TO:
greenspace@trinitybellwoods.ca, cirtap@gmail.com, dockriver@yahoo.ca, kcoomber@mac.com, bob66@mac.com, barbara.rother@sympatico.ca, karin_ptp@hotmail.com, onenessofsoul@yahoo.com, zahraebrahim@gmail.com, trinitygreenhouse@rogers.com, mikkabel@gmail.com, ichiyo@sympatico.ca, tdaniels2@cogeco.ca, gaiasource.avril@gmail.com, ruthslieker@rogers.com, neildallhoff@yahoo.com, ess.dee.vee@gmail.com, brendamccrank@earthlink.net, gary@dx.org, j.rust.smith@gmail.com, brookeziebell@hotmail.com, gayla@fluffco.com, cmoosewah@hotmail.com, deverific@gmail.com, inhabiting_trees@hotmail.com, picesr@hotmail.com, sylviacrowhurst@bellnet.ca, vanessa.vanzieleghem@gmail.com, ibonniejean@hotmail.com, k.sharpe@sympatico.ca, brian.volz@utoronto.ca, jasmine_tips@yahoo.co.jp, anna.mernieks@hotmail.com, siriursin@gmail.com, geraldinedempsey@gmail.com, sherry_h_lin@hotmail.com, jdadesign@gmail.com, annahill1@mac.com

Attendees: Anna, Jessica, Sherry, Jane, Avril, Barbara and Brenda

The Trinity Bellwoods Blog will be updated with a Greenhouse Section giving an Introduction and some FAQ’s for Members and visitors to the site addressing inquiries about Membership, the Wait List, Real Estate & Shelf Rules & Regulations, Monthly Meetings, etc.

It was agreed that Meetings will be held on weekends, mid-month, on alternative Saturdays & Sundays. Members will be expected to attend at least 4 meetings annually and to put in at least 6 volunteer hours. The meetings will be around 2 hours long and involve an equal amount of time devoted to discussion and to getting necessary work done in the greenhouse.

Our January Newsletter will come out at the end of the month.

Some immediate concerns to be addressed are as follows:

1. Plant Care & Setting up a Watering Schedule with Guidelines that allow Members flexibility yet which address the spectrum of issues experienced in the past so all plants will be properly taken care of. Laminated Labels with e-mail contact information will be made as shelves are allocated to Members so time-sensitive communication is made possible.

Bug Infestations – plants will be bagged and an e-mail sent giving 48 hours notice RE getting the plant out of the Greenhouse - after this time another Member can take the plant somewhere else to nurse it back to health or throw it out (allowing Members enough time to communicate with one another and get a mutually-agreeable plan in place for all parties involved).

Meetings with workshops will take place so Members can suggest speakers and share information as situations arise (ie, seed-starting protocols, soil-mixing recipe using coir, the pot-sterilization method, etc). Barry Parker was invited to attend our 2009 Spring Greenhouse Clean up Meeting and gave Members advice on general Greenhouse operations that assisted in functional improvements being made. In March 2009, Gayla gave a hands-on workshop that was well-attended and provided Members with practical tips and advice on seed-starting. It was agreed that Gayla Trail’s You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening will be used to reference our professional gardening practice (a copy is located in a labeled bin under the two large planting rables). Gayla’s 2nd book called Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces is coming out in February and she is also doing a Micro-Farming column for the Globe & Mail.
There was a general consensus that Maria’s Fall 2009 Seed-Saving Workshop about Pollinators was timely and successful.

A Bulletin Board will be set up to centralize information - photos, books, website suggestions, helpful guidelines, etc. It will be used to display our Annual Calendar Schedule of Events (ie, Kyla Dixon’s February workshop on Winter Gardening, Seedy Saturday, The Parkdale Horticultural Society and the Toronto Botanical Garden lecture dates, etc).

2. A Volunteer Repair Committee and a Volunteer Watering are required so Members are being asked to step forward and sign up now for these so that Sub-Committees can be set up and scheduling communications can begin.

3. At least three General Greenhouse clean ups will occur annually that Members will be called upon to volunteer for (Pre-Spring Real Shelf Estate Re-Allocation in February, Mid-June and Park Day Seed Saving Clear Out in October)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 EVERYONE

Cheers

B