Renewals! If you would like to return next year and keep your plot, we need a waiver form signed plus your renewal payment - $20 for those with half plots and $40 for those with whole plots. Bring this with you to the Fall Clean up day or drop them off (cheques please, made out to First Hamilton CRC) at 254 Hunter St. W.

Update: Renewals (waiver + funds) must be in by December 15, 2011 to retain your plot for next year.

Watch out for powdery mildew on squash and zucchini plants. Spots of white fuzzy are indicators; dying / wilting leaves mean it's spreading. To counteract:

• if leaf is wilting, cut it off at the vine and put in the green bins (not the compost - don't want to spread it to next year's plants)
• if only some spots, spray every 2-3 days with a mixture of one part milk and 9 parts water. This seems to change the pH of the leaf so the mildew can't grow

If you leave you plant alone, it will die - so keep a watchful eye, especially when it is hot and humid.

(Courtesy of Raymond, everyone's favourite gardener!)

Homegrown lettuce is so tasty and tender for salads. But special tricks are needed to pick lettuce from the garden now, when it’s hot.

This time of year, lettuce tends to bolt — that is, to flower and make seeds. Once a flower stalk starts pushing up through the whorl of leaves, those leaves turn bitter and tough.

If it is raining at 6pm, consider this event postponed until next Wed. However, we do have tents so we can still go ahead if it is threatening to sprinkle. Hope to see you all at 6:30pm.

Bushy tomato plants are lovely, aren't they? However, it is important to sucker your tomatoes as a bushy plant will actually have less tomatoes. A sucker is a non-bearing branch that grows out of the stem at a 45 degree angle off the branch that will have tomatoes (these grow straight out). Pinch these off as soon as you see them started (idealy before they get an inch long). [Picture credits: finegardening.com and about.com]

The Hill Street Community Garden is one of two Hamilton recipients this year receiving the annual award of excellence from Greening Sacred Spaces. GSS is a practical program developed by Faith & the Common Good to assist faith communities with both the educational and spiritual dimensions of working towards a more sustainable future. Well done!

There's a great little article about us in the April/May 2011 “Just Food” edition of Alternatives Journal. Alternatives is Canada’s national environmental magazine with thoughtful analysis and intelligent debate on Canadian and world environmental issues and profiles of environmental leaders who are making a difference. In the article, Beatrice from Environment Hamilton talks about the collaboration of the churches in starting the Hill Street Community Garden and Emma talks about “renewing the urban environment and people’s relationship to the land.” Way to go garden!

The Hill Street Community Garden has expanded by 21 half plots! The coordination team is grateful for the support and funding received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation for making this possible.

We also have the capacity to hold more events at the garden with lighting and shelters, also through the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario

Have you taken the Veggie Village Pledge? Royal Botanical Gardens opened a new demonstration garden late this past summer. Veggie Village encourages people to eat local – either by supporting local farmers, or by growing your own produce in your yard or a community garden. Pledge to use locally grown produce in at least one meal a week for a year to help reduce your carbon footprint.