January 2021

Grange Garden Updates:

Our newest hoop house is nearly complete. The front door has been installed, we just need the rear panel window and the flooring installed and to tighten up the plastic once more before using. A fair amount of water is collecting in the bottom. If anyone has any experience in creating drainage, we would LOVE your input before we install the ground cloth. As soon as this is complete, we will start to use it immediately for seed starts (starting end of January), and to transfer some of our currently growing boxes into it.

Jo has continued to feed the worm boxes throughout the winter. Lehani’s Deli is providing a weekly supply of organic vegetable scraps and coffee grounds, which has been a tremendous boon for the worms. Jo’s worm dirt is the BEST for augmenting our beds! If interested in contributing vegetable scraps – contact Jo.

Kale and collards continue to grow, albeit very slowed down. Beets have stopped growth and are very small, we’re experimenting to see if they’ll start to grow larger as the ground warms up. A number of vegetables were started in the greenhouses as an experiment: collards, turnips and spinach seem to be coming along, and maybe beets. Outdoors, the arugula bed seems to have done the best throughout the freezes and light snow. It continues to grow at a wonderful pace. Cover  crops have been sowed on all the other beds. Our harvest for the food bank still produces salad and stir fry mixes, and some herb bundles. We can hardly wait to ramp up production again.

AmeriCorps has chosen our garden for their “Day of Service” on MLK Day, Jan 18th! We are so lucky to receive their help. They will be installing a chicken wire perimeter around the exterior of our plastic deer fencing to prevent damage caused by weed whacking and to keep the smaller critters out.

An enhanced crop rotation is in the works, and Jo and Barbara selected seeds to start for the coming year. Now we have to figure out when to start the seeds (or sow in the ground), and which beds need which type of amendments! It’ an exciting process. Looking for a volunteer to make new garden bed markers at home for the new rotation. Supplies will be provided.

Looking for a volunteer to design and build a small storage area on one side of the garden, to be hung from existing fence posts. Any creative handypeople around, please contact Barbara. I need to present a design and materials quote for approval by the Grange in order to proceed.

Call for Artists! One of our signs is in dire need of repairing. This is something that can be done at home. Any takers?

Last, but not least, the FBFG group is having a fundraiser mid March. This will raise funds for ALL the FB gardens, and there are many moving pieces. There will be many opportunities to help with this project; Rachel, volunteer coordinator for FBFG, will put out a call for volunteers at different stages: contact her at  if you’re interested in helping. (BTW, Rachel will be moving this year some time – FBFG is looking for someone to take on Volunteer Coordination responsibilities!)

Thank you all for the work you have done in the FB gardens in the past year. We sure hope to see you very soon.

Best Wishes,

Jo and Barbara

Jo – 

Barbara –