Category: Sustainability

Soil Care, Garden Care, and Organic Mulch

7/31/2017

Standards Chair, Beverly Shutes, offered two mulching workshops in July on how to use quality organic mulch correctly to build your garden soil and prevent weeds. RIGC has received wood chips from several Roosevelt Island trees because VP Dave Nisthaus and Beverly recently asked the DEP site workers for the chipped remains of a cottonwood tree that had to be removed for the water tunnel work. As a result, we received a large, free pile of locally sourced ramial mulch.

This method of wood chip mulching is based on the no-till "Back to Eden" garden method, as taught by Paul Gautschi, a renowned arborist. (http://barbolian.com/permaculture-by-nature/) It both builds the soil and avoids too much soil disturbance. RIGC Landscape committee members have seen the benefits for our perimeter beds as plant growth and soil health have been enhanced. The need for weeding has been reduced in areas where we followed these instructions. The attached document below provides further instructions and careful reasoning for the specifics.

Other kinds of garden care methods include plants as mulch which espouse close plantings methods such as in our own Rose Garden by Marjorie Marcallino and in some of our award winning gardens by Julie Lipp and Elizabeth Bolden. This article and interview of Claudia West from Margaret Roach at A Way To Garden explains these ideas further.

weed_prevention by BShutes docx
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Seasonal Planting Photo and Link to Plants are the Mulch by Margaret Roach

Compost Connection: W.O.R.M.S!

6/19/2017

Early in February the emails were exchanged, and by mid-March the Saturday date had been set with the Outreach coordinator of NYC Compost Hosted by Big Reuse. Erycka De Jesus saved Saturday, June 3rd, for our RIGC community connection date. Anthony Longo began searching for the name and he found it -Weekend Organics Recycling Mission+Sifting - W.O.R.M.S!

Roosevelt Island is fortunate to have NYC Compost hosted by Big Reuse offering our weekly Food Scrap Drop Off Site near the Farmer's Market. As of a last count in March, Roosevelt Islanders had diverted over 35,000 pounds from landfill. (That's about the weight of an 18 wheeler semi truck!) RI has also received give backs of hyper local compost from the Queensboro Bridge site for gardens, trees, and schools on Roosevelt Island.

Anyone who wanted to learn more about composting was invited to join Roosevelt Island Garden Club and NYC Compost hosted by Big Reuse this Saturday, June 3rd for a Compost Connection Event.

This was our first open composting event in RIGC community gardens (across from 750 Main Street) and we were ready and set up for visitors between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on June 3rd!

However, the visitors came even before 1:00! As soon as baseball players on the field north of the garden saw Anthony Longo setting up, they were there and present and searching for worms and learning about composting! We had a great afternoon with both middle school and teen volunteers, RIGC hosts and volunteers and children and adults learning and experiencing compost sifting first hand! I addition we sifted about 3 cubic yards of compost from mulch that had been cold cooking outside the fence for a year and gardeners quickly scooped it up! Don't worry, there is more..always more!

World Environment Day June 5, 2017

6/5/2017

Roosevelt Island Garden Club can be seen and experienced as a microcosm of our world. Our members bring many national heritages and languages. We come from many professions, walks of life, and represent all kinds of diversity in many important ways.

We also share a love and interest in nature, in growing plants, in time spent outdoors, and in a commitment to care for our earth.

RIGC encourages us all to find out more about this earth and to participate in caring for the environment in the way that best matches our interests and strengths.

This link brings you to a wonderful initiative and site for World Environment Day. Take a look! You may want to to send in a picture to this celebration of all the places that matter!

18 Day Composting Trial at RIGC by Chris Enock

11/19/2016

If you were in the gardens last Sunday, you may have seen and heard Chris as he worked saying,"It's like making a salad!" Gina was helping out and her comment was, "He's on a mission!"

Chris explained,"We are trying to see if we can get the time to compost down to 18 days. It will take a few tries to get it right for sure. This is the first attempt, started this past Sunday 11/13. In theory and if done correctly, this batch will be completely done by 12/1. We will let you know how it goes!"

Here are some pics of the different materials being added to the compost heap in the order of the layers:

This idea was inspired by the video Soil by Geoff Lawton of the Permaculture Institute: (Please click on this title above or on the url below. Or you can copy and paste the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_-fPGcnDyE) The bit specifically about composting starts at around 17 minutes in to the film.

Chris approached Anthony Longo, who was glad to arrange for him to work on this project. And so, the experiment has begun...

Pumpkin Bash and Leaf Gathering- Dreams Do Come True!

11/5/2016

Dreams do come true...and in this case, because of the huge efforts of friends, partners, and neighbors. In January 2016, Anthony Longo and Julia Ferguson sat in Main Street Sweets before the RIGC board meeting talking about hopes for the year with compost and outreach. In their notes they wrote:

Work with BIG REUSE for organics recycling growth
Enlarge (begin) pumpkin smash and tree chipping

Christina Delfico, iDig2Learn, and Erycka De Jesus, BigReuse/NYC Compost and Anthony Longo spoke in a conference call in September to set the November 4th date for pumpkins and leaves. Then Erycka and Christina took the lead and worked together on preparations for a month. Erycka de Jesus and Devin Reitsma and Leah Retherford and their work with NYC Compost@ BigReuse were the reason we could offer to do this.

Christina Delfico's amazing service network, partnering skills, and production techniques brought connections with RIOC, Manhattan Park, P.S. I.S. 217, RIRA, and so many more on Roosevelt Island brought the happy crowds. We had a dream come true day yesterday! Everyone chipped in to bash pumpkins, gather leaves, and send these natural resources away to be composted! Julia Ferguson took personal day from work to help out. She spent her day watching and listening to the parents and children.

"This is what a farmer must feel like."
"This is what a gardener does."
"Can I take this to the worms?"
"I had a garden class at school!"
"Do you want to bring your pumpkin again next year?"

We sent over forty bags of leaves and three huge, green toters of pumpkins to be composted back into enriched soil for parks, gardens, street trees, and community groups. For more sounds and sights of the day, check out this video by Nick Turner posted to the Roosevelt Islander blogspot or like the Facebook page at BigReuse to see a live post.

Compost and Mulch: Care for Our Garden Soil

7/14/2016

Anthony Longo and other Compost Committee Members appreciate your constant help with our compost program. NYC Compost Project experts Devin Reitsma and Leah Retherford have both visited the RIGC system and given advice and commendations for what we are doing together.

We currently have compost that can be sifted and can show you how! Send an email or leave a message in the garden for Julia or Anthony or Michael. We can show you how this works. We also have wood chips from RIOC chipping that are usable for mulching your paths or beds.

As you clean up, please keep following the signs to New Materials (inside) and Branches Only (outside). Take any and all smaller plants like hosta and smaller branches to the New Materials bin to compost. Please remember that if you clip up a bush or hosta plant or vine in your garden, then you should re-clip it or break it into smaller pieces for the compost pile.

Branches should be at least an inch thick or more, otherwise they can be easily chopped up for Mother Nature's Salad! This will help us immensely and keep items out of landfill when RIOC chips. No plastics, ornaments or used lumber in the branches please. We have to sort when these mistakes happen.

In addition all the black tumblers are now open for kitchen scraps: fruits, vegetables, rice, bread but no meat or dairy. Bring these items down at any time.

What's inside the white buckets with the green smiley face?

5/8/2016

Grounds for the Garden is a corporate program that Starbucks began in 1995. We are fortunate that Ryan, manager of our Roosevelt Island Starbucks, and Anthony, RIGC Compost Chair, got together and formed a plan along with Julia, a member, and Aiesha, a new associate. After donating food grade buckets and covering them with our logos, we began making regular pick ups at Starbucks about one month ago. The coffee grounds go into our RIGC compost piles and provide nitrogen rich ph balanced ingredients that are working like magic! But it is actually just compost chemistry. When a static compost pile heats up, this is very good news. Our recent temperature records were up to 150-160 degrees Fahrenheit. Take a look at the slide show of images below and watch for the steam!

According to Oregon State University Extension Service, "Coffee grounds are a great addition to the garden and compost pile. It helps to recycle this great organic resource and reduces the amount of organics going to the landfill! Some information about coffee grounds: Coffee grounds are about 2% nitrogen by volume. Grounds are not acidic; the acid in coffee is water-soluble so the acid is mostly in the coffee. Coffee grounds are close to pH neutral (between 6.5 - 6.8 pH). Coffee grounds improve soil tilth or structure."

We welcome volunteer help of any amount for initiatives like this and the Food Scrap Drop Off Site offered every Saturday by NYC Compost hosted by Big Reuse. Send an email to rigardenclub@gmail.com and the RIGC Board Secretary will forward your contact along.

Green Initiatives Opportunity for RI - CALLING ALL FAMILIES - SAVE THE DATE TO VOTE

3/21/2016

2016 Participatory Budget Vote
SAT March 26 - Sun April 3

We have a chance to finalize the funding for the STEM Green Roof.

1.5 Million is needed to transform 6,750 sq. ft. of underutilized school roof top into a science learning hub with an area for performance. We won $500,000 last year from 2015 Participatory Budget, plus $250,000 from Manhattan Borough President Brewer, but that is not enough to build the roof! We must win this year!

Competition from the Upper East Side is FIERCE, they are also trying for a green roof, and communicating to all UES schools to mobilize their vote.  Not every district, like our District 5, gets the PB vote opportunity on how to spend one million dollars in their neighborhood.

Of 14 projects on this year's Participatory ballot & only 2 are for Roosevelt Island, both for education.  Voters can vote for both.  Roosevelt island only gets 3 vote sites on island to vote, plus one on the 59th street tram plaza area and the UES gets 21 vote sites to vote.

Voting during Participatory Budget shows the elected officials that Roosevelt Island has a strong voice for this and all we care about.

Eligibility: Any District 5 resident (UES, MIdtown East & Roosvelt Island) 14 years or older can vote, you do not need to be a registered voter or US citizen; you only need to be a resident of District 5.

Vote on or near the Island on Saturday, March 26 from 11am-2pm (during the RIRA Easter Egg Hunt) at Manhattan Park; Tuesday, March 29 from 4-7pm at the Island F subway station; Wednesday, March 30 from 4-7pm at Tramway Plaza (Manhattan side); or Thursday, March 31 from 7:30-10:30amat PS/IS 217.

Please show up and vote and spread the word to get others to vote.

Tree Mulching? RI Progresses Branch by Branch

1/2/2016

Many thanks to Geof Kerr and Anthony Longo!

ALL of the leftover trimmings from the PS 217 PTA holiday Christmas tree sale have been gathered for chipping. This happened in both 2014 and 2015! Every little bit helps our lovely planet earth!

RI Gardeners and other RI Residents are now asking about how to get their Christmas trees mulched or recycled. If you have a car, you can transport your tree to drop off at the Green Thumb and Land Restoration composting site in LIC under the Queensborough Bridge. More info here on the map.

In addition, the DSNY Zero Waste site gives you information here for both live and fake tree recycle/reuse options.

If you would like to connect with other Island residents who hope to work with RIOC on plans for next year's 2016/2017 trees please send an email to rigardencluboutreach@gmail.com.

A mountain of tree trimmings piled up in front of the back fence and set to be mulched.

Lots and lots of trees sold this year. These trimmed ends will all be chipped and mulched instead of being sent to a landfill.

NYC Compost Project and BIG Reuse on Roosevelt Island

11/22/2015

Help us welcome Ryan Olds and other NYC Compost - BIG Reuse staff to our Island!

On Saturday, November 28th NYC Compost Project hosted by BIG Reuse will be starting an Organics Recycling program at the Saturday Farmer's Market under the helix, with the mission of "Rebuilding Our Soil, Neighborhood By Neighborhood".

Instead of sending organics to landfills via AVAC, Island residents will be able to drop off kitchen scraps at an organics collection station at the Saturday Farmer's Market. The scraps will go to a local composting site under the Queensborough Bridge on Vernon Blvd. The compost created will also be used locally for street trees, parks, and urban gardens. You can find out even more and see pictures here.

Island leadership, avid RI composters, the PTA of PS 217, the RI Girl Scout troops and the RI Garden Club are all excited to help welcome this program to Roosevelt Island. If you would like to help out in any way as a volunteer, please contact Big Reuse or email rigardenclub@gmail.com. We will help to educate and encourage and find like minded composting neighbors on Roosevelt Island.

YES! Accepted Items List
Fruit rinds and peelings
Vegetable scraps of all kinds
Cut or dried flowers
Coffee grounds, filters, and paper tea bags
Bread and grains
Egg shells
Nutshells and Corncobs
Stale beans, flour, and spices
Houseplants and potting soil (clean)

Please Don’t Bring Any of These

Meat or fish scraps
Cheese or dairy products
Fats, grease, oil, or oily foods
Cat or dog feces or Kitty litter
Colored or glossy paper
Coal or charcoal ashes
Diseased or insect-infested houseplants or soil
Non-compostable materials: plastic, metals, or glass

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