We're on Google Groups!

Hi folks!  We joined Google Groups so we can have a discussion and announcement list.  It's open to the public so please join!

Homepage: http://groups.google.com/group/yrcg
Group Email: yrcg@googlegroups.com

Updated Plant List

Plants highlighted in green are plants whose seeds we currently have. Yellow highlighting means it's a variety I plan to order.

Crop/variety choices for the YRCG -

BEANS (BUSH)

(Also need to order inoculant if getting bush beans.)

Dragon tongue wax 60 days juicy and sweet even when large. Heavy producer.


BEANS (POLE)

Rattlesnake 70 days best of all for flavor and 100-degree heat didn’t stop them from producing lots of beans.

Romano 70 days creamy flavor stringless high-yielding unfazed by heat, drought, cold nights, and most pests.

Razorback Cowpeas - great for snap peas, shell peas and drying.

BEETS

Bull’s Blood tops 35 days; roots 58 days a staple in salad mixes. Easy even with chilly evenings and poor soil.

Early Wonder Tall Tops 45 days. Ultra-easy to grow, early, great flavor, and lots of greens for cooking – a favorite in home gardens for years.


BROCCOLI

Di Cicco 48-85 days Compact 2-3’ light-green plants. Harvesting the central 3’4” central head stimulates production of numerous smaller side shoots. Quality and long harvest period make it the best broccoli for home gardens. Freezes well. 110 seeds $2.00

Piricicaba 56 days halfway between standard grocery store broccoli and a raab, large plants produce lots of small green heads. Stalks, leaves, also sweet and tender. Good frost tolerance. hot-weather performance. Produces at 90 degrees. 110 seeds $2.00


Buckwheat (to repel insects from squashes)

Fayetteville Community Seed Swap - TOMORROW!

FAYETTEVILLE COMMUNITY SEED SWAP

Sponsored by the Fayetteville Community Garden Coalition (FCGC), the University of Central Arkansas’ Conserving Arkansas’ Agricultural Heritage (CAAH!) Project, and the Washington County Cooperative Extension, the second annual Fayetteville Community Seed Swap will be on Sunday, February 20, 2011, from 1:00-4:00 pm at the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center.

Anyone may attend to trade and distribute open-pollinated seeds of food crops, herbs, or ornamentals. Hybrid seeds will also be traded and distributed during the last thirty minutes of the event. If you have no seeds to swap but want to learn more, come mingle with gardeners, farmers, and seed savers. There will be an informational presentation about seed saving at the beginning of the event, followed by a seed savers exchange and seed distribution. Help us conserve the heritage of Arkansas while we share good stories, beautify our yards, and, of course, save seeds.

WHAT: Second Annual Fayetteville Community Seed Swap
WHEN: Sunday, February 20, 2010, 1:00-4:00pm
SCHEDULE: 1:00pm – 1:30pm Seed Saving Presentation
1:30pm – 3:30pm Heirloom Seed Swap
3:30pm – 4:00pm Leftover Seed Distribution
WHERE: Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center, 945 S. College
WHO: The Fayetteville Community Gardening Coalition (FCGC), the University of Central Arkansas’s (UCA) Conserving Arkansas’s Agricultural Heritage (CAAH!) Project, the Washington County Cooperative Extension Service…and of course--any interested farmers, gardeners, and community members.
WHY: Arkansas farmers and gardeners have a long legacy of using heirloom seeds. These plants are in danger of being lost. Sharing seeds encourages the production and longevity of diverse varieties for posterity, and increased sustainable living in the present.
HOW IT WORKS: Anyone can bring seeds to swap or share. If you don’t have seeds, you can donate envelopes, garden tools, or knowledge to FCGC.
COST: FREE!

For more detailed information, you may also contact Katy Deaton at 479-409-4431 kathleenhdeaton@gmail.comor Dr. Brian Campbell at 501-450 3178 brianc@uca.edu

Plant List, 2011 Spring and Summer Seasons

Okay, everyone! Here is our plant list, which clearly needs some narrowing down. We are taking requests for early/fast-growing spring crops in addition to broccoli, cabbage, lettuces and greens such as kale and collards. I'm a little shy of cauliflower, for example, but if anyone's had good experience growing this tricky crop, we can try it.

Notes From 2/15/11 Meeting

We had a great meeting at Q'Doba last night! Several gardeners came out to learn more, to discuss crops, and to coordinate our ground-breaking efforts, with time slot sign-ups and volunteering for the tasks needed to be done. I'm excited to see that we all share the same values of self-sufficiency and gardening sustainably.

We've Added Commenting

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Thanks and we're looking forward to some great discussions!

Produce prices at the stores to rise, effective immediately

I just found this at http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/303583

This is just one more reason that it's time to kick it into gear with our community garden. Fortunately, we'll be starting with some quick-growing early-spring crops. Let's have a good turn-out this Tuesday at Q'doba! We'll see you there at 6:30 p.m.
________

Mexico loses 80-100% of crops to freeze, US prices to skyrocket

By Lynn Herrmann.

Houston - The cold weather experienced across much of the US in early February made its way deep into Mexico and early reports estimate 80-100 percent crop losses which are having an immediate impact on prices at US grocery stores with more volatility to come.

Planning and Upcoming Meeting Details

We're excited.

Today Tom, Eden, and I went to Lowes to check prices on things like fencing and tools. But the nurseries are where the discounts are at this time of the year. So Round II happens tomorrow.

Later, we sat down and put our heads together over preferred methods for tearing up the Bermuda grass. Really not such a big deal, it turns out.

I'd love to add more details about the greenhouse, mulch, and vertical gardening, but I am one tired mama. More soon at our upcoming meeting at Q'Doba on Dickson Street either this Saturday, February 12, at 10:30 A.M., or Tuesday, February 15, at 6:30 P.M. Send me your preferred time, and the most votes will decide when we will meet.

--> Cast your vote for your preferred meeting day/time on the upper-right side of this page.

At this meeting, we will need to collect fees ($50 per share for the appx. 22-week season) so we can begin purchasing supplies while nurseries still offer deep discounts during their slowest time of the year. If this is a hardship, we will accept $25 at the meeting and $25 next month.

We will also be finalizing our crop choices at this meeting. So, make sure you're there to weigh in with your favorite produce!

Looking forward,

Liev