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Spring 2022
Garden Spotlight: Minnie and Lovie Ward Community Garden
The Community Garden at Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center received some love this winter with a complete makeover that included 38 new plots, a fully fenced perimeter, and hose bibs placed conveniently throughout the garden. Fruit trees and native flowering plants were added by volunteers and an herb garden will be added shortly. Several plots were set aside for youth programming and neighborhood kids have already had their hands in the soil planting peas, lettuce, beans, and pumpkins - hoping for some Halloween jack-o'-lanterns. Many thanks to the Minnie and Lovie Ward Community Recreation Council and Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt for their tireless efforts in fundraising, community outreach, design input and project oversight. Funding was provided by the San Francisco Community Challenge Grant Program, Supervisor Ahsha Safai and SF Rec and Park Community Gardens Program. Additional thanks to our many Rec and Park colleagues who supported this project, especially the great staff at the Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center.
To add your name to the waitlist for a plot at this garden please follow this link: wait list
Garden Spotlight: The Agricultural Lot of Visitacion Valley
by Anne Seeman, Garden Coordinator
Clockwise from top left: Gardeners tending to the plots at the Ag Lot; multi colored corn grown on site; local dancer/singer/songwriter Florence Dabokemp shows a guest how to play a drum she brought to the Greenway Art Walk; celebrating at the Greenway Harvest Festival; learning about our pollinator friends at the Peace and Unity Celebration.
The Visitacion Valley Agricultural Lot is one of six contiguous parks that comprise the Visitacion Valley Greenway. Each of these parks has its own theme, and all the parks function as a green corridor for both people and pollinators. In our initial plans, we designated the Ag Lot as a small community farm, an homage to our neighborhood's agricultural past in an area of the city that was then a food desert. Friends of the Urban Forest donated our first fruit trees, and children from the adjoining preschool helped water them by trailing a big hose from one tree bucket to the next. We hoped to collaborate with nearby schools to bring programming to the garden, but that project ended once schools built their own gardens. Since the Greenway is designed to evolve according to the community's needs and desires, the Ag Lot has become a communal garden. We formed Friends of the Visitacion Valley Agriculture Garden to maintain the Ag Lot, to activate it as a public commons, and to engage our community through urban agriculture and the arts. We host regularly scheduled volunteer work days, and occasional garden workshops to teach specific skills such as fruit tree pruning. We engage our community in an exchange of knowledge about what we can grow in our micro climate. Neighbors will often bring seeds and plant starts to share, and we in turn share seeds, cuttings and our harvest with all who visit.

Our garden is inclusive. It is free to join, with no waiting list or individual household plots. Local children attending after-school programs and summer camps run by nearby community centers visit regularly to learn where their food comes from and how it is grown. We are establishing a tradition of yearly festivals of the arts on the Greenway too, bringing joy and beauty to the neighborhood. For now, we center our festival in the Children's Play Garden, which is accessible and well-designed for these performances.

The next Peace and Unity Festival will combine a culturally diverse variety of live music, dance, puppetry, clown and mime with community arts and crafts projects, a dog costume contest, a local beekeeper with a demonstration hive, gardening information and samples of our harvest and seeds to give away. We are in the process of seeking funding, primarily to pay the artists. Save the date! It will be Saturday, August 27, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring a picnic and come check out the Ag Lot and explore this lesser-known part of San Francisco. If you are able to donate to help fund our festival, we are a Parks Partner of the SF Parks Alliance, account #7811, and your donations are tax deductible. If you would like to help us garden, our volunteer workdays are Mondays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Please join our email list to keep abreast of schedule changes and special workshops and events. Email: Ag Lot Garden Coordinator.


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Get involved!
In addition to plot-based community gardens, the Recreation and Park Department has a handful of "communal gardens" where everyone gardens and shares the harvest together. You can begin gardening at our communal gardens at any time - no wait! Along with Agricultural Lot of the Visitacion Valley Greenway (see article above for workday info), RPD supports In Chan Kaajal Community Garden (workdays every Saturday from 9 a.m.-11a.m.), Alemany Farm (workday calendar here), and Corwin Street Community Garden (contact communitygardens@sfgov.org)
Upcoming Events
Workshops
Gardening for Bees and Butterflies
April 14, 2022 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Free)
via Zoom
Contact: mgsmsf@ucanr.edu
Sponsor: Master Gardeners of San Mateo & SF Counties
Description: What are the basic needs of bees and butterflies and how can you provide those requirements? What are their favorite plants and flowers? Join us for a fast-paced class that covers everything you need to know about attracting pollinators to your yard, be it large or small.

Basics of Raising Backyard Chickens
April 20, 2022 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.(Free)
via Zoom
Contact: mgsmsf@ucanr.edu
Sponsor: Master Gardeners of SM & SF Counties
Description: Thinking of getting chickens? Then this is the talk you need. Learn all the questions to ask yourself BEFORE you begin so you can understand the requirements (food, space, health, etc.) for successfully raising chicks and hens.  

Plant Propagation with Pam Pierce
May 7, 2022 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. ($25 - $50)
in person at: 1590 7th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122
Sponsor: Garden for the Environment
Description: Learn about the magic of growing plants in many ways -- seeds, cuttings, and divisions -- from one of SF's most famous gardeners, Pam Pierce.

Gardening in a Changing Climate - Moving from Anxiety to Action
May 14, 2022, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. ($15 - $40)
in person at: 1590 7th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122
Sponsor: Garden for the Environment
Description: Climate change is here but is not an inevitability. Speaker Charlotte Canner discusses what it is and how we can take action to reverse it.

Dehydrating for Backpacking
May 24, 4 p.m.-5 p.m. (free)
via Zoom
Contact: MFP Workshops
Sponsor: Master Food Preservers of SM & SF Counties
Description: Learn how to preserve your garden veggies for your next backpacking trip. More information to come at UCCE MFP classes.
Garden Resource Day
Need compost? Come scoop some up like our young farmers, Alyssa and Ariana. The SFRPD Community Gardens Program will host another Garden Resource Day on Saturday, May 14 from 9 a.m. to noon at Alemany Farm (700 Alemany Blvd, SF). We will have compost made of green waste from our very own Golden Gate Park as well as mulch, plant starts, and seeds. And, the UCCE Master Gardener volunteers will join us again to answer your gardening questions!

Parking is limited so be prepared to wait a bit while we cycle people through. Pull well over to the curb before the farm entrance to avoid vehicles coming off the freeway, look for traffic cones and SFRPD flags to avoid missing the entrance. Staff will be outside the farm to help direct you. Don't forget your buckets!!

Please note: The garden tool care station will not be at this event but will be scheduled as a separate event at a later date (location t.b.d.) to allow for participants to stay longer and really get all that rust off their tools.


Gardening Tips from your
UCCE San Francisco Master Gardeners
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If you can't come to Garden Resource Day on May 14 to chat with a UCCE Master Gardener volunteer in person, you can still get your questions answered via email at mgsmsf@ucanr.edu.
Please provide the following information to facilitate a prompt response:
1.   Name
2.   City of residence
3.   Email
4.   Phone, best time to call
5.   Description of problem/question -- for plant or pest problems, please attach photo(s)
Many, many thanks to all of the volunteers who are working the Helpline remotely and keeping their clients happily gardening! For more information, visit Advice to Grow By – Ask a Master Gardener!

You can also check out their library of gardening videos - everything from how to build better soil to caring for your tomato seedlings: YouTube Video Library
In the Garden: Watering Wisely
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A few hot days in early April had gardeners filling watering cans, turning on hoses and checking their drip systems to make sure their spring plantings stayed well hydrated. But how much water do your plants really need? Only your soil knows. Try the "look and feel" method to avoid water stressing your garden. This video outlines five simple steps to make sure your plants get just the right amount of water in all types of weather. View video.
Happy Gardening!