Berry Bush Planting

With what seemed like summer in the air, we held our second garden workday of the season on Saturday! The beds had been turned during our last workday, so on Saturday we did just a bit more soil prep and then planted ten berry bushes and a few handfuls of annual flower seeds.


Michael Bradlee once again lead the effort, giving tips on how deep and far apart to plant, how to prepare the soil in the holes with compost and leaf mulch, and how to break up the roots of the bushes to prepare them for their new homes.

Once the plants were in, we top dressed with a little more compost and leaf mulch and then covered the rest of the bed with cedar mulch to keep down weeds and hold water. These bushes will need a little extra care as they get used to their new locations, but they’re already making the garden and playground look extra inviting!

Spring Cleanup 2019

A big thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday for our  2019 Spring Cleanup and Earth Day Celebration!  The day was mostly sunny and not too cold – and there were plenty of helping hands.
Gardeners, playground parents and kids, and neighbors came by to take part in cleaning up the park and getting the garden ready for the growing season  by cleaning up beds, hooking up hoses,  and spreading woodchips along the paths.
Gardener Michael Bradlee took the lead in preparing beds for a host of new blueberry and blackberry bushes which will be planted along the garden fence in the coming weeks and Margie Smith read stories and helped kids plant their own seeds to take home.
We would also like to thank the the Providence Department of Parks, the Partnership for Providence Parks, the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, and their community partners for providing us with a small grant to purchase supplies as well as providing snacks and buttons for our volunteers!

Spring Cleanup and Earth Day Celebration – April 27

We’re looking forward to our Annual Spring Cleanup and Earth Day Celebration – Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to noon at the garden!

Planned activities include:
  • Park cleanup
  • Story time and art project for kids
  • Station where neighbors can plant a seed to take home
  • Spreading wood chips along garden paths
  • Preparing garden beds for the growing season
  • Planting flowers in the garden common areas
  • Setting up hoses, etc.
  • Prepared beds in the park for communal berry bushes
  • Socializing and meeting our neighbors and new garden members!
We’ll have water, coffee, and snacks on hand.  Participants can also pick up a City of Providence Spring Cleaning Button that gives discounts and freebies at select local businesses. We hope to see everyone there!

Resources to help kids learn about seeds and plants

Community Garden member Margie Smith has developed a series of booklets to help educate young children about the life cycle of plants, and how to grow and care for plants. These booklets are the property of the Kerry Kohring Park and Summit Neighborhood Community Garden, but community members are welcome to use them at home to help spread the joy of gardening to our littlest neighbors – and the whole community!

 

Mulchfest 2018

April 21

On our first work-day of the year, about a dozen garden members and friends made quick work of spreading a hefty pile of mulch between the garden beds.  Sophie, our new Garden Manager, brought delicious home-made blueberry muffins as a sweet reward.  And it was t-shirt weather (for some of us!).   We had a great start to the growing season.

As we moved through the garden, we noticed garlic scapes, kale, strawberries, and rhubarb growing strong, and perennial herbs just starting to wake up.  It really is Spring at last!

Many thanks to everyone who participated in our work-day today, and thanks to the City Parks Department’s Forestry Division for supplying and delivering wood chips to the garden for free.

Welcome Sophie, Our Garden Manager!

April, 2018

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Please join us in the garden as we celebrate Earth Day with a work day on Saturday, April 28th from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and welcome Sophie O’Connell as the first Garden Manager for the Summit Neighborhood Community Garden! An environmentalist, communications professional, and bicycle enthusiast, Sophie comes to us with years of experience in community gardening. Spring may be off to a late start, but the growing season will be brilliant!

 

 

Winterizing – 11/12/2017

How quickly the autumn garden shifts from resiliently hanging on to gothic horror show!  As temperatures dramatically plunged into the teens last week, our plants crisped and plunged as well.  And so, the timing was good to gather for some chai, snacks, conversation, tidying-up, and garlic planting!  There is a vast amount of gratitude to go around for making our very first season in the community garden successful and fun.  Many forces converged to create a dynamic and beautiful space for community building and urban gardening in our neighborhood.   Together, we’ve made something wonderful.  People have the power!

Counting down the days until Spring when we can get together and do it again!