RE: weeds/

H* A*

Comrades:
Jack does this for a living and,  it shows. 
What a splendid, informative note. Hats off!

Adam

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Jack N. Hale [SMTP:jackh@knoxparks.org]
> Sent:	Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
> To:	Linda Schroeder; community_garden@mallorn.com
> Subject:	RE: [cg] weeds
> 
> There is a wonderful community garden that is on the grounds of the
> Montreal
> Botanic Garden.
> Weeds are often a design issue.  For instance:
> 1. If fence fabric extends all the way to the ground, it is often
> difficult
> to keep the fence line free of weeds.  Keep the fabric 3-4 inches above
> the
> ground.  This allows a weed whacker to handle the problem quite nicely.
> Mulch or boards under the fence also create a clean appearance.
> 2. Keep pathways to a minimum.  No wider than necessary - some gardens
> have
> wide central utility paths and narrow paths that lead to individual
> gardens.
> In some of our gardens, gardeners have eliminated paths that they
> considered
> to be unnecessary - provides more gardening space and eliminates the weedy
> path.
> 3. Consider mowed paths, just the width of a lawnmower.  With a board or
> brick edge they can look very neat.
> 4. In one small, but sensitive garden, the landowner, a major insurance
> company, paved the paths with asphalt, including curbs.
> 
> From a non-design standpoint,  perhaps people need to be introduced to the
> ordinary hoe.  In our gardens, the neatest plots invariably belong to
> 90-year-old women who are skilled in the use of that tool.  People who end
> up pulling weeds are  the ones who don't use their hoes.  Cultivators work
> pretty well, too.
> 
> From the standpoint of building community, the problem belongs to
> everybody,
> not just the few sloppy ones and the overworked coordinator.  What if you
> had a meeting of all the gardeners, or all the ones who would come
> (provide
> cookies) and told them that the botanic garden was dissatisfied with the
> appearance of the garden and might want to close it.  That might get their
> attention.  Ask them to brainstorm solutions and then decide what steps to
> take.  Sometimes that is the best source of "justice" for people who let
> their garden go - and you don't end up having to be the judge and
> executioner.  It is also a good way to set standards and to make sure
> everyone has a way to pitch in and improve the situation.  Perhaps the
> botanic garden would like to offer awards (green flags?) to the examplary
> gardens - neatest, most imaginative, most diverse, etc.
> 
> Good luck
> 
> Jack Hale
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	community_garden-admin@mallorn.com
> [community_garden-admin@mallorn.com] On Behalf Of Linda Schroeder
> Sent:	Monday, August 21, 2000 5:04 PM
> To:	community_garden@mallorn.com
> Subject:	[cg] weeds
> 
> I am helping to coordinate a community garden project as an intern at
> Denver
> Botanic Gardens this year.  I am interested in knowing of other community
> gardens that are part of a Botanic Garden.  I would greatly appreciate any
> suggestions.
> Also, I am wondering how to deal with the overwhelming weed problem we are
> having in the gardens.  The administration of the Botanic Gardens has a
> high
> expectation of how the community gardens should look aesthetically, and I
> would love some suggestions of ways to encourage gardeners to keep their
> individual plots less weedy, as well as common areas and pathways in the
> garden.  In past years, the coordinator would "red flag" individual's
> plots
> that were really out of control, and if the problem was not remedied
> within
> ten days, he or she would lose gardening priveleges for the following
> year.
> I don't like such an authoritarian system, but some of the plots and
> pathways are becoming a nuisance to other gardeners, especially due to all
> of the bindweed we have.  It is an organic garden, and I would like ot
> avoid
> herbicides as well.  Any ideas?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Linda Schroeder
> Community Gardens Intern
> Denver Botanic Gardens
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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