First gardener meeting of 2012

Thank you to everybody who made it out to our rescheduled spring meeting on Saturday March 10th!  We got a head start on digging up the pathways, rearranged the toolshed area, sifted and sorted materials in the community compost piles, and some industrious gardeners even got started weeding and tilling their plots.  This warm early spring weather has us off to a good start for 2012!

Introducing....your row captains!

Monthly Garden Row Competition

In 2012, the Mamie Lee Garden Executive Committee is introducing a friendly garden row competition – the purpose of this contest is to provide incentive for gardeners who actively follow the rules and cultivate productive garden plots.  By naming 8 teams (known as “Garden Rows”), each consisting of a wide range of gardener backgrounds and skill levels, the committee’s goal is to foster team spirit and community connections while introducing friendly competition and rewards to the gardeners who are able to work together to make their row the best gardens possible!

On or about the 15^th of each month throughout the growing season (March-November), a quorum of the Executive Committee will conduct a walk-through of the garden and score each of the 8 rows on their compliance with garden rules.  Gardeners who belong to the row which receives the highest number of points in a given month will receive a small prize!  At the end of the season, the Row Captain whose row has received the most wins throughout the season will win an additional prize to thank them for their leadership.

Here are the overall rules as they apply to the Garden Row Competition:

·         A row will be named the winner once each month.

·         There can only be one winner per month.  If there is a tie, the tie breaker will be decided by counting the number of plants that are growing in the Row Captain’s garden.  The one with the most plants (excluding weeds) wins.

·         There is no limit to the number of times the same row can win the monthly competition.

·         The contest is intended to be kept light and friendly – no purposeful malice toward other garden rows will be tolerated.

The Executive Committee will calculate the winning Garden Row by using the point system below.  A row can earn bonus points or lose points.

Points will be awarded in these categories:

+        10 points for 80% or higher of the plots in the row are up to garden code

+        10 points for 50% or higher participation on cleanup workdays

+        10 Points for 80% or higher number of plots planted according to the minimum plot planting deadlines (By May 50%, by June 1 90%, etc.) refer to garden rules set by executive committee.

Bonus Points:

+        20 points if 100% of gardens in the row are up to code

+        20 points for 100% participation on cleanup workdays

+        10 points for donating 5% of a garden to non-profit food bank (i.e., Food and Friends)

+        10 points for tilling/preparing a senior’s garden who needs the assistance

+        10 points for each gardener in the row who has put in at least 3 hours/month on the Tool, Compost, and/or Fundraising Committees

Points will be deducted for:

-          5 points for each code violation in the row

-          5 points for leaving hoses in walkways

-          5 points for community tools left out in garden plots

-          5 points for debris in garden that is not organic, basically bottles, cans paper…litter in general.

-          10 points per garden plot along whose edges the gardener fails to maintain clean walkways – defined as wood chips with minimum weeds (more chips than crabgrass)

Please contact your Row Captain or a member of the Executive Committee with any questions!

Here are your captains for 2012:

Row 1: Phil Cristano
Row 2: Terry Chang
Row 3: Sarah Shoenfeld
Row 4: Harry Bell & Tim Schwab
Row 5: Michael Lamm
Row 6: Steve Horwitz
Row 7: Cathy Anderton
Row 8: Kristin Georger