Friday's group work day was small - Cathy, Kat and Charlotte - but we got a lot done. We thoroughly weeded the back row of lettuce & arugula, moved the big dahlias from the mulch pile to a flower bed, uncovered and weeded the swiss chard seedlings in the bed parallel to the eggplant, re-routed some of the squash vines that are headed for our other plants, poured fish emulsion fertilizer on the plants that needed it - mostly corn, chard, brussel sprouts and red mustard. Some tomatoes are starting to turn red, so check your plots for ones that are ready. Tracy is doing a great job with the brussel sprouts bed - it's the one near the start of the summer
Our bush beans are coming in beautifully - it's the row back by the pine trees. Give them a couple of days to grow out some more to harvest - we picked them clean on Friday in order to keep them producing. After Friday's crew took their shares, we donated about 3 pounds to the City Mission kitchen. PS - a heads up - those beautiful purple beans turn olive green when cooked. | Here's a photo of Friday's City Mission donation. The patty pans are hiding about 20 feet from the start of the summer squashes we've been harvesting the last few weeks. Most vegetable plants need to be continually picked in order for the plant to keep fruiting, so don't hesitate to harvest food! |
On the down side of city farming, we are continuing to have sporadic vandalism, with plants pulled out and tossed around both the garden and the cemetery. Our red onions have been close to decimated - apparently because they are fun to swing around. Tomatoes and cabbage plants are also favorites to wreck or pick. We had some squash thrown around when the plants were smaller, but it seems to be too much work now that they have to reach into the vines to get them. We have stopped weeding the red onions, figuring they have a better chance to mature if the weeds hide them.
PICKING NOTE: There is still lettuce in the garden that has not bolted and gotten bitter. Some plants are scattered amongst the peppers and the tomatoes behind the snap pea bed, but there's also romaine on the OTHER side of the peas, where the vines have been protecting the lettuce from the hot afternoon sun. There are also some lettuce plants in the row Kat & I weeded back by the pine trees. You should pick the BOTTOM leaves and leave the plants until they start to flower. There is also a lot of arugula there, which has flowered, but still tastes great - very peppery and not at all bitter.
If it's still an option in the fall after the berries have died down, we'll plant a lot of raspberry bushes (that someone offered to donate) along the edges where people are most likely to walk by. But in the meantime, any ideas for kinds of signs to put up or other things to do? I confess that I am starting to find it disheartening.
PICKING NOTE: There is still lettuce in the garden that has not bolted and gotten bitter. Some plants are scattered amongst the peppers and the tomatoes behind the snap pea bed, but there's also romaine on the OTHER side of the peas, where the vines have been protecting the lettuce from the hot afternoon sun. There are also some lettuce plants in the row Kat & I weeded back by the pine trees. You should pick the BOTTOM leaves and leave the plants until they start to flower. There is also a lot of arugula there, which has flowered, but still tastes great - very peppery and not at all bitter.
If it's still an option in the fall after the berries have died down, we'll plant a lot of raspberry bushes (that someone offered to donate) along the edges where people are most likely to walk by. But in the meantime, any ideas for kinds of signs to put up or other things to do? I confess that I am starting to find it disheartening.