Blog Posts

November Saturday for Compost and Community

11/20/2020

"I have not seen a day like this all season. Good learning day, wonderful weather and a steady stream of of members busy in their gardens and physically spaced with masks." Neal Weissman wrote to the Board.

It did everyone's heart good to stay apart and yet also work together for the Compost Committee!

We saw a few folks we haven't seen all season since everyone is being super careful. The Compost Committee carefully took in and weighed 1845 pounds of organic materials: leaves, and garden clippings to create large compost piles to cook all winter.

In addition, members of the landscape committee planted bulbs, and we got a big head start on the collection of hoses. On Sunday they were all drained and tied up and stored for winter.

Enjoy a few pictures from this beautiful day.

Gentle Fall Clean Up Will Bring Healthier Soil and More Life

11/2/2020

Let Dry Leaves, Stems and Tree Branches Feed Your Soil & Shelter Pollinators.
compiled by Jack Burkhalter

Dry leaves on your garden’s soil are free and feed the soil! With the crisp days and cooler temperatures leading us to think of “fall clean-up,” in our gardens, consider a different approach this year. Fall’s brown leaves are rich sources of carbon and nutrients for your garden, and they are FREE!

Just rake them up off the garden paths and spread them over your garden (about 2 inches).

These dead leaves enrich your soil by --

– Providing a natural mulch
– Insulating the soil to retain water and protect against damaging freezes
– Feeding micro-organisms, insects, fungi that decompose

Remember we feed the soil that feeds the plants!

Be gentle with cutting back plants over the winter.
Leave dead-flower stalks over the winter. Leave neat brush & twig piles.

Keep dead plant stems intact in your garden over the winter. Get rid of messy plastic bags and simply leave piles of twigs, branches, or logs in your garden (slightly messy or neatly arranged!).

Dead woody material (a branch, twigs, leaves) provide abundant habitat for cavity-nesting pollinators, such as carpenter and mason bees.

Leave dead stems intact over the winter and into the summer
Good stem bee homes (pithy stems are best):

--Raspberry , blackberries
--Sunflowers, Coneflowers
      --Joe Pye weed, Hyssop,
      --Hydrangea
      --Native grasses, e.g., switchgrass, little and big bluestem

With a gentle clean up we can let the fireflies and certain butterflies and moths stay in the garden to be alive next spring!

First time on Zoom! Fall General Membership Meeting 2020

10/25/2020

Watch the meeting on our YouTube channel here.

The RIGC Fall General Membership Meeting was held virtually on Sunday, Oct 25. Thank you all for attending and making this first zoom general meeting a success in a year of challenges.

Virtual Fall General Meeting: Over 80 Participants Zoom In

10/25/2020

Our Fall General Membership Meeting was held virtually on Sunday, Oct 25. Thank you all for attending.

Watch the meeting on our YouTube channel here.

You may also just peruse the powerpoint presented that evening below.

What Birds Have You Seen and Heard Lately at RIGC?

8/20/2020

Monica Dow caught this video of an Eastern Kingbird flying out from the trees in the back and hunting insects over the B section of our gardens. He looks tiny, but watch carefully as he almost hovers in place.

Learn more about this bird at Eastern Kingbird Overview from Cornell Lab. If you have photos or videos or recordings of other bird sightings to share, please send to rigardencluboutreach@gmail.com.

Twenty Seconds in Paradise: Breathe in Calm

8/17/2020

John Dodge sent this video of his meditation garden and pond that we can all enjoy. The lotus flower is soon to bloom. Breathe deeply and listen as you watch. Dragonflies and fish are healthy and the water lily is also in bloom.

Letter from the Board: Guests and Tools - Opening Changes Approved by RIOC for Phase 3 of COVID 19 era in NYC

8/15/2020

Dear Members and Associates,

We have good news! Based on our recently updated agreement with RIOC, the garden club will move into its Phase 3 in the COVID-19 era.

Effective Saturday, August 15th, members are allowed to bring their guests into the garden; however, the gates will remain locked at all times, and the garden is still closed to the general public.

In addition, with proper sanitation the communal tool shed is again be accessible with your garden gate key. It is the responsibility of every member to take the time to sanitize the handles of the shared tools both before and after use.

Please use the spray bottle containing the bleach solution on the handles of the tools and wipe down with the provided cloths. Any member who had registered to use individual tools for the season should now return these tools back to the shed for proper storage. Please do this as soon as possible.

Thank you.

2020 RIGC Executive Board
President: Neal Weissman
Vice President: Johan Marfey
Secretary: Robert Ostergaard
Treasurer: Mike Ritter
Directors: Tim Wong, Takelu Gross, Jack Burkhalter
Outreach and Publicity Committee Chair: Julia Ferguson
Landscape & Common Areas Committee Chair: Curtis Lowrey
Rose Committee Chair: Marjorie Marcallino
Standards Committee Chair: Halima Aouchette

2020 Brings Storms/Heat, and RIOC Helps Out Regularly

8/6/2020

As gardeners we see rainfall differently than some. Ah, a cool drink for our plantings and no need to water!

This summer has been hot and also steadily rainy with thunderstorms moving through almost weekly. One of the biggest storms was tropical storm Isaias that hit on August 4th. Some gardeners were away and there were large branches downed and precariously hanging about. Roosevelt Island also lost some trees such as two Lindens near Pony field.

A big thank you to many who stepped up and reached out and helped with clean up - a few names I heard of were - Anthony Longo, Kaz Bujno, Karen Lee, Jack Burkhalter, Monica Dow, Alexis Villafane. If you helped out, too and I don't have your name, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

RIOC's new staff member Matthew Kibby has shown up as a garden ally and fellow horticulturist all during this 2020 season! He worked with Beverly Shutes ,Ali Shchwayri, and others to help with some dead trees on our southern border. He has had his team bring wood chips to the gardens on more than one occasion this summer and helped us get electricity back after the construction had to shut it off. Most recently after storm Isaias, Matt's team from RIOC helped to cart away branches piled in the front common area. Thank you!

RIGC Mission Statement and Updated Map July 2020

7/15/2020

Starting in the fall of 2019, several RIGC Executive Board members began to work on updating a mission or purpose statement to describe our community garden. Tim Wong, Director, also took over work on updating our map with plot numbers and first names since the prior map software had become outdated.

For the mission or purpose statement, we discussed our main focus-gardening- as well as the importance of our composting program that has developed so well in recent years. We discussed RIGC's current role supporting nature and providing a beautiful outdoor space to visitors as well as the outreach we provide when possible as an all volunteer non-profit in the community.

RIGC may currently be one of the oldest non-profit organizations on Roosevelt Island! This year at our Board meetings, we discussed, finalized, and voted on these two items which are found below and are also found on the Home and About pages of our website.

To download your copy of the map on your computer or phone click here.

The Roosevelt Island Garden Club (RIGC) is a diverse community of gardening enthusiasts who work together to beautify our Roosevelt Island home, to increase gardening knowledge, and to impart an appreciation for gardening, nature, and environmental stewardship among our members and our neighbors.

Companion Planting, Yes! But Fennel is Finicky

7/2/2020

We all want our vegetables and herbs to thrive and we all need our pollinating insect friends.According the Permaculture Research Institute companion planting is , "A gardening method which makes use of the synergistic properties found in nature: cooperation between plants to achieve optimum health and viability."

Tomatoes like chives and parsley and marigolds. Basil likes tomatoes. Spinach likes strawberries. Potatoes like beans. For many more companion planting ideas check here and here and here for teaching children

One little known fact is the finicky property of fennel. Fennel is beneficial to many insects and serves as a host plant for swallowtail butterflies. Finnochio Fennel is completely edible with delicious, healthy anise like flavor and is the smaller plant that develops a delicious bulb. Common fennel is grown as an herb. The only parts used on this plant are leaves and seeds.

However, the common fennel plant can also get 4-6 feet tall and spreads aggressively. Fennel is a real foe to tomatoes and potatoes. So keep your fennel in check or in a container. Be considerate of for your neighbors plantings.

And enjoy this herb's leaves and seeds and the caterpillars and butterflies as well!