Another Great Workday

With help from the men at the Garland Thompson Mens Center we've been able to accomplish quite a few chores in the garden over the last several weeks. Mulch has been laid on most of the garden, planting is nearly complete in the herb garden and the entry way and we continue to battle grassy weeds.

Speaking of weeds we've experimented with several types of mulch this spring to try and control those pesky weeds including bagged mulch, shredded newspaper, grass clippings and chipped wood from a tree chipper. Bagged mulch is pretty, does a good job controlling weeds and will help add organic matter to the soil, but it can be expensive to use. Shredded newspaper surprisingly stayed where we applied it quite well and did an OK job of controlling weeds when we applied it heavily, but it required four 36 gallon trash bags full of shred to cover 10 plants. So it may not be the move convenient mulch available. Grass clippings are very effective at controlling weeds and add organic matter to the soil. In my experience when planting less than 20 tomatoes, grass clippings work well and the supply of clippings needed can usually be acquired from mowing the average lawn. In our situation we have just over 700 plants in the garden and an herb and flower garden so gathering enough clippings was a challenge.

For our new garden project, chipped wood has been the best option for several reasons. One we've been able to partner with a tree service, Walk Up Tree Service, who's supplied us with several truck loads of chipped wood. We have about 15,000 square feet of land that needs mulch so finding a cost effective mulch was important. Also, our soils organic matter content was low so adding chipped wood will greatly improve our soils aeration and organic matter content. And finally we've found it to be an effective way to control weeds which allows us to focus on more exciting projects in the garden. One more quick note on chipped wood, in order for the wood chips to decompose your soils nitrogen content needs to be sufficient enough to sustain decomposition. And a simple soil test will help you determine if your soils nitrogen content is appropriate.

Look for more updates soon and please become a follower of this site and show your support for our garden project. You can become a follower of this site by clicking on the link to the right of this post and you can also follow several links to our supporters websites there as well. Thank you for your time and have a great week!

Press Release

Hy-Vee, Inc., 5820 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266

Contact: Rich Schneider- Communications Intern

Phone: (515) 559-5732  E-mail: rschneider@hy-vee.com

June 20, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Omaha Hy-Vee and Open Door Mission unveil store-side garden

Omaha, NE – Hy-Vee, at 14591 Stony Brook Blvd., is unveiling a store-side garden to provide fresh vegetables for customers, and education and work experience for homeless men from the Open Door Mission’s Garland Thompson Men’s Center.

Thanks to the help of local sponsors and workers from the Men’s Center, the 15,000 square foot, garden will include flowers, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and onions. The produce will be sold by the Stony Brook Hy-Vee, with sales going to the Open Door Mission in Omaha.

The Men’s Center will send two or three men with a shift supervisor out to Hy-Vee about two to three times a week to care for the garden. They will pull weeds, construct fences, maintain pest control, harvest fresh produce and keep the garden safe and clean for customers, said Hy-Vee Store Director Jeff Mueller. The men will receive a wage for their work from the Open Door Mission.

Hy-Vee and the Open Door Mission have always had a strong relationship, said, Richard DenHerder, Open Door Mission’s CFO.

“This project will provide the men with recent work experience and we should be able to give them a reference,” DenHerder said. The men will also experience working under a supervisor and gain on-the-job training.

The garden, landscaped by Diamond Cut Lawns, will invite people in with a brick and mortar entryway and a decorative sign from Integrity Weld and Sign It of Omaha. The plants and flowers are from two Iowa greenhouses, Red Oak Greenhouse and Krieger Greenhouse. To keep everything fresh and hydrated, Plush Lawn Irrigation, of Omaha, has installed the irrigation system.

Mueller and Hy-Vee Lawn and Garden Manager, Mark Montanye, are proud to be a part of the project. “This is just another example of Hy-Vee being a part of the community,” Mueller said.

Between all of the sponsored supplies, landscaping and the workers from the Men’s Center, the overall cost for the garden will be relatively low.

Montanye believes the Open Door Mission will especially benefit. “We should raise a lot of money for them in the end,” he said.

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Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating 232 retail stores in eight Midwestern states. For 2010 the company recorded total sales of $6.9 billion, ranking it among the top 30 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.hy-vee.com

Our friend Keith from the Open Door Mission helps to place 500 of the tomato cages being used to support the tomato crop. Staking and selective pruning of tomato and pepper plants is important to future success. Yellowing leaves are removed from the bottom of the plants and developing fruit is removed on very young plants so their energy can be focused on vegetative growth.

A special thank you to Patrick McKernan, Director of the Garland Thompson Men's Center, of the Open Door Mission. Pat and key members of the Open Door Mission have supported the garden idea since its inception. On Monday and Friday each week you can expect to see as many as 8 to 10 men from the Mission working side by side with Hy-Vee staff to create a garden environment visitors can enjoy and a crop of vine ripened veggies that will surely be delicious.

Our very own Eric Reznicek, helping to till the soil and plant the landscaping for the entryway to the garden.

Plans for an inviting entryway to the garden are almost complete. The stone wall and pillars and the pathway were donated and installed by Matt Novak and the crew of Diamond Cut Lawns and it looks fantastic. Here Matt (right) and Brad work on the final pieces of the pathway leading to the garden.

A note and a special thank you too Matt Novak whose involvement in this project from the very beginning has made the Hy-Vee Garden at Stonybrook possible. Matt has done so much work behind the scenes from organizing other sponsors, helping with the layout of the garden and of course building this great looking entryway. Your involvement has been invaluable Matt, thank you from your friends at Hy-Vee Stonybrook.

Consistent moisture is a key ingredient to producing a great crop of tasty tomatoes and peppers. When tomatoes are producing fruit and fluctuations occur in soil moisture, cracks can form on the skin of the tomatoes. Oddly shaped fruit can also be found on plants when soil moisture isn't consistent.

A special thank you to Joel Karas of Plush Lawn Inc. in Omaha for donating and installing the sprinkler system. This sprinkler system will be a key component to the future success of the garden and we greatly appreciate the support from Joel, Matt and the crew of Plush Lawn Inc.

The plants are growing and so are fence posts. On May 30th posts were set for the fence.

With several delays due to an abnormally wet spring, planting began on a bright and sunny day on May 23rd. With a great deal of help from the men at the Open Door Mission we were able to plant 726 tomato and pepper plants over a two day period. GREAT JOB guys and thank you for your help.

A special thank you to Andy Krieger of Krieger Greenhouses and Mark Johnson and Glenda Coughlin of Red Oak Greenhouse for donating the plants. Your support of the garden is greatly appreciated.

If your interested in this project, we invite you to become of a friend of the garden. Please sign up to follow the gardens progress all season long. Thank you!

Plans for the Hy-Vee Garden at Stonybrook are turning into reality. Top soil and Oma-Gro were brought in by the truck load to add organic matter to the soil. Four main beds were tilled in preparation for planting. The three largest beds on the west side of the garden were created to grow the bulk of the crops including tomatoes and peppers this year. The smallest bed at the entrance of the garden will be planted with herbs, including basil, sweet mint, cilantro and more. Annual flowers and roses will also be planted to add structure to the garden. Please look for additional posts regarding the future of the garden and how the harvested produce will be used to help serve the community.

Information about the garden and images will be posted soon. Please come back and see us.