KBC Garden Startup Proposal

PLANNING COMMITTEES
We need folks from our class to do form these simple start-up committees. A group of two is enough for a commitee; so you may form one with your spouse or friend if you like—you may also delegate tasks to folks outside of the committee (and maybe even outside of our classroom).

Funding & Resource Development Committee:
Approach a sponsor (individual or organization) to help us support our community garden financially. This will be a great help to us in purchasing materials. Citizens groups, private businesses and individual donors are all potential supporters. See #12 on this site for an effective way to get a corporate sponsor: http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/garden/articles/startup_guide.htm If we don't get trellis and cage supplies donated to us from church members, we'll need money to buy materials. The construction committee can give you an estimate on the cost of this.
A potential letter would read:
Dear _________________.
Knollwood Church is starting a community garden this year to provide healthy organic produce to the congregants of El Buen Pastor Church (mostly undocumented Hispanic immigrants). According to recent research done by WFU, Hispanics in Forsyth County suffer from food insecurity at rates that are above the national average and they are reluctant to receive help from local food agencies.Your tax-deductible gift of $100 will help us pay for soil nutrients, seeds and trellis/protective cage materials for our garden. We hope that if this project goes well, we can expand our vision to possibly helping this community and others to build their own raised beds within their community.

Youth Activities Committee
Think of ways to get the teens and younger kids (and even some of the preschool classes) involved with the garden. Could have them adopt a bed with another group like the seniors. Maybe have the teens build some kneel benches for the seniors to use. Maybe have the 5-year and 4-year preschool classes plant our tomato seeds in cups.

Construction Committee
Determine what material you’ll use for the raised beds and trellises, and decide how you'll make them. (see http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/mg/week3/SquareFootIntensiveGardeningWeb.pdf for trellis ideas).
Convenant Methodist Church in High Point used concrete wire for the trellises. I've used chicken wire for bunny protection cages in the past.
Coordinate the pickup of leaf mulch. Leaf mulch is available from the city (have to pick it up in a truck that's covered or has a tarp that completely covers bed). Leaf Mulch #: 727 8418. I'll find out what days are pickup days. Can use mulch in beds and around beds.
I'm checking to see if I can get some free composted cow manure.
Earth Touch has recycled boards we can use for free (727-8000) to build the beds. Ag. Ext Service may provide some of the plants for free (I'll check on this).
Plan a class building day in February or March for the beds and another day in the Spring for the trellises and bunny protection cages. If the church members don't donate any cage building materials, we'll have to buy them. Estimate the cost for this, based on three 4 x 12' beds (maybe four if Rebecca decides to have one, too).

Recruiting Committee. Choose a name for the garden.
Send out emails to Sunday School class leaders first (list of emails attached), asking them if we can come and talk to their class about KBC's community garden missions project.
Then appoint people from our class to go in person to recruit volunteer groups and individuals for the garden, carrying along an information sheet/interest form (proposed signup sheet on blog: http://endinghungerinforsyth.blogspot.com/2009/12/proposed-kbc-comm-garden-sign-up-sheet.html).
While at this meeting, hand out sponsor request letters--see sample letter in blog: http://endinghungerinforsyth.blogspot.com/2009/12/kbc-garden-startup-proposal.html for anyone who has connections to potential sponsors. Ask them if they’d be willing to give this letter to them and follow up with them about sponsoring our garden.
Talk about the outreach nature of this ministry, and read over the sign-up sheet volunteer needs for the garden. Encourage those who sign up to invite their friends to come and garden with them. Collect sheets then and there(?) or drop off in church library(?) by February 14th.
For the children’s classes, add a note to the sign-up sheet, inviting their family to adopt a plot along with the other families in the Sunday School Class (try to get at least four families to per plot). OR we can get folks to just sign up for one week, if we're getting plenty of volunteers.
Other possible helpers: youth group, boy or girl scout troups, the five-year-old class at Knollwood pre-K (they can grow some of the seeds for us), the surrounding neighborhood. Put announcements in the newsletter--send to lfalkowski@knollwood.org --(and in other free community announcements if you like) to invite the community to join us. Some classes may be willing to commit to adopting a bed for half of the growing season (each class that commits as a group will be responsible for naming their bed and for reporting their gardening schedule to the Plot Manager).
Deadline for volunteer signup is Feb. 14th. If we don't have enough volunteers, we won't do the church garden--just the ones in our yards.

Plot Manager. Post a weekly Garden Update to every volunteer who has given us an e-mail address, as well as possibly posting a copy on Knollwood’s website and/or in their newsletter (is Knollwood on Facebook?). The Plot Manager will also consult with the volunteer Master Gardener Robert Mauney (craig_mauney@ncsu.edu or phone 336-703-2850) concerning any questions about the garden and distribute this information to the gardeners.
This person can also encourage folks to adopt beds for the summer growing season if volunteers have backed out since the beginning and invite inexperienced gardeners to come for training sessions if needed. This person keeps up with the scheduling of thier plot, and has a backup system (to be decided upon this Sunday) whenever volunteers fall through the cracks.

Delivery Committee Recruit volunteers to deliver food to the El Buen Pastor Church or to the nearby mission in Old Town. Work with Miranda Rosa (rosablanca@windstream.net ) decide a good system. Maybe get the four active gardening groups to take turns delivering the food.

CHOOSE A SITE
The proposed site is the open sunny area directly behind the church office. We’ll start our first year with four 4’ x 12’ beds.
Identify how we’re going to get the soil for raised beds. A good mix is 80% peat moss, 10% sand and 10% composted cow manure. You can grow a lot more in less space with this kind of soil. Covenant Meth Church in High Point placed cardboard in the bottom of their beds and then added a little clay in the bottom –the rest of their beds are filled with leaf mulch from the city.

OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Plan a weekend to make the raised beds in late February. Complete recruiting by mid-February. We don’t plan on needing a storage area for tools. The dirt will be so soft that you won’t need a shovel after the seeds come up. On days when we’re preparing the soil, we can bring our own shovels as a group.
The beds can be built in February and the dirt and organic nutrients can be added in Febrary (blood meal, cotton seed meal, rock phosphate, bone meal, lime).
Garden will be organic
Need a place to store produce until delivery time.
Need a frost plan (cut-off milk jugs, sheets,)
Requested items to grow: vegetables, tomato, onions, serrano peppers and jalapeño peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots

GARDEN RULES
If the garden is found vandalized by man or beast, we need a couple of contact volunteers to come and help repair the situation. The best thing to deter vandals is to immediately replant. The best thing to deter animals are wire cages over the plants.
Weeding, watering and picking off bugs will be the main jobs for most of the season.
Rules for gardeners: No stepping in the garden at any time. Water early in morning if at all possible. If raining, just skip it. If raining for several days during harvest, try to get over there to pick the vegetables.If you cannot attend to your garden duties, please notify another member in your group at least 24 hours in advance if possible. If your garden is left unattended for a week or more, we reserve the right to forfeit your right to the plot. Do not bring pets to the garden unless they are kept on a leash which is out of reach of the plots.

Long term goal:
Take what we learn and help set up raised beds for Hispanic communities to do on their own.


Please prayerfully consider signing up for one of these startup committees:
--Funding & Resource Development
--Youth Activities
--Construction
--Recruiting
--Plot Manager
--Delivery
We need our class to step up to the plate and show that we're committed to this garden if we're to have any hope of getting the Grounds Committee to approve it.