 Happy June to all Food Bank Farm and Gardens Volunteers and Community Members! Thank you again for all of your support through the month! Our newest garden, RainCoast, just donated its first harvest to the Tri-Area Food Bank! A big thank you to all of the volunteers who have worked hard to restore the garden beds. Your work has paid off beautifully! I would like to take this opportunity to alert the volunteers that the Volunteer Coordinator, Rachel Smith, is currently taking a highly intensive Permaculture Course. It is Monday through Friday course, eight hours a day. She will still be performing her normal duties of responding to volunteer inquires via the Food Bank Farm and Gardens email, but she will be less responsive during the next few months. Thank you for your patience with this. She is hoping to bring Permaculture ethics to her work with the Food Bank Farm and Gardens when her class is done. Thanks all and be well!  RainCoast: Social distancing while enjoying the fruits (and veggies) of our labors while restoring this newest of our FoodBank Gardens. Interested in volunteering?? Want to learn how to grow vegetables?? Become a contributing member of your community!! Volunteer with us! We have many opportunities available for you to help with. Volunteer Now! Also, if you are interested in a weekly gardening gig, click the button below and let our volunteer coordinator, Rachel, know what your particular situation is and she can get you set up with in a garden that works with your schedule. Volunteer Now! JUNE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES – Volunteer Now! Swan Farms Every Tuesday from 10-2! Located behind the Thrift Store at 10632 Rhody Drive in Port Hadlock. Right across the street from Carl’s Building Supply. RainCoast A brand new Food Bank Garden generously donated to the organization by RainCoast Farms! Will meet every Thursday from 10-2. Located at 12224 Airport Cutoff Road. Super close to the San Juan Taqueria by the Airport. Birchyville Meets every Tuesday and Friday from 10-12. We are currently expanding this garden to increase production for the upcoming season! Weekly weeders are especially needed. Located down the street from Mt. Townsend Creamery, gardener parking is at the dead end of Sherman Street. Port Townsend High School Every Friday from 10-1. This is an incredibly productive and beautiful garden that is always growing and changing. Located on Benton Street, behind the Port Townsend School District building. Volunteer Now!  VOLUNTEERS NEEDED … IN THE FOOD BANKS The Food Bank Farm and Gardens have a HUGE need for volunteers in the food banks themselves, particularly at the Tri-Area, Quilcene and Brinnon Food Banks. We have a huge reporting problem. The Food Banks themselves do not have the infrastructure in place to accurately track produce donations as they are received at the food banks. Accurate tracking would ensure that the Food Bank Farm and Gardens has more accurate data with which to pursue grants and funding opportunities. By tracking the produce donated, you would directly be contributing to the continued planning and growth of the Food Bank Farm and Gardens. In addition, you would be supporting the increased food security of your fellow community members. If interested, please click the Volunteer Now button below. Volunteer Now Please be aware that the safety of our volunteers is of paramount importance!! During the Covid-19 outbreak, please bring your own tools to volunteer parties, wear a mask (we do have a limited supply to provide), and comply by adhering to social distancing guidelines. Thanks all! Our newest garden in need of TLC  A new garden has been donated to the Food Bank Farms!! The property is owned by a local Port Townsend resident. His wife was the main caretaker of the raised beds until her passing several years ago. Since then, the 500 sq ft garden has become overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. After one work party, most of the beds have been cleared. Stay tuned for more volunteer opportunities to prep the beds for planting! The Port Townsend High School Garden  The High School garden all cleaned up and beautiful! Students, volunteers and Zach all deserve a congratulatory “high five”! Seasonal Recipe Flowers and herbs are in full swing! Here is an amazing way to make salad that fully optimizes on edible flowers and herbs in the garden. The proportions of your salad should be: 1/3 salad greens 1/3 herbs 1/3 flowers Sounds rather outlandish, right? But believe you me … it works! All salad greens and herbs should be minced. Get creative with it! Mix the types of salad greens! Throw in rosemary, mint, oregano, cilantro together! When all the herbs and salad greens are minced, it disperses the intense flavors of the herbs equally throughout the salad, creating an explosion of flavor in every bite. Add some shredded carrots, turnips or radishes! Once mixed thoroughly, sprinkle flower petals on top to add a beautiful pop of color. Dress with a light vinaigrette. I promise you, this salad is a game changer. June Gardening Now is a good time to plant your winter squash. Intersperse a broadcast lettuce green mix throughout your squash bed. This will ensure that your soil is producing food and shading the soil until the squash leaves grow large enough. If you have orchard trees, this is the time to weed around the trunks, put some cardboard down, and give them a healthy dose of mulch. The water retention will help them so much in the dry months ahead. When adding compost to a bed, make sure that you water the soil itself extensively. The bacteria in the compost needs help getting deeper into the soil. If left at the top, the beneficial bacteria will just get baked in the sun. Hot Tip Sick of weeding yet?? Well … here’s another way! Limit the weeds that you do pull to grasses, poisonous plants, sticker-bushes and weeds with long tap-roots. By leaving the easy-to-pull weeds, you are essentially creating a living mulch layer that doesn’t compete too aggressively with your vegetables, and they fill the space that would be taken over by more aggressive weeds. This simple system will cut down on your weeding time extensively!! Copyright © *|2020|* *|Food Bank Farm and Gardens of Jefferson County|*, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you believe in access to fresh food and have volunteered for our organization. Our email address is: [email protected] Want to change how you receive emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. |
Food Bank Farm & Gardens of Jefferson County,WA
Growing Fresh, Local Produce Since 2012
