News - Magnuson Community Garden

2024 GiveBIG!

May 6, 2024

Good news! Magnuson P-Patch is working again this season with GiveBIG, the annual community fundraising effort for Washington-based non-profits. We’ve had quite a few gardeners who’ve asked how to donate to the P-Patch. Here is a great tool.

Our account with GiveBIG is now active and ready for donations. GiveBIG’s official push starts tomorrow, but the platform is available to us all year.

At this time, we’re not making a big “ask” for donations – just a light touch to let you know that your commitment to the garden as a whole is most appreciated. Give $5.00 or $25.00 if you want. Funds generated from GiveBIG in 2024 will be used for new tools (of course), improved fencing and pathways, and many other improvements.

Please consider a modest (or generous!) donation to our P-Patch. If every gardener gives what they can, we’ll be able to continue making improvements to our wonderful P-Patch. Here is the link to our GiveBIG tool: https://www.wagives.org/donate/Magnusonppatch

May Updates

May 1, 2024

COMMUNITY HOURS: The 2024 P-Patch gardening season, from November through October, is already HALF OVER!

Haven’t logged any community hours yet this season? Please plan to attend one of the THREE work parties this month.
Also, the Task List clipboard on the desk in the tool shed has a wide variety of suggested tasks and roles.
Or ask your pod leader for suggestions.
Now’s when our P-Patch needs you the most!

WORK PARTIES:

CivicSpark Work Party – Friday May 10th, 9 am – noon. Fifteen outside volunteers will come to the P-Patch for several projects. Contact Mark at mark.mag.patch@gmail.com to sign up for this work party.
2nd Saturday Work Party – Saturday May 11th, 9 am – 1 pm.
3rd Tuesday Work Party – Tuesday evening May 20th, 6 pm – 8 pm.

MAY 1st DEADLINE: Today’s the best practice deadline to begin work on your plot. Please contact your pod leader if you have questions, need help, or if you need more time.

GARDENER GATHERING: The spring kickoff meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 14th at 7 pm so new gardeners can attend. See your email for Zoom connection information.

Attending counts for 1 hour of your minimum required 8 community hours.
This meeting is especially important for all new gardeners and gardeners who were new last year.
Also lots of updates for all gardeners.
We’ll try to keep the meeting less than an hour, with plenty of time for Q&A.

MAGNUSON COMMUNITY GARDEN BOARD MEETING: Thursday May 23rd at 7 pm. All gardeners welcome (and encouraged) to attend. See your email for Zoom connection information.

GARDEN WASTE: If you need help disposing of waste items, rocks, wood, burlap, etc. from your plot, please check with your pod leader. Please don’t dump items in the shed or bunkers.

PAPER WASPS: Now’s the time of year that paper wasps like to make nests in the tool boxes. Mark has a no-kill technique to relocate the wasps. If you see wasps building paper nests in the tool boxes, please e-mail Mark directly at mark.mag.patch@gmail.com.

GOOGLE DRIVE: The Magnuson P-Patch Google Drive has documents, meeting minutes, photos, and other info. See your email for info about accessing the Google Drive.

WEBSITE: Check out our new website! Volunteer opportunities are available for gardeners to post photos and content.

For more info on these topics and for any other questions, please contact your pod leader.

Water is back on!

April 4, 2024

The good news: The water is back on at Magnuson P-Patch!

The bad news: We discovered leaks in hose hangers 13 and 15, both in pod 4. Those hose hangers have been shut off until we can make repairs.

Hoses will be moved out to the hose hangers at the work party on Saturday April 13th.

April Updates

April 2, 2024

GARDENER GATHERING: The spring kickoff meeting will NOT be held tonight. It’s been rescheduled to May 14th so new gardeners can attend.

WORK PARTIES:

Tomorrow, Wednesday April 3rd, 10:30 to 12:30. We’ll host up to 20 students from the Bush school. Please RSVP to me or your pod leader TODAY if you’d like to help guide energetic students on a fun project.
2nd Saturday Work Party – Saturday April13th, 9 am – 1 pm.
3rd Tuesday Work Party – Tuesday evening April 16th, 6 pm – 8 pm.

Remember, work parties are the best way to fulfill your community hours requirement. We’ll work on a wide variety of interesting and important tasks. Plus you can meet and work with your fellow P-Patch gardeners!

WATER: Park staff will hopefully open the main water lines in the next two weeks. Water’s currently available from the rain barrels. The hoses will be put back on the hose hangers at the next work party, Saturday April 13th.

COMPOST: Magnuson Treasurer extraordinaire Kathy Dugaw is ordering bulk compost to be delivered the week of April 15th.

Kathy needs your orders by next Sunday April 7.
Please tell Kathy how many loads you want at $9 each for the large (6 cu. ft.) wheelbarrows.

WEEDS: Shotweed is sneaking into uncovered soil. Remember, all P-Patch plots are year-round, so please check your plot this week!

REMINDERS:

Please don’t dump rocks, wood, burlap, plastic soil bags, plastic pots, or other waste items from your plot into the storage bunkers or anywhere else in the garden or park. If you need help disposing of materials you don’t want, contact your pod leader.
Please check with your pod leader before building any structures in your plot, including raised beds or fences.
Please check with your pod leader before adding wood chips to your plot or pathways.

LISTSERV: The IT staff at the city of Seattle is planning to close down all of the city’s listservs. They run on outdated software on old architecture and they’ve become too difficult to maintain. Site leaders are looking at Google Groups and other options for the listserv. Contact your pod leader if you’d be interested in helping set up the new Magnuson listserv.

GARDENER GATHERING SHORT MEETING: The “2024 Meetings” folder in Magnuson Google Drive has the recorded 30-minute meeting video and the PowerPoint presentation. The listserv doesn’t support e-mails with links anymore so ask me or your pod leader for the link.

March Updates

March 2, 2024

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Upcoming work parties!

Saturday March 9th, 9 am to 1 pm: The biggest “Second Saturday” maintenance work party of the season! We’ll finish building the last new ADA box. We’ll also prep wheelbarrows, hoses, tools, and food bank plots to get ready for spring.
Wednesday April 3rd, 10:30 to 12:30. We’ll host up to 20 (!) students from the Bush school. Please RSVP to your pod leader if you’d like to help guide energetic students on several fun projects.

GARDENER GATHERING ONLINE MEETINGS: Please plan to attend one or both of these mandatory meetings. (No, they’re not really mandatory, but they should be!) See your email for Zoom connection information.

Sunday afternoon, March 24th, 5:00 to 5:30 pm for returning gardeners.
NEW DATE: Tuesday evening, May 14 at 7 pm for new gardeners, including gardeners that were new last season.

ADA RAISED BEDS PROJECT: Awesome project near completion!

HOURS BLUE BOOKS: Leslye Coe, Magnuson Community Hours Coordinator Extraordinaire, has added the individual tracking sheets to the hours logbooks. Look for the blue notebooks above the desk in the tool shed.

GARDEN AREAS AVAILABLE: Pollinator plots, grapevines, rose gardens, Kiwi vines, and concrete planters along the parking lot need volunteers to care for them. Please contact your pod leader if you’re interested in maintaining one of these garden areas. Garden leaders will help with all the support you need.

FUNDRAISING: We’re starting work on fundraising options. Please contact Norma Miller if you’d be interested in participating.

RENEWALS: Big thanks to all gardeners who completed their renewals on time for the 2024 season.

MAGNUSON COMMUNITY GARDEN BOARD: Meeting Thursday, March 28th, 7 pm. See your email for Zoom connection information.

February Updates

February 1, 2024

TWO WORK PARTIES

“Second Saturday” work party, Saturday February 10th, 9am to 1pm. We’ll be hosting a group of outside volunteers to construct and repair ADA waist-high boxes by the shed. All Magnuson gardeners are welcome (and encouraged!) to attend.
“Presidents Day” work party, Monday February 19th, 9am to 1pm. We’ll be hosting Cub Scout Pack 144 to continue work on the ADA boxes.

Please e-mail Mark if you’d like to help direct either of these fun and energetic groups!

WINTER

January brought very cold weather and some very heavy rain. Please stop by to check your plot this month.

RENEWALS

Renewal notices haven’t been sent yet. Current ETA is sometime in February. If you have any concerns about your renewal or if you need help accessing your account, please contact your pod leader.

TWO “GARDENER GATHERING” ONLINE MEETINGS:

(Rescheduled) Sunday afternoon, March 24th, 5:00 to 5:30 pm.
Tuesday evening, April 2nd, 7 to 8:30 pm.

Thank you!

5,357 lbs! Food Bank Garden Program

November 8, 2023

Our year end totals for our Food Bank Program is 5,357 lbs! That’s 3,564 from the Food Bank designated gardens and 1,793 from “Own” gardens. Thanks everyone for making this another successful year. It’s 1,000 pounds over last year’s record of 4345 lbs! The produce was greatly appreciated by the patrons of University and Lake City Food Banks, and our local Magnuson Mercy Food Pantry! Many thanks to volunteers that helped with the redesign and adding of Food Bank gardens in the 314 area. This greatly contributed to our increased production!

We’ll have one more traditional Thanksgiving delivery by Kathy Dugaw on Friday November 17th to Lake City Food Bank. Thanks Kathy! If you have any overwintering veggies to contribute, please put in the shed on that date or send me an email and we’ll harvest.

Thanks again everyone!

November Reminders

November 1, 2023

WATER will be shut off next week. Hoses have been drained and stowed. Water will be available over the winter and early spring from the rain barrels.

WINTERIZATION:
Most gardeners have done a great job winterizing. P-Patch gardening is year-round, so please stop by to check your plot for weeds or other issues at least once or twice a month over the winter.

2023 HOURS:
Magnuson’s community hours coordinator extraordinaire Leslye Coe will be picking up the hours logbooks today. If you have any hours to report that you haven’t written in the logbooks, please send them TODAY.

PLOT CHANGES:
If you’re interested in moving to a larger, smaller, or different plot, please contact your pod leader as soon as possible.

FOOD BANK:
Except for one special delivery the week before Thanksgiving, no more food bank deliveries until next spring. BIG THANKS to the food bank organizers, delivery drivers, harvesters, tenders of food bank plots, and to each and every gardener who donated produce from their plots! Donations from Magnuson P-Patch totaled over 5,300 pounds, over TWO AND A HALF TONS, of extra-high-quality fresh organic produce to three local food banks! Outstanding!

Thanks again to everybody for gracefully making it through another fun and rewarding season together.

Looking forward to an even more wonderful 2024 gardening season,
The Magnuson P-Patch Leadership Team

Winterization

October 28, 2023

Next time you’re at the P-Patch, check out the careful and thorough winterization of most plots by their conscientious gardeners.
Is your plot fully winterized?

Fencelines and adjacent pathways thoroughly weeded?
Plot thoroughly weeded?
Tomato plants taken out?
Spent annuals cleared?
Cover crops underway?
All unplanted soil covered with leaves?

Is your plot fully winterized? If not, time’s running short! Weather will be dry this weekend.

All bare soil gets colonized by chickweed and shotweed in the spring, which creates a lot of unnecessary work for you and others. Leaves are still available in bunker 3 while supplies last!

Please clear and cover Dahlias promptly after first frost. Any overwintering crops are okay to leave as they are.

Site leaders will be reviewing plots next Wednesday November 1st. Please check with your pod leader if you need to be sure your plot is fully winterized.

Winterization! Chapter 3 – Covering Bare Soil

October 4, 2023

Reminder: Winterization by October 31st is an important (and very smart!) requirement of the P-Patch program.

Chapter 3: Covering bare soil

Now’s the time to start weeding and winterizing your plot and surrounding pathways. The goal is to have no soil left unplanted or uncovered.

Bare soil invites compaction, allows nutrient leaching, and encourages weed growth.
Even small areas of bare soil invite chickweed and shotweed to take hold over the winter. Chickweed and shotweed grow fast and spread seeds into neighboring plots.
Planting or covering protects and improves your soil..
Time spent carefully winterizing in the fall saves LOTS of time and effort in the spring!

For those who have planted cover crops: Unless the cover crops are planted very thickly, weeds will colonize your plot over the winter. We’ve received reports of birds eating lots of cover crop seeds. Covering the plot with row cover fabric holds in heat and keeps birds out. If you planted cover crops, please plan to visit your plot at least once or twice a month over the winter to remove chickweed and shotweed.

We’re starting to see leaves on the ground in planting strips, schools, and parks. Paper leaf bags are available in the tool shed. Please rake and bring leaves for your plot, and bring extra bags of leaves for the garden. Covering your plot with a 6-inch layer of leaves is the best way to enrich your soil and prevent weeds. A limited number of burlap bags to cover the leaves in your plot will be available for a donation to the P-Patch. Ask your pod leader.

Remember, thoroughly preparing your plot and pathways for the winter seems to always take longer than you think! Waiting until the deadline adds unnecessary stress and creates extra work for others. Please plan to spend several hours winterizing over the next couple of weeks. Allowing enough time adds relaxation and fun for this important phase in the annual cycle of gardening.

Winterization! Chapter 2 – Cover Crops

September 28, 2023

More info about winterization!

Chapter 2: Mulch

We’ll clear space in bunker 3 (next to the green waste bunker) for bags of leaves.

We need LOTS of volunteers to gather LOTS of leaves.

How? We’ll have paper lawn bags in the tool shed.
Where? From your backyard, local parks, local schools.
When? As soon as possible, but especially early to mid-October, once the trees start dropping them in earnest.

Time spent collecting and delivering bags of leaves to the P-Patch counts for community hours!

Other sources of mulch: Grass clippings, finely chopped green waste, bagged compost. But leaves are best! To prevent unexpected explosions of weeds, please consult with your pod leader before using straw.

If you have one section of your plot that’s clear, be sure to carefully weed it first, then apply the compost. How much? A 3-inch layer around fall and overwintering crops, a 6-inch layer for weed suppression. More is better!

Benefits from Mulch:

Conserves soil moisture
Regulates soil temperature
Decreases soil erosion and compaction
Decreases nutrient leaching
Suppresses and prevents weed growth
Recycles materials on site
Encourages worms and other organisms to enrich soil
Simple and easy!

Covering your plot with a thick layer of leaves is the best way to prevent weeds from taking hold over the winter and early spring. The forecast is for dry weather this weekend, a good time to start winterization work on your plot.

Next Topic: Chapter 3 – Covering bare soil. More info to follow.

Winterization! Chapter 1 – Cover Crops

September 21, 2023

In case you hadn’t noticed a change in the weather, it’s already time to think about … winterization!

Chapter 1: Cover Crops

Marcia Jordan has measured and put cover crop seeds and instructions into a bin on the desk in the tool shed.

We have only about six weeks until potential first frost (!) so September and the first week of October are the best times to plant cover crop seeds. If you wait until late October or November, they won’t sprout. And the last two weeks of October are usually rainy, cool, and muddy.

You don’t have to do your entire plot at once. If you have one section that’s clear, be sure to weed it first, then till the cover crop seeds in. While not required, covering with Reemay fabric holds in heat and moisture, and prevents birds from eating all your seeds.

Benefits from Cover Crops:

Increase organic matter when chopped in in spring
Decrease leaching during winter rains
Grow for compost/mulch material
Habitat for soil life, pollinators, and other beneficial insects.

You might consider working on your plot this weekend, because after this coming Sunday, the forecast is for rain showers for the next two weeks (!)

Next Topic: Chapter 2 – Mulch. More info to follow.

Invasive Plants – Do you have them in your plot?

July 19, 2023

You might be surprised to learn that Calendula is listed on the P-Patch Program’s Invasive Plant Guidelines. Calendula is listed in the column “Plants of Concern” and “Containment is recommended.”

“Best practices are to deadhead prior to seed set and frequent harvesting.”

If allowed to go to seed, Calendula broadcasts thousands of seeds to other plots across the P-Patch. If you have Calendula in your plot, please be considerate of your plot neighbors and deadhead the seed heads or remove the plants to the green waste bunker in the next week or two. Your plot neighbors will be grateful.

P-Patch 50th Anniversary Celebration

July 12, 2023

Save the date for the 50th Anniversary celebration! This celebration will take place at Magnuson Park P-Patch on Saturday, September 9th from 3:00PM-6:00PM.

Reminders

July 5, 2023

COMMUNITY HOURS: July 15th is the “best practices” deadline to have performed and reported at least 4 of your 8 community hours. The work party this coming Saturday would be a good opportunity!

WORK PARTY: 2nd Saturday Work Party – Saturday, July 8th, 9 am – 1 pm. We’ll be teaming up to work on tasks from the Task List in the shed.

PATHWAYS: Please take time to weed the pathways surrounding your plot, including gravel pathways. Weeding pathways adjacent to your plot is part of the required maintenance of your plot, and it doesn’t take long.

Bulk Compost Order

March 8, 2023

The wonderful Kathy Dugaw is organizing our yearly bulk compost purchase, to be delivered around the first week in April. Gardeners may purchase compost by wheelbarrow (large orange or blue wheelbarrows – around 6 cu ft each).

Cost: $8.50 per wheelbarrow. Gardeners can pay by check or cash. Note: This is an increase from last year in cost from Cedar Grove both for the compost & the delivery.

If you are interested in ordering compost, please submit your order by Wednesday, March 29.

How to Purchase

Email Kathy Dugaw and indicate how many wheelbarrows load you want.
Make arrangements with Kathy to mail your payment or meet at the garden.

Any gardeners who are interested but cannot afford to order compost may request one wheelbarrow load at no cost.

2023 Friendly Seasonal Reminders

February 26, 2023

Despite the snowy weather this weekend, spring is on it’s way! Below are a few friendly reminders as we begin a new year of growing and harvesting.

Work parties will be held every second Saturday of the month through the growing season, from 9 am to 1 pm. We also have “Third Tuesday” evening work parties from 6 to 8 pm on April 18th, May 16th, and June 20th. We have a lot of fun, no experience is
required, and everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Mark Huston.

Perennial Plots Available: Magnuson P-Patch has several small perennial plots available for gardeners and outside volunteers who would like to be able to garden and participate in P-Patch activities. For more information, contact Mark Huston.

50th Anniversary Celebration! 2023 is the 50th anniversary of Seattle’s amazing P-Patch Program! If you’re interested in helping to organize a celebration event
at Magnuson, contact Jason Schneier.

Friendly Fall Seasonal Reminders

September 9, 2022

As we approach Autumn, excitement about fall foliage & heartier soups abounds! Also, no better time than the present to share a few important seasonal reminders:

Much Appreciation! First and foremost; thank you to all who stepped up in so many ways to support one another during these continued unprecedented times by watering for others, harvesting for the food banks and checking in on your neighbors. The power of community gardens was clearly on display over these past seasons. Thank you for being a resource to your communities by donating fresh produce, answering new gardener’s questions and for setting examples of how to maximize yields in small growing spaces. I am inspired by your work and look forward next season.

Winterize your Plots: The P-Patch program requires each gardener to continue planting through the winter, plant cover crops, or apply mulch to protect soil over the wet months ahead. The expectation is that your plot is ready for winter by October 31.
To winterize your plot, please remove all non-organic material (i.e., tomato cages) then choose an option below:
Option #1: Grow winter crops such as garlic, onions, kale, etc.
Option #2: Plant cover crops to dig your soil in the spring to add nitrogen as they decompose.
Option #3: Mulch. Protect your soil with a layer of organic material then dig it into the soil in the springtime:
a.) Chop up spent plants and cover your plot.
b.) Create a blanket of leaves on your plot, or
c.) Create a good blend of green (spent plants) and brown (leaves). Layer 12” deep. Cover with burlap.

Plots can use any combination of the options. The goal is to minimize bare soil to prevent compaction and weed growth.

Community Service Hours: P-Patch gardeners are required to complete a minimum of 8 hours of community service per year (counted November 1-October 31); not related to the date of plot assignment. Log your volunteer hours on a tracking sheet in the tool shed/chest, OR enter your community hours on the on-line portal, by Oct 31st.

End of Season Celebrations: Celebrate, keep your P Patch active with fun events, while keeping each other safe! Safety in the Garden

Growing for Giving: Let’s not waste food but rather continue to share our bumper crops with our neighbors in need. In November, P Patch Staff will be reaching out to your garden’s Giving Garden leads to collect 2022 donation totals. Share the Harvest

SeedMoney Grant for New Retaining Wall

August 25, 2022

In the early fall we’ll build another retaining wall, which is the major part of our SeedMoney grant.

Just to briefly recap, SeedMoney awarded Magnuson P-Patch $5000 to improve our food bank plots in several ways. One of these was to build an additional retaining wall, similar to the one we built last year near the dog park entrance to the P-Patch. The purpose of this retaining wall is two-fold: (1) to make the food bank plots more level; and (2) to prevent weeds in the accessibility gravel paths.

The work itself will be done on three Saturday-Sunday weekends: September 24-25, October 8-9, and October 15-16, all 9am to 1pm. Susan Eggers and Steve Morales will be supervising the project

Magnuson P-Patch’s 20th Anniversary Celebration!

June 24, 2022

The 20th anniversary celebration for Magnuson P-Patch was a big success! Greg Wong, Director of the Department of Neighborhoods, gave a thoughtful presentation. Alex Pedersen, District 4 City Councilman, joined in the fun. P-Patch Garden Coordinator extraordinaire Kenya Fredie attended, along with former P-Patch Garden Coordinator Wendy McClure who traveled all the way from Lopez Island to attend! We had several photo boards showing the garden under construction. Best of all, the celebration was followed by an awesome potluck, with plenty of food, beverages, and lively conversation. Everyone agreed that it was good to be able to have these gatherings again, and we need to have them more often.