Archive for September, 2012

Minutes: 13 August 2012 (7 pm in the garden)

Sunday, September 9th, 2012

President’s Report – Cyndi
Thom has an idea to close the gap in the front fence to dissuade uninvited visitors. The police have been notified of the trespassers. If anyone encounters a trespasser the proper protocol is to leave the garden and then call the police. PHS tells us we can put up a sign if we want to.

Treasurer’s Report – Deirdre
General Funds Account
July Meeting Balance
$ 1,379.87
Philadelphia Bee Company Revenue $70
Donation – 50/50 Revenue $55
Donation Revenue $10
Bees Revenue $64
Bees Revenue $232
Bees (not yet deposited) Revenue $322
Sub-total Revenue $753
PECO electric bill – July Expense -$23.90
Mosquito dunks Expense -$37.88
PNC Expense -$32.27
Bees Expense -$52.98
PECO electric bill – Aug Expense -$23.92
Sub-total Expense -$170.95
Account Reconciliation +$13.26
August Meeting Balance $1,975.18
Grants Account
Philadelphia Activities Fund Account
Starting Balance $2,300
Bee School $100
Transportation $200
Ending Balance = $2,000
Green Roof Account Balance – $520 – no activity
Rainy Day Account
Balance = $2,000 – no activity
** Water bill has not yet been received.

Essene has donated two canopies to the Garden. PHS is handling the water bill issue and trying to reach a resolution. We are not to take matters into our own hands.

Vice President’s Report – the Saturday clean up will be lead by Carolyn and will start at 9am. There will be a garden inspection shortly.

Committees –

City Harvest – 806 lbs of produce have been harvested this year which is more than last year at the same time. Extra brussel sprouts and onions are available on the table.

Bug Report – none

Garden Contest – Carolyn, Barbara and Gwyn hosted the judges.

Bees – 228.5 lbs of honey were harvested in 2012. Expenses have been $716.68. The Bee Guild had their picnic last Saturday and Thom gave tours of the Honey House. Barbara Seiple gave garden tours. It was a success!

BBQ – sign up sheets are in the shed. The committee needs hand on help the week beforehand. Tickets are available from Greg Line after the meeting. Tickets are still available on Ticketleap.

Book sale – Anne Tapper – please deposit donation in the shed.

Water Report – Thom – To fill system at beginning of season according to new meter, we used 240 cubic feet of water on 4/2/12. One cubic foot of water = 7.48 gallons. Therefore, we used 1,795.32 gallons to fill the system.
Usage from 7/2/12 to 8/2/12 has been 2,588 cubic feet / 19,359.5 gallons.
At 2010 rates, we used $435.59 for the month of July. The Garden has used 8,374 cubic feet/62,649 gallons during the 2012 season. At 2010 rates, this is $1,409.

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Agenda for 10 September 2012 Meeting (7pm in garden)

Sunday, September 9th, 2012

1. Introduction (Cyndi)

2. Approval of Minutes for August (Cyndi)

3. Treasurer’s Report (Deirdre)

4. President’s Report (Cyndi)

  • Garden Council Meeting Sept 6 – Highlights
  • Holiday party tentatively set for Dec.13, 6:00-10:00 pm. Discussion to gauge interest in party in light rental fees increasing to $300 this year.

    • 5. Vice President’s Report

  • Important cleanup scheduled for Sept 15
  • Cleanup attendance requirements, how to log extra hours of work
  • Exchanging plots between seasons

    • 6. Committee & Misc. Reports:

  • City Harvest (Ed – 2 min)
  • Bug Report (Karyl – 3 min)
  • Bees (Carolyn – 3 min)
  • Review of Watering Duties – What to water, what to turn off (Thom – 3 min)
  • Bindweed Problem: The Council prefers to maintain an organic approach to bindweed. Plot inspections will be monitoring bindweed (see attached photo if you don’t know what bindweed looks like). Bindweed is a particularly pernicious weed, even if it sometimes looks innocent!

    • 7. Projects:

  • BBQ (Elizabeth – 5 min)
  • Gardening Books Fundraiser Update (Anne Tapper – 3 min)
  • Water Usage Tracking Report (Thom – 5 min)

    • 8. Q & A

    BBQ Tickets will be available before/after the meeting
    Next meeting: October 8, 7:00 pm in the Garden.

    Field Bindweed -- looks innocents but is a pernicious weed

    Bindweed roots can go down more than 20 feet and extend over more than an acre. A MAJOR agricultural threat. Seeds can remain viable for over 60 years. Its presence devalues agricultural land.

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    Minutes: Garden Council Meeting, 6 Sept 2012

    Friday, September 7th, 2012

    Garden Council Meeting, 9/6/2012
    1. Attendance/Participation. Many have failed to meet attendance/participation expectations. Row captains will educate all about the expectations, and encourage people to meet requirements by attending all remaining meetings and clean-ups this season.
    2. Bindweed problem. Some have suggested drastic chemical measures. Council consensus is we should not resort to chemicals. Dig it out.
    3. Children’s garden. A proposal to build low cost raised beds with activities grant money. Work with Meredith teachers. Invite local schoolchildren to participate. We might also include Nebinger. Barbara McKenzie will work on this; she can create an ad hoc group. We’d need to create orientation and training, some limitations and supervision expectations, so we don’t have students entering individuals’ gardens.
    4. Committee restructuring. We should have a group revisit our structure w/ John Ventre convening. The group will consider whether all committees are functioning well, if other committees are needed? Are some tasks better met by individuals or on an ad hoc basis?
    5. By-laws changes. Looking for a subgroup to tackle these issues and make recommendations by last meeting of the season:
    • Clarify assistant gardener role and who qualifies. What are the expectations for assistant gardener? Related issue is shared plots. We need clarification around voting, dues, participation in meetings and clean up. (Some consensus that each plot = 1 vote, 1 dues. More disagreement around whether an extra person at clean up counts as an extra clean up for that plot.)

    • Possibility of proxy voting.
    All officers signed up to serve on above-named groups.
    Suggestion for a fundraising committee that will meet in the winters. Or groups that commit to working on individual fundraising projects – plant sale, for one.

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    Garden Council: Agenda for 6 Sept 2012 (7pm in garden)

    Tuesday, September 4th, 2012

    1. By-Laws Changes Committee (need volunteers for working group to make recommendations to membership and hopefully get changes in place for next year): a) Clarify the “assistant gardener” role and who qualifies; b) permitting (or not) proxy voting for by-laws changes.

    2. Gardeners’ attendance at cleanups & meetings: Attendance lists for each row noting gardeners with attendance problems will be distributed to row captains

    3. Possible committee restructuring to make committees more relevant (need volunteers)

    4. Children’s Garden Proposal – shall we install low raised beds and invite local elementary schools to participate? Children’s garden not currently being used & grant money is already on hand to pay for raised beds etc.

    5. Bindweed problems in the garden

    6. FYI: BBQ tickets will be available at the meeting

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