Hi gardeners!

I’d like to encourage you to sign up for SFC’s free resource program, Spread the Harvest, if you haven’t already. Spread the Harvest provides free seeds year-round (available at our office for pick-up), and 2 resource giveaway days per year with plants and compost. Any individual, school, or community gardener may apply to enroll in the program. We do ask that you fill out a quarterly survey by email or phone to stay in the program.

The next resource giveaway day is Tuesday, March 24, with 2 sessions at 1:30-4pm, and 4:30-7pm at New Day Baha’i Community Garden (2215 E.M. Franklin). You must already be enrolled in the program to pick up resources. The deadline to enroll before the giveaway is MARCH 15.

 I have attached small & large group garden applications (schools = large group) which you can fill out and email to Katie Pace at Katie@sustainablefoodcenter.org / 512.220.1083 who oversees Spread the Harvest and will process your application and answer any questions. If you are already enrolled, you should have received an email from Katie about the resource giveaway day. Please email her directly if you didn’t.

We hope to see you at the resource giveaway day Tuesday, March 24. Happy rainy spring gardening!

Bianca

P.S. If you have further questions, please email me directly at bianca@sustainablefoodcenter.org instead of replying to the listserv. =)

On March 14 we’ll be holding our spring plant sale, featuring lots of beautiful herbs and vegetables grown at YardFarm here in Austin.

This is an opportunity to get the best varieties for this area right in the garden. Invite your friends and neighbors!

This plant sale is a fundraiser and proceeds benefit Festival Beach Community Garden.

Veggie Starts:

• Lettuces:
• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce
• Jericho Romaine Lettuce
• Red Sails Lettuce
• Red Romaine Lettuce
• Buttercrunch Lettuce
• Sea of Red Lettuce
• Greens:
• Bloomsdale Spinach
• Samish Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Roquette Arugula
• Lacinato Kale
• Red Russian Kale
• Collards
• Brassicas:
• Red Express Cabbage
• Copenhagen Cabbage
• Snowball Cauliflower
• De Cicco Broccoli
• Romanesco Broccoli
• Calabrese Broccoli
• Gypsy Broccoli
• Waltham Broccoli
• Cherry Tomatoes:
• Chadwick Cherry Tomato
• Principe Borghese Cherry Tomato
• Sungold Cherry Tomato
• Supersweet 100 Cherry Tomato
• Tomatoes:
• Black Krim Tomato
• Celebrity Tomato
• Cherokee Purple Tomato
• New Girl Tomato
• Red Oxheart Tomato
• Roma Tomato
• Rutgers Tomato
• San Marzano Tomato
• Peppers:
• California Wonder Bell Pepper
• King Arthur Bell Pepper
• Yellow Banana Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• TAM Jalapeño Pepper
• Hot Rod Serrano Pepper

Herbs and Perennials

• Chamomile
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Fennel
• Hyssop (currently out)
• Lemonbalm
• Marjoram
• Nettles
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Pyrethrum
• Poppy
• Sage
• Thyme
• Yarrow

Hi Festival Beach Gardeners and Volunteers-

We have three events in the next six weeks and we’d love for you to come out to the garden and participate in as many of them as you can.

• Saturday March 7th – It’s My Park Day, 9 am to Noon:  Invite friends, family, and neighbors to join us at this annual event sponsored by the Austin Parks Foundation.  We’ll focus on mulching our trees and improving our wildlife habitat.  Sign up at www.austinparks.org, navigate to the It’s My Park Day registration page, and choose Edward Rendon Sr Park at Festival Beach Garden. This event is always a lot of fun and it’s a great way to celebrate our public parks in Austin.  By signing up, you’ll get a t-shirt and other goodies (while supplies last).

• Saturday March 14th – Monthly Workday, 9 am to Noon:  Join us at our regularly scheduled monthly workday to help maintain and improve our communal areas.
• Saturday April 11th – Clean Sweep and Monthly Workday, 9 am to Noon: We’ll be part of Keep Austin Beautiful’s citywide cleanup day and we’re one of 130+ sites where community members can volunteer their time.  Online registration opens on March 6th and signing up will give you access to festivities following the event; there will be a volunteer party and environmental fair at Fiesta Gardens and perks include free lunch, t-shirt, music, door prizes, and more.

Thanks and happy gardening!

Katie Falgoust Volunteer and Workday Coordinator

It’s My Park Day and it’s happenin’ at Edward Rendon Sr Park at Festival Beach Garden!

It’s My Park Day is happening at Festival Beach Community Garden on March 7!   This annual event, sponsored by the Austin Parks Foundation, celebrates Austin’s parks with 100’s of volunteers doing park improvement projects throughout the city.  Our garden is eligible to participate because we are located on city park land.

Please join us on that day by signing up now to volunteer.  You need to sign up on the Austin Parks Foundation website at www.austinparks.org.  Click on “Signature Events” and select “It’s My Park Day.”  You’ll see where to register.  They are signing up our garden members as well as volunteers from the community so they can get your tee shirt size and count you in on other surprises.

Festival Beach Community Garden is participating in UT Austin’s largest day of service – The Project –  on Saturday February 28th.  Thousands of students, faculty, staff, and alumni come out each year to connect with the community and we’ll be one of the sites where they volunteer.  We need YOUR help to help welcome them into the garden and coordinate their activities.

We’ll need as many gardeners as possible to help out so we can effectively manage the volunteers.  Please email me if you’ll be able to commit to a shift (the two shifts are 8-12 and 12-4) and please include if you’d like to coordinate a specific task/ area.  Tasks include setting up the sign in area and project areas, greeting volunteers, and coordinating the various tasks in areas throughout the garden (orchard, swale, accessibility bed, pathways, compost, shed, habitat, communal garden, berries and grapevine, perennials).

Please let me or Julio know if you have any questions/ need more information.

Thanks,

Katie, Workday Coordinator,  katie.falgoust@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

30,000 Hard to find Certified Organic Tomato and Wicked Hot/Sweet Bell Pepper Plants, Herbs go on sale March 7, 2015.

Austin, Texas-Austin’s most loved, locally raised heirloom veggies and herbs make their big debut 9 A.M. at Sunshine Community Gardens (SCG) 4814 Sunshine Dr, Austin, Tx 78756 March 7, 2015. The sale is the largest Certified Organic Non-Profit Plant event in Texas. Over 150 Tomato varieties, 72 Wicked Hot and Sweet Bell Pepper varieties, 15 kinds of Eggplants, 5000 thousand herbs and other plants ready for spring planting.

The first bite of a delicious and juicy home grown organic tomato will make you beg for more. Improve your health with regular gardening exercise. Save big money by growing your own organic vegetables. A complete list of plants on sale and varieties to grow go to http://sunshinecommunitygarden.org.

For a Fun-Filled day, come early. Learn organic gardening practices. Talk with Vendors. Listen to Live Music. Walk the 180 gardens on display. Kids love to visit the Chicken Coop. Purchase Lady Bug compost too!

Please join other gardeners at the monthly workday next Saturday morning. The weather promises to be beautiful! There will be tasks for all who choose to join in. Bring food to share if you like.

The monthly workdays, always the second Saturday morning of each month,weather permitting, provide a great opportunity to complete the two hours per month of labor toward community areas that is required of plot holders while working with others in the garden.

The garden is looking beautiful and there is much to be done!

Wildlife Habitat Team will be leading.

Thankful for this beauty during the shortest days of the year!