Mayor "pumpkin cutting" (instead of ribbon cutting) at the grand opening of Esq. Community Garden

On behalf of the Community Garden, we would like to thank everyone that came out today to the winter gardening workshop.
We would like to thank you for helping us clean up the site and fix the composters in preparation for our public event of pumpkin carving on the 22nd.
Also we would like to thank Robin for her donation of raspberry bushes that she plated all along our lonely fence.

In preparation for the public event, we also ask the plot members that did not attend the workshop to clean up their plot of all the dead tomato plants and other things that have passed their due date.
Also, we would like to ask you to carve a pumpkin and place it on your empty plot so it doesn't look too empty (since most of us don't have plant shooting out of the ground just yet). We need a volunteer/s to carve three pumpkins- two for the two small plots in the entrance and one for the high school in the back. Make sure to place the pumpkins on the plot before Friday the 22nd. Please e-mail us back if you can help us out.

Have a great evening and hopefully we will see you on October 22nd at 10am.

6th Annual Pumpkin Smash ~ November 6th and 7th

The scariest thing about Halloween is the amount of jack-o-lanterns that end up in the landfill. Keep your pumpkins out of the trash and join us for our 6th annual Pumpkin Smash! Bring your family and friends, and of course your pumpkins, and join us for Tombstone Tipping and other family games to help us raise awareness for composting! Last year we managed to divert over 13 tonnes of jack-o-lanterns from the landfill – let’s see if we can beat that this year!
The event will be held November 6th and 7th from 10am to 3pm each day.
Cloverdale - Thrifty Foods (3475 Quadra Street) : Saturday, November 6th
Fairfield - Thrifty Foods (1590 Fairfield Road) : Saturday, November 6th
Hillside - Thrifty Foods (1580 Hillside Avenue) : Sunday, November 7th

upcoming winter workshop

We are inviting you to participate at out potluck-style winter gardening workshop.

It will be held on site, on October 16th at 1pm (about 2 hours long).

We are planning to plant garlic bulbs for the winter

Please RSVP as soon as possible so we know how many garlic bulbs to purchase (email us at esquimaltcommunitygardens@gmail.com).

Also, bring along whatever food you want to share to the garden (this is not mandatory).

Participation is by donation, suggested donation is $5-10,

Rain or shine

Free Native Plant Gardening Workshop

"This FREE three hour workshop on gardening with drought-resistant native plants will:

• Identify native plants
• Review the benefits of native plants
• Teach how and where to grow native plants
• Offer tips for reducing or eliminating lawns
• Inform how to create special natural habitats, such as meadows, thickets, woodlands
• Discuss how to attract wildlife to the garden
• Include an informative tour of the native plant garden
• Review of CRD conservation programs

Instructor: Patricia Johnston, Native Plant & Waterwise consultant.

Each workshop is limited to 18 participants and pre-registration is required. Please call Swan Lake at 250.479.0211 to register. Workshops are held in the Spring and Fall."

Please see this link for the schedule and more resources

Our pumpkin patch is growing fast!!!

This picture of the pumpkin patch was taken on September 9th

please make sure

Please make sure to turn off the water after using it. The garden was flooded today because the hose was not shut off.