Palate & Pantry

Meaghan Carpenter is a Master Gardener Intern and second-year member of the garden and has helped organize our workdays this year.  She also took on the enormous job of researching ducks appropriate for insect control in gardens and discovered Indian Runner ducks through a friend. She became very knowledgeable in how to raise and care for these ducks through the apprenticeship of her friends. She keeps an up to date blog about urban farming, homesteading and detailed accounts of raising the ducklings. To read about the garden's adventures with our ducks, take a look at Meaghan's blog palateandpantry.com

Father's Day, 2012

All in A Day's Work

Sunday, June 17, 2012 - We had cool, overcast working conditions today and 24 households finished the day's tasks in a little over an hour.  Work that was done:

Flagstones were laid at the main gate.
Broccoli plants, done for the season, were pulled and composted.
Weeding continued.
Compost was added to the kale and Swiss chard beds.
Crops were again treated with BT and Pyrethrin
Additional Swiss chard was planted.
Harvested: kale, Swiss chard, radishes, turnips, romaine and butter-crunch lettuce


A "new" work table in the garden!

What We're Doing: Early June, 2012

What we accomplished Sun, June 3:

Placed paper and woodchips at end of garden to cover the grass and allow squashes to grow, spread out, and climb the fence

Dusted with diatomaceous earth (donated by Robin Klein - thank you very much!) and sprayed with Pyrethum to combat cucumber bugs

Planted more cucumber and squash seeds to replace lost crops

Planted tomatoes

Harvested kale, garlic (some as big as tennis balls), Swiss chard, broccoli, peas, and cauliflower 

What we accomplished Sat, June 9, 2012:

Dug up old flagstones that Larry discovered in the park and began installing them by the garden gates.

Harvested some peas but pulled the plants as they were our first crop failure this season for reasons yet unknown.

Applied organic pesticides, BT and Pyrethrin, on cabbages and cucumbers.

Did fence repairs.

Mixed in more compost to supplement some beds.

The Latest on the Garden

What we Accomplished this Past Weekend:

Sunday, May 6, we had a less strenuous and shorter workday.   28 households (35 people) turned out.

Orange ribbons were placed on the new fencing and refreshed on the existing fencing to help protect unobservant animals from running into the fencing.

The beds were raked and flattened in preparation of planting. 

A wire fence was installed in the cucumber bed for the plants to grow on. Cucumber seeds were planted.

Carrot seeds, turnip seeds, radish seeds, beet seeds, fava beans, and derby beans were planted as well as tiny leek plants. 

An abundant harvest was reaped consisting of butter crunch lettuce, red leaf lettuce, arugula, kale, and beets.  

We made our first donation of the year, spinach and a bit of broccoli, to Our Daily Bread. Many thanks to Catherine Washburn for making this delivery.

The beds were each labeled with crop markers made from metal window-blind slats that Allen Bush donated.

Announcements made at the end of work:

1.  Celebrity tomatoes and cherry tomatoes will be planted this year in approximately 4 beds.

2.  Neil Curran, Mount Washington resident and an accomplished vegetable gardener, has generously donated the fence posts that were installed last week. He also has tomato cages and some other supplies he will be giving to the garden.  As a small token of our appreciation we will be giving him $50.

3.  And from the never-give-up-department, Larry informed us that he received verbal permission from the Parks Department to obtain ducks since the city restriction applies to residences only, not city parks. He has already obtained a dog house to house the future fowl.  

Saturday, April 21

SATURDAY April 21:  18 people from 14 households came to work today and installed metal fence posts  around the perimeter of the new garden.  Cement was poured to secure wooden gate posts for two gates with thanks to Hugh Pocock's leadership. Two water towers were installed with rotating sprinklers, thanks to Daniel Jacoby.  Free wood chips were delivered to the garden this week from AAA Tree Service and work was begun covering the garden paths with the chips.  Spinach was harvested.  The plan was to have a consecutive workday on Sunday, April 22, but we were rained out and the work postponed to the following weekend.

Saturday, April 28: Today's turnout - 28 people from 22 households.  Weed whacking was done around the entire perimeter of the garden and a now experienced crew made short work of moving the entire pile of wood chips onto the garden walkways.  The new beds were raked. Horse radish plants and green bean seeds were planted.  Wiring was run along the tops of the fence posts and fencing was strung and secured to encompass the expanded garden.  Our first crop of arugula was harvested along with more spinach.  

We work again this Sunday, May 6, at 10:00

All the best,

Naomi

Times, Pests, and Compost

Good Morning Vegetable Gardeners!

We will be meeting this Saturday April 28th at 10am to complete the work started last weekend. 

Work agenda for this Saturday:

Please bring wheelbarrows, rakes and shovels to complete laying down wood chips. Also Larry would like for the wood chip pile to be GONE! So we will be covering up the grass pathways in the new garden. Please bring your saved newspapers, brown paper shopping bags (not the glossy ads please) to lay down over the grass before we pile on the wood chips. We will also be stringing up the fence, planting beans and harvesting some spinach. 

Please note that the workdays will occur every weekend and will follow the Saturday/Sunday exchange from now until the end of the growing season as follows (please also note that at some point we will switch from 10am to 9am as the weather warms up; an announcement will be made):

Sunday May 6th 10am

Saturday May 12th 10am

Sunday May 20th 10am

Saturday May 26th 10am

Sunday June 3rd 10am

Saturday June 9th 10am

Sunday June 17th 10am

Saturday June 23rd 10am 

Sunday July 1st 9/10am

Saturday July 7th 9/10am

Sunday July 15th 9/10am

Saturday July 21st 9/10am

Sunday July 29th 9/10am

Saturday August 4th 9/10am

Sunday August 12th 9/10am

Saturday August 18th 9/10am

Sunday August 26th 9/10am

Saturday September 1st 9/10am

Et cetera....

Pest Management Committee: May great thoughts and ideas have come across the list serve. For those who have chimed in and perhaps those who were involved with the Ducks would like to move over to a Pest Control Committee. This is extremely important and we need to begin planning ASAP for very likely onslaught of stink-bugs, harlequin bugs and whatever else may be lurking in the shadows. On the bright side I noticed yesterday that we have a lovely crop of ladybug larvae and adult ladybugs on our flowering clover in the garden. And a helpful article about squash bugs here: http://www.rosalindcreasy.com/managing-squash-bugs/ 

Compost Committee: We also need a group of folks who are committed to rot and decay. We are fortunate that Larry is a Master Composter and can offer much in the way of teaching us how to create a working/sustainable composting system for our garden. 

If you are interested in being a member of one of these committees please send me an email at meaghan@meaghancarpenter.com or tell me this Saturday.

Notes From The Last Workday

Fellow Gardeners:

What Happened on Sunday:

An astounding 47 hard working people showed up to work this past Sunday, April 15.  In under two hours time they created 12 new beds in the new garden space.  Larry and Shane had staked out the beds earlier in the week and Meaghan had 3 tasks well organized:

The first group shoveled the composte from the walkway areas onto the beds.

The second group tackled the mound of dirt along the tree line.  This was the remains of the rolls of sod that we removed a year ago from the original garden space.  Children and adults weeded the pile and pulled out the nasty plastic netting that had been enmeshed with the grass. Another wheel barrow brigade was formed and 10 wheelbarrows worth of this organic material were dumped onto each bed.  That's a total of 120 wheelbarrows worth.

Finally, the third group raked in the organic material with the composte.

In addition, several diligent members arrived who weren't up to the sweaty labor.  They weeded the garden and harvested spinach for all.

Note: Under Larry's direction tillers were used on each bed prior to mixing in the decomposed sod and then again after the compost and sod were combined.

Next week - we build a fence and two gates!!!

SUNDAY, APRIL 22 AT 10:00 A.M. 

Update on the Masterplan for Northwest Park:

The survey results are in and the Mount Washington community overwhelming supported the community vegetable garden AND supported leaving the garden in its current location.  Thanks to all who completed the survey!

If interested, please attend the upcoming community meeting about the master plan for the park as well as the Jones Fall Trail.

Tuesday, April 24 at Springwell at 7:00 pm.

Ducks 

Thanks to Meaghan for forming a duck committee and for all those who have volunteered to serve.  The committee will have its first meeting this week. 

Have a great week,

Naomi

Garden Update

st Sunday, May 25, there was no rain after all and we planted broccoli, arugula, kale, buttercrunch lettuce, romaine lettuce, cauliflower, red leaf lettuce, beets, and cabbage - a total of 700 plants.  Simultaneously, a hard working team of members dug an extensive trench to successfully bury the water hoses.  Work was begun to move fresh wood chips onto the garden paths, and spinach was harvested for all to take home.  38 people from 24 households accomplished all this.

Our next workday is scheduled for Saturday, April 14, at 10:00 a.m.

Meaghan Carpenter, garden member, has volunteered to work with Larry to coordinate and organize our workdays this season.  Meaghan is the artist who created and produced the wonderful garden sign that hangs on our garden gate. Recently she has enrolled in classes to become a master gardener. Each week she will post on the list-serve reminders of upcoming workdays, what work has been scheduled, and what tools to bring.  She will help supervise on the workday so we'll be doing a little less figuring-it-out-as-we-go-along and dealing with fewer spur of the moment directions. Many, many thanks to Meaghan for taking this on.

Naomi

Workday on March 18, 2012

This past Sunday's workday was both productive and strenuous.  Please be assured that most workdays will not be this time consuming or physically challenging.  Approximately 40 people from 26 households showed up giving 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours of their time.  There was a continuous wheel barrow brigade that worked non-stop resulting in sore arms and backs and the near disappearance of our towering composte pile.  A small mound remains if any members still wish to purchase and haul composte for their private use.  The cost is $5 for approximately 35 gallons - a yard bag full.  

We accomplished three major tasks with only minor mechanical difficulties involving the tillers and chainsaw:

The original 10 beds were prepared for planting.

The new garden area received a second layer of mulch.

The tree line along the garden was cleared of undergrowth and dead branches.

Pictures and a Recipe

Phoebe sent in this recipe for Spinach & Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion minced

1 clove garlic minced

1 Cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed (or purchased pre-rinsed)

2 C vegetable broth

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

4 Cups fresh spinach, packed, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  
• Add quinoa to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until quinoa starts to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes.
  
• Add broth, black pepper and red pepper flakes to skillet; bring to a boil. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low and simmer for 13 minutes; stir in spinach. Cover skillet and cook until spinach and quinoa are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 3 to 5 minutes; season with salt. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

The Garden Grows!

We've welcomed 20 new families and today 39 members came to kill the grass in preparation for a larger garden.  Great weather for January, and everyone was shoveling and raking...