Our brush pile is diminishing!

Emily brought her chainsaw,

Chris brought the wood chipper,

our brush pile is getting smaller!

To see more photos go to:

The New Haven Land Trusts facebook page!

Album:Community Workday at a Peasful Garden September 18, 2011

Off the checklist!

The herb garden is in!

Kanani and Josh brought transplants from their own garden.

Ashley gathered bricks and stone for the border.

The chairs are painted and they look great!

Thanks Barb!

Garden Tool Shed Complete!

We had a great group work day!

Here are some pictures to prove it!

Garden members Eva

and volunteers Beth and Justin

helped to paint and roof the tool shed.

Exterior painted was donated by

Sherwin Williams!

The flowers are in full bloom!

Check out the colorful Zinnia's next time you come by!

We have a tomato theif!

The basil is roughly 33 inches high...or just as tall or even taller than Raven!

Look at these adorable little cherry tomatoes!

Don't forget to get your share!!!

"Hairy Vine, Not a Friend of Mine!"

The battle continues with the poison ivy.

It is located at the back of the garden, on
the ground, climbing on the fence, and
up the trees.



















Here it is peaking through the cardboard
I put down to smother it!



















This is the unattractive mess
I have created to try and rid us of our foe!
Please save your cardboard for the garden!

What to harvest from the garden!

Here is a pic of what a share this week looks like. There are plenty of ripe tomatoes, eggplants, peppers both hot and not ready to be harvested. In this share there are:

- a bunch of beet greens (thinnings from the bed)
- 3-4 peppers
-5 tomatoes
- a bunch of basil
- a half pound green beans

In our last meeting we discussed how we should deal with harvesting and distribution of shares. The majority of harvesting and distribution of shares will occur on our weekly workday. However, for those who didn't make it to the garden yesterday, feel free to use the above share as your guideline. If you haven't filled out the Doodle poll Kate sent out, make sure to do so in the next couple of days!!!

--Ashley

And finally: Garden Oddities!

This little butternut squash baby is fused multiple times to the vine!

I was happily harvesting in the rain when I found this gem. It was totally worth the giggle!

Say Hello to the garden!

In the distance the tomatoes are climbing to the sky. Thank you Chris Randall for the 8ft stakes and to Barb and Eva for watering in the month of July. It sure was a hot one!
In the far raised bed: the beets look divine, Thanks Josh!
After all your hard work, don't forget to sit back and enjoy the beauty of the garden in one of the lovely and most colorful chairs, scored by Janis.
"One persons trash is another persons treasure!"

Ye Ol' Compost Pile!

I took all the miscellaneous piles and made one giant heap. I used the rake and the shovel to churn it. I then covered it with some plastic to bake in the remaining summer sun. I started a new pile directly next to it. Please keep bringing your scraps.

Potatoes the Size of Toes!

We have potatoes. Well some. The greenery finally died and I dumped the barrel. This was the bounty. Pretty adorable though.

Garden Meeting

When:
Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 7:30PM
Where:
Barb Shillers House
Agenda:
1) pick a group work date/project to tackle for August, September, and October;
2) discuss harvest instructions/amounts so folks know what kind of share to take home;
3) decide where to donate any extra harvest, so it doesn't go to waste;
4) address any operational issues/challenges that we've encountered;
5) and hopefully, meet a couple of new members (there's a couple in the building who have expressed interest in participating in the project).

August 14, 2011

A garden to do list for the month:

Seed a fall crop.
We discussed Kale, Carrots, and Broccoli.
Any suggestions?
Keep weeding, deadheading, and harvesting.
Paint the shed.

Help With The Hose + Garlic Scape Recipes

If anyone has any handy tricks or tools to help us get the sprayer head off the hose, please bring them to the garden. Janis donated a second hose to the garden, but until we can remove the sprayer and get it connected to the existing hose, we still can't reach the perennial garden in front.

Also, as promised, more info on garlic scapes -- here are two articles, one from The Hungry Mouse (http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/06/18/garlic-scape-pesto-from-the-garlic-farm-in-west-granby/), and one from Serious Eats (http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/06/the-crisper-whisperer-what-to-do-with-garlic-scapes-recipe.html) on how to whip those scapes into a pesto.

Josh and I cooked up a simple version tonight from the scapes in our home garden - we just used whatever we had on hand: equal parts by volume scapes and almonds, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and salt to taste. We used it to dress some steamed peas. Delicious!

See you at the garden tomorrow (and make sure to take some scapes home).

June Is Here ... And There's Lots To Do

We've got several big projects to tackle this month as well as a lot of smaller tasks as the garden starts to grow. Check out the June chores for a complete list.

Lettuce and greens can continue being thinned, and it looks like the spinach is beginning to bolt (so keep pinching their heads off).


I think this photo is of the Italienishire that was started from seed at Kate's place. Italienishire will mature into huge heads about 12 inches across, so just pull or cut between plants and leave the rest to continue growing.

We should also be keeping an eye on the garlic scapes and peas (which are in blossom). Once the garlic scapes are a little larger (probably in a few weeks), they should be pulled or cut to ensure that the plants' energy is directed downward into the growing bulbs, instead of into flower production. The scapes can be eaten like a scallion or made into a delicious pesto. (Recipe to come).

And later this month, as the peas mature, they'll need picking every 3 or 4 days to stay in constant production. I can't believe they are already up to the top of the fence! So keep an eye on them, and as they start to produce, make sure to get your fill, even between workdays, if you can.

I've put a whiteboard up in the tool shed to help us stay in touch better on work days. Leave us a note if you complete something, or if you've noticed something that will need taking care of as your going about your work.

Hopefully, this will help us keep in touch more when we can't all be at the garden at the same time. See you on Monday!

A Few Snaps From Around The Garden

The garlic bed:
Apple blossoms:
Daffodils in bloom:

Whew! Garden Beds Are Ready For May Planting

Thanks to everyone, especially volunteers Jeff, Nicole, and Debbie, who came out to work on digging and clearing our garden beds and spreading compost.

Before:

After:

The main garden now has wood chipped paths so we can avoid walking IN the permanent planting beds and compacting the soil. One of the goals of planting in permanent beds instead of in traditional rows, is to allow the soil to keep its crumbly texture season after season. This means the soil will remain well aerated, allowing water to percolate easily and nutrients to be easily exchanged between plant roots and soil life.

Also, some of you were interested in finding out more about the compost we used ... it's screened leaf compost from Greencycle Grillo in Milford. For more info, visit their website here: http://www.greencyclegrillo.com/.

Kill and Eat! Controlling Garlic Mustard

Hmmm. Just noticed this patch of Garlic Mustard edging its way into the garden.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a dispersive biennial weed that can be easily identified at this time of year by 1) its clusters of tiny white flowers and 2) the yummy garlic-horseradish scent its leaves emit when crushed. (For a more technical guide on how to identify it, go to: http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/garlic.htm).

The plant can become problematic wherever it gets a foothold: due to its incredible seed production, it can quickly disrupt native woodlands, where it out-competes other species and diminishes diversity along the forest floor. Unfortunately, it has no known native pests to keep it in check (besides us). So, to control our little patch, we should plan to cut or pull the flowering plants now, before seed production is able to take place.

For more info, check out the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group fact sheet, here: http://www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg/invader_month/invader_of_the_month_Mar06_alliaria.pdf

Or, to learn how to EAT it out of existence, check out this recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto from Grist: http://www.grist.org/article/where-the-wild-things-grow. (But of course make sure you know how to properly ID it before you attempt to ingest it.)

More Bounty From Fellow Gardeners

I just wanted to let everyone know that Kathy over at the Liberty Springside Community Garden is donating a flat of leeks to us this year. So great - especially since we got a late start with our alliums. I'll bring them to our workday on 5/2 so we can get them in the ground ASAP.

Also wanted to pass along that Liberty Community Services is still looking for someone to coordinate that garden now that Tom has left ... If you know of anyone who may be interested in the position, let me know and I'll send you the contact info.

More Seeds Donated

I just picked up the seeds that we requested from the New Haven Land Trust. For your records, they are:

• Carrot - Scarlet Nantes
• Cucumber - Marketmore 76
• Melon - Delicious 51
• Watermelon - Sugar Baby
• Winter squash - Waltham Butternut and Burgess Buttercup

Digging In

Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday to help out with April chores. Here are some of the day's major accomplishments:

• The front flower garden near the gate is now cleared (and it looks great from the street!)
  
• Four types of potatoes have been started in the barrels: Sangre, Purple Majesty, Yukon Gold, and Desiree
• The bamboo trellis along the fence is strung and ready for climbing veggies
  
• One of the raised beds is planted up with greens
• We've made a plan for our compost delivery in early May and have begun considering placement for new garden beds

Our next meet up will be our first "Working Monday" on May 2nd. Looking forward to seeing everyone there...

Prepping for Sunday 4/17

Just a quick note to help everyone prepare for our Sunday workday.

Some of the April chores we can tackle this weekend (if time and weather permit) are:

• Get organized for May workdays - I'll bring some items to get the inside of the tool shed set up. Let's also rough out some ideas for what needs to get done next month and firm up dates/times to do them.
• Stake out beds/paths in main garden - We're hoping for compost and wood chip deliveries next month, so we'll need to mark the areas where we plan to use those resources.
  
• String twine for pea shoots to climb - The bamboo is in place, we just need to string up some twine between them.
  
• Start potatoes in barrels - Ashley ordered potatoes from NOFA, and we'll be using some of those 55 gallon drums that we got from Kerry Karlson last year to help us grow a lot of potatoes in a small space. (For anyone who is unfamiliar with this growing method, click here to read an article about it from Mother Earth News).
  
• Direct sow first plantings of carrots and beets in beds - we should be able to seed any cool weather crops now. If you have any favorites you want to add to the garden, bring them with you.
  
• Transplant lettuce, onions, bok choi, and chard to beds - If they have some of their true leaves, the greens and onions we planted last month will be ready to go into the ground now.
  

Supplies we'll need on Sunday:

• Compost and prepped potatoes (Ashley to bring)
  
• Twine (Kanani to bring)
• Hardened off transplants (Emily to bring)
  
• Remay to cover transplants (Kanani to bring)
• Cool weather seeds to direct sow (Emily and Kanani to bring some)
• Combination lock, contact list, notebook, etc. for the shed (Kanani to bring)

And a quick list of other things you might want to bring with you:

• Water
• Raincoat, just in case
  
• Gloves and your favorite hand tools for planting/transplanting
• Scissors or a knife
  
• A trash bag to carry out any waste
• Extra tools/supplies you have laying around that might help us get things done -- twine, stakes, tape measure, short stakes/mallets

Are there other projects you want to attack on Sunday? Things you want to discuss? Let us know.

More Seeds Planted + We Need Some Ideas

Kate, Ashley, Debbie, and I went over to the garden on Tuesday to work on some of the March chores. We cleaned up some of the trash that had accumulated in the garden, mulched the garlic and started peas and spinach. Here are the cultivars, in case you're interested in looking them up:

1) Snow Peas:

• 'Dwarf Gray Sugar"
• 'Oregon Giant'
  

2) Spinach:

• 'Avon Hybrid'

Also, we've been looking at the garden and trying to come up with some clever (and cheap) mulching ideas for pathways, with the hope of eventually eliminating some of the grass on the site. If you have any thoughts, please send them our way!

A Few Snaps From Our Seed Starting Day

Getting supplies set up:
Filling pots with soil mix and making labels:
Planting seeds:
In the seed room and ready for water:

Seed Starting Underway

Clockwise from top left (photo credits): 'Gold Medal' Tomato (Baker Creek), 'Deep Purple' Scallion (Johnny's), 'Japanese Black Trifele' Tomato (Baker Creek), 'Ruby Red' Chard (Fine Gardening), 'Thai Holy Kaprao' Basil (Baker Creek)

Seed starting began at Kate's today, and it feels like the 2011 season is officially underway. What follows is a list of the seeds we planted. Click on the links to learn more about the cultivars we're growing.

1) Tomatoes:

• 'Gold Medal'
• 'Japanese Black Trifele'
• 'Tappy's Heritage'
• 'Malakhitovaya Shkatula'
  

2) Sweet Peppers:

• 'Charleston'
• 'Flavorburst'
• 'Lipstick'
  

3) Hot Peppers:

• 'Joe's Long Cayenne/Drying Ristras'
  

4) Eggplant:

• 'Pingtung Long'
  

5) Basil:

• 'Thai Holy Kaprao'
  
• 'Genovese'

6) Lettuce:

• 'Majestic Red'
• 'Italienisher'
  

7) Scallions:

• 'Deep Purple'
  

8) Greens:

• 'Green Fortune' Pak Choi
  
• 'Ruby Red' Swiss Chard

Thanks to everyone who came out to help, contributed seeds and supplies, and special thanks to Kate for hosting us.

The Garlic Is Up!!!

The garlic we planted with the Public Allies in November is breaking the surface. We'll be mulching it in the next few months, and harvesting scapes and bulbs in the summer. Hard to believe that there was snow on the ground just a few weeks ago!

Yes, That About Sums It Up

Where did the snow come from? I was so busy enjoying our 50 degree days that I forgot it was still February. This illustration by Andre Jordan that appeared on Margaret Roach's blog is just about right. Click here to read her full post.

February Meeting Notes

So glad that everyone was able to make it to the potluck and planning meeting! Here's a recap of some of the major points we discussed for future reference.

1) Expectations for the first season -

• observing the site and identifying ways to improve its fertility for future years
  
• building a successful group dynamic among the members
• sharing skills and knowledge within the group (and with greater community by opening up our workdays to volunteers and publicizing garden events)
  
• including crops in the rotation that individual members may not be able to grow in their home gardens (because of space or light limitations)

2) Upcoming projects (and who is taking the lead on them) -

• seed starting (Kate)
• landscaping the front area (Barbara)
• organizing a spring plant swap (Kanani)
• building rain barrels (Emily and Larry)
• finishing the tool shed (Larry and Josh)
  
• organizing a community composting workshop (unassigned)
• watering weekly or as needed (Barbara)
• beekeeping - pending landlord approval (Ashley)
  

3) Big projects under consideration that require more research or funding -

• Outdoor spigot for watering
• Mulberry tree removal

4) Planned crops for 2011 -

• Early season: bunching onions, spinach, bok choi, lettuce, carrots, beets, peas (trellised), garlic scapes
• Mid season: garlic, basil, tomatoes, sweet and cayenne peppers, eggplant, summer squash, cucumbers (trellised), melons, beans, potatoes (in barrels)
  
• Late season: winter squash, kale, chard, broccoli raab, carrots, beets
  
• Potentially, a three sisters planting in back of the garden: corn, beans, squash
• Herbs and beneficial companion plants - as space permits

5) Garden operations -

• Issues that should be brought to the group for discussion include: anything that might affect the overall functioning of the garden or the garden's operating budget, as well as anything that might affect the relationship between the garden and the landlord, tenants, or community at large
  
• Decision making: group decisions will be made by consensus; Emily is trained in consensus-building and will assist the group as needed
• Methods of communication: all garden events will be posted on the blog and updates will be emailed out by Kanani; a chore log will be posted in the tool shed during the growing season for folks who can't make it on the scheduled work days
  
• Coordinators: Ashley, Kate, and Kanani will continue to serve as co-coordinators for the first season; their responsibilities will be to liaise with the New Haven Land Trust and the landlord
• Garden management: Kanani will be the point-person for any issues relating to growing practices (i.e., crop planning, fertility or pest management as needed)

6) While on the property -

• Please do not use the tenants' garbage cans while at the garden
• Please do not leave the water running - the landlord may require the garden to cover a portion of the water bill if she sees a dramatic increase in usage
  

Member Potluck and Planning Meeting

Please join us for a meal, meet your fellow gardeners, and chat about plans for the 2011 growing season.

When: Sunday, February 13 at 5 p.m.

Where: Kate's house - 1399 Ella Grasso Boulevard (between Maple and Elm), 3rd Floor

What To Bring:

• Food or drink to share
• Seeds (if you have extras available to share with the garden, they'd be much appreciated)
• Membership dues (if you haven't yet paid them)

What's On The Agenda: We're hoping to discuss ideas for crops and work flow over the course of the season, as well as address some organizational issues that may come up as we start to work together. Here are a few questions you might want to consider before the potluck --

• What are your expectations for the garden?
  
• Are there specific crops crops you'd like to grow or eat more than others?
• What projects/goals would you like to see us work on as a group?
• Are there garden projects you would be willing to take over individually?
• How will we stay in communication with one another about what's happening in the garden?
• What is the schedule for work days and what should we expect to do on them?
  
• What are the roles/responsibilities of the garden coordinators? Are you interested in being a coordinator now or in the future?
• What should we do if there is a conflict within the group?
• What can we do to stay on good terms with the landowner and her tenants (our neighbors)?