Community Forklift

A little sumthin' sumthin' to wet your whistle on this fiiiiiiiiiiiine Monday morning. Some of the amazingness you can find at Community Forklift. If you're in the market for some home improvement/renovation supplies, check 'em out before you hit one of the big box stores. Not only could you score a great deal, but your reuse will make the planet a happier place.

Working The System

I shall confess something, mon amies: I am new to the whole gardening gig. There. Now you know. But what I lack in know-how, I make up for in enthusiasm and BOY! I am enthused. Want to know why?

Because there are so many projects that the DCGG is looking into that my noggin' is a-swirlin' with the possibilities. For I have a dream, people! I want our fair city to be the greenest in the country, and I want D.C. residents to love what they see when they look out their windows.

It's that last one - the loving what you see when you look out the window - that has my heart so wrapped around one project in particular. A NE neighborhood contacted the D.C. Guerilla Gardeners and asked for help in turning an ugly abandoned lot into a community garden. They want a place where they can sit and play chess. A place where neighbors can meet and talk and pass time in that special way that only happens in a garden.

My fellow guerilla gardeners, we are SO ON IT.

Only this project isn't very guerilla-esque. I'm doing my best to keep the sneakiness and illegality out of this one. "But why, Theresa?" you may ask. "You're a guerilla gardener!" you may exclaim. "GUER-I-LLA," you may emphasize. And you're right. Absolutely positutely correct. I am a guerilla gardener.

But that doesn't mean that I can't garden on the up-and-up from time-to-time, does it?

Because I really hate to see plants die. Really really. And I'd like to make sure that our green, leafy friends at this project location get to live as long as they possibly can. So if I can prevent them from going towards the light by asking permission first, then I'm a-gonna.

But y'all, the asking-of-permission is tedious and pretty much fruitless. Negligent property owners that don't return calls, a local government that doesn't respond to letters... It's all very As The World Turns. When all is said and done, this may end up being a guerilla garden after all, simply because people wouldn't call me back *grumbling*

That being said, the DCGG needs many, many volunteers to help with this community garden project. There will be some clean-up and clear out work before we get to the actual planting. There's even a dead tree that needs to get cut down. Also? This project will span seasons. SEASONS, people. We're starting in the Fall and will finish up next Spring.

Prepare yourself for some hardcore gardening, folks. Start working out those green thumbs! I need y'all in shape for this one.

Interested in helping out? Email me and I'll give you the scoop.

Community Event: Ask The Native Plant Expert

Community Forklift, which is quite possibly the coolest place on the entire earth (think Disneyland for home renovation enthusiasts), offers free workshops. Did I say "free?!" OH YES I DID! This month's topic? "Ask The Native Plant Expert!" Woo! And again I say WOOOO!

What: Ask The Native Plant Expert
When: Saturday, August 28, 2010
Time: 3pm to 4pm
Place: Community Forklift - 4671 Tanglewood Drive, Edmonston, MD
Cost: FREE!
Registration: None required

Steve McKindley-Ward is a resident of Mt. Rainier, Maryland, and the horticulturist for the Anacostia Watershed Society. Come learn how growing native plants will thrill the insects and birds, take less time and hassle, lower your water use, bring beauty to your yard - and support the larger web of life!

The D.C. State Fair

Calling all District gardeners, bakers, and canners!

Got tasty tomatoes growing in your garden? Love making pickles with your produce? Then YOU need to enter the first-ever DC State Fair.

Go to the DC State Fair website for more information and to fill out your entry forms. Contest categories include:

Tastiest Tomato (big tomatoes) – ENTER HERE
Tastiest Tomato (small tomatoes) – ENTER HERE
Biggest Vegetable (General) – ENTER HERE
Biggest Vegetable (Container Gardens Only) – ENTER HERE
Most Funky-Looking Vegetable (sponsored by Soupergirl) – ENTER HERE
Home-Made Jam Contest – ENTER HERE
Home-Made Pickles Contest – ENTER HERE
DC Homebrew Contest – ENTER HERE
Cupcake Contest – ENTER HERE
Best Home-Made Pie – ENTER HERE

And more to come.

The DC State Fair will be held on August 28th, concurrent with Columbia Heights Day, at Tubman Elementary Field (11th and Irving Streets NW).

And many thanks to the fair's amazing sponsors, A Few Cool Hardware Stores, Kid Power Inc, Casey Trees, Fat Man After Dark, Smorgie, and Girl Meets Food.

Yo, Where My Boy At?

Hallooooooooo! I'm looking for THOMAS! The brilliant Allium commenter and knower-of-all-things-Allium!

Thomas, can you drop me an email? I have something to ask you, yo. Something AWESOME! It's about candy! And puppies!

Old McDonald Had a Farm... In D.C.!

Happy Monday, my lovelies!

To start the week off with a kickin' bang, I'm sharing with you what I learned about urban agriculture in the District. This is what I learned: YOU CAN TOTALLY HAVE A FARM ON YOUR PROPERTY. With a tractor and everything. You can even spray the hell out of your plants with pesticides and all other manner of toxic junk. (So long as you follow the directions and adhere to the precautions on the label.)

But you can't have chickens.

Or goats.

Or cows.

Especially no cows. Because they're smelly.*

In short, no farm animals of any kind allowed.

But you can grow corn in your front yard! And spray it with pesticide and fertilizer! And you can hoe it down with a John Deere! And that's A-OKAY with the D.C. government. E-I-E-I-O!

With that, I hereby give you permission to start your week. Go get 'em, kiddos!

*That's my rule, not D.C.'s. No offense to the cows, but hel-lo! Stinky!

Ornamental Cow photo taken at Papa John's Nursery (Schillinger's Farm) in Severn, MD.