Introducing our bloggers...

Hello gardeners!  My green thumb is itching! Is yours?  I'd like to introduce myself and the team of Mamie D. Lee Garden bloggers.

I am a lifelong gardener, and this is my second community garden. Sadly, the Brookland Community Garden, which I helped to found, closed so that the property could be developed. I was thrilled to find the Mamie D. Lee garden four years ago. Since then, I've renovated the soil in my plot, grown artichokes, tomatoes, eggplant, all kinds of peppers, and red sunflowers. I'll be writing on a variety of garden related topics.

Here's the rest of the team:

Sara Brown tends the compost and will be writing about that and other things.

Salem Pearce is an experienced blogger who will be writing on various topics.

Patricia Florescu will be interviewing gardeners and taking photos of the garden throughout the growing season.

Bea Trickett, blog creator, urban farmer, and garden manager extraordinaire writes on a variety of topics.

Please let us know if you'd like us to write about a specific topic. Happy gardening!

Christina (Chris) Scheltema aka Brookland Garden Lady      

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

Welcome back!

February 1, 2012

Dear Mamie D. Lee Community Gardeners,

Spring is fast approaching and as we enjoy some warm days, we are reminded that we have garden business to attend to.  The Executive Committee will be collecting gardening fees and membership contracts this month.

If you are planning on returning to the MDL garden please read and sign the membership contract, and return it along with your payment by February 15 to secure your plot. If you do NOT want your garden plot anymore, please reply as soon as possible so we can turn it over to a new gardener.


 Here is a list of important dates for this garden season - unless otherwise stated, events are at10am at the garden:


Saturday March 3 (rain date March 10th):               Mandatory Annual Meeting andFirst Garden Cleanup


Saturday April 7 (rain date April 14th):                     Garden Cleanup Workday

Tuesday May 1st:                                                     GARDENS SHOULD BE CLEARED AND                                                                                                TILLED BY MAY 1ST

Saturday May 5 (rain date May 12th):                       Garden Cleanup Workday

Saturday June 2 (rain date June 9th):                        Garden Cleanup Workday

Saturday July 7 (rain date July 14th):                         Garden Cleanup Workday

Saturday August 4 (rain date August 11th):            Garden Cleanup Workday

Saturday Sept 8 (rain date Sept 15th):                      Garden Cleanup Workday

Saturday Oct 6 (rain date Oct 13th):                           Final Garden Cleanup Workday

Friday November 30th:                                               Garden season ends.  Gardeners who                                                                                   wish to continue gardening during the period                                                                                   between the first day of December and the                                                                                   last day of February should inform the                                                                                   garden manager.


Please contact a member of the Executive Committee with any questions or concerns.  Thanks in advance for your timely return of the contract and payments.


Please note that checks will not be cashed until we receive a signed gardener contract to accompany the payment.


We’re all very excited about the 2012 gardening season, and look forward to seeing you at the garden on March 3rd!

A look back at the 2011 growing season

2011 has been a very good year for the Mamie D. Lee Community Garden!  With generous support from the National Park Foundation and by partnering with RockCreek Park, the Neighborhood Farm Initiative, and the Mamie D. Lee School, the Mamie D. Lee Community Garden Association has worked to overhaul infrastructure throughout the garden.  Together, we:

• Installed a protective fence to prevent deer damage to vegetable crops, and to ensure safety of the gardeners, particularly youth and elderly members.
• Provided teachers of special needs students (aged 6-21) with a venue for outdoor environmental education, allowing for their incorporation of the garden as a sensory learning experience for youth.
• Conducted needs assessment of Mamie D. Lee Garden Association members regarding improvements to garden infrastructure.
• Reached out to Mamie D. Lee Garden’s neighbors, connecting them more closely with the garden by increasing its visibility within the park.

A deer fence was installed to protect gardeners’ plants, and new tools were purchased for gardeners’ use in cultivating a variety of organic vegetables.   Part of this grant provided for the purchase of deer fencing materials, while volunteer labor from members of the Mamie D. Lee Garden Association and the Neighborhood Farm Initiative provided for its installation.  The completed fence is 800’ in length and surrounds three sides of the 1.5 acre garden (~70,000 square feet), with the 4^th side tying into an existing fence owned by adjacent partner Mamie D. Lee School.

Six pedestrian access gates were installed around the perimeter of the garden. In addition, two 12’ wide gates were installed to allow for vehicular passage, following consultation with elderly/handicapped gardeners to assess their needs.

While the total amount of food harvested by all gardeners was not tracked, over 550 pounds of the vegetables grown in the garden were donated to local non-profit food banks during the grant period.  This number is a significant increase over the 215 pounds of the garden’s food that was donated last year, and is a direct result of the new fence preventing herds of deer from grazing in the garden.

This grant also provided for purchase of new tools for use by the 103 community gardeners and an additional 410 volunteers who helped in the garden over the course of the 2011 growing season.  After assessing the needs of community gardeners (who range from youth with special needs to young adults to elderly gardeners), the Garden Association used the tools portion of grant funds to purchase the following equipment:

-          (1) heavy duty wheelbarrow

-          (1) lawn mower

-          (2) 4-cycle weed whackers

-          (3) round-point shovels

-          (2) square point shovels

-          (1) garden spade

-          (3) stirrup hoes

-          (2) flat-point hoes

-          (4) heavy duty ergonomic digging forks

-          (2) bow rakes

These infrastructure improvements have resulted in park patrons and passersby taking more notice of the garden.  Gardeners regularly field questions about what we are doing, what vegetables are growing, and how people can get involved either as a volunteer or by securing a garden plot of their own.  Once the raised beds and signage are in place, these types of questions can be answered even when none of the gardeners are present on-site.  Having a project with clear objectives and funding to achieve it has also built a clearer sense of community within the Garden Association.  Members have come together to make decisions throughout the season and pitched in their volunteer labor on construction projects, and also contributed pro bono professional design services.  We are looking forward to completing the raised beds and signage as the final piece of the project.

I did a tour of the garden on November 30th, and took a few snapshots to document our progress this season.  Enjoy, and see you all in the spring!

Welcome to the 2012-13 Garden Executive Committee!

Thanks to all gardeners who came out to the library for yesterday's meeting and election.  I'd also like to specifically thank outgoing members of the executive committee Bennie Harris and Sarah Shoenfeld for their dedication and service to the garden for the past two years - we've come a long way in a short time, and couldn't have done it without your help; thank you both for all of your work!



I'd like to announce the newly elected Executive Committee for the garden:

Manager: Bea Trickett
Assistant Manager: Bob Lowry
Secretary: Aaron Lavallee
Treasurer: Brian Rivas

Meanwhile, hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing winter season, and see you all in the spring!

Finishing up the deer fence & the gardening season

Our final workday of the season was one of the coldest, rainiest days yet, but a small group of committed gardeners soldiered through and worked hard to finish stringing the wire across the top of the new deer fence.  The group huddled together to stay out of the wind and rain under a tent generously delivered by Park Ranger Ricardo, and gardeners and volunteers together shared a chilly potluck to celebrate the close of the 2011 gardening season.  Thanks to everybody's hard work, we now have a lot better infrastructure in place to protect the garden from grazing deer, and we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2012!