Damayan Garden Project

Montford Middle School 11/10/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 01:30:00 +0000

This week’s work at MMS involved lots of productivity and heavy lifting. With the help of our volunteers, we managed to clean up the remainder of the mushroom compost (in front of the school) and move it to the compost pile (behind the school), move the chicken coop, and take apart some unused garden beds.

Our volunteers are super hard workers and we are incredibly thankful. We used large bins to move hundreds of pounds of compost through the grass and gravel from the front of the school to the back. Lots of effort was expended, but teamwork makes the dream work! In the process, Thomas taught us about the importance of worms in the composting process and what they prefer to decompose. Worms love shredded paper, so make use of your recyclables! We made sure to move the chicken coop to keep the grass healthy underneath and moved some stray mulch and the remainder of the disassembled garden beds to another pile so they can be ground down into mulch and reused.

Thank you to our volunteers for all of your hard work! We couldn’t do it without you.

Loading the bin

It was easy on concrete!

It took a lot more man-power on the wet gravel.

Palmer Munroe Teen Center 11/9/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 01:30:00 +0000

Today, Damayan worked on the kale beds. The poor plants have become infected with a fungi which has been eating away at them. We went in and cleaned out the diseased plants and are hoping for a swift recovery! If you are concerned about similar problems striking your own garden, just make sure to look out for yellowing leaves. Limp and yellow leaves are a sign of infection. Simply pluck off these leaves at the base of the plant. If you find that the base of the plant has gone a bit squishy, make sure to pull the whole thing out. You don’t want it to infect the rest of the plants!

We also planted some cabbage and are waiting for our snap pea sprouts to continue growing. The collards are looking great and the cucumbers are still flourishing. After some garden maintenance, we went inside to make some collard and cucumber salads. Yumm!

Montford Middle School 11/3/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 01:00:00 +0000

Thomas and his students have been working hard to keep the Montford garden running! An irrigation system has been put in and more plants have been placed in the garden. There are some interesting varieties of kale and romaine in the beds! Today, Damayan volunteers did a little classroom maintenance and fertilized the plants with some fish emulsion and water. Thank you for sharing you passion for horticulture with us, Thomas. We appreciate everything you do for the school and your students!

Palmer Munroe Teen Center 11/2/2015

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 01:00:00 +0000

Though the activities of the day were cut a bit short by the rain, we still got a bit of weeding and harvesting done! The kale and collards are (if possible) even larger than last week and we managed to nab another cucumber. We pulled out a few more persistent watermelon sprouts and were looking forward to working with the worms Henry brought this week when the rain hit. Fortunately, we had managed to snag a few kale leaves because it got too crazy and brought them inside to make salads for the kids! They’re learning more each week about how good it tastes to be healthy!

Frenchtown 10/29/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This week at Frenchtown, the Damayan crew mixed some compost, harvested greens, and made some Frenchtown wraps! Our organic compost (made of coffee grounds and fruit) should be ready for use in a couple of months. Mark taught us how to make his signature veggie wraps. These vitamin K packed snacks consist of green peppers, kale, lettuce, purple mustard leaf, and garlic chives. Yum! Try it at home!

Kids Inc. – Brandon’s Place 10/23/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Sat, 24 Oct 2015 00:30:00 +0000

This Friday, we had a blast teaching infants how to garden with Kids Incorporated. The little munchkins seemed to have a pretty grand time, too! They loved getting dirty in the mud, and some seemed to have a natural inclination for the art of gardening. Maybe little hands are better at handling little seeds!

We spread new soil and planted broccoli, lettuce, and sugar snap peas in the boxes at Kids Inc.’s Brandon’s Place location. The little ones got to mix up the dirt with their very own colorful tools. Then, they placed (or threw) the seeds into the holes we dug for them. We showed them how spread the soil (relatively) smoothly over the seeds. Then, the ambitious little gardeners helped us gather leaves to use as a natural mulch in the beds.

Working with the little ones was a fantastic way for Damayan Staff to remind themselves of our mission. Establishing teaching good habits early on in life lays the foundation for a healthy and mindful lifestyle. It’s possible to educate people at any age about the importance of ecological awareness.

Frenchtown 10/22/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 00:30:00 +0000

Goodbye, okra! See you next season! The okra has been removed and replaced with broccoli.

Lots more weeding was done this week, as well! We’re making way for more and more new veggies. The organic compost is coming along, as well. Hopefully we’ll be able to use some of it in a couple of months.

We finally got some of the weeds pulled off of the fence as well. The Damayan sign can finally be read, though it may need a bit of a touch up.

Our volunteers were a big help today and really appreciated their new Damayan Garden Project bags. We definitely encourage the use of reusable grocery bags (or whatever use you might have for them)!

Palmer Munroe Teen Center 10/19/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Damayan Staff was stoked to receive a hardy volunteer turnout today, as well as a great show of interest from the kids at the Teen Center. Henry and Burgen brought in a truck-load of mulch to spread around the garden beds. This mulch will help kill the weeds around the garden and lock in the moisture in the surrounding ground, preventing it from sucking the garden soil dry.

The cucumbers seem to be coming along quite nicely, as evidenced by the size of the two vegetables (arguably fruits) that we found. The kale is growing in pretty well, too! We should be able to make some healthy salads in no time.

In the short time that we were out there, we managed to spread all of the mulch that was delivered – all thanks to the amazing support of our volunteers and the zeal of our PMTC students!

The Sharing Tree 10/16/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

On Friday, the Sharing Tree kindly invited us to help out with their Kids Event. We helped the little ones plant their own seeds in some toilet paper rolls, which are compostable and can be planted straight into the ground. We also crafted some awesome looking garden signs! We had so many eager kiddos at the table, it was all we could do to keep the activities flowing. We had a blast though, and we thank The Sharing Tree for all their collaboration with Damayan!

Frenchtown 10/15/15

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 00:30:00 +0000

Thursday at Frenchtown was an exciting day full of weeding and revamping! Not that many people would consider weeding exciting, but, fortunately, lots of our volunteers find the activity relaxing. One can find a strange kind of satisfaction in cleaning out a garden…

Help was definitely given where it was needed. We even pulled out the old okra plants to make room for the bigger veggies that will be coming in next week. The tomatoes and cucumbers are holding up pretty well. We planted carrots in the bordering planter boxes and are looking forward to harvesting them. We also transplanted some kale into our new boxes. The kids at the community center really enjoyed helping to move the baby plants to their new homes. We’re definitely grateful to have the added gardening space!

Unfortunately, we did have to pull out some of the sounding flowers in the garden. The boys were fabulous gentlemen however, and no lady was left unacknowledged! Each was awarded with a beautiful bouquet.

Thank you so much to Red Eye Coffee, Edible Arrangements, and the many other local restaurants who support us in our efforts to make our organic compost!

Montford Middle School

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Today was a truly educational experience! Thomas taught our volunteers probably everything they’ll ever need to know about trees: don’t plant them too deep, make sure you can see the base of the trunk, don’t over-water and don’t water the bark, trim off any suckers at the base once the tree is strong enough, and make sure the branches don’t all try to grow straight up! You want them to spread out. He was truly born to be a teacher!

The middle school recently received some new trees, mostly pear trees, and the students had helped Thomas plant them earlier in the day. Unfortunately, class doesn’t last as long as the teacher (and, fortunately, the students) would like! So, our volunteers came in to help finish the job. We mulched around the trees and made sure to water the new babies. Transplanting can be stressful for trees and they need proper care! The whole process was pretty nostalgic, as we used tin watering cans instead of hoses! Over all, it was a very delightful and relaxing experience.

Palmer Munroe Teen Center

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 00:30:00 +0000

The watermelon is officially gone, and the last one we harvested for season was absolutely delicious! The kids really enjoyed the fresh reward after all of their hard work, and they deserved it. We pulled out the vines and tilled the soil. We now have an open garden box full of opportunities!

We also harvested the sweet potatoes and were extremely pleased with the outcome! We had quite a few hefty potatoes turn up. Henry plans to whip up some homemade fries with them! The kids are super excited for next week.

So far, the kale is coming along quite nicely. We planted some collards in hopes that they will sprout up as quickly as the baby kale did.

Damayan staff really enjoyed having the kids help out at the garden, this week. We shifted our hours to accommodate the children who come later, and they did not disappoint. At first, many of them were nervous about digging through the mud (particularly for the potatoes), but they quickly found out they loved getting their hands dirty. Henry and Burgen taught them about the okra, the potatoes, and the kale, and the kids did not lack in curiosity! They were eager to learn. They were a blast to work with and we’re proud of all their hard work!

Palmer Munroe Teen Center

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 00:28:00 +0000

As summer comes to a close, so does our season for watermelon. Sadly, we are expecting these last few watermelons on the vines to be our last of the year. But we got quite a few hefty melons this season next summer will be another opportunity for planting!

On the Fall side of things, our kale seedlings seem to be coming along quite nicely. In fact, they became so populated we had to move some of them to new homes! We had so many that they couldn't all fit in the garden, and we had to pot a few of them. We also planted some collards in a few pots as well.

We also experienced an exciting encounter with a megaworm! Seriously, this thing was probably earth times the length of a normal earthworm. Super cool!

Science Saturday at Lake Ella

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 00:32:00 +0000

If you missed us at Science Saturday, you sure missed out! We taught lots of interested kiddos how to plant their own veggies and flowers. We used cardboard toilet paper tubes to make planters. These planters are compostable and are safe to plant straight in the ground. The kids got to decorate each of their own and take home a new plant to take care of - carrots were a popular choice! We discovered that many families were already working on growing their own gardens. Good job, guys! We love to see that kind of dedication.

For the more adventurous individuals, Mark was ready with a bucket o' worms! There was more than enough dirt to go around (thank you for your support, parents)!

Frenchtown

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 00:11:00 +0000

For the past couple of weeks, we have been working on expanding the Frenchtown garden. We placed a couple of new raised beds and potted some greens! The mushroom compost is going into the new beds and they should be ready for planting within a couple of weeks. Many of our volunteers learned how to handle power tools for the first time. Thanks for the lessons, Mark!

Nims Middle School

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 00:30:00 +0000

On Friday, the garden at Nims Middle School received a Fall makeover! Apparently the garden "went wild" over summer vacation! But Damayan staff, FSU students, and teachers and students from Nims Middle knew how to tame it. Weeds were pulled, mulch was spread, and frogs and caterpillars were relocated into new homes. The garden is clean again and ready for the new school year! Damayan and Nims are stoked to get some seeds planted for the Fall.

Thank you to Nims Middle School for staying committed to your garden and your students!

Before

After

Frenchtown Community Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 00:44:00 +0000

Boy oh boy, do we appreciate our volunteers! We just want to take a moment to say thank you to all of our hard workers and note that we are ecstatic about the increasing amount of help we’ve been receiving, lately. Today, we received help from our leadership students, FSU Outreach Program volunteers, and volunteers from CHICS at FSU. Please keep it coming!

As mentioned earlier this week, green is back in style this season. Frenchtown has just been replenished with planters full of kale, spinach, and lettuce. As usual, the kids at the community center had tons of fun helping out. They did a great job watering the plants, layering up the compost, planting seeds, and of course, taking breaks to munch on some candy leaf.

We’re eager to continue garnering new help and spreading the word about our mission. We love to teach and hope to reach out as much as we can. Thank you to everyone for all your help!

A Rainbow!

Montford Middle School

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 00:40:00 +0000

This past week, Montford Middle received a large deposit of mushroom compost. Great for the new planting beds! Not so much for the smell of your clothes. According to Thomas, the middle schoolers gave some mixed reviews on the compost’s odor while they were working earlier that day. A couple boys even had to shower after their class! But of course, the kids were eager to help and moved buckets upon buckets of compost into the massive new garden (which we’re still hoping to expand!)

Later that day, Damayan Staff, FSU Community Ambassadors, leadership students, and a great number of volunteers came out to help finish the job. By the end of the day, the majority of the compost was deposited into the garden beds and everyone got a healthy amount of exercise! Our work isn’t always easy, but it’s always rewarding.

Henry, demonstrating his bucket-carrying skills.

Holland Building

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 00:10:00 +0000

Today was a great workday at the Holland building! We weeded, remulched, laid some new gravel, and painted the raised beds. We're very impressed with how the pomegranite and satsuma trees are coming along. We're hoping to expect grapes on the vines next season!

Thank you to the Holland Building staff and to all of our volunteers. It was a big day and we got a lot done!

Palmer Munroe Teen Center

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 00:36:00 +0000

It’s almost Fall time, and you know what that means? Green is in season! Damayan Staff has begun planting kale, spinach, and collard greens at the Palmer Munroe Teen Center. We’re excited for the new plant beds, but we’re not so eager that we’ve uprooted our summer produce. We still have some resilient watermelon trying to finish out the season, as well as a cucumber plant and some purple mustard leaves.

Frenchtown Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 00:19:00 +0000

Damayan Staff is ready to roll, rain or shine!

This past Thursday, Damayan staff was joined by FSU Community Ambassadors, FSU Leadership students, and a few little volunteers for some fun in the mud.

After waiting out the rain, planning ahead for the coming year, and discussing some possible new garden installations, the crew got to the fun work. First: we had a little history lesson on how the Frenchtown Gardens got started back in 2007. It was really a collaboration between the county, some interested Damayan crew, and one interested community volunteer: our very own Mark Tancig. We thank them all for coming together to create what we have today. If you'd like to find out a little more, wacth our Frenchtown video on YouTube! https://youtu.be/R3bMQ0cddZ8

After the lesson, Mark brought in some composting material (leftover food and coffee grounds) as well as some worm-filled soil for sorting. Everyone got their hands dirty, sorting the worms out of the soil. The goal is to rehome them in some new compost, so they can turn it into more soil, and continue the cycle.

Mark even found a tiny watermelon! Very refreshing. Hopefully a good sign of future produce!

Palmer Monroe Teen Center

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:25:00 +0000

Damayan is getting back in action after the summer holidays!

This past Monday, Damayan Staff and volunteers worked to refurbish the gardens at the Palmer Monroe Teen Center. We rescued watermelons from some Creeping Jane, an invasive, ivy-like plant, pulled out some old tomato plants (sun-dried tomatoes, anyone?), and dead-headed a vibrant echinacea plant to keep it looking beautiful. Henry taught our new FSU Community Ambassadors how to make compost: make sure you have a 2:1 ratio of green and brown foliage to dirt, chop it up, and mix it all together in a tumbling barrel. It's a pretty good workout and a great way to relieve stress!

We're getting off to a good start for the fall and are looking forward to planting some greens next week. Here's to a promising-looking season!

Frenchtown Summer 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 17:19:00 +0000

Frenchtown Summer 2015

The last couple weeks, children at the Laverne Payne Community Center and FSU volunteers from the Community Outreach Program and their facilitators Burgen and Maddie, have been working on a new project for the garden. Mark has decided to expand it! Four new raised beds will be added this upcoming fall; ready for planting leafy greens, carrots, peas, broccoli and much more!

In preparation for this new project, volunteers have cleared vines and debris off the fence to allow proper sunlight for the new site. Due to the summer rain, weeds have taken over! We appreciate volunteers clearing them out for new planting. The existing garden is producing cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, and peppers.

Mark, along with Damayan volunteers, Burgen and Megan facilitate sessions every Thursday from 4:30PM to 6:30PM. Weather pending.

Transportation from FSU is provided via the Community Outreach Program! Stop by the Center on campus for more information.

NIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 20:23:00 +0000

We are so excited (and exhausted) to announce that Nims Middle School has an official garden! This past Saturday, Damayan Garden's staff and our volunteers came out to help! We had volunteers from Florida State, students and teachers from Nims Middle School and ***.

We had the city drop off recycled cardboard for us. We use cardboard as the foundation for the garden beds. (Fun fact: this makes it hard for weeds to come through.)

Robbie slip n' sliding through the cardboard.

After the cardboard was all laid out, the fun began! We started to drill the beds together and lay them out on top of the cardboard.

After all the beds were in placed- the mulch, compost and fine mulch were all placed in the garden area! We had a great day doing all this work! We were definitely exhausted by the end of the day, but it was so worth it! Teamwork always has great results! Damayan is so excited for Nims Middle School and their passion for teaching their students a sustainable lifestyle!

FINAL PRODUCT!!!

Southern Scholarship Foundation Gets a Garden!

noreply@blogger.com (Damayan Garden Project) — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 19:52:00 +0000

The month of March has been a busy one for Damayan Garden Project! We have installing gardens all over town, including the SSF House off of High Road. The SSF's mission is to, "help deserving young people who lack financial resources, but demonstrate excellent academic merit and good character, attend institutions of higher education." We were honored to help out this group by giving them an opportunity to grow their own food in their backyard.

The first work day we had was a huge success. Tons of volunteers came out to help install 8 garden beds. We drilled the beds together, we mulched around the beds, and put a mix of compost and fine mulch in the garden beds. The volunteers and the SSF members were so excited for this project to begin and were great help to our garden staff.

Henry cutting down a tree to make more room for the sun to shine on the future plants in the garden!

The second work day we had was full of planting!! We planted a ton of fun stuff in the eight garden beds we installed at SFF. The plants included, tomatoes, eggplants, cilantro, a potato bed and much more. We are excited to come back to SSF and see the many plants being ready to harvest!

Members of SSF came out to help plant in their garden. Pictured to the right is them working in their new potato bed!