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