Greetings, fellow gardeners!

Are you starting to harvest lettuce, strawberries, or peas yet? Remember that if you get overwhelmed with rhubarb or any other produce, you can always donate it to community organizations through our produce donation program!

From Our Master Gardeners: Smarter Gardening through Soil Testing and Improvement

At Dowling we have plots that have been gardened by many, many other people in its 80-year history. We enter with little knowledge of the chemical or fertility status of our plots or how it may affect what we want to grow. Sometimes we think we know the soil is healthy just by looking at it. If it retains water and has good tilth (water permeability and retention, friable or crumbly texture, good drainage), we feel we lucked out and may not have to do much to improve its health. However, that tells us nothing about its pH, for example, or whether it is adequate or deficient in certain nutrients needed to grow healthy vegetables. Evaluating soil pH and fertility can be very helpful in diagnosing plant problems. Read Lori Anderson’s full article on our website.

Garden Angels

The Garden Angels volunteer team supports fellow gardeners who need an extra set of hands to maintain their plot when an illness, injury, or unexpected emergency occurs. They also help when a plot is abandoned. If you need help with your garden, please email the Steering Committee at dowlingcommunitygarden@gmail.com to let us know what is going on, what help you need, and for how long you will need it.

Path Safety

Please keep the paths next to your plot clear, free of rocks and weeds. Obstacles and debris in the paths are a safety concern for our lawn mowers and are a violation of Rule 8c.

Shed Courtesy 

Please remember to clean the dirt off any shed tools you use and return them promptly so that others may use them. Additionally, if you own tools or other items that you want to offer others, you may put them by the shed provided that they are in good condition (not broken or really rusty). Items may remain by the shed for two weeks. After that, please remove and dispose of them so that our cleanup crews don’t have to.

Gardens along the 46th Street Fence

If your garden plot borders the fence on 46th Street, please keep the fence line weeded per Rule 8g. Gardeners need to maintain a one-foot plant- and weed-free buffer along the fence as a courtesy to our area neighbors and Dowling Community School.

Reminder: Check Out Our New Website!

Our website has been redesigned with a fresh new look. Learn about the Garden’s history, read descriptions of service commitments, view key dates at a glance, and report your service hours using our brand new web form.

Getting in Touch with the Garden Steering Committee

The Garden Steering Committee is a group of volunteers who do the administrative work that keeps the Garden going. Need a replacement shed key? Have a general question or concern? Email us at our *new* address: dowlingcommunitygarden@gmail.com. For questions about your service duties, please contact your service coordinator.

Stay dry out there, and we’ll see you in the garden!

--Dowling Garden Steering Committee

Greetings, fellow gardeners!

Our green corner of Longfellow is increasingly bustling with activity! We hope you’ve had a chance to do some spring cleaning in your plot and get planting underway. Just a reminder–the deadline to have your plot half planted is June 1.

Dowling Elementary School Turns 100!

Dowling Community School will be celebrating its 100th anniversary on Saturday, May 18, and Garden members are warmly invited to attend! A ceremony will take place in front of the Dowling school building from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. There will be commemorative speeches, dedications, school tours, dance, and music. Dowling Community Garden will be a part of the celebration, with a display featuring our own 81-year history. 

The Garden Water System Is ON

The Minneapolis Public Schools plumbing department has turned on the watering system for the grounds of Dowling School, including the Garden outlets. Please note that the North and South Garden outlets require different couplers. North Garden couplers are stored in the hose box on the asphalt path on the east of that section. South Garden couplers are stored in the tool shed. Your shed key also opens the hose box. Please be sure you return couplers to the proper location.

Service Assignments Have Been Posted

Service assignments have been posted on our website and in the shed. Remember to report your service hours using our brand new web form! For questions about your service duties, please contact your service coordinator.

Free Seeds

The Hennepin County Master Gardener program and Dowling Community Garden have provided a small amount of free seeds that can be found on the bookshelf in the shed.

Free Seedlings Available May 19

The Hennepin County Master Gardener program will provide tomato and pepper starts this year. Pick them up at the shed the morning of Sunday, May 19, from 9-11 a.m.

From Our Master Gardeners: What About That Warm Winter?

That is a big question for all of us as we are so anxious to get out there and plant our veggies. With no snow cover some of our perennial plants like strawberries and asparagus were at risk if you didn’t cover them with straw or some kind of mulch. Will we get fruit early? Maybe, but perennial plants, shrubs and trees are guided as much by the length of day as they are by temperature and that doesn’t change every year. My strawberries (covered with straw last winter) are looking healthy and beginning to bloom now so they are right on schedule. Last fall I experimented with planting onion starts and covering them with straw. They came through the winter well and I am expecting an early harvest. Read Deb Rierson’s full article on our website.

Getting in Touch with the Garden Steering Committee

The Garden Steering Committee is a group of volunteers who do the administrative work that keeps the Garden going. Need a replacement shed key? Have a general question or concern? Email us at dowlingcommunitygarden@gmail.com.

We hope to see you Saturday at the Dowling Community School celebration and, of course, we’ll see you in the garden!

-- Dowling Garden Steering Committee

Greetings, fellow gardeners!

The winter that wasn’t seems to have turned to spring. This is a great time to begin planning out your crops and starting seeds, if you haven't already!

Welcome, New and Returning Gardeners

If you are new to Dowling Community Garden this year, welcome! You’re joining a community that is entering its 81st year. This email newsletter is prepared by the Dowling Garden Steering Committee and sent monthly-ish during the growing season. It will include reminders of Garden rules like planting deadlines and service requirements as well as advice from our resident master gardeners. Join our Facebook group to connect with other gardeners!

Check Out Our New Website!

Our website has been redesigned with a fresh new look just in time for gardening season! Learn about the Garden’s history, read descriptions of service commitments, view key dates at a glance, and report your service hours using our brand new web form.

Dowling Elementary School Turns 100!

Dowling Community School will be celebrating its 100th anniversary on Saturday, May 18, and Garden members are warmly invited to attend! A ceremony will take place in front of the Dowling school building from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. There will be commemorative speeches, dedications, school tours, dance, and music. Dowling Community Garden will be a part of the celebration, with a display featuring our own 81-year history.

Free Seeds

The Hennepin County Master Gardener program and Dowling Community Garden will provide a small amount of free seeds. Find them on the bookshelf in the shed after April 15. If you have any seeds you would like to share, please add them to the others!

Getting in Touch with the Garden Steering Committee

The Garden Steering Committee is a group of volunteers who do the administrative work that keeps the Garden going. Need a replacement shed key? Have a general question or concern? Email us at our *new* address: dowlingcommunitygarden@gmail.com. For questions about your service duties, please contact your service coordinator.

Time to get excited about planting. We’ll see you in the garden!

- Dowling Garden Steering Committee

Greetings, fellow gardeners!

Did you see the story about our 80th Anniversary event in the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger? It includes some nice photos from that warm and sunny day!

Last Cleanup Event for 2023: October 28

If you haven’t yet completed your required 4 hours for 2023 (check your record right here), contact your service coordinator to find out if there are pending tasks. If not, join the cleanup event this Saturday, October 28, 10 a.m. to noon! Can’t make it? Email info@dowlingcommunitygarden.org to find out if there are other opportunities to help out.

At the end of each volunteer shift, make sure to fill out a reporting slip so that your hours get counted. Remember, unreported hours don’t count! One final note on service hours: if you have make-up hours from last year and fail to complete both your make-up hours and your 4 hours of required service in 2023, your plot won’t be renewed for 2024. Don’t let that happen–get your service hours in before November 13!

End-of-Season Plot Maintenance

Please remember to maintain your plot per the Garden rules until you clear it for the end of the season. The deadline for clearing all plants subject to frost is November 13. Frost-tolerant plants such as leeks and Brussels sprouts may be left until they are harvested. Once they freeze, they must be cleared, too. Permanent structures such as trellises and fences may be left in place, but temporary structures such as tomato cages must be removed or laid down.

Renewing Your Plot for 2024

Renewal forms will be mailed to current gardeners in good standing in late January 2024. If your contact information has changed, or if you won’t be renewing your plot for next year, please email info@dowlingcommunitygarden.org and let us know.

Free Seeds!

Hennepin County Master Gardeners provided us with free seeds for our gardeners this fall! Look for them on the bookshelf in the shed. Do you have seeds to share? Add them to the shelf!

Getting in Touch with the Garden Steering Committee

Need a replacement shed key? Have a general question or concern? Email info@dowlingcommunitygarden.org or call 612-647-0545. For questions about your service duties, please contact your service coordinator.

Bundle up, and see you in the garden!