Waterford Insurance Agency Community Garden

Fall Harvest Happenings

2011-09-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of fall, it looks like the 2011 gardening season is winding down. We have harvested the last of the peppers and a few tomatoes a couple of weeks ago. The Garden Team, led by Yolenda Price, pulled many of the non-producing plants late last week. The green beans continue to produce and we have quite a few melons that are still developing. We are hopeful that the melons will ripen soon!

Bruce Penzien, of Imlay City based farm Penzien's Produce, has partnered with Waterford Insurance Agency by donating his surplus vegetables to the Open Door Outreach Center. Mr. Berkfield met Bruce at the Oakland County Farmers Market this spring. Bruce drops his donations off at our agency, located at 2625 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford, and Mr. Berkfield delivers these donations and our harvests to Open Door.

Bruce has donated 1,146 pounds of produce and Waterford Insurance has harvested 1,250 pounds from the community garden - bringing our total to 2,396 pounds of vegetables donated so far this year!

2011 Growing Season Has Begun

2011-07-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Community Garden project is alive and well. We are celebrating our 3rd year! After a cold, rainy spring and a delayed start in planting, the vegetable plants are enjoying the summer heat and thriving. In fact, they seem to be very happy and content with the improved soil conditions. Organic fertilizer combined with weed barrier fabric and a sprinkler system has made a substantial improvement for our plants this year.

So far this season, our volunteers have picked 209 pounds of strawberries, raspberries, green peppers, banana peppers, snap peas, cherry tomatoes and summer squash. The strawberry season ended right around the 4th of July and the peppers are coming into peak season. It looks like we will have a bumper crop of tomatoes which are beginning to ripen. There are squash and melons on the vines and many of the green bean plants are still in the flowering stage.

Later this week we will be harvesting zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, snap peas and pole beans. Last year we had loads and loads of green beans. We filled a 19 gallon bucket full of beans several times. Once again, all of our garden harvests will be donated to the Open Door Resource Center to help individuals and families in need. The vegetables are washed and packaged by our agency staff members before they are donated.

If you are interested in donating fresh vegetables or canned goods, you may drop them off at our office and we will be happy to deliver them to Open Door. If you would like to learn more about the Open Door Resource Center, you may visit them on the web at http://opendooroutreachcenter.com/

Anniversary Food Drive

2010-07-16T13:22:00.001-07:00

Late last year we partnered with the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce to sponsor a food drive to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of our Charity Partner, Open Door Resource Center. Our goal is to have 30,000 lbs of food donated to the Center by the end of this year. As of today we are close to reaching 5000 lbs toward our goal.

To learn more about the Food Drive project please visit their blog site at
wttp://www.opendooroutreachctr.blogspot.com/

Our part in this is to promote it and to donate 1200 lbs of fresh food from the Garden. On August 3 we will be hosting a Perking Up at the Garden with the Waterford Area Chamber. We will be giving away a picnic basket filled with great items. To obtain your chance to win this basket, bring 5 lbs of canned food to our office. We are located at 2625 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford, MI. Call us for directions: 248-682-0044. We will draw a winner some time in August, in time to enjoy a great picnic.

The Garden has been planted

2010-07-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Over the past six weeks plants and seeds have been planted and the garden is starting to grow. The tomatoes are producing, the lettuce, kale and Swiss chard are all growing nicely. The zucchini and squash plants are starting to produce flowers. Everything looks great and we are looking forward to beginning to harvest.

Ready for the 2010 Growing Season

2010-04-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

We are ready for the 2010 Growing Season! Last fall we had several yards of compost surface tilled into the soil. This month Mike Creetch of Interlakes Landscaping came back to deep till it - the soil conditions are much better than last year and we already have some plants in the ground.

Jason and Lisa have planted some kale, chard and lettuce. The strawberry patch they planted last year thrived during the winter and looks great. Marigold seeds harvested from the plants from last year were planted in various spots around the garden. Volunteers should please avoid those spots when planting their gardens - they are marked with landscape paint.

We have great plans for this year - a picnic table and small bench will be installed. Construction will begin Saturday, May 1. The materials have been donated by Concraft Construction. The use of the post hole digger will be donated by the Home Depot location at Telegraph and Orchard Lake Roads. In addition, the ACO Hardware Store on Dixie Highway at Crescent Lake Road has donated $200 of supplies. We will use this donation as the need for supplies arises. If you live near these stores, please be sure to visit them often and thank them for their generosity and community spirit!

Our goal this year is to donate 1200 lbs of food to our charity partner, Open Door Outreach Center. All the spring rain last year delayed our planting efforts. The weather this spring is much better and we are looking forward to a great year.

Our Charity Partner

2009-10-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

Our Charity Partner is an important part of the Community Garden Project. Our Partner is the Open Door Outreach Center. Established in 1980, their primary mission is to provide emergency services (food, clothing, and referral information) to families in need.

To meet its mission of service to families in designated townships of Oakland County, Open Door is dependent on generous, on-going support and funding from individuals, local businesses, corporations, religious, and civic organizations.

To learn more at the center, visit their website at http://www.opendooroutreachcenter.com/

Harvest Time

2009-10-03T11:04:00.001-07:00

Harvesting started out slowly in July with kale, Swiss chard and collard greens. With the heat of the summer sun the other vegetables kicked into high gear. A typical delivery to the Resource Center included cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and lots of zucchini. When we began the project we thought 500 pounds of organic food would be our goal. At the time of this blog entry, we have donated nearly 800 pounds of vegetables to the Open Door Resource Center.

Premier Contractors Adopts a Plot

2009-10-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

We want to thank Premier Contractors of Commerce Township, MI for their support on the garden project. Noel Moore adopted a plot and and she and her mother gave it all the TLC it needed to produce a great harvest. To learn more about Premier Contractors, visit their website at http://www.premier-contractors.net/.

The Ribbon has been Cut

2009-10-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

On July 9 we celebrated the Grand Opening of the Waterford Insurance Agency Community Garden Project with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. With the help of the Waterford Chamber of Commerce and many donors, a continental breakfast was served to our many guests. As you can see many of the vegetables are starting to mature and we are pleased that soon we will be able to start making donations.

Westland Greenhouse

2009-06-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Let's give a special thanks to Kathy at Westland Greenhouse. Located right next to Burke Lumber on Dixie Highway (at Sashabaw) Kathy was kind enough to donate several flats of Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and sweet Hungarian peppers.

If you have not yet completed your purchases of flowers and vegetables for this Spring, please visit Cathy and tell her where you learned of her generosity.

The plants are in

2009-06-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

The plantings are nearly completed! Every plot is different and has every gardener has planted something different. Premier Contracting has finished their plot and it is looking great with radishes and lettuce. Jason and Lisa Hulshof have tried a couple of different methods, both of which appear to be out of a magazine. Yolenda, Matt and Vicki of Waterford Insurance Agency have planted a lovely garden that should prove to be plentiful and nutricious.

The weather is cooperating nicely with the most recent warm weather and the gentle rain. We expect things to start popping out of the ground at any minute.

Please stop by to see what is going on. We are planning a "Grand Opening" sometime in early July and will keep everyone posted.

2009-05-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

Spring greetings to everyone! Mother Nature has not been kind to us over the past month. All the rain has kept us from backfilling the garden plots and placing the compost. The dry weather over the past week or so has firmed everything up and Mike Creetch of Interlake Landscape was able to deliver and spread nearly 30 yards of top soil and a smaller amount of compost. Interlake Landscape donated the trucking and labor to spread, Bedrock Express Trucking of Waterford, MI donated most of the topsoil.

I am pleased to report that we are ready to start planting. Those of you who have adopted a plot are encouraged to stop by the office so that we can lay out your area for you. Review your garden guides to make sure whatever you plant will survive the sometimes unpredictable weather of May. Most vegetables can be planted after Memorial Day without problems.

Waterford Insurance Agency Community Garden

2009-04-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone – the beds were cut in Saturday and they look really great. Mike Creetch of Interlake Landscaping, our bed preparation volunteer, removed 42 yards of grass and soil. Mike pronounced the soil “loam,” which, according to most gardening websites, is a good thing:

“Loam is the term for a soil that has a favorable mix of sand, silt, and clay. Loam often contains considerable amounts of organic material. It cultivates moderately well and is often fertile. Loam also holds moisture fairly well with reasonably good drainage. All in all, most gardeners prefer to garden in loam or sandy loam. However all soils can be improved for gardening by adding organic matter such as compost.”

Which is exactly what happens next - Mike has a supply of compost at his yard and he will be delivering it over the next week or so. Scout volunteers will be helping move it into the beds, after which the compost will be mixed into the soil with a roto-tiller. After this has all been accomplished (which I expect will be done by the end of the month), the soil will be ready for planting of those vegetable seeds that can germinate right in the soil in this cool weather. These include spinach, radish, Swiss chard, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, peas, rutabaga and turnips.

If you have not already done so, you should be collecting your egg cartons and purchasing seeds and potting soil to begin germinating seedlings for the vegetables you want to plant, beginning in May. I have a couple of great sources of information for anyone who may need it.

Sam Misuraca, President of Oak Ridge Management in Royal Oak, MI, has graciously donated $100 toward the purchase of seeds. If your group would like to take advantage of this offer, please submit receipts for up to $15 worth of seeds and we will reimburse you. Stop by the office of Waterford Insurance Agency and speak with Cathy Grandberry. While you are here, take a look at the latest garden developments.

If anyone has any questions or needs help, please drop me a line at rberkfield@berkfield.com.