2026 September Newsletter
Glorious Harvest
All hail to the glorious, riotous harvest of September! It seems like everything is ripe or ripening and many beds sport second or even third plantings. It has been a good year for the garden and improvements, both large and small, happen on a regular basis. For example, check out the replacement nozzles on all of the hoses. Although we don’t want to think about the end of the season yet, mark your calendars for the end of season Potluck Lunch and Garden Clean Up Day on Sunday, October 25, 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The lunch starts at ~12:00 p.m. As always, if you have any questions about the garden, reach out.
ACTION ITEMS
If you haven’t fulfilled your volunteer hour obligation, refer to the Sign-Up Genius and be sure to check out the Gather watering options, which come with flexible times. In addition, weed around your beds, remember to turn off the spigot when you are done watering, keep the gate shut, lock the gate when you leave the garden if you are the last to leave, and take your weeds with you when you leave.IMPORTANT REMINDER
News of our wonderful Community Garden is spreading, which is great! Given that our Wait List is very long, if a member chooses not to complete their mandatory two hour “give back” service to the garden, their bed will go to a community member on the Wait List for the 2027 season. As always, reach outif you need assistance due to unexpected circumstances. No member will lose a bed due to illness, etc.
Garden Member “Above and Beyond” Shout Out
Thank you to Lynn Wren and Christine Groleau for their outstanding work with the Gather surplus harvest delivery program. From prepping and cleaning the cooler to keeping the produce cool to managing the drop off itself, they are ON IT every single week. We appreciate you!
If you notice someone going “above and beyond,” please let us know.
Pick up Fallen Fruit and Veggies, Please!
As fallen fruit and vegetables attract unwelcome visitors, please keep your bed clean of any fallen items. Cherry tomatoes, in particular, when left to fall to the ground make for lots of volunteer seedlings throughout the garden the following year, so try to stay ahead of that.
Although we are not doing the blue flag program for surplus harvesting while members are away, reach out if you need select harvest picked and donated while you are away.
As always, add anything extra you have to the Gather cooler in front of the shed. To date, the garden provided ~400 pounds of surplus harvest to Gather to help fight local food insecurity.
August Community Time and Happy Hour Fun
We had a good crowd of garden members at the second Happy Hour of the season on Sunday, August 16 and plan to continue this program next year. During the successful Community Time, members weeded the pollinator beds and the Gather bed, thinned the strawberries to ensure a robust harvest next season and managed the compost bins. Thanks to Ben St. Jean for leading the charge on chopping and turning the bins!
Knotweed is NOT Welcome
If you see a knotweed seedling, dig deep to pull up the entire root system and place it in the bin marked KNOTWEED in the shed.
If you see a red flag in your bed, it means you had knotweed. Keep an eye on that location as it may come back.
How Flowers Made Our World by David George Haskell
Book Recommendations
Garden member Marica Tibbets thoroughly enjoyed How Flowers Made our World by David George Haskell. The book explores how flowering plants transformed Earth's ecology and drove/drives human evolution.
If you have a book recommendation to share in the newsletter or are interested in running a book club for garden members during the winter, let us know!
Got Time to Help with Volunteer Coordination?
Reach out if you are able to take on the role of Volunteer Coordinator or would like information about the details. This is on-line work (that fulfills your obligation to the garden) with flexible hours and it delivers a big impact on the garden!
The Board of Directors thanks Samantha Flynn for serving as Volunteer Coordinator and helping us stay on track. Thank you so much, Samantha!
Check out the Portsmouth Community Garden on Instagram or Facebook
New to the garden? Find us on Instagram and Facebook – search “portsmouthcommunitygarden.” Be sure to check out the fun posts on social media, led by Ari Ragonese. If you see them at Bed 4D, say hello to her, her husband Daniel and her gorgeous children, Auggie and Gemma. If you take a great picture, send it to Beth Hartnett.
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