organic gardening

RCG May 2021 Newsletter

May Day!!! May Day!!!

We had all hands on deck to help make seed bombs with native perennial wild flowers this May Day. This activity was a great hit with kids and adults alike. Making seed bombs is a great project that you can do at home to encourage your kids to learn about plants and our ecosystem. You can make a wide variety of seed bombs, from asylums to zinnias. In the future we hope to make even more seed bombs that we can spread in our desert to reintroduce native plants and increase biodiversity.  We also hosted our very first plant exchange. Gardeners were so generous with their donations we’re still looking for homes for all of the plant babies! In the future we hope to host many more events like this to encourage others to expand their collections and try growing new things. 

We had such an amazing day at our herbal zen garden informational event. We are able to introduce herbal medicine and holistic practices to the community by having a live sound bath and tincture making workshop. We also gave away some amazing tea blends to our donors and for those who participated. The tea blends were all home made and filled with medicinal properties.

What’s Happenin’?

The weather isn’t the only thing heating up, so is our community garden! Our garden has been making some waves and getting recognized by local residents as well as local businesses. We recently received a generous donation of a plot of land within Ridgecrest. We’re in the process of raising money to install water on the plot so that we can turn it into a large herbal garden, a sanctuary for the soul and the senses.  These herbs will be used to make a variety of healing potions! Tinctures, herbal teas, hydrosols, essential oils, salves, and ointments. So many things that can be made with these fragrant herbs. They’re not just tasty in our kitchen or pretty to look at, they can heal you. We’ll be sure to share the knowledge and bounty with our community so that you too can learn and grow with us. If you’re interested in learning more about this new addition to our community garden or are interested in contributing please reach out to us on our website or on our social media accounts.

What is our target goal for building the herbal zen garden? $10,000

How much money have we raised so far? $3893

How much more do we need to raise? $6107

What is the cost for? Installing water

RCG News!

We have so many plants right now we’re running out of room! We’ll be building more raised beds as time and finances allow, weather permitting. We look forward to sharing a large bounty with our friends and neighbors this summer! We’ve added several berry bushes and even a couple of fruit trees in our greenhouse.  

Here are a few gardening tips:

1. Pollinators are key to growing food! Attract more pollinators to your garden by planting flowers nearby!

2. Check for bugs! Aphids, grasshoppers, and squash bugs can ruin your plants. Bugs like lady bugs and praying mantis will help keep your unwanted bugs in check.

3. Start thinking about shade, some plants are okay with full sun, some prefer partial shade.

4. Don't forget to fertilize! Everyone has a different recommended routine for fertilizing, but adding more nutrients to your soil will help increase production


RCG December 2020 Newsletter

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What’s HAPPENIN’

  • We really got into the swing of this this month. There was a flurry of activity at the garden as well as many presentations online.

  • Guest Chris Hoskins had several presentations on composting and gardening in our unique climate. He also came by the garden in person and discussed the state of our soil and composting with our educational coordinator, Dulce Romero-Urbina. You can still view these videos in our Facebook group, a true treasure trove of information!

  • In the month of November the season really started to slow down with our first hard freeze. However, just because we’ve tucked in our plants doesn’t mean we’re sleeping on the job. We still have plants growing in our green house and covered our outdoor plants with plastic to keep them warm at night.

  • On November 15th we started a 30 day fundraising campaign with SeedMoney. All donations will be 100% matched! All of the proceeds will go towards us expanding our garden.

  • On November 21st, we had a food drive and fed several local families and giving the surplus to Ridgecrest Shout Outs Aid in conjunction with the Disturbed Souls Biker Club. We gathered enough food to feed 9-10 local families for Thanksgiving! Thank you to everyone who contributed.

  • Jessica David, a local health coach, gave four special presentations on Superfoods & Synergy. The presentations can be found on our Facebook page so please be sure to check them out!

 What’s new for December

  • December will be a quiet month at the community garden as we all take a break and spend time with our families.

  • We will be hosting a community event and food drive on December 19th so please stay tuned for further details on our Facebook page.

  • We are in the process of updating our website where you will have access to our monthly newsletter, event calendar, and presentations. Check it out at  https://www.holisticdivineinnovations.org/ridgecrest-community-garden

 Make a contribution

  • Please help support our local community garden and participate in our SeedMoney fundraiser that will be on going until December 15th. All donations are 100% matched and ALL the donations come back to our community garden.

  • If you are looking to donate other items, here are a few items we are looking for:

· 2x6 lumber for raised beds

· Organic soil

· Mulch & wood chips

· Benches

· Picnic tables

· Portable shade/canopy

· Bird houses/baths/feeders

· Insect houses

· Pavers/Path Materials

 Winter Gardening tips

  • Top 10 Vegetables and Herbs that do well in the winter months:

  • Since we already had our 1st frost, perennial herbs are great to sow right now.

Top 10 Vegetables

  • Arugula

  • Asparagus

  • Beets

  • Broccoli

  • Brussel Sprouts

  • Carrots

  • Cauliflower

  • Garlic

  • Kale & Swiss Chard

  • Spinach

Top 10 Herbs

  • Celery

  • Chives

  • Cilantro

  • Hyssop

  • Parsley

  • Rosemary

  • Sage

  • Thyme

  • Oregano

  • Winter Savory

Here are some winter gardening tips from our plot coordinator, Sandra Noyb.

  • Skip regular watering, DO add mulch, DO container garden, DO NOT fertilize, and DO add compost

  • DO test your soil.

  • DO sheltering or covering your plants, especially at night when the temperature drops.

 Stay in contact