Hi all
It was great to see everyone and really start the planning for our wonderful garden. Please feel free to post questions, tips, observations, pictures, recipes, or anything else pertaining to the TCG on this blog. One of my favorite things about being part of a community garden is watching all the different gardens grow...so share, share, share
Kelly
A blog to share gardening hints, new discoveries, pests, and pest solutions, recipes etc, which might be of interest to the Thetford Community gardeners and friends who might be interested.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Monday, August 27, 2012
Kelly
Sunday, August 26, 2012
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.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
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.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
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
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.
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
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
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
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
Sunday, July 1, 2012
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.
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