So this summer has been great...I hate to see it starting to wind down. My garden has had some not so great issues this year. Notably, I had squash root rot (self diagnosed). I think I harvested 2 zucchini & 1 yellow squash.  That's all. :(  I have taken the affected plants out of the garden as they have died. Prior to their deaths, I noticed a large amount of squash bugs on some of my plants. Did they cause the plants' demise?  Also my tomato plants are so ugly right now, as pictured here.  Is this blight?  What should I do?  My cucumbers were also less than beautiful or productive.  On a positive note...I have started to harvest a second batch of beans from my bush bean plants & my eggplants are beautiful. I hope your harvest has given you all a bounty of good eats!
Kelly

Late August Garden Update

8/25 Jim and I were on duty this past week.  The garden looks really

really beautiful, almost like a dream garden in a children's book. We

harvested a LOT of tomatoes on Monday evening, less on Thursday, since

the Food Shelf looked quite tomato-rich, to say the least. Basil, dill

heads, cilantro, some onions went, too. I don't think there were any

bad bugs. Last watering: Friday. 

This morning's harvest for the Food Shelf. What a beautiful morning. I hope everyone enjoys it. No bad bugs spotted but if you want to know more, Cat's workshop is tomorrow (Wed) at 5:30

 Do You know your Fellow gardeners and their gardens.
Here is a picture of someone's garden Can you guess whose it is?

Winner gets to help the committee weed the garden edges? LOL.

Some tips and observations from Cat

Hi Everyone, I went by the garden this morning and everything looks really great, and I saw very few bad bugs!!

It's really great to see the succession plantings coming up in the teaching garden, ensuring we'll have tender young produce to send to the food shelf for longer throughout the summer. If your not sure what this means, take a look at the dill, chard, and kale in the teaching garden and you'll a few different ages of plants.

This week is the time to plant the 3rd succession in the Teaching Garden. It can be tricky to find space now, but keep in mind that some things will be harvested within the next month and you can start seeds right below or between maturing plants, especially those seeds which take a while to sprout and grow like carrots and beets. If seeds are planted in the spaces in the mulch below the broccoli (see example photo below - I took this pic this morning after I cleared the spaces. I did not plant seeds there though, I believe Joette will do that). When the first central head of broccoli is harvested, some leaves can be removed to give the emerging seedlings some light, and to stimulate side shoots on the broccoli. When the broccoli bolts (begins to flower), the main stalk can be cut at the ground level giving all the space to the carrots and beets. Don't pull the broccoli root out or you'll risk disturbing all those emerging baby carrots and beets.

A couple of tips I'd like to share with all of the gardeners are:

1) Get in there and weed that grass while it's still young, out of the beds (crab and switch grass) and the paths (likely rye grass sprouting from the straw). Young grass will take 15 minutes to take care of roots and all with any simple hand tool, and will cause a very minor disturbance to the soil. Mature grass happens very quickly, especially with the rain we have been getting! Mature grass will take much longer to remove and will disturb other plants when you try to remove the roots which run deep (crab grass) and long (switch grass).

2) Harvest your spinach, mustard greens, arugula, and radishes very soon. The heat of July typically turns these crops in to tough and/or bitter plants that will bolt (send up a central flower stalk and begin to set seed.) You can plant more of the same seeds right next to the ones you harvest, but depending on how hot the summer gets they may bolt too. It's best to wait until the 3rd week of July to plant these cool weather crops for a fall harvest. Instead, try some carrots, chard, or lettuce which don't mind the summer heat.

3) Mulch is awesome for keeping weeds down but I'd like to suggest that you remove the mulch from directly around the base of the plants (like in this picture below) to prevent slug and earwig infestations.

The next garden class is Wednesday the 9th and will feature insects and weeds, guests and pests. If time allows I would like to be available to answer your individual questions pertaining to your own plots about insects, weeds, or any other topic that interests you.

One last thing, we are making a card from our garden family to Marilyn and her family. If you'd like to sign the card come by the garden any time on Friday and find the giant envelope inside the shed and add your name. Someone from the committee will deliver the card to the memorial service for Connor Cook on Saturday at TA.

Be well every one! ~Cat

Happy Fourth of July - Some Garden Picts

Hi All,

Happy Fourth of July. Here are some pictures I took of the garden early this morning. Things are looking GREAT. Hope you enjoy the picts. Jim

Radishes, some kale and chard went to the Food Shelf this week.  I found very few bugs!  After talking to Donna today, I guess we're fortunate on the bug front.  Apparently, this year in southern Maine, she's having the most difficult year with bugs that she's ever had.....plus the woodchuck that escaped from the Hav-a-heart trap.....and the 35-lb. snapping turtle trying to lay eggs in her garden.

The first harvest from the teaching garden, delivered to the Thetford Food Shelf on Thursday.  Thanks to gardener, Claudia, for sowing the radish seeds just a short time ago.  And thank you to Adele for your help in the garden this week.

Hello all my wonderful garden buddies.  I am going to be out of town for the next week.  If anyone sees that my plants are thirsty, would you please lend a hand and give them a drink?!?  I went this morning and gave them a good soaking. Also, help yourself to any radishes that are ready for picking.  I really appreciate your help, and will be happy to return the favor.  My plot is the one on the right as you enter through the door. 

Thanks so much!
Kelly

Hi everyone,

Here are a couple of tips:

pruning basil - If you pinch the growing tips of your basil you'll get a bushy plant that will produce all season long. The growing tip is the upper most set of leaves. If you prune the plants early and continuously, once a week or two,  you will eventually have multiple growing tips. Cut the growing tips when they are big enough to eat, and use them as a topping or a garnish. Make your cut right above two larger opposing leaves, or just above the double set of baby twin leaves coming from the base where the double leaves connect to the main stem. Those baby leaves will each grow up on a stem becoming two growing tips. If you don't see the baby leaves, yet you will soon. Also, don't let the basil flower. Every time a flower bud appears, cut it off just above the set of opposing leaves beneath the flower bud.

cucumber beetles - These buggers are small oval beetle with black and bright yellow stripes, smaller and more oval than a potato beetle. They will devastate your baby summer and winter squash, cucumbers and melons. Squish the beetles you find, or put them in soapy water. Then cover your whole plant(s) with remay cloth (floating row cover). There is some available at the garden and you can buy small rolls at West Lebanon Supply. The cover will keep the beetles off. Lift the covers and check the plants often, squish any beetles, and look on the underside of the leaves for eggs and larvae, squish those too. Replace the remay whe you are done. The weight of the cloth will not effect growth at all. Remember to watch for flowers and remove the remay permanently then so that pollination can happen. The beetle will still be around but if your baby plants can have a 3-4 weeks without the beetles chewing on them they will become strong enough to withstand the beetle damage.

The garden looks great!!

Cheers, Cat

What a fabulous weekend to be outside.  I smushed some Colorado Potato Beetles and their eggs on some of my plants (eggplant & tomato).  The Flea Beetles have been feasting on my eggplants as well.  They did the same last year, and I still had beautiful eggplants to enjoy. 

The garden is looking so good in its early stage.  One of my favorite things about being part of the Community Garden is seeing every one's different layouts & watching all the different gardens change as the season goes on.

Have a great week!
Kelly 

Great gardening workshop on a lovely Vermont evening. Thanks to Cat for all the pruning, staking and thinning tips.

I dropped off four bales of straw today.  Sorry to those who have been waiting for it.  Email me when more is needed.  Thanks and btw, your gardens look great.  Marilyn

Hi all,

The garden is looking great! The work schedule is posted in the shed. The Committee all have assignments. Gardeners note that many weeks have "and ?" for a second person to help. If you have the time to help one or more weeks during the summer, please pencil yourself in.

Jim: Thanks for getting the blog established. 

Cat: thanks to you and Cedar Circle for the nice discount I received on plants yesterday.

Hi All,
   What a great weekend. The garden is coming along wonderfully. All the garden spaces are full right now. It is so neat to see everyone's ideas and designs. I have just invited you all to join the blog so please do. Post pictures, questions, comments or garden prose or poetry. From what I understand, a blog only works if it is active. 
    I'm actually hoping we get some rain tomorrow, since a few of the plants in the garden were in need of a drink at around 4pm today. If we don't get rain or a cloudy day tomorrow,  be sure to visit your plots.  See you in the garden soon. Jim

Two Free Organic Gardening Magazine sunscriptions

HI All,
  There are two organic gardening Magazine subscriptions available to all interested. Just send me your contact info and I'll fill out the forms for you and the magazine will arrive in the mail in a few weeks.

Please also remember that the Thetford Library has many good gardening books that they want you to take out including Square Foot gardening for those who want to get the most out of their plots. Thanks, Jim

P.S. Kelly you are now an administrator.

Hi, Our first meeting is tonight. If the weather is bad, we will meet in the town hall. Hope to see you there.  These first post are trials. Thanks, Jim