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If you want to add a post to this blog, please email what you'd like to post, including any photos to 6.15greenblog@gmail.com.

About the 6/15 Green Blog

Brooklyn, NY
Welcome to the 6/15 Green community garden blog. This is a place where our community can share stories, poems, photos, memories, recipies, and all other experiences of the garden. For information on 6/15 Green, please see the official website. To share information on the garden or communicate with members, please use the member Google Group.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

A little Halloween fun as we get ready for the big celebration of Fall's harvest.



Saturday, October 27, 2012

Update on Garden Event Tomorrow

Update on the event tomorrow with speakers on essential gardening techniques:

Barring a major rainstorm the event will still occur.  If it is rescheduled, we will post information for the new times on this blog.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Harvest Festival



Updated 6/15 Green Harvest Fest info -

The Jug Addicts now scheduled to play from 2-4pm!!!

Come enjoy - fun, food and music!!
Corner of 6th Avenue and 15th Street - South Slope, Brooklyn

6/15 Garden Stoop Sale


It was a great day for the 6/15 Green Community Garden Stoop Sale.

Thanks to Valerie DiClerico (pictured left) and Amy Weber (pictured right) for organizing this great fundraising event for the garden. They raised $360, which is more than last year's sale.  According to them, "The weather was beautiful and a lot of people came out to show.  Some of the more interesting items were a window, a girls bike, Coach leather booths, and a lot of fun hats and children's clothing."

Thanks to everyone who volunteered and donated items! 


Monday, October 15, 2012

Garden Event: Speakers on Essential Gardening Events * Open to the Public *


6/15 Green
Presents

Learn From Brooklyn Experts!
Essential Gardening Techniques For Planting, Pruning,
Irrigation and Water Conservation, Composting,
Greenhouse Uses & Upkeep, & More

Key Speakers
 
Robert Florin is a volunteer and garden guide with certificates in horticulture and composting from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Mr. Florin is a trainer with Just Food specializing in community gardening and pruning, and is active with Green Thumb, Greenbridge (BBG), BQLT and my his own community garden in Boerum Hill

Jon Pope, educated in Wildlife Biology, Pope is a LEED Accredited Builder and construction manager and carpenter for the Music Garage in Brooklyn. Mr. Pope is also a Prospect Heights Community Farm Coordinator, and has been awarded Certified Master Composter by NYC Dept. of Sanitation and Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Green Bridge Green Neighbor Award.

When: October 28, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Where: 6/15 Green--A Community Garden
              544 6th Avenue at 15th Street Park Slope, Brooklyn 11215

Open to: All BANG Gardeners & the General Public

Directions to 6/15 Green – A Community Garden

F or G train to 9th Street and 7th Avenue; R train to Prospect Avenue and 4th Avenue





Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Birth of 6/15 Green Community Garden Video



Hi everyone.  I'm really thrilled to share the video that Eman and Peggy and others created documenting the day 24 years ago where our neighbors decided to take charge and clean the lot that is now our beautiful garden.  This is the same video that was shown at the anniversary party a few weeks ago, so if you weren't able to attend (or if you just want to watch it again), here it is.  It's incredibly inspiring and after watching it, you will most likely look at the garden in a different light.  Thanks to everyone who was involved in creating this really amazing video--and, of course, thanks to everyone who helped with the clean up 24 years ago! 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Reminder: Stoop Sale This Saturday

Don't forget about the stoop sale at the garden this Saturday--all proceeds go to the garden.  Details in the flier below. 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Where to Buy Bulbs

The past few days have made it clear that Fall is here.  That means it will soon be time to plant bulbs. I’m working on a post on when to plant bulbs for fall but first things first--you have to buy bulbs.  A lot of the local stores I listed in a previous blog post are great places to look. http://615greenblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/gardening-in-brooklyn-brooklyn.html

Or there are amazing shops online that have unique selections for both tulip and non-tulip bulbs.  I’ve put together the following list as a resource for all you bulb lovers:

http://www.dutchbulbs.com/ Has some more interesting looking varities and some exotic non-tulip bulbs
http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/  Nice for buying in smaller bulk quantities (12 or more)
http://brecks.com/ For really great deals on really big bulk quantites and interesting mixtures
http://www.hollandbulbfarms.com/items.asp?cat=Tulip-Bulbs&Cc=TULIPS  Seems to have an especially great tulip variety

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Garden anniversary rescheduled for Saturday

Due to the previous rained out event, the 24th Garden anniversary party is now set to be rescheduled for this Saturday.  Come everyone and enjoy great food, company, and the documentary about how the garden was started.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

In full bloom!

I saw this birdhouse in the garden the other day and thought it
looked so beautiful with the garden in the background.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Reminder: 6/15 Green Stoop Sale

Hi all--here's a reminder from Amy and Valerie about the stoop sale.  They still need some volunteers and of course some items to sell. 




The sale will take place on Saturday, October 6th, with a rain date of the 7th. Set up is 9-10am & the sale will be 10-3. Break down & clean up will take place from 3-4. Please sign up for 1 or more shifts if you are available.

WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR THE FOLLOWING:
  • Set up (putting out tables, organizing merchandise, etc) - 3 people
  • 12:30-3 shift (watching the merchandise, collecting money, etc) - 2-3 people
  • Clean up/ break down (separating merchandise into donation & trash piles, breaking down tables & bringing items to Housing Works) - 1-2 people with cars willing to transport items to Housing Works & 2 additional people to help

Items to donate (please price your own items):
  • Clothing & shoes
  • Books
  • Toys/ games
  • Housewares
  • Small electronic items

Please avoid donating furniture, large appliances or other large items. Housing Works will not accept these as drop of donations. If they don't sell, we will not have any place to store or donate them.

Donated items should be new or gently used. Please do not donate items that are stained or not working, as they will just end up in the trash.

We will accept donations only on the day of the sale from 9-10am. You may bring items throughout the day, but please no later than 1pm.

Email Amy at amycweber@gmail.com or Valerie at vdiclerico@gmail.com with any questions, or to sign up to volunteer. 

Thank you!
-The Fundraisers

Monday, September 10, 2012

Great Gardening Technique



I was at the garden recently and was really impressed by this gardening technique that the community veggie plot was using--they are growing beans up sunflowers.  Very cool! 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Jam Making!

Several garden members made jam at Peggy's house on two separate days--and had a lot of fun doing it! Jams will be raffled after the pot luck at the garden celebration this Saturday, September 8.
Thanks to Peggy Conte for the photos!

Ramona and Sheila stir plums for the jam.

Cut peaches for the jam.

Jane, Peggy, Brooke, and Chelse toast with a bit of the rum they put in the peach jam.




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The 6/15 Green Lot Clean Up Story

In preparation for this Saturday's anniversary celebration and video, I asked garden member Peggy Conte to share her story behind the video.  Her late husband Peter Dawidowicz and she filmed the video that will be showing on Saturday and here is some commentary about that video.  Many members and neighbors know the amazing back story of the garden and how the neighbors got together to create what is now our beautiful garden.  Here's Peggy's contribution to the story and please come to the celebration on Saturday to see the video.

My Commentary on the 615 Green Lot Clean Up Video.

By Peggy Conte
This video was filmed by me and my late husband Peter Dawidowicz. I apologize for any inaccuracies in this account. This is simply my memory of the events of 24 years ago.

Peter Dawidowicz and I moved to 550  6th Ave. in June of 1988. I gave birth to Julia on August 25. Over the summer it had become apparent that the lot on the corner, which at the time had foundations and concrete cellars dug out for some kind of condo development, also had lots of garbage, continual dumping and many many syringes, crack vials  and other evidence of heavy drug use. It also became apparent that the front apartment (room) of the house between our house and the lot had a drug dealer in it, a young man named Frankie.

The rest of the first floor (minus Frankie’s room) was inhabited by a family. The parents were Maria and Rene, and the three kids were Aylin, Dennis and Edgar. (Dennis is the kid in the video who asks if the lot is gonna be a playground)  The top floor was lived in by the owners of the house; two brothers in their eighties who seemed out of touch with reality. I imagine they had a lot of health issues. One of them was called Abraham. I forget the name of the other. All in all, the house was in decrepit condition!

Peter had a background as an organizer. He had organized civil rights activities at his campus in Baltimore in the sixties; lunch counter occupations and such. He was a member of SDS. Over the years, he had been involved in many demonstrations of different kinds and radical labor politics.

Peter was upset because we had just moved into a neighborhood to start a life with a newborn, and then this scourge became apparent. He always said that Julia was the reason he did what he did. He knocked on doors on the block and held a neighbors meeting to decide what to do about the problem. It turns out that everyone was upset and they quickly formed a group. They called themselves the South Slope Anti Drug Organization. SSADO. Peter got very sick the following year and died a few years later. SSADO was one of his last battles!

SSADO contacted the 72nd precinct and the community board for our district. This precinct and CB cover all of Sunset Park and just a little bit on our side of the cemetery. The border of the district is 15th St. We were on the margins of their zones and of their concerns. The 72nd had a special drug unit called CPOP, who show up in the video. SSADO also contacted CPOP, but nothing got done. The police would say that they didn’t have evidence so they couldn’t take action. In the video at some point someone says that there had been shooting on 10th or 12th St. the night before but the police hadn’t responded. It was emblematic of the police’s  lack of reliability at the time. It was a no man’s land around here.

Well, SSADO decided to take direct action and set Saturday morning September 17, 1988 as the big clean up day of the lot. They put out fliers. That morning dozens and dozens of people showed up, as you can see on the video. It was a wonderful surprise! I didn’t know most of them, having just moved there. Sanitation was willing to provide a garbage truck for us to load garbage into. But they didn’t want pull out the trailer because it was “private property.”

A kid named Nicky (as you see on the video) got someone in his family to bring a forklift, and the trailer was dragged partly into the street. Sanitation was asked to take it away but again they said they couldn’t because it was “private property.” So Peter called a “quick meeting” to figure out how to prevent Sanitation from putting the trailer back in the lot. The trailer at this point was only partly pulled out of the lot. A parked car was in the way and prevented the trailer from being pulled all the way out. So some people decided to bring a chainsaw and take the trailer apart (as you see on the video) .

The people finally decided to physically move the parked car, which they did (as you see on the video—a bunch of guys actually pick up the car to move it!) And pull the trailer further out onto the street.  It was totally blocking traffic, and this motivated  Sanitation to tag the trailer, meaning that it was OK to cart it away and it finally was.

The cleanup went on all day. People even knocked down a thick cinder block wall between the lot and number 548 with hammers and pure muscle. The amount of garbage was huge.  You see it on the video. More and more people just kept showing up to help! People would just pass by, ask what was going on, and then roll up their sleeves and help. It was because they were all so upset about the scourge of the abandoned lot and trailer.

For me some of the highlights are: (besides the main action)
·         When Dennis asks if this is gonna be a playground.
·         When the addict on methadone pitches in and cleans.
·         The sign “sorry” on Frankie’s door. It shows his humanity.
·         When one of Frankie’s friends comes to look for Frankie, who is gone. Peter lets him know that all the drug use and dealing is unacceptable, while at the same time respecting this guy’s humanity.
·         All the signs at the end, especially the sign that was strung across the intersection of 6th and 15th by a guy who scaled the lampposts.

I never saw many of those people after that day. I wish they were still around to enjoy the community garden! I wish Peter was still around too! (though I’m glad to be with Paul J)

These events are just one day. At the time Peter and I didn’t have a vision of what this lot could become. But Sheila did. Sheila told us that day of her vision to turn this lot into a community garden. After this day, she and others took the lead in starting our beautiful 615 Green. But that is her part of the story to tell.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Celebrate the 24th Anniversary of 6/15 Green!

Join us to Celebrate

The 24th Anniversary of the
Birth of 6/15 GREEN Community Garden


24 years ago, the lot at the corner of 15th Street and 6th Avenue was filled with trash and the home to an abandoned construction trailer that was a haven for drug use. In September of 1988, dozens of neighbors, frustrated with the inaction of the local cops, came together to clean up the lot with chainsaws, shovels, a forklift, and ingenuity.

On September 8, please join us to celebrate this event and the spirit of community action that created and sustains 6/15 Green!

Where:  at the Garden – 6th Avenue and 15th Street
When:  6:00 PM Potluck (with food donations from local restaurants)
             7:15 movie showing
What:  Movie with original footage of the cleanup
            Stories by participants
            Follow-up questions and discussion
            Raffle of 6/15 Green Homemade Plum Jam

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Second Annual Stoop Sale

The fundraising committee is planning the garden's 2nd Annual Stoop Sale. Last year was a great success, and we need your help to make this year's even better!

The sale will take place on Saturday, October 6th, with a rain date of the 7th. Set up is 9-10am & the sale will be 10-3. Break down & clean up will take place from 3-4. Please sign up for 1 or more shifts if you are available.

We need volunteers for the following:
  • Set up (putting out tables, organizing merchandise, etc) - 3 people
  • 10-12:30 shift (watching the merchandise, collecting money, etc) - 2-3 people
  • 12:30-3 shift (watching the merchandise, collecting money, etc) - 2-3 people
  • Clean up/ break down (separating merchandise into donation & trash piles, breaking down tables & bringing items to Housing Works) - 1-2 people with cars willing to transport items to Housing Works & 2 additional people to help

Items to donate (please price your own items):
  • Clothing & shoes
  • Books
  • Toys/ games
  • Housewares
  • Small electronic items

Please avoid donating furniture, large appliances or other large items. Housing Works will not accept these as drop of donations. If they don't sell, we will not have any place to store or donate them.

Donated items should be new or gently used. Please do not donate items that are stained or not working, as they will just end up in the trash.

We will accept donations only on the day of the sale from 9-10am. You may bring items throughout the day, but please no later than 1pm.

Email Amy at amycweber@gmail.com or Valerie at vdiclerico@gmail.com with any questions, or to sign up to volunteer. 

Sunday, August 26, 2012

What to do with all those tomatoes

When tomatoes ripen, it all seems to happen at once.  And if you are like me, suddenly you have pounds of tomatoes that you aren't quite sure what to do with--and you can only have so many sliced tomatoes.  Here's some links to tasty recipies from different sites online.  And if you have a favorite recipie, feel free to share.

Bruchetta
(I made something like this tonight and it was delicious!)

Provencal-Oven-Roasted-Tomato-Sauce

Lots of different salsas

Gazpacho

Tomato Jam

Tomato Pie

Back to blogging!

Hi all!  Sorry I've been silent on the blog front.  Summer always seems to be my busiest time at work but hopefully things will be a bit more manageable there now.  Anyway, my goal is to step it up and do a couple posts a week with new pics, gardening info, recipes, and more.  Enjoy!

Monday, June 25, 2012

June Ask a Gardener

I've seen some people grow corn in the garden. I alway thought you needed several rows for corn to work. How do you grow it in plot and how successful have you been?

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Gardening in Brooklyn: Brooklyn Nurseries

As planting season is wrapping up, I thought it would be helpful to share a list of some of the bigger nurseries and plant shops in Brooklyn.  I know there are a lot more than this--there are some great plants for sale on bodegas on 5th and 7th ave.  If you have a favorite that is not listed here, please share with the rest of the garden in the comments section.


ZuZu’s Petals
374 5th Avenue, Brooklyn | NY
zuzuspetalsbrooklyn.com

Gowanus Nursery
9 Carroll Street, New York | NY
http://www.gowanusnursery.com/

Kings County Nurseries
625 New York Avenue, Brooklyn | NY
www.kingscountynurseries.com

Natty Garden
609 Washington Ave | Brooklyn, NY
nattygarden.com

Shannon Davis
3380 Fort Hamilton Parkway | Brooklyn, NY
www.shannonflorist.com/

Brooklyn Plantology
26 Brooklyn Terminal Market | Brooklyn, NY 11236
http://brooklynplantology.com

Chelsea Garden Center
444 Van Brunt Street | Brooklyn, NY
http://www.chelseagardencenter.com/

Rose Red and Lavender
653 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
http://www.roseredandlavender.com/

Thursday, May 10, 2012

May Ask a Gardener

Where do garden members go to purchase plants?  Any local favorites to share with the community? I'll try to put together a round-up for the next post.  Would love to hear where you go. 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

May: Featured Photo


I took this photo last year--it's one of my favorites from the garden.  Enjoy! 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

April Wildflower: Ode to the Bee

As we start the planting season, I thought I’d share one of my favorite poems by Pablo Neruda, “Ode to the Bee.”  I love how he celebrates every aspect of what is often a vilified insect.  A nice reminder to us of the importance of these little creatures to help our garden grow and also an inspiration for us as we become our own little team of workers planting this Spring.

As always, if you want to share any poems, stories, or photos of your own, please email to 615greenblog@gmail.com.    

Ode to the Bee
Pablo Neruda

Plentiness of the bee!
Coming and going
from orange, blue and yellow
from the softest softness of the world -
she hastily enters on business the flower crown
and exits with golden coat and yellow boots.

Perfect with a waist of lines of dark bands
with tiny always busy head and watery wings
she enters scented windows, opens silken doors
enters the sanctum of the most fragrant love,
stumbles over small droplets of diamond dew
and from all visited houses she takes mysterious honey,
rich and heavy, of dense fragrance
and liquid light that falls down in drops
until she reaches the bee palace
and deposes the product of the flower, of the flight
and of the seraphic, secret sun.

Plentiness of the bee!
Sacred elevation of the unity,
palpitating school!

Sonorous buzzing multitudes that tune the nectar
passing swiftly drops of ambrosia -
it is the siesta of the summer of green and of the solitudes of Osorno.
Above the sun stitches his lances in the snow, lighting the volcanoes
wide as the oceans is the earth, blue is the space
ut  there is something trembling,
it is the burning heart of the summer
the heart of multiplied honey,
the noisy bee in the living comb of golden flights.

Bees, pure selfless workers,
thin, flashing proletarians, perfect fearsome militia
that in war attack with suicidal stings
buzz, buzz over the earth’s realms
family of gold, windy multitudes
shake the fire of the flowers
the thirst of the stamens
the sharp thread of fragrances
that unite the days and make the honey
surpassing the wet continents
and the farthest islands of the sky of the West

Yes:
Let the wax raise green statues
let the honey overflow in infinite tongues
let the ocean be a comb
and the Earth be a tower and tunic of flowers
Let the world be a cascade,
magnificent head of hair,
unceasing growth of Beedom!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Gardening in Brooklyn: Join a CSA

I know a lot of garden members also belong to local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.  Most of these deliver fresh fruit, veggies, eggs and more throughout the summer and even fall.  It’s a great way to eat locally and support local farms. It’s always a great way to be introduced to new types of produce that you might not normally buy--or grow--on your own.

I thought it might be fun to do a round up of some that deliver to the area for anyone who might be interested.  Some may have closed their memberships for 2012 already but keep them in mind for next year.  

  • Just Food (justfood.org):  “a non-profit organization that connects communities and local farms with the resources and support they need to make fresh, locally grown food accessible to all New Yorkers.” Go to their web site to find a based on your zip code for pick up locations.
  • Park Slope CSA (http://www.parkslopecsa.org/): Starts June, 2012.  They offer full and half shares and multiple pick up times.  Pick up is at Garden of Union, a community garden between 4th and 5th Aves. Registration closes May 5.
  • Central Brooklyn CSA (http://centralbrooklyncsa.wordpress.com/): Starts June 14th for 22 weeks.  Pick up is Thursday from 5 to 7:30 pm at 1256 Dean Street.  They charge based on income level and have a program for members to pay with food stamps.
  • Garden of Eve (http://www.gardenofevefarm.com/): Starts first week of June through November. They offer full and half shares.  They have pick up locations in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Long Island.  In Brooklyn, they have pick up spots in Brooklyn Heights, Bushwick, Carroll Gardens, Greenpoint, Kensington/Windsor Terrace and Williamsburg.
  • Cobble Hill CSA (http://cobblehillcsa.bobrowen.com/): Starts June 5 until Dec 11.  Pick up is on Tuesdays at Christ Church, 326 Clinton Street. Still taking membership.
  • Sunset Park CSA (http://www.sunsetparkcsa.org/): Starts June 14 through Nov 8.  They are sold out for one version of their share but are still accepting membership for alternate weeks.

I’ve done the Kensington Garden of Eve CSA for four years.  My husband and I get a half share and it’s always been an amazing amount of veggies and fruit that usually last us a couple weeks--although we do have to figure out what will go bad first and eat that.  Just like it’s so much fun to see what is growing every time you go to the garden, it’s always fun to see what produce they have at each pick up.  I know that Garden of Eve lets people come tour their gardens and I’m sure that other farms offer tours, too.  

If I’m missing one you belong to or know about--or if you want to share your own experiences belonging to a CSA program, please add to the comments section below.  

Monday, April 16, 2012

Comments Section Fixed

Hi all--for some reason, the typeface in the comments section was white and therefore impossible to read. I finally figured out how to change it.  Thanks for your patience while I figured this one out. 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

We're #2!

Did you know that when you do a Google search for gardening in Brooklyn, the 6/15 Green web site comes up 2nd--right after the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens?  Pretty cool! 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Ask a Gardener: When to Plant?

Question: Since it’s been such an unseasonably warm winter, how will that affect the planting season?  Should we plant earlier than usual?  Any suggestions of what to plant when?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.  This is a great way to share your knowledge with the whole community.  And please send your your own questions for Ask a Gardener to 615greenblog@gmail.com.  

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Featured Photo: Spring is HERE!

New Content for 6/15 Green Blog

Hi garden members--

My community assignment is the 6/15 Green blog.  My goal for this year is to make it a much more active blog and I plan to do this is a couple ways. First, I’m going to add this google groups to the RSS feed for the blog--what that means is that any time there is a new post on the blog, it will be announced to this group.  Hopefully that will encourage people to come check out the page.  Of course, feel free to add your own email to the RSS feed so you can get alerts any time there is a new post.

The second way is by adding more content.  I see this as a community blog so I greatly welcome post from any members at any time.  You can either email the post--be it pictures, stories, poems, ideas, or more--to the general email I’ve set up for the blog, which is 615greenblog@gmail.com.  Or you can post it yourself--the password for the blog is love2garden.  I just ask that posts are friendly.

I’ll also be adding more content myself with a series of rotating weekly features that include:
  • Ask a Gardener: where garden members can ask advice on any garden topic.  Then, garden members can give responses in the reply section of the blog post.  I’m hoping this is a way for new garden members or season gardeners alike to share their valuable knowledge.  And if you have a question you want answered, send it to 615greenblog@gmail.com.
  • Featured Photo: A photo from the garden--please send photos again to 615greenblog@gmail.com.
  • Gardening in Brooklyn: Will feature local websites, stores, people and other great Brooklyn gardening resources.
  • Wild Flower:  Like a wild card topic--only it’s a garden, so let’s make it a wild flower.  Miscellaneous topics, poems, recipes and more.

I look forward to helping make this another great year at the garden!

Thanks,
Donya