2011 Community Roots CSA - Garden in the making.

As I mentioned some time ago, I am extremely excited about being the new lead farmer at our local Community Roots CSA in Dalton Gardens. The following links explain both the history of our local CSA and what a CSA is all about : How Community Roots got started. , What is a CSA?

The Roots team, (or garden gals, as we call ourselves) is made up of Korrine Kreilkamp, Kara Carleton and myself. Korrine, with the help of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, founded the Community Roots program back in 2007. Kara, is our Outreach and Education Coordinator and I am the farmer. For the past couple of months we (along with several volunteers) have been busy behind the scenes preparing the garden, building and repairing fences, starting seeds and brainstorming new ideas for the 2011 garden season. We were lucky enough to share some growing space with Shared Harvest at the Jewitt greenhouse this season. The Root's seedlings grown in the greenhouse will be available for sale at the Kootenai County Farmer's  Market sometime in May. I will keep you posted on those dates.

Follow this link for more pics and info on sowing seeds at the Jewitt greenhouse from the Kootenai Environmental Alliance blog:  Seed starting at the Jewitt greenhouse

Garden clean up day!

Flying the coop! We are sad that there won't be chickens at the CSA this year (however, they may be back next year) but there will be...drum roll please......

Bees!!!

Thanks to our local honeybee expert, Evert Wilson, who will be placing and maintaining our hive at the CSA.

Read more about Evert here.

Thanks to my dad and my son for helping me build the bee fence! I can grow plants but I must admit I am constructively challenged. 

And no, the bees don't really need a fence...it is meant to keep people out...for their own safety of course....like Evert says, bees are bees and yes they sting!

The bee fence is complete!

Thanks to Dustin for helping me rototill before the bees arrive.... Evert says the bees like their peace and quiet...I will take his word on that.

While it may not look like much now, in a few months this place will be be full of beautiful vegetables, flowers and herbs!