Dabney Garden Blog

I spoke to Mike Raven yesterday about having a trash can installed on the Dabney balcony, so maybe people won’t throw so much trash into the garden.  I also cleaned up a lot of trash (on the order of a wheelbarrow-full!), including a lot of our own trash and a pile of sun-melted gloves.  It sucks that we have to clean up balcony trash, but this made me realize how much of the fault is ours.  The place is marginally more presentable now.

I’m going to look into getting a water-tight/spider-proof storage box, so we don’t lose anything else to neglect or the coming rainy season.  This would also let us keep work materials in the garden instead of in someone’s room, so they’ll be more accessible.

The MHF Fund has generously agreed to provide funding for us to purchase a drip irrigation system. Currently, the money was included in a grant to the Caltech Community Garden Project, and they’ll be placing the order for us directly. Stay posted for details.

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~garden/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

So according to Fedex all our packages have been delivered, but as of yet we have not received any money or contact from Parks. (See http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~alexr/scn/scn6.gif’)

I’m not sure what’s going on but I’d like to have the funds available so we can complete our MHF spending and I can write up that report the Committee expects and is entitled to.

Current course of action (obviously later steps only taken if they refuse to refund in full)

1) Send email with above link asking how long till paid(done)
2) Send Parks an email mentioning that we will be forced to open a payment dispute for unauthorized transaction
3) Open a PayPal dispute, and send Parks notification of this fact.
4) File BBB dispute against Parks
5) Ask Tom/Legal for suggestions. It’s only $377 but it’s important that companies don’t push people around, or that money will add up.
6) Oooh, you just wait until I write about THIS in my online journal! (critical blog post!)
7) “My fellow Americans, I’ve just signed legislation outlawing Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”

Still, they’ve already agreed to a refund (if hazily about who pays for shipping), so hopefully this ends without a nuclear exchange. Just want to keep our options organized.

In solidarity,
Alex

Hi all,

Val and I ordered a trash can to lend to the Red Door Cafe. They will be donating their used coffee grounds to the garden instead of trashing them as they currently do. Coffee grounds make an excellent mulch, fertilizer, and addition to compost. Eric will be setting it up in a few days.

We have also ordered three more composting bins, since our current donation from Carol is nearly full. These will be a nice rolly model.

Additionally, we will, over the next few weeks, be placing compost buckets (they have an airtight seal and odor-absorbing lid) in the Hovse kitchens. If you really don’t want one in your kitchen email Eric and it will not be put there. We don’t have the resources to regularly empty them, however, so it is up to students who use them to take them out when full. There will be signs on them explaining this.

I’ve loaned a few pieces of equipment to Chris Watson for the purpose of starting a garden at 255 S. Hill, and used a bit of our helping other campus groups funding for soil for his project. Housing may be reimbursing us, but I did build in some getting other groups started funds into the proposal.

Rather than sending out emails to this list for status updates, I plan to set up a blog on our UGCS space. When active, it will be at http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~garden/. There will be RSS and all that Web 2.0 stuff that makes yuppies drool.

Finally, there are some edibles back there now, tons of pole beans (Val says you can eat them raw now or wait a few weeks and shell them.), tons of kale by the wall, and lots of garlic shoots and green onion greens. More coming soon.

Peace out to the free world,
Alex

I have posted pictures of the garden. The first half are from March or so, and the second half from today.

Alex

I met with Delmy Emerson, the directory of facilities management, today, to  talk a bit about the garden and integrating it into the campus. We’re going  to put up edging of some sort once we have the entire area for this season  tilled. Irrigation will continue to be soaker hoses for this season, but they  may put in drip irrigation in the future for efficiency and ease. They will  also (weeks or months) put in spigot(s) in the back to make it easier and  less leeky to water.

Planted garlic, kale, leeks, and scallions today. Hope to put the pumpkins  in tomorrow

The garden mailing list is now archived publically,  http://hermes.ugcs.caltech.edu/pipermail/dabney-garden/

Happy Wednesday,
Alex