Community Orchard Potluck Picnic and…

Come celebrate with us! Lawrence Fruit Tree Project will host a potluck and work day celebration on Saturday, May 11th, starting at 10am and lasting until about 3pm. Picnic will be around 12:30. Bring all of your friends to the Lawrence Community Orchard and celebrate the second spring of this volunteer-created, edible public space! We want to show our appreciation for all of the work done by volunteers, and invite new participants to join in the fun!

Please bring a potluck dish if you can. Food will also be provided by LFTP members/volunteers. We will be getting some work done as well so, as always, bring water and wear appropriate attire.

The day’s work will be sheet mulching with cardboard and wood chips. We will need truckloads of cardboard! We want brown cardboard that is no smaller than 2ft by 3ft. Cardboard can be found in green cardboard recycling dumpsters throughout the city. Let us know if you can help with this. You can drop off cardboard next to the shed at the orchard prior to the work day.

We hope to have the biggest turnout so far this year and see a lot of new faces! Please RSVP (lawrencefruittreeproject@gmail.com)  for this event by Wednesday, May 8th so we can make sure to have enough food and beverage.

Hope to see you on Saturday, May 11th!

rain date is Sunday May 12th.

Lawrence Community Orchard is located on the far east end of Garfield street in east Lawrence.  Walking and biking to the orchard are encouraged. Please park cars on Delaware street.

Thanks,
Lawrence Fruit Tree Project

Workday – Saturday, April 6th

This Saturday, April 6th, starting at 10:00 am and lasting until about 3pm we will be preparing planting holes, planting trees, and sheet mulching at Lawrence Community Orchard. Last Saturday eight volunteers erected our new tool shed made from 99% salvaged material (see picture).

3-30-2013 Workday – Assembling the shed

Bring shovels and gloves, and snacks to share if you wish. We always need truckloads of brown cardboard no smaller than 2 ft by 3 ft. Come help make Lawrence’s first food park a reality!

Lawrence Community Orchard is located on the far east end of Garfield street in east Lawrence.

Workday – Saturday, March 30

This Saturday, March 30th, starting at 10:00 am and lasting until about 3pm we will be erecting our new tool shed made from 99% salvaged material at the Lawrence Community Orchard (LCO). We will also be doing some sheet mulching and digging holes for some exciting new tree additions to the orchard. On the 16th, volunteers erected the locally crafted, beautiful timber frame kiosk made of local black walnut and Osage orange timbers. We hope to get at least 15 volunteers on Saturday as there are lots of tasks for all skill levels. Please bring cordless drills, shovels, gloves, and snacks to share if you wish. We always need truckloads of brown cardboard no smaller than 2 ft by 3 ft. Come help make Lawrence’s first food park a reality!

Wish list
With the addition of a storage shed, we can now house dedicated LCO tools on-site. Here is a list of items that we would like to be donated:

metal watering cans
wheelbarrows and garden carts, in any condition
shovels
hard rakes
soft rakes
hay forks
long and short handled pruning shears
t-post driver
t-posts
hardware cloth
aluminum window screen
orchard latter
work gloves
durable folding table or folding saw horses
pruning saw
hoses
ground anchors for the shed
sprayer
100ft tape measure
survey flags

Hope to see you on Saturday!

Lawrence Community Orchard is located on the far east end of Garfield street in east Lawrence.

Erecting the kiosk

Workday – Saturday March 16th and updates

Hello,

Spring is around the corner and it’s year two for Lawrence Community Orchard. In 2012 Lawrence Community Orchard became a great success thanks to dozens of volunteers working throughout the season. Almost all of the trees survived and thrived despite record temperatures and drought, thanks in part to lots of mulch and regular watering. We even got a little first season produce including some tomatoes, ground cherries and the surprise success of our Sugar Cane Jujube which produced hundreds of sweet fruits. In 2013 we will continue to host monthly work parties.

Our goals are to: continue sheet mulching, keep Bermuda and Johnson grass in check, install botanical labels, install a 8×8 storage shed, install our timber-framed informational kiosk, add a few more trees, add more herbs, understory plants and annual fruits and veggies, all with old and new friends alike.

We’ll be starting off our season next  Saturday, March 16th, starting at 10:00 am and lasting until about 1pm or 2pm. We will be digging post holes for our new timber frame kiosk made possible by a grant from Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund and our new storage shed. We will be prepping some new holes for trees and finishing pruning as well.

Wish list
Soon we will have an onsite storage shed and we can house dedicated LCO tools there.      We are seeking donations of the following items:

metal watering cans
wheelbarrows and garden carts, in any condition
shovels
hard rakes
soft rakes
hay forks
long and short handled pruning shears
t-post driver
t-posts
hardware cloth
aluminum window screen
orchard latter
work gloves
durable folding table or folding saw horses
pruning saw
hoses
ground anchors for the shed
sprayer

Hope to see you on Saturday!

Lawrence Community Orchard is located on the far east end of Garfield street in east Lawrence.
Many hands make light work!
Thanks,
Lawrence Fruit Tree Project

Seed Fair – Saturday, February 9

This Saturday, the fourth annual Seed Fair will take place at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 9:00 to 3:00 in building #21.   More information can be found by clicking on the Journal World Article.    The Lawrence Fruit Tree Project will be there and can help you with your questions.

On a related note, the Fruit Tree Project is making progress on assembling a garden shed for use at the Community Orchard.   More information on this and other updates will be posted in the coming weeks.

 

 

Next orchard workday – Sunday, September 9th

You are invited to the Lawrence Community Orchard’s next festive work day on Sunday, September 9th, starting at 10:00 am and lasting until as late as 3pm. We will be continuing to sheet mulch, weed, possibly remove litter from the creek, etc.
Good things to bring are: work gloves, sun hats, shovels, wheelbarrows, and drinking water. There will be some water and refreshments provided.
It should be pleasant, light work.  Also, for people interested in volunteering, we will have sign-up sheets for help with the ongoing maintenance of the orchard – watering and mowing, mostly.

We still NEED truckloads of cardboard!
Prior to the work day we will need to collect cardboard for use as mulch. We need volunteers to gather sheets of corrugated cardboard at least 3 x 4 feet in size. Choose cardboard in as big of pieces as can be found with as little packing tape and staples as possible. Furniture and mattress stores will have lots of the stuff free for the taking, bicycle boxes work great too.   We will be collecting a stack next to the garage in the alley behind 1027 Pennsylvania St.   Drop off as much as you can or bring it directly to the orchard the day of the work day.

ALSO! There are lots of ground cherries and tomatoes to be picked now! Bring your friends and harvest the bounty any time. It is all free to the public, so spread the word!  (See photos of what ripe ground cherries and sun gold cherry tomatoes look like.)

The orchard has held up beautifully through the hot, dry summer. Stop by anytime to see its progress, and envision what it will look like a few years down the road. Thank you all for helping to get it started. We hope to see you all on the 9th!

Lawrence Community Orchard is located on the far east end of Garfield street in east Lawrence. view map here Lawrence Community Orchard

Many hands make light work!
Thanks,
Lawrence Fruit Tree Project

Next Orchard Workday – Saturday June 23rd

You are invited to the Lawrence Community Orchard’s next festive work day on Saturday,June 23rd, starting at 10:00 am and lasting until as late as 3pm. We will be putting down cardboard and wood chip mulch to suppress lawn grass and to help create a fungal rich soil for trees to thrive in. Lots of other tasks like weeding watering and erecting a sign.
Good things to bring are: work gloves, sun hats, shovels, wheelbarrows, and drinking water.
There will be some water and refreshments provided.
We expect this to be light, pleasant work with good company.
Also, for people interested in volunteering, we will have sign-up sheets for help with the ongoing maintenance of the orchard – watering and mowing, mostly.
We need truckloads of cardboard!
Prior to the work day we will need to collect cardboard for use as mulch. We need a volunteers to gather sheets of corrugated cardboard at least 3 x 4 feet in size. Choose cardboard in as big of pieces as can be found with as little packing tape and staples as can be found. Furniture and mattress stores will have lots of the stuff free for the taking , bicycle boxes work great too.   We will be collecting a stack next to the garage in the alley behind 1027 Pennsylvania St.  Drop off as much as you can stand! or bring it directly to the orchard the day of the work day.

Lawrence Community orchard is located on the far east end of Garfield street in east Lawrence. view map here Lawrence Community Orchard

Many hands make light work!
Thanks,
Lawrence Fruit Tree Project