The Garden That Keeps on Giving -Sunday, November 24, 2013

For those who were available and brave enough to weather the cold,  there was a pre-Thanksgiving workday today. 12 households turned out, all bundled up, and harvested Swiss chard, beets, spinach, leeks, celeriac, radishes, and a handful of shitake mushrooms (the first  yield ever for this crop).  Luise and Allen donated raspberry bushes and these were planted in  one of the beds in the newly expanded garden area. There were enough crops left over for a contribution to  Our Daily Bread.  Many thanks to Donna and Lee for making the delivery.

~Naomi

A Few More Weeks To Go.....

October  24, 2013

We have continued to consistently have weekly workdays and the garden 
keeps on giving. We'll even be doing more harvesting and composting  this Sunday, October 27.

This past month we have gradually been putting the beds "to bed" by  cleaning them up and planting clover seeds for the winter.  Last week tomatoes and eggplants were fully harvested, the plants removed, and 
tomato cages stacked by the side of the fence.  The beds were weeded, 
composted, tilled and raked -- in preparation for next season's 
planting.  The compost was turned as the plants from the eggplants and 
tomatoes were broken up and added to the compost.

Harvested:  tomatoes, eggplants, chard, arugula, spinach, beets, 
herbs, marigolds, jalapenos

September 21st Work Day

Saturday, September 21
 

We planted garlic cloves and radish seed, then tackled the poke weed that had  overgrown the new garden bed area.  Also, we thinned out the radicchio and h

arvested tomatoes, eggplants, beets, Swiss chard, arugula, all the  remaining Chinese cabbage, and some butternut squash.

 Larry estimates that there will only be three more workdays this year as we continue to prepare for winter.

Starting to Wind Down

Sunday, Sep. 15, 2013

Naomi writes:

As the season comes to an end we continue to clean out beds that have been harvested.  They are then covered with clover seeds to provide  greenery during the winter and nutrients for the soil.
Minor repair work was needed today as we discovered the fence had been  torn along the lower gate. The garden was clearly broken into but no  damage was done.
We have a lush crop of green Treviso Radicchio thanks to seeds from  Italy that Melanie provided.  However, "googling" needed to be done to  determine when and how to harvest this.  The green leaves are very bitter and research determined we need to wait to harvest in the  colder weather. This should lessen the bitterness.
Crops that were harvested today: all the red leaf and romaine lettuces and Chinese cabbage, as they were starting to bolt, butternut squash,  jalapenos, beans, eggplants, and tomatoes, and arugula.

Many thanks to Maria for again taking the food donation to Our Daily Bread.
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Melanie wrote in with information about radiccio:

This is the best website I could find that answers our questions about the radiccio treviso in our garden.

http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/?page=201110-edible

And Maria wrote in about celariac:

This is my choice for doing something new with celeriac. If any of you have some celeriac you will not be using, please let me know and I will add it to the "Pot-Roast".

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pot-Roasted-Celery-Root-with-Olives-and-Buttermilk-394712

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Lots of harvesting today: Tomatoes, Swiss chard, beans, romaine and red-leaf lettuce, Chinese cabbage, celeriac, beets, thyme, basil, some

zucchini and cucumbers - and a tub of food for Our Daily bread. 
Thanks to Maria who made today's delivery.

The empty bean bed was reworked and planted with clover seeds to ready it for winter.  Seems this is referred to as "green manure" as the clover then nourishes the soil when we mix it back into the beds come 
springtime.

Spinach was planted.  Garlic should go in next week.

The mulcher that was donated to the garden this year was used today for the first time. It helped to further break down yard "waste" going into the compost bin.

Two Weeks in Late August

Naomi writes:

                                     Check out the new garden chairs

                              Asparagus and lush weeds

       The harvest: beans, romaine and red lettuce 

Getting the beds ready for planting.

Sunday, August 25
22 families yesterday.  We harvested chard, tomatoes, jalenpeno peppers, beets, leeks, beans, and herbs.  We also planted the fig tree we were awarded in the front corner of the garden by the bench. Green pepper plants were pulled and fava beans and Chinese cabbage seedlings were planted.  Larry demonstrated a garden "chair" and Art volunteered to purchase six of them for the garden and for any interested members.


Saturday, August 31
There was a large turnout of 28 families today given that it was Labor Day Weekend.  Art delivered the chairs which were used and then hung in the garden shed. A bed of beans was harvested and pulled, preparing it for next week's plantings of spinach and garlic.
There were barely any zucchini or cucumbers this year due to insect  borers and Larry has generously been sharing some of each from his own home garden.
Weeding was done in the asparagus bed as well as the second new bed outside the garden.
Harvest included tomatoes, beans, red leaf and romaine lettuce, leeks, celeriac, and beets.

We Won! Best Community Vegetable Garden in Baltimore, Hon

Also, we were given a fig tree with the certificate!

Saturday, August 18, 2013: Harvesting

Saturday, August 18, 2013

A short work morning today with only harvesting to be done. Tomatoes, eggplants, herbs, celeriac, leeks, beets, and beans were the crops that were picked and distributed amongst the 28 families that came to work. Several specimens were taken by Roberta to be submitted to the produce competition tomorrow at the Cylburn Arboretum.

Tomatoes!

 Naomi writes:

This Sunday we rehabilitated the zucchini bed as squash vine borers  succeeded in destroying the crop.  Arugula seeds were planted in the  cleaned bed.  Weeding was done throughout the garden, particularly in  preparation for the return of the judge this week as the garden has 
made it into the finals of the Baltimore City Community Garden  Competition. An abundance of tomatoes were harvested along with  eggplants, Swiss chard, beans, beets, cucumbers (a few) and herbs.  Thanks go to Aaron who delivered harvested food to Our Daily Bread.

And Roberta sent the following link for next Sunday's event:

http://charmcitygardentour.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/this-years-farm-and-garden-tour/

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Sunday July 28th

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Lots of weeding was done.  Lettuce and Chinese Cabbage seedlings were  transplanted.  Mulch was turned. The harvest consisted of tomatoes,  eggplants, Swiss chard, leeks, a couple of zucchini, Chili peppers,  and herbs; basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. 

The garden looks  clean, lush, and ready for the Charm City judges this week.
 

This Week at The Garden

Here are the latest workday updates but no photos to share this week.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Our first evening gathering today, at 6:00 p.m., to paint the shed and begin leveling out the wood chips along the tree line.  We enjoyed the shade and cooler weather and finished in an hour.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Twenty-eight families were represented and worked hard planting cucumber, zucchini and chard seeds, thinning and transplanting beet seedlings, moving half of a large pile of wood chips, harvesting beets, turnips, red cabbage, roma beans, kale, swiss chard and herbs and pulling many, many weeds.  We talked about the upcoming Charm City Farm and Garden Tours and Picnic.  Plans were made for a work day next Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. (to beat the heat!) led by Christine and Meaghan.  Chard, kale and roma beans were delivered to Our Daily Bread.

Yes, It Was Hot Out There!

In spite of the brutal heat, 23 families tackled today's garden work. 
Weeds had gotten out of hand, so a massive effort was made to weed the 
beds. The compost in the bin was turned and lots of new material 
added.  Fava beans and the older bed of bush beans were harvested and 
pulled, making way for a variety of seeds of summer crops.  The green 
cabbage was all harvested as were some of the red cabbage.  Other 
crops that were harvested were beets, kale, chard, oregano, basil, and 
finger eggplants.

Thanks to Debra who delivered today's harvest to Our Daily Bread. 
Many thanks to Robin for continuing to come to the garden several 
times a week to do organic battle with the insects.  And thanks again 
to Jennifer for organizing the July 4th garden tours.

As discussed at today's workday, we will have a work evening this Thursday, July 11, at 6:00 p.m. in order to work in cooler weather. 

The 2 tasks to be accomplished will be to paint the shed and level out the wood chips in the tree area.

And, yes, we will still have a regular workday on Sunday, July 14, at 9:00 a.m.

On Thursday, please bring a paintbrush and a plastic container for cleaning your brush in water.

The Shed has Shingles!

 

Sunday, June 30, 2013

A crew of seven garden volunteers showed up today and installed 
shingles on the garden shed.  Art organized this effort and it went 
quickly and smoothly, with great results.

Also this week, the school group, Girls Helping Girls, came to the 
garden.  About 14 girls were there as a result of this program 
developed at Roland Park Country School.  Larry had them plant a cover 
crop on the expansion bed that won't be utilized until next year.

June 22nd Work Day

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Thanks to Art for organizing the numerous tasks needed to beautify the

garden shed.  He has purchased all the materials and trim was  installed on the sides of the shed today.  Next week  -  shingles.

Thirty households showed up for lots of harvesting:  kale, chard,  beans, peas, cabbage, cauliflower, beets, basil, chives, and oregano. 
The pea vines were also harvested for people interested in cooking a Chinese dish of garlic and pea leaves. And a succession crop of beets  was planted. Thanks to Jen for making this week's delivery to Our  Daily Bread.

Work Day June 8th

 


We had one of our smaller turnouts today, 18 households, and still got 
all the work done:

Larry gave a tutorial on composting.  The compost in the first bin was 
turned, i.e. material was moved from the first compartment to the 
second. Rich soil had already been produced in the deeper part of the 
bin and this was added to the bed of leeks. The empty first bin then 
received all of today's plant material to begin the process again.

Tomato plants were pruned; bottom leaves were removed in order to 
prevent the risk of contamination from the leaves sitting in contact 
with the soil.

Straw was donated from a local resident.  This was picked up in 
Larry's truck and then placed between the mounds of new zucchini and 
winter squash plants to control weeds.

More wood chips were moved into the new garden area.

There was a comparatively small harvest of broccoli, cauliflower, and 
turnips.

June 2nd Work Day

Workday, Sunday, June 2, 2013

We made the change from a 10:00 a.m. start time to 9:00 a.m. and it 
was still incredibly hot this morning.  Phoebe brought water to share 
and lots was accomplished:

In the two new beds outside the fenced garden, strawberries, 
asparagus, and raspberries were planted while wood chips were added to 
the paths. Work was done to move wood chips away from the perimeter of 
the trees along Wexford. Many thanks to Neil and Ann for their 
generosity in donating the raspbery plants.

The now empty lettuce beds were planted with butternut squash seeds. 
Small mounds were made with compost added in. They were planted 4 feet 
apart with 3 seeds planted per mound.  There will be plenty of room 
for the plants to spread out.

All the garlic was harvested and this freed up two beds for planting 
zucchini seeds.  Again this was done by creating mounds though these 
were only 3 feet apart.

All the mustard greens were harvested. The plants were removed and 
this has given the leeks lots of room to grow and thrive now.

Arugula was harvested by cutting the plants at the bottom, leaving 
about 2 inches of plant remaining in the ground.

Broccoli, radishes, turnips, and a small number of fava beans were 
harvested.  Bush beans were planted where more garlic was removed from 
alongside the pea plants.

Many thanks to Donna and Lee for delivering our harvest to Our Daily 
Bread today. And many thanks to Aaron for repairs to the water system and setting 
up another sprinkler for the new beds!

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Workday:Saturday, May 25th

Saturday, May 25, 2013 Workday

The work was divided between creating two new beds in the new garden 
area, and harvesting in the existing garden. The tiller was again used 
to turn the soil for the new beds, and mushroom compost was added by 
the wheelbarrow full.  Shovel and rake work was done to raise the two 
beds which are 4' wide with 3' paths abutting them.  Meanwhile, a huge 
harvest was reaped of lettuces, mustard greens, garlic, oregano, kale, 
and arugula.

Many thanks to Maria and Melanie for driving today's large harvest to Our Daily Bread!

Mother's Day: Greens! Greens!

Naomi writes:
Mother's Day Workday, May 12, 2013

-During the week Hugh constructed our new compost bin at Larry and  Vicki's home and with their help.  Larry described it as the "Rolls 
Royce" of compost bins and we are incredibly grateful to Hugh for his  time and talent.  It was installed today and the first of three 
compartments was filled with compost  most of which came from the  plastic bins we had been using. We may also potentially use the bin to  educate the public about composting.

-Harvested one of the two beds of spinach as they won't last in the 
warm weather. The bed was completely cleared and pepper plants were  planted.
-Two iron benches were assembled and placed in the garden.
-A bed of heirloom tomatoes was planted along with two beds of 
Celebrity tomatoes. A bed of eggplants was also planted.
-Mizuna (mustard greens) were again drowning out the leeks.  We won't  be interplanting these two crops again. They were severely thinned out  in order to allow the leeks to thrive.
-Crops were harvested and a generous donation brought to Our Daily Bread, thanks to Tom and Mercedes. Harvested crops included Swiss  chard, kale, spinach, mizuna, radishes, chives, oregano, cilantro, and  some lettuce.

May 5th Work Day (no pics)

On Sunday, May 5, 2013

Four beds were prepared -- three were tilled and widened a bit for 
tomatoes and cages were placed and staked.  The 4th row is for 
eggplants and peppers -- smaller cages were prepared to support those 
crops.  A group worked on raking the newly cleared area, removing 
branches, rocks, etc.  There is evidence of bug damage on lettuce, 
cabbage and cauliflower and Robin sprayed. Interesting that the green 
varieties were affected much more than the red.  A group thinned the 
"mustard greens" (Mizuna) which was tedious work, clearing them from 
around the leeks.  The thinings were harvested and were quite yummy.

Spinach!!!

Larry directs herb planting

 Saturday, April 27, 2013
 

Child Labor

What we did:

• Thinned the turnip, radish, and arugula beds

• Interplanted celeriac in the broccoli bed (Thanks to Vicki for giving us the celeriac which she started from seeds!)

• Planted leeks and herbs

• Harvested spinach

Leeks and Dibbles (don't ask)

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• Moved the work table and tomato cages back inside the fenced garden in response to a complaint

• Continued covering the pathways with fresh wood chips

• Donated spinach to Our Daily bread.  Many thanks to Chester for making the delivery.

Harlequin bugs were found on the broccoli plants.  Plans were made to  remove them and cover the plants.

A meeting was held at the end of the work hour.  Obstacles to the 
proposed garden expansion were discussed. Members gave suggestions and  input as to how to proceed.

Workday: April 14th Spring Harvest!

During our morning workday this past Saturday, April 13, 2013, we broke a record.  36 families showed up, our biggest turnout to date.

Volunteers again came at 9:30 to help Larry organize and then supervise the tasks. Many thanks to Wayne and Jane.  When everyone arrived at 10:00 we accomplished all the work in an hour:

Planted turnip seeds, radish seeds, beet seeds, and arugula seeds.  Meaghan brought heirloom Mizuma seeds which are an Oriental or Mustard Green. These were interplanted among the leeks.  Future plantings of Mizuma will interplanted in the broccoli and Swiss chard beds. Fava beans were planted a month ago but it doesn't look like they all germinated.  More were ordered and arrived from Italy, and we'll be filling in bald spots during the next few weeks. 

The wood chip brigade continued to move the chips onto the garden paths and only about one row remains to be finished.

Weeding was done in the beds and garden paths.  

Spinach and kale were harvested along with chives and some cilantro. The kale had begun to bolt and the bed was cleaned out and prepared for future plantings. Not only did all 36 families partake of the harvest but there was still two buckets of spinach that we donated to Our Daily Bread.  Thank you to Phoebe for making the delivery.

Workday: April 7, 2013

Naomi Writes:



Today we planted 720 plants in less than 40 minutes.  Over 30 households came out and we had beautiful weather. It was astonishing how quickly we finished.  It helped that Larry had us well organized and recruited members to help instruct and supervise.  Thanks to Jane, Phoebe, Meaghan,and Laura for coming out early and helping prepare.  The crops that were planted included romaine, butter crunch and red sails lettuce, green and red cabbage, Swiss chard, kale, broccoli, beets,  and cauliflower. Bush bean and pea seeds were also planted.

 
 







Note from Dinah:  I received many photos from the work day. I did my best to import and use them all, but iPhoto was not fully cooperative and a couple of them did not go in.