Jan 29th 2021
RRPAG Garden fees are due on February 15. Plot rentals continue to be an affordable $25.00 a year, plus $27.00 for our water. Thanks to the water conservation efforts of our members, and our three tanks that collect rain water, these water fees have remained the same as last year. Fees can be e-transferred or mailed to our Treasurer, Mary Beckett, or dropped off at Salt Spring Books. With the help of Erinanne and Transition we are zooming our monthly meetings until the weather allows us to meet outside safely.
Sadly, our committee member Sue Savage passed away on January 26 from leukaemia. Her pollinator borders, with their lovely flowers and many bees and pollinator insects, are a legacy of her enthusiasm and knowledge. Her observations of the many tiny details, like the family of brown creepers in the apple tree, and the photographs she took were a gentle lesson in how to enjoy the everyday things that life offers even when it is restricted.
Our waitlist is at 13, a two-year wait or more. With more people wanting to garden but dealing with shade, too little water, stoney ground, or simply no garden space, the challenge is to find more space for community gardening on Salt Spring. We plan to pursue this in 2021. Contact Jane if you wish to help! jlpetch(at)gmail.com
Oct 13th 2020
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
WHEN: Saturday October 24: 10:00 am
We are in the process of determining the location for the meeting. Our main concerns are ensuring a venue that will accommodate participation while respecting distancing procedures and safety. More to follow shortly.
AGM Agenda Items Each year, the Committee reviews the Handbook to see if there are items they feel need to amended or enhanced. These will be voted on by the membership at the AGM.
The following two changes are being recommended this year
1. To emphasize the importance of participating in the allotment work parties, the Committee will be presenting an amendment to the Handbook which will clarify that participation in the work parties is mandatory and failure to do so (without reasonable cause) is a basis for termination of membership.
2. Allotment gardening is becoming ever more popular and we have a limited number of spaces. At this time there are 15 people on our waiting list. For this reason, the Committee will be presenting the following policy amendment that would allow increased access to our gardens: On a go-forward basis, allotment allocation will be limited to one plot per household. Existing gardeners will not be impacted by this change.
General discussion ideas are planting another fruit tree, adding a beehive to the Gardens, and the concept of limiting membership in RRPAG to those who do not have a plot in another community garden.
If you have other issues you feel should be considered, please contact Jane at 250-537-0880 or jlpetch@gmail.com.
AGM COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP/PARTICIPATION
The committee responsible for day-to-day operation of the allotment has 7 members. This year, as of the Annual General Meeting, three of the current committee members are stepping down:
- Julian Elwes, Water Co-ordinator and lead of the Watering Group
- Roger Mah Poy, Garden Co-ordinator
- Sue Savage, Pollinator Borders.
A huge thank to you for your work and dedication to the allotment!
To date Marion Hargrove and Jason Youmans have agreed to allow their names to stand. We still need one more person to fill the 3 rd vacancy. If you are interested in putting your name forward, please contact Jane at 250-537-0880 or at jlpetch@gmail.com
The Watering Group is looking for two new members. Water is the life blood of the garden and Watering Group is critical to our operation. The volunteer commitment on the Watering Group is about an hour or less, four days a month, from mid-April to mid-October. For more information on this role please contact call Julian at 250-537-5901.
WATER
And speaking of water, this is from Julian who has done such a great job of coordinating our garden water.
“ In our ever increasing concern over climate change, the subject of water conservation has become hugely important. Thanks to all our members we have responded by exercising measures to reduce our demand for municipal water. The measures taken include the addition of a 2,500 rainfall catchment tank, diligent adherence to CRD guidelines for allowable watering times, good husbandry over soil moisture retention ( mulching, 4 day watering cycle etc. etc.) The result has been outstanding with significant reductions in the need for added water to our conserved rainfall retention. To the end of September, despite extra plot cultivation and warmer / dryer summer, we remain more than 10 % below last year.”
Well done everyone !!. “
AROUND THE ALLOTMENT ….
… have you tried that neat little moisture meter that Julian was kind enough to donate to our allotment? It is surprising how often it indicates that no more watering is needed
…check out all the pollinators on the purple Michaelmas daisies in front of the shelter
… to learn more about our Rainbow Road Allotment Gardens and the water conservation, catchment and irrigation systems that make this project a success. This PowerPoint shows how our watering system works and highlights some of the water conservation techniques our gardeners are using in their plots. Many thanks to realtor Sandra Smith for the overhead drone shots of the garden and to Shelley Currie for fine tuning the presentation.
… are you getting the latest newsletter from Linda Gilkeson? If not, visit Linda A. Gilkeson West Coast Gardening to get answers geared to island gardeners
… a huge THANK YOU to Cam Proudfoot of Salt Spring Wood Chipping for Kindly donating wood chips to the allotment. There are still some outside of the fence at the main entrance – help yourselves
…. our apple tree is again being a productive member of our allotment – the apples are yours for the taking – ENJOY
… the time is near to put our summer gardens to bed which opens the door for fall plantings and dreams of a new growing year. Just a reminder the irrigation system will be shut down in late October.
HAPPY GARDENING
RRPAG COMMITTEE
Jane Petch – President Shirley Ireland – Secretary
Mary Beckett – Treasurer Roger Mah Poy – Garden Co-ordinator
Julian Ewles, Water Co-ordinator Cecilia Pech – Membership
Sue Savage – Pollinator Borders
Sept 22 2020
Work Party: September 26, 2020
LAST ALLOTMENT WORK PARTY of 2020
WHEN: Saturday September 26: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Please remember that all gardeners are expected to participate in at least one work party during the year. These work parties are very important to the operation and well being of our allotment. Unfortunately, almost 25% of our membership have not participated in at least one work party or assigned project this year.
If you are unable to attend any of the work parties this year please contact the Roger, our Garden Co-ordinator at mah_poy@telus.net to arrange a time to complete a specified project at the allotment at another time.
June 9th 2020
Drop by and see our new Gate! The gate is a collaborative project that was designed and put together using recycled materials and some new lumber. The result is a very attractive, welcoming gate that identifies the community garden as a special place.
We have 9 people on our waiting list. We understand that the Bourgoyne Allotments have a similar wait list. We know that we will not be able to provide gardening opportunities for all these people this year. With the wait list in mind, the RRPAG Committee has voted to approach different jurisdictions on Salt Spring to advocate for more community garden spaces. Our request to PARC in 2017 for expansion of the RRPAG garden was turned down as the land to the west of us has a future recreational purpose. But the Covid experience has resulted in a great interest in gardening, and there may be places elsewhere on the island that could be harnessed for community allotments.
With the warmer weather of June, the gardens are full steam ahead. Linda Gilkeson’s May 30 tour of the plots was very helpful in answering individual gardeners’ questions about garden problems and techniques. We are extremely fortunate to have her expertise and enthusiasm! She was very complimentary about our pollinator beds which were full of bees.
Another gift for us is our four-person watering team, Julian, Clare, Colin and Mark. They keep our water flowing. They monitor the large tank levels, check for leaking taps, keep the shelter tank full for hand-watering, and post alerts on water regulations. A big thanks to them from all of us!
May 1st 2020.
Community gardens are deemed an “Essential Service ” under the BC Government’s Essential Services Act, and are “encouraged” to stay open.The Rainbow Road Pool Allotments have remained open during the pandemic while at the same time practising social distancing. Gardeners are expressing deep gratitude that they have a safe place to go during a difficult time.According to the RRPAG Handbook, all plots must be under cultivation by May 1.
Gardeners are busy planting new crops, and harvesting the last of the winter vegetables. Our wonderful irrigation team has reconnected the pump and set up our watering system for this coming season.
The pollinator borders are attracting butterflies and other insects. Compost continues to be harvested from both the new bins and from the large compost pile that sat over the winter. It is a fertile and busy time. There are 7 people on the wait list.
February 1st 2020
2020 will be the year of community outreach for the Rainbow Road Pool Allotment Gardens.
We are planning to be on the Rainwater Tour, to offer an example of rain water harvesting, with the two large 2500 gallon tanks taking rain water off the pool roof, and the smaller 500 gallon tank off the shelter roof.
We have also put our name in for the Salt Spring Garden Tour. We can provide an example of 38 small backyard-size garden plots with raised beds, intensive planting, crop rotation, pollinator plants and water conservation techniques.
We are approaching the schools to invite student tours of our gardens and are beginning to liaise with some of the elementary school committees that have built their own community gardens.
Finally, we will be developing some educational displays around water conservation, pollinating plants, and food security, that will be used for these community visits.
Linda Gilkeson has offered to a workshop on plant diseases for us on March 21 at the library, which will include what to do about tomato blight and garlic diseases.
Please remember that garden fees are due on February 15, and can be paid on Seedy Saturday (February 8) to Anne Macey at the Island Natural Growers booth.