Cornucopia Network

What's Happening in the Community?

Open Gardens

Next Open Gardens: Saturday, December 10th, 2011:

NEW! DECEMBER 10th OPEN GARDEN FLYER

Participating Organic Gardens:

Florence Rollino, at 45 Wells Court, Bloomfield, will be growing radicchio, purple kohlrabi, and turnips if the weather holds out. There is also cabbage and spinach in the cold frames, and turnips in her front garden. Take Bellevue Avenue east from Montclair almost to the end at ShopRite. Take the last left, and then the first left onto Wells Court; 45 is the house at the end with solar panels.

Pat Kenschaft, at 56 Gordonhurst Avenue, Montclair has two cold frames with both Burpees and Johnny Seeds Chinese cabbage. Carrots and parsnips will survive the winter under plastic bags of leaves. There may be pac choi, kale, collards, celery, and lettuce, rodents willing. Displays will be in the front yard of 56 Gordonhurst Avenue. The tour is free but donations and memberships to CNNJ will be happily accepted.

Videos from the September 17, 2011 Open Garden event:

SEPTEMBER 17th OPEN GARDEN FLYER

Past Open Gardens: Saturday, September 17th, 2011, 2:00-5:00pm

Nine Organic Vegetable Gardens plus the Annual Monarch Butterfly Tent and Release

Gardens will be open to the public Saturday afternoon, September 17th, from 2-5pm (except Pat's, which closes at 4:00 PM)

Participating Organic Gardens:

Pat Kenschaft at 56 Gordonhurst Avenue, Montclair, has raised almost all her family's vegetables year round for decades with no poisons, commercial fertilizers, or power machinery. She also does all her property care with no poisons, commercial fertilizers, mower machinery or watering. There will be environmental displays in her front yard. Trina Paulus and Una McGurk will be in front with the annual Monarch tent from 2:00 PM to about 4:30, occasionally releasing butterflies whenever there are enough children. The fliers will be off for their trip south. Among other front yard treats is Bob Simpson's delightful solar water fountain is also a favorite front yard treat - just cast your shadow and it stops, move it aside and fountain starts again. (Last tour begins at 3:30pm. Nobody allowed in the back yard after 4:00pm.)

Kathy Bachmann at 210 Orange Road, corner of Warren, on the right driving south. "This is my second year of vegetable gardening with Square Foot Gardening. I have 4 raised beds for vegetables -- tomatoes, edamame, broccoli, strawberries, zucchini, green beans, snap peas, beets, raspberries, etc. My kids love helping me and especially eating tomatoes and snap peas from the vine. If you're just starting out, this is a starter garden to check out. If you're a master, come share your tips with me. I'm also an avid flower gardener, with a perennial cutting garden -- happy to share tips about that."

Lisa Rosen at 3 Chester Road. Has two raised beds, 4 x 10' and 6 x 10'. She has been gardening for about seven years, and this is the second year she has been doing "square foot gardening" in the larger bed. She expects have kale, chard, lettuces, spinach, carrots and tomatoes in mid-September. "Stop by!"

Nick DiMinni at 11 Bruce Road features a traditional European style vegetable and herb garden, and a pergola which supports grape vines and several fruit trees. The other half of the garden is a "Zen" garden with fountains and various perennials. The yard is registered as a wildlife habitat and composting is practiced.

Jose German at 69 Grove Street has chickens and bees this year. Veggies grow in garden raised beds, table beds 4 feet over his sunny driveway, and water beds, a hydroponic setup of large pipes where water and nutrients circulate around plant roots. He has abundant eggplants, tomatoes, garlic, onions, collard greens, and grapes this year. He is president of Green Harmony Now, which provides landscaping services and advice: greenharmonynow@aol.com, 973-233-1106.

Florence Rollino at 45 Wells Court, Bloomfield, started her own landscaped-designed garden about 10 years ago and for the past two years has included a 16 x 24-foot working 'farm' within the landscape design. She grows many, many tomatoes for 'home-drying' as well as for sauce, along with many other veggies. Take Bellevue Avenue east from Montclair almost to the end at ShopRite. Take the last left, and then the first left onto Wells Court. 45 is the house at the end with solar panels.

Necole Fabris, 8 Prospect Place, West Orange, composts, uses leaves and grass clippings as ground cover, and uses natural pest control in her garden that provides 80% of her family's produce in the summer. She has had a rain barrel for several years. "From Montclair take Harrison Avenue to the West Orange end (Main Street). Left on Main Street. Follow Main Street to the next light. Go through the light and bear right to stay on Main Street. Make an immediate right on Prospect Place. She is the second house on the left. She has a dog who is all bark, but that bark is loud."

Paul Walters, 377 DeWitt Ave, Belleville, has been involved in organic gardening and farming all of his life. Paul has been developing his homestead for several years and is showing his intensely planted front-yard organic permaculture garden. He uses an eclectic approach to produce health yields including permaculture design principles, biointensive planting techniques, water catchment strategies, vertical growing, companion planting, organic soil amendments, biodynamic practices, and heirloom plant cultivars. Diversity is key to his approach and is credited for the success of attracting native pollinators as well as for encouraging healthy plant growth.

Judy Hinds at 156 Rhoda Ave., Nutley: Come enjoy a taste of the summer harvest & see what veggies will carry through into late fall despite loss of light and heat. Leaf mold samples available. Water barrel show `n' tell. Open Garden Sept 17, 2-5 p.m. 973 661-0067.

Gardens are wonderful in the Summer! Visit us and learn!

Free but donations accepted

After 5:00 PM there will be a potluck supper in the back yard of Nancy Taiani at 50 Gordonhurst Avenue followed by the annual meeting of the Cornucopia Network of New Jersey.

All are welcome to attend!