Community Gardening Resource Drive and Clean Up
April 25

Resource Drive: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Bring donations to Lipe Art Park, W Fayette St., near S Geddes St.
Rain Location: The Gear Factory, corner of W Fayette and S Geddes

All new and gently used gardening tools are greatly appreciated.
Donations should be clean and in good working order.
Monetary donations are also welcome!
Make checks payable to Syracuse Grows.

Needed:

Tools and equipment…
Shovels, pitch forks, hoes, trowels, metal and plasic rakes, pruners, scissors, loppers, hedge clippers, wheelbarrows, rototillers, push mowers, hammers, nails, screws, nuts, bolts, handsaws, and children’s gardening tools.

Planting and Gardening Materials…
Vegetable and flower seed, starter plants and cover crop seed, tomato cages and dowels, compost, soil, pre-bagged commercial fertilizer (manure), pesticide-free mulch, plant pots, tubs, containers, garden bed liner, garden gloves, watering cans, compost bins, food grade barrels for rain barrels, soaker hoses and spray nozzles, twine, wire, and string.

Building Materials…
Plywood and lumber: untreated lumber of various widths and at least 4 ft. in length

Structural Materials…
Tool sheds, greenhouses, shade houses, arbors, trellises, bricks and cinder blocks, chipping, pebbles and stones, wood chips and wooden pallets, picnic tables, chairs, benches, char-coal barbeque grills, and fencing material: wood posts, medium gauge wiring, hardware cloth, mesh fencing.

Garden Clean Up: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Volunteer at any of 11 gardens. See map below.

Volunteer:

Garden…
Pull weeds, till soil, apply compost and fertilizers, trim hedges and trees, plant trees, hedges and starter plants

Build…
Build raised beds and fencing, paint signs and picnic tables

Neighborhood cleanup…
Work with OCRRA to clean litter on streets surrounding the gardens

Meet your neighborhood community gardeners…

For more information, or to arrange early donation drop-off or pick-up, please contact:
(315) 443-4890 or syracusegrows@gmail.com
Lipe Art Park is on W Fayette St, near S Geddes St. See map HERE.

Participating Community Gardens

1. Northside Community Garden I
207 Isabella Street * Beth Killian * 415-9594
2. Northside Community Garden II
1004 Townsend Street * Beth Killian * 415-9594
3. Eastside PEACE, Inc. Community Garden
202 S. Beech Street * Lori Covington * 470-3325
4. Westcott Neighborhood Community Garden
127 Harvard Place * Sasha Salayda * 447-8593
5. Lipe Art Park Community Garden
W. Fayette and S Geddes Streets * Jeanie Gleisner * 677-9147
6. Avery House Residential Garden
420 S Avery Avenue * Ron Reid * 487-3314
7. Midland Ave Community Garden
341 Midland Avenue * Aggie Lane * 478-4571
8. McLennan Ave Community Garden
258 McLennan Avenue * Tony Williams * 472-3221
9. Cannon Street Community Center Community Garden
515 Cannon Street * Denise Moore * 491-1382
10. Cannon Street Community Garden
620 Cannon Street * Carolyn Stanley * 478-8525
11. West Newell Street Community Garden
612 W Newell Street * Mable Wilson * 471-7063

Come learn about your neighborhood’s community gardens and help them prepare for spring planting. Community gardens will host spring clean up and open house events from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 25.

RSVP

Please call or email to let us know which garden you’d like to volunteer at:
443-4890 or syracusegrows@gmail.com

• Central New York
• Syracuse, NY
• Onondaga
• The Syracuse Hot Mamas

The “Hot Mamas” name didn’t last longer than the laughter it brought forth. The Onondaga name was removed from consideration when we were informed that we should really ask the Onondaga Nation to use their name.

It was Syracuse versus Central New York. While all of us at the table (and stools, sofas, cushions and floor) were actually living in Syracuse, we wanted a more inclusive name. We wanted the local farmers and suburban residents to know: yes, this is for you too. It removed the urban focus of “Syracuse,” which I regret, but I am happy that we could all come together on a decision. Good job everyone. Consensus achieved.

Full disclosure time: I was in the middle of writing up a nice big long blog post (complete with charts and subheaders) addressing all this questions. … and my computer froze. Bear with me people, I’m new to blogging. So I will just focus on the first question now.

What is Slow Food?

Slow Food started in Italy, as part of a protest to the fast food movement. It has since grow to over 50 countries, with thousands of grassroots chapters. The organization is about nourishing healthy food systems: supporting local farms, educating people about food choices, providing access to healthy fresh food to impoverished neighborhoods, patronizing restaurants that provide local fresh food.

Or, as I like to say: It’s about making brownies from scratch instead of from a box.

Some people ask about what is the difference between Slow Food and organic food. Basically, organic food is good, but you can still have monocrop industrial organic farms that ship around the country and don’t pay the workers fair wages. Slow Foods is about creating a sustainable food system. Farms that nourish the earth. Kitchens that nourish friends and family. Consumers and restaurants that support the hinderland. In a way, it’s about fighting entropy through the blessed action of eating.

Not enough for you? Check out the Slow Food USA website. They have their own (probably better) explanation of what Slow Food is. It also has links to the benefits of membership and information and events happening around the country.

Thanks for reading this far. Check back in the future, or subscribe to the RSS feed! Next post I’ll be talking about what membership in Slow Food USA gets you, and where the money from your member dues goes.