Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities

UGC Garden Plots at Calvary Baptist Church Community Garden 

As of Friday Dec 2, 2016 the UGC garden has been prepared and planted!  Albeit about 3 months late, but planted nonetheless.

Big thanks to Ashley Stevens who helped dig out thousands of weeds from the overrun plots.  Katie came out and helped fight a mighty battle against Johnson grass on a Saturday workday.  Amy, a Calvary Baptist Church member, helped dig out weeds on several occasions.

Planted:

Plot 1 – Avalanche Beets – direct seeded 2 rows.  They are up about 2 inches. Really late planting.  Do they need freeze protection?

Plot 2 – Carrots – direct seeded 3 rows – Today I see that they are peeking through.  Do really young carrots need freeze protection?

Plot 3 – Transplanted 4 rows of Georgia collards.  They should be ok at 25 deg.

Plot 4 – Swiss Chard – direct seeded 3 rows.  They are still busy thinking about germinating.

Plot 5 – Transplanted 105 onions (10-15s).  Need to protect them or 3 months from now they will bolt.

Plot 6 – Green Star Leaf Lettuce – direct seeded 1 row.  They are up about 2 inches.  Do they need freeze protection?

What now?

We shift our focus to protection (TLC).  Immediate problem is determining which plants need help making it through the Wednesday night forecast of 25 deg.

Then the TLC that the little plants need is weeding.  In the plots as well as along the outside edges to discourage weeds from sneaking through the boards.

For those folks who did not get a chance to help dig out Johnson grass and Bermuda grass, now is the perfect time to help keep the enemy away from the little plants.  The art of hoeing will be taught at no charge.

See you in the garden!

Mary Lou

 

UGC Volunteer Opportunities

• School Gardens – Partnerships between The Urban Gardening Coalition, Waco ISD, Communities in Schools, and World Hunger Relief have made it possible to provide weekly after-school garden programming to around 200 economically disadvantaged children and youth. We invite community members to join us:
  • We ask that volunteers enjoy the company of crazy children running around them.
  • We also ask that the volunteers commit to one garden and come every week. Consistency is a big part of being a positive role model for kids.
  • Lastly, participants will be required to receive and pass a criminal background check.
• Community Gardens – Waco is brimming with community and church gardens! Often these gardens are for children or the elderly and so need many volunteers to invest some good old fashion sweat equity. This option requires less frequent commitment; however we do ask that you adopt a garden and work in it at least twice a month.

The UGC will partner volunteers with a garden and facilitate meetings between member garden coordinators and potential volunteers. This is a great option for a group of friends to volunteer  together.

• Waco Downtown Farmers Market – In 2011, the UGC helped start the Waco Downtown Farmers Market.  Right now, we need help setting up the market on Saturday mornings (starting at 7:30 a.m. and breaking down the Market (1 p.m.).
  • Community and School Gardens are also welcome to sell vegetables through our booth. A $5.00 booth fee applies.
• General Administration and Organizational Development – The UGC is a small nonprofit organization with limited resources.  As such, we appreciate any help that we can get in operating more effectively as an organization.  These volunteer opportunities  would require an individual with strong interpersonal skills, analytical capability, and writing ability.  They would be ideal for anyone looking to refine, expand, enhance, or simply lend  their skills in leadership, nonprofit administration, financial management, and fundraising.