Ready to plant!

This weekend was another great work weekend for the Foothills Learning Garden. With lots of help from Don (of Don's Garden Shop) and some dedicated cadets from the Air Force Academy, we managed to place and fill all 40 garden beds and lay 55 tons of crushed gravel in the aisles.

Thanks to all who worked hard to get our garden up and running!

Stay tuned for information about bed leases -- I promise it's coming soon!

First build day a huge success!

Thanks to all who came out today to help build the Foothills Learning Garden! Despite the cold, soggy, snowy weather, we accomplished a LOT and are ready for the final push next weekend. Check out all the fun we had today building a garden to nourish future generations of Foothills families.

Safety talk first, by Nico Dellacroce.

And then we measure the reclaimed lumber. Yes, even the principal gets in on the fun!

And then cutting...yep, that's yours truly with a circular saw.

And hauling wood. Mrs. Lapham and Mrs. Dellacroce, two of our favorite teachers, were there to help!

Two happy fourth graders organizing 4 footers. Appropriate, right?

Don't tell Callie that you can't work hard AND be fashionable.

Foothills moms are the best! Hard working and dedicated. Thanks for your help, friends!

Here's a peak at what we accomplished today. These are upside-down community beds.

A view of the garden from the community side. Next Saturday we'll finish building and then get all the beds filled.

Thanks to Mrs. Kraus for organizing, measuring, hauling AND taking photos today! We'll keep you posted on what's in store for next Saturday. Plan to come out and help if you can.

Work day is ON!

We're on for garden building today, but we'll probably shut down early. Expect to finish up around 11am so that all can get home safely.

Thanks for supporting the garden!

Work day tomorrow!

Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow, but unless it's heavy snow and the temperature is below 30 degrees, we'll be out there working on the garden! The plan for tomorrow is to cut all of the wood into appropriate lengths and put together as many garden beds as we can.

We'll have hot coffee and hot chocolate on hand so bring your empty tumbler, and if we make it to lunch time there will be hot dogs for our volunteers. If you've signed up on the Sign Up Genius page, you'll get an email tomorrow morning around 7:30 to let you know for sure whether or not we'll be working.

The blog will also get an update around the same time, so check back early tomorrow!

Thanks for your continued interest in the Foothills Learning Garden.

Final Garden Design and Room to Grow

With the garden build days just around the corner, it seems like it must be time to share the final garden design with the public!

While there are only a few minor changes from the original garden design, the changes that have been made should facilitate efficient building and easier gardening, for both students and community members.

A few differences you might notice if you were familiar with the original design:

• All community beds are now 4x8 instead of some 8x8 and some 4x8. This is to ensure that gardeners can reach the center of their beds without stepping on (and compacting) their soil.
• Student beds will be built as 4 4x9 beds connected end to end instead of one 4x36 bed. This should make construction simpler.
• We've added a second entrance for community members.
• At the community entrance, some open space remains to act as an area where community members can gather to chat. Maybe someday we can add some benches, planters, and an arbor to make the space more welcoming.
• As you'll see on the image below (click on the image to enlarge it), three water spigots have been added along the fence nearest the school. We originally planned for one spigot to start with and hoped to add more in the future, but thankfully we were able to install all three now. This should ensure that water is readily available for gardeners. (Remember...kids will only be allowed to use watering cans -- we want them to learn to conserve!)

Some elements of the garden will have to be saved for the future.

• Perimeter beds. We don't have enough lumber to construct perimeter beds now. If you know someone who might like to take on this project, we'd love to see it happen! The perimeter beds will be a great place to grow plants for our art and science classes, and they will help the garden look finished and manicured, keeping outside weeds from creeping in.
• Trees and classroom space at the north end of the garden. If you have access to fruit or shade trees, we would love to add them to the north end of our garden. This could be a great space for our students to gather, for our CSD students to take a break, and for experienced gardeners to teach classes to our community during the summers.
• Community entrance beautification. We'd love to see this area spruced up. If that's a project you'd like to take on, let us know!
• Composting and tool storage. This area will not be built until sometime after spring break. If you're handy and would like to take on either the composting area or a tool storage shed or both, we'd love to have your help!

Our garden will be ready for planting by April, but that doesn't mean it will be finished! What can you contribute to growing our garden?

Could you RSVP for the garden build days?

In order to help us plan the garden work days, we'd love it if you could let us know when you can come and what tools you can contribute to the process.

Find more information and RSVP on our SignUp Genius page here. Thanks so much for your help!

Psst...you can get an idea of how we'll construct the garden by watching this short video of the Mill Street Community Garden coming together last fall.

Work days scheduled!

You've probably already seen it (I hope!), but our garden area is now enclosed by a 6' fence. The land inside has been leveled and hose hook-ups are ready for use. We're well on our way to growing a garden!

To get the beds built, we've scheduled two work days in March. The first is Saturday, March 9th and the second is the following Saturday, the 16th. Please mark your calendars and plan to bring your whole family to help us out! More information (about times, tools, and what you'll be working on) will be available soon.