Tom prepares the agenda and chairs the Steering Committee meetings. Both handle problems as they arise, make phone calls, are our ambassadors to the outside.
Steering Committee
Mary Austin, Co-Chair
Tom Warnock, Co-Chair
MA Brauer
Chester Case
Jim Grenwelge
Richard Hersh
Rosemarie Hocker
Ken Holmes
John Horn
Ben Klagenberg
Dianne Rasmussen
Jer Skibbins, Emeritus
Sally Skibbins, Emeritus
The Steering Committee meets once a month or as needed to take care of Garden business. It discusses issues, plans, problem-solves, makes decisions, looks at finances, approves and schedules building projects. Members, especially the Day Leaders, bring Gardeners’ concerns to the Committee for two-way communication.
Corresponding Secretary/Treasurer
Rosemarie Hocker
The Corresponding Secretary/Treasurer collects dues, pays bills, prepares running and annual financial reports, develops the annual membership roster, keeps records, handles correspondence.
Planting Group
Mary Austin
Tom Warnock
Ken Holmes
The Planting Group keeps the Garden humming by planning all phases of the planting and growing cycle. It decides, with Gardener input and the guidance of experience, what to plant, when, and in what quantities, then keeps an eye on what is needed for the plants to thrive. It provides the basis for the Planting Book and the Chore Book.
Seeds
Mary Austin
Ken Holmes
John Horn
Mary, Ken and John order seeds in a timely manner, make them available when needed, and tell the Gardeners, via the Planting and Chore Book, to prep rows, plant, pick and, sometimes, replant.
Chore Book
Mary Austin
John Horn
Making the Chore Book involves a lot of people, but it is Mary and John who put it down in writing after consulting the long-range plan, the state of the garden, what is ready to plant, what needs replanting. Others will enter chores as well.
Day Leaders and Backup Day Leaders
Monday; John Horn, George Haas
Tuesday; Mary Austin, Chester Case
Wednesday; Ken Holmes, John Escher
Thursday; Jim Grenwelge, William Voorhees
Friday; Tom Warnock, Mary Hunter
Day Leaders make sure the daily watering is done, contribute to the Chore and Planting Books, bring the priority tasks to Gardeners’ attention, serve as the main conduit to and from the Gardeners and the Steering Committee, do a lot of teaching, tutoring, demonstrating, orienting new Gardeners. They transmit Garden lore and techniques of planting, picking... well, Gardening! Day Leaders get to call out, “Coffee time! Break time!” Backups step in when the Day Leader is absent.
Building, Equipment, Maintenance
Ben Klagenberg
The new shed, the compost bin extension, the raised beds, the tent greenhouse, the glass greenhouse... the list goes on. Ben and a crew of building buffs repair and construct elements of the Garden’s infrastructure. Ben maintains equipment like the rototiller and the weedwhackers, and instructs Gardeners on their use.
Greenhouse
MA Brauer
MA and a crew of daily greenhouse helpers plant seeds and propagate plants in flats in the glass greenhouse and the cold frames.
Herbs and Flowers
Dianne Rasmussen
Linda Warnock
For the new raised beds, around the borders and other areas, Diane (mostly herbs) and Linda (mostly flowers) plan, order seeds, plant and cultivate with the help of other Gardeners.
Compost
Peter Farmer
Chester Case
Debbie Hoyt
Compost and composting are at the heart of the Garden. The compost cycle exemplifies core Garden values, like sustainability and the organic approach.
Irrigation Installation and Maintenance
John Escher
John Horn
Bruce Leibrock
Water is the life of the Garden, and is its single biggest expense. Effective amd efficient watering is the responsibility of all Gardeners. John, John and Bruce attend to installation and maintenance. (See “Watering” in Rules and Reminders for instructions and information).
Newsletter and Website
Reva Basch
Chester Case
Jackie Morse
The Garden newsletter, The Compost Heap, ran six issues last year and will try for the same or more this year. The Posh Squash website is up and running, designed and maintained by Reva Basch. Visit it to check out back issues and articles, as well as notices, information and announcements that are not run in the print issues of The Compost Heap. Read more about the website in this issue.
Watering
Schedule & Trainer of Waterers: John Horn
The weekend watering schedule is collated, published, and posted by John Horn, who also gives training on watering.
Telephone
Millie Davis
Beva Farmer
When an urgent need arises or reminders are in order, Beva and Millie take to the telephone.
Cookbook
Linda Warnock
The Posh Squash Cookbook is in preparation, with material collected and edited by Linda Warnock. Its purpose is to raise funds, share good recipes, and spread the word on ways the produce of the Garden can be prepared.
The Dot.Compost Heap
Along with a stepped-up publication schedule, the Newsletter Committee has planted a web site to facilitate communication among Gardeners. It lives at www.jereva.com/poshsquash/ . We view it as not only an electronic filing cabinet for current and past issues of the printed newsletter, but also as a cyber-reference shelf, offering plans, procedures, projects, maps and other official Posh Squash documents, as well as photos and other fun stuff that just won't fit in the print edition of The Compost Heap. Please contribute your recipes, reviews and Garden-related musings for publication on the web!
A web site has several advantages over print publication: One, it's timely; you can publish almost instantaneously. Two, it has essentially no limitations on space; articles that run long, or that have to be bumped from the print newsletter, can live happily on the web. Three, it's easy to run full-color photos and illustrations. And four, corrections and updates can be made quickly and with a minimum of fuss.
We’ve also found several occasions so far to keep in touch via an email list, and will continue to use this medium, sparingly, in the future, mostly to send out time-value messages such as work party calls and alerts to changes in procedure. Of course, email works both ways, so be sure to send us -- the Steering Committee, Coordinators, and your humble Compost Heap editors -- your own comments, questions, and suggestions.
Reva Basch, Webmaster
Ask what accounts for the success of the Garden and the answer is: Gardeners achieve personal satisfaction (and fresh produce) working in a cooperative, collaborative way in a beautiful setting, each addressing the chores that must be done, and taking on gardening tasks they enjoy. There is a very effective getting-giving compact that Gardeners enter with one another and the Garden. You give to the Garden, the Garden gives to you.
Necessarily, there is a decision-making process and an administrative structure. But no one person or group of persons “runs” the Garden. That top-down format was used, then abandoned, in the very early years. Indeed, each Gardener runs the Garden, within its rules and traditions, with leadership and planning from the Coordinators, the Steering Committee, other committees and Specialists. The Garden is an organic garden, and the organic approach sets out essential do's and don’ts.
Over the years of experience and trial and error a few -- but essential -- rules and procedures have evolved. Here they are.
Doing Your Share
Each household is expected to work a minimum of 2 hours per person per week. Preferably, the work is done in the morning 9:00 to 12:00 am. Gardeners work on the day they select for the season at the Annual February Organizational Meeting. If you can’t make your day, try to make up the time another day. It is helpful to let your Day Leader know if you cannot make your day.
Work parties are set up from time to time to accomplish a task requiring numerous workers. Annually, for instance, the raspberry canes must be pruned back. Day Leaders will ask for volunteers, or one of the Coordinators or Specialists will invite participation. Check our website, and occasional email, for announcements and calls for workers.
Get interested in a speciality, if you like, or take on a particular crop or plant. Find where you can contribute your particular knowledge or skill.
Harvesting
Only Garden members in person may pick.
This rule has evolved over twenty-eight years, and is essential to the fair and equitable distribution of the Garden’s bounty. Take only what you can use. Keep in mind there are over a hundred Gardeners.
Immediate family member may help pick when accompanied by a Gardener. Please supervise your guests, as inexperienced pickers can be destructive if not shown how and where to pick.
If you are not sure of the way to harvest, check with the Day Leader, or consult the Planting Book or the Reference Shelf. For instance, the rhubarb is broken off, not cut. Note: the leafy part of rhubarb should not be eaten. Romaine lettuce is taken by the head. Other lettuces, outer leaf by leaf. Peas and bean vines will break if not held when the pod is pulled.
Specific and special harvesting instructions will be posted near the head of beds. Color-coded ribbons are attached to stakes at beds to tell what to pick or not, as follows:
Watering
Watering the right amount in the right way at the right time is critically important to the success of the Garden. It’s not as simple as making the soil look wet! Effective and efficient watering is the Gardener’s single biggest individual responsibility. How well we water is directly related to our rewards in fresh, abundant produce.
Daily watering is the responsibility of that day’s Day Leader and Gardeners.
Weekend watering is scheduled according to the preferences indicated by Gardeners. John Horn takes on the task of collecting, collating, publishing and posting the schedule in the shed.
If you must trade your scheduled weekend, notify John and make the change on the posted schedule. You are responsible for making the trade and making sure your substitute knows what to do.
How long it will take to water the Garden will depend on the number of beds planted and their maturity, weather conditions, and the soil characteristics of the beds involved. A strong wind can dry out seedbeds and young plants in a hurry -- even on a gray day.
All waterers should meet with John Horn to learn how to water, or for a refresher. John shows how to test the soil for moisture, when and how much to water, and tells about the the peculiarities of the water pressure, the ways of the drip, the soak, the spray, and the coiling of the hose in the famous Posh Squash Figure Eight.
When watering, be alert for leaks or malfunction. Report them as soon as possible. When the leak is serious, turn off the main valve and report the problem to:
John Horn 785-2747
Tom Warnock 785-3668
Finally, and very important: Last one out of the Garden, check and double-check to make sure the main valve is turned off. Never should it be left on when no one is in the Garden. When you turn it on, put on The Frog! When you turn it off, put The Frog back.
Composting
Keep those little red wrigglers working! Literally, the Garden cannot have too much compost. Gardeners can help a lot by cultivating a habit of collecting kitchen stuff and bringing it to the Garden. Everything that grows in the Garden is a candidate for compost. A big help for the composting is for Gardeners to sort out the stuff and put it in the place it is destined to go to decompose:
BINS: The compost bins need your kitchen peelings and trimmings, coffee grounds, citrus and melon rinds, egg shells and the like. Also, the bins welcome leafy matter from thinning rows, picking, and so on. Make your deposit in Nature’s bank account. If you feel up to it, take the machete from the shed and whack away. The smaller the pieces, the better the composting process works. Manure or some other dry organic material is added to the green stuff in something like a half-and-half proportion, kept moist (the consistency of a squeezed sponge), and turned frequently, hopefully at least once a week. The bins are intended to produce good compost fast. Do not put any kind of fat, meat, bones, fecal matter other than the usual aged or composted manures in the bins. Put in stuff you could reasonably chew.
PILES: The compost piles will take most of what is weeded from the rows. Haul the weeds and viney, fibrous materials and dump them next to the piles, which are in circular wire cages. Composters will mix the green stuff with dry, brown stuff, like the composted manure and straw, and wet it down.. The piles compost more passively. In this more static process, the piles are turned less often than the bins.
HEAPS: The compost heaps down by the tent greenhouse take the stalky, stumpy, woody stuff that take forever -- well a year or so -- to decompose. The heaps are even more static, and linger in their decomposition. The heaps are pretty much left alone for maybe a year or two.
Maintenance
In order to keep garden tools and equipment in good working order, contact Ben Klagenberg if anything needs attention. For specific information on the running of these tools and equipment, refer to the Manuals in the shed. Put a red flag (plastic ribbon) on anything out of order so it can be repaired or removed from service.
Make a point of learning how to operate mechanical equipment like the weedwhackers and rototillers safely (goggles, ear protectors, etc.).
Stern Admonitions
1. No pets in the Garden unless they are on a leash, tied or otherwise confined.
2. Do not drive through the Baker property.
3. Park as unobtrusively and quietly as possible on Timber Ridge.
4. Clean tools and replace in the racks and storage spaces in the Shed.
5. Always, always, always check and double-check to make sure the gates are secure.
Wintertide Report from the Steering Committee
Dates to Remember:
January, 2003: Greenhouse planting starts at end of January
Saturday, February 8, 2003, 10:00 am, Del Mar Center Hall: Organizational Meeting (Steering Committee members arrive 9:00 for set-up)
Wednesday, February 12, 2003, 9:00am: Work Party at the Garden -- strawberries and rhubarb, general cleanup. Wear long sleeves, bring gloves, clippers, snack
Wednesday, February 19, 2003, 9:00am: Work Party at the Garden (weather permitting) -- finish up pruning and transplanting and continue cleanup and weeding. Wear long sleeves, bring gloves, clippers, snack
Tuesday, February, 25, 2003:Day Leader meeting
Monday, March 3, 2003: First Day of Gardening, day crews begin to garden
Tuesday, April 1, 2003: Weekend Watering schedule kicks in
This report covers the December and January meetings of the Steering Committee. Our report of the November, 2002 meeting is posted on www.jereva.com/poshsquash, The Compost Heap’s stellar website.
Planning and preparing for the 2003 garden season, Tom Warnock, Mary Austin, Iris Borg, MA Brauer, Chester Case, Ken Holmes, Dianne Rasmussen, Jim Grenwelge, John Horn met at one or both meetings. Rosemarie Hocker, in her new role as Treasurer, attended the January meeting. Maria Bardini-Perkins, in her new role as Archivist and Scrapbook Keeper, is joining the Steering Committee, also. John Horn missed the December meeting due his broken patella, but has recovered nicely and was back for the January meeting. The Garden has needed a person to keep an eye on the fertilizer situation, a Fertilizer Guru; Rich Hersh will take on this role.
The 2003 Planting Plan has been developed. You can check it out in the shed, where a copy is on the desk. It proposes (the Gardeners propose, Mother Nature disposes) what will be planted, and in what quantities, and when. Not an easy job, but experience with what will and will not thrive at the Garden is an excellent guide. Ken and Mary, with Sal’s help, inventoried seeds on hand, and when decisions were made about what to plant, ordered seeds. MA is on hand to keep an eye on the calendar in order to maintain the lead times necessary to seed in Greenhouse flats in time for the plants to be ready to transplant in the grand choreography of growth.
The Steering Committee resolves to heed and, to the extent possible, control the elemental demands of time and occasion. We want as few beds as possible all prepared for planting with no plants to tuck in. As Gardeners know from experience, this requires timely planning and actions, like ordering seeds, germinating, planting, bed preparation. All in Nature’s cycle. Now, if the weather will only cooperate…
A series of “how-to” workshops is planned for the Spring for both new and continuing Gardeners. The idea is to share the wealth of experience and to inculcate the “Posh Squash Ways.” Experienced Gardeners will bring the workshops -- featuring demonstrations, discussion of principles involved, and hands-on doing -- to each day, for all Gardeners to partake. Workshops will include: Watering, Bed Preparation, Planting and Transplanting, Using Machinery.
John Horn will prepare the weekend watering schedule this year. Our telephone callers will remind Gardeners of the days they signed up for. Weekend watering will begin April 1, 2003. Otherwise, we will continue the day crew watering plan from last year.
The Garden never rests completely, nor do the Gardeners. Here is some of what was happening during December and January:
Mulching
Composting
Winter lettuce grown in the greenhouse
Scrapbook brought up-to-date
Discussions on the future of the Garden continued
Planting: garlic, shallots, fava beans
Picking: fennel, peas, arugula, chard, lettuce
Website maintained and notices posted
… and more.
Here comes the 2003 Garden Season, the 29th consecutive year at the present site. Jer Skibbins wrote the following about the Greenhouse, but it applies equally well to the whole enterprise of Gardening at the Posh Squash. We rerun it from the November Report from the Steering Committee:
Finally, and above all, have fun ... It’s a nursery, a place of birth and hope. Don’t yield to any pressures to make it a place of deadly chores; just go along with your schedule of bringing wonderful plants to life. It’s the seeds, plants and weather that really control … . We workers are just their helpers. And as helpers we need to enjoy what we do and to respect and adjust to each other’s contributions to the Posh Squash. Just as the plants need your care, observation and concern, your other workers need your care, observation and concern.
How to Be a Well-Read Gardener
The Planting Book is kept on the shelf above the desktop in the shed immediately to your right as you enter. Planting Coordinators Mary Austin, Ken Holmes and John Horn, guided by the Steering Committee and Garden experience, develop the overall planting plan and write it out in the Planting Book.
The Planting Book is one of the main vehicles for sharing information, keeping useful records, and for giving both the small and the big picture of what is planned and in progress.
It contains:
the garden bed layout
soil preparation instructions
a cross-section drawing of the perfectly prepared bed
a planting calendar
an index of what is planted where, by bed number
a page for each bed, giving details of what has been done and when it was done. Add descriptions of what you did and your intended results. Please record date of bed preparation, planting, crop (exactly as described on the seed packet) including company source of the seeds and any additional relevant information specific to your planting.
If you are aware of them, note special watering requirements.
Also in the Planting Book (as well as in The Compost Heap issue #2, 2002, and on the website) is the detailed and highly instructive article by Mary and Jim Alinder titled “Row Prep: a twelve-step program.”
The Chore Book is also on the shelf over the desktop, and is kept next to the Planting Book. It is another essential communication link, prepared weekly by John Horn and Mary Austin to implement the planting plan.
It contains:
a planting guide showing what is in or planned for each bed
a listing of weekly chores to be done
spaces to indicate progress made on a chore as well as what remains to be done, and completion dates
information on the compost works
An asterisk before an item indicates it is a “must-do”priority, likely something that needs to be done today so something follow-on can be done tomorrow. The Day Leader will draw attention to the priority items. Be helpful and write down what you have done and what may need to be done in the Chore Book.
The Reference Rack: We are all avid gardeners and know our own ways, but this Garden has been built upon years of experience, and we’ve compiled what works best for this particular ecological spot. The bookshelf in the shed, immediately to your right as you enter the door, is where that experience is documented. In addition, a master copy of the Day Leader’s Manual has been compiled to provide a summary.
Please also take note and use these additional tools: Do’s and Don’ts on watering, transplant planting, harvesting and composting; and “How To” manuals from the Territorial Seed Catalogs.
Gardening books and equipment manuals are also on the bookshelf.
Bulletin Board and Chalkboard: Turn to your right as you enter the shed and before you are the Bulletin Board and a chalkboard. Current information, notices and the like are there so you can keep up-to-date.