October 2009

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it this case, that’s certainly true!

Last spring we had the great opportunity to partner with the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association to help install a downtown, urban orchard! Over 50 trees were planted between 4 sites, including pears, pawpaws, persimmons, peaches, plums, gooseberries, currants, and blueberries. The project was a smashing success, including a celebratory planting day where over 50 people came out to help install this inaugural project. And the residents in that neighborhood are already looking forward to their fruitful bounty in years to come.

Fast-forward 6 months, and it’s time to do it again! This time we’re working at the Aylesford Place Neighborhood, near Woodland Park. Set between 7 different planting sites, this urban orchard will be made possible from a Neighborhood Sustainability Grant and will include a host of plants, including cherries, plums, persimmons, gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries, and serviceberries!

And now its time for Aylesford Place Community Orchard Planting Party!

Tomorrow, Saturday October 31st (Yes, it’ll be a spooky good time!), we’ll be meeting at 9am at Michler’s Florist at 471 E. Maxwell St. From there we’ll spread out to the various sites, while getting to know neighbors and investing in the long-term fruitfulness of the neighborhood. Please join us if you can for good, dirty fun! We’ll provide plenty of hot coffee and yummy treats to get you going in the morning, and then celebrate the culmination with a TRUCK gating event – with food and merriment a plenty!

Although the weather is a huge variable, we’re strapping on our GOULashes and rain slickers and heading forward with the plan!

We hope you’ll be able to join us!

When: Saturday, Oct. 31st, 9am – ? (depends on how many folks show up – many hands make light work!)
Where: Meet at Michler’s Florist and Greenhouse at 417 E. Maxwell St.
What to Bring: You and your family (all ages can help!), a shovel and gloves if you have one

If you have any questions, contact Rebecca Self at rebecca@selfservices.com or (859) 523-2834.

Student Chris Hamm working on one of the oven models - and he's available for hire!

We had a chance today to go and visit with the masonry students and their amazing teacher, Mr. Bruce Hayden, at the Southside Technical High School off of Harrodsburg Rd. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, the students who attend the program are mostly Juniors or Seniors in Fayette County public high schools (or the surrounding counties). They arrange their schedules so that they attend their district high school for half of the day and spend the other half at Southside working on their selected major.

We had the great opportunity to connect with these students this past summer when Seedleaf proposed the idea of building a Community Pizza Oven for the London Ferrell Community Garden. Once built, the oven hopefully will serve as a natural gathering spot in the garden, a place around which community members can circle, share stories, and enjoy fresh hot pizza out of the oven, topped of course with fresh veggies from the garden!

When it became clear that Seedleaf didn’t have the expertise to build such a structure, we reached out the community and were delighted to find Mr. Hayden at Southside. They generously agreed to take on the project as one of their community-focused initiatives, and were even brave enough to try and work with our hastily- drawn sketches for the oven.

This afternoon was our first opportunity to go to the school and see the model ovens for ourselves, and we were more than impressed. The students there have been working hard, under the great tutelage of Mr. Hayden, at crafting NUMEROUS life-sized models of the ovens. So many options to consider, and each of them constructed by students learning the craft.

While are mouths are already watering at the thought of the tasty pies that will one day come out of the oven, today was truly had an opportunity to be grateful for the excessive generosity of the Southside students. We are reminded again about the wonderful assets that our community already has, and we only hope that we can serve to deliver adequate praise and thanks to this super program.

Note: The masonry students are also available for hire for miscellaneous projects that you might have. Not only do you feel good about providing an opportunity for students to get more hands-on job training, but these hard-working students can develop a true sense of worth to recognize the value of their developing expertise. Contact Mr. Bruce Hayden at (859) 381-3603 to find out more information.

1. Debra Hensley is throwing a Social Stimulus Gathering on Friday, October 23, from 5pm-7:30. Hanna’s on Lime will be catering, featuring Seedleaf produce. Do visit Debra’s blog for more info: http://www.debrassocialstimulus.com/

2. Saturday Morning, October 24, from 10am till 1pm, we’ll be cleaning up and bedding down some of the community plots. We’ll also harvest from the fall planting–try Helios Radish, young kale and collards, maybe some carrots. We can use strong backs and willing hands.

I have been noticing in yards around Lexington that some folks are decorating for the season with bales of straw or hay. If you don’t have a better use for these bales when they are no longer visually appealing, or if you see them on the curb by the garbage, please contact us. We’d be glad to turn this stuff into soil through our Compost Partners program, or use it to bed down our gardens.

To schedule a pickup (if you aren’t too far from town!) email us at seedleafinfo@gmail.com.

carrot harvest!

Patience may not be the first word that rolls of the tongue when speaking of elementary aged children, but the students at the ESP Program as William Wells Brown Elementary were just that. Back in late spring the students planted a singular row of carrots in their raised bed garden outside their school and stood back to watch them grow. Through the long wet summer, they occasionally thinned them, each time remarking on how surprising it was to find the rich orange carrot beneath the soil supporting the bushy green vegetation.

They faithfully watched the removed ones lengthen, while making wagers on how large the remaining ones would be growing with the extra space.

After watching the summer come and go, harvests of basil, tomatoes, beans, and cantaloupes passing through their garden, and even sowing new fall and overwintering crops of greens and garlic around them, it was finally time to harvest the carrots.

It was worth the wait!

Today, in a mad dash through the rain, in celebration of their hard work and the beginning of Fall Break, the students hurried to gather a portion of the carrot harvest. The carrots did not disappoint, and squeals of excitement echoed through the neighborhood.

Then it was back inside, to the warmth of the kitchen, where the promise of carrot cake cupcakes urged them on.

More then 100 cupcakes later, the deed was done, and the entire program and staff were invited to share in the sweet victory.

As the smell of cinnamon and vanilla wafted through the corridors of William Wells Brown Elementary and the decadent taste of cream cheese icing lingered on their tongues, the verdict was in.

Nothing tastes sweeter than food made from your own sweat, grown and harvested mere feet from your kitchen, only minutes old out of the soil!

And successful carrots, now they’re just SUPER sweet!

final cupcake