and picked loads of hot peppers:
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sweet Potato Harvest
At the last group harvest, we dug sweet potatoes:
and picked loads of hot peppers:
and picked loads of hot peppers:
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
August in the Garden
From A.E.R.:
Hi all,
The school calendar doesn't really follow the agricultural calendar anymore, it seems... we are going back to work, but the garden isn't done. Here is what to expect in the upcoming weeks. I realize that there is a lot in this email. Please read at your leisure and at minimum, please respond to items III and IV. Not to stifle your creativity, of course: feel free to respond with any other thoughts, especially if something below sounds like sheer lunacy. :)
I. Last GROUP harvests and thereafter:
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14 - picking as usual.
MONDAY, AUGUST 16 - LAST GROUP HARVEST. Let someone know if you can't go; we'll save you something. Highlight: digging up the sweet potatoes.
AFTER Monday, gardeners should feel free to pick at any time. If there is something you're saving for, DO EMAIL the group and let everyone know. It is important to communicate what you want to get out of the last 6-8 weeks of the warm-season plants. Don't feel bad for making a request; if you don't speak up, no one will know, and then someone will end up picking things only to keep the plants healthy.
At this point, please do not invite members of the community to go and take what they want anytime. We can reevaluate when we know (a) our group's ability to use the produce and (b) how prolific the remaining plants will be in the upcoming weeks. In 2009, we were overwhelmed with tomatoes in August because we planted two determinate varieties whose fruit all matured at 55-80 days. The heaviest harvest days coincided with the first weeks of school. This year, we have mostly indeterminate plants, which a measured supply of tomatoes until the plants are killed by disease or frost. For planning purposes, I do want to have a general, anecdotal sense of how much the plants are producing through the end of their season, even if we're not weighing harvests or even picking at the same time. This will help determine the number of gardeners in future summers and which plants are a good match for our garden desires. For now, let's share bounty with the community by bringing extras to the office and offering some basil cuttings at the "open house"...
II. Garden "open house":
Wednesday after Faculty Normal (time TBD). If you want to, hang out in the garden, prune basil, and answer questions from interested community members. The idea here is to communicate what labor and benefit is involved in our community garden and to generate a "waiting list" of interested gardeners (space permitting).
III. LET ME KNOW if you're "in" or "out" for fall planting...
In Tennessee, autumn-to-winter is a great time for cool-season crops like lettuce, spinach, and kale. What you're getting into: fall crops may be planted between now and Sept. 15; and will harvested (roughly) between Oct. 15 and Thanksgiving. Final cleanup will take place before Christmas break. If you are "out" for the fall, it does not mean that you lose your summer spot - but to keep your summer spot, you must assist with the cleanup of the summer garden. Speaking of which...
IV. ...End-of-summer Cleanup!
When school begins, it is harder to find time, and no longer are we motivated by the anticipation of the first delicious tomato. But cleanup and soil care are the most important factors for the success of next summer's garden. Because it is unlikely that we'll find a weekend when everyone can devote a day to garden work, please choose what fits your schedule and email the group to "sign up" for you're able to do (or add something I missed).
Now through Labor Day: Ideal for people who will NOT be involved with fall planting.
- Till cucumber area in upper tier
- Bag the pile of vegetable waste and completely remove diseased plant material to trash
- Cleanup the tool shed area to the Hall's water spigot: trash, fallen branches, weed trees, etc.
- Cut back weed trees on upper fence
- Weedeating around perimeter
Mid-September through October: Ideal for people involved in the fall, but possible tasks if the beginning of school is all-consuming.
- Remove vines, soil amendment in middle tier
- Pull, bag, and trash tomato/eggplant/pepper vines
- Soil amendment in lower tier
- Planting of cover crops or heavy leaf mulching
Hi all,
The school calendar doesn't really follow the agricultural calendar anymore, it seems... we are going back to work, but the garden isn't done. Here is what to expect in the upcoming weeks. I realize that there is a lot in this email. Please read at your leisure and at minimum, please respond to items III and IV. Not to stifle your creativity, of course: feel free to respond with any other thoughts, especially if something below sounds like sheer lunacy. :)
I. Last GROUP harvests and thereafter:
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14 - picking as usual.
MONDAY, AUGUST 16 - LAST GROUP HARVEST. Let someone know if you can't go; we'll save you something. Highlight: digging up the sweet potatoes.
AFTER Monday, gardeners should feel free to pick at any time. If there is something you're saving for, DO EMAIL the group and let everyone know. It is important to communicate what you want to get out of the last 6-8 weeks of the warm-season plants. Don't feel bad for making a request; if you don't speak up, no one will know, and then someone will end up picking things only to keep the plants healthy.
At this point, please do not invite members of the community to go and take what they want anytime. We can reevaluate when we know (a) our group's ability to use the produce and (b) how prolific the remaining plants will be in the upcoming weeks. In 2009, we were overwhelmed with tomatoes in August because we planted two determinate varieties whose fruit all matured at 55-80 days. The heaviest harvest days coincided with the first weeks of school. This year, we have mostly indeterminate plants, which a measured supply of tomatoes until the plants are killed by disease or frost. For planning purposes, I do want to have a general, anecdotal sense of how much the plants are producing through the end of their season, even if we're not weighing harvests or even picking at the same time. This will help determine the number of gardeners in future summers and which plants are a good match for our garden desires. For now, let's share bounty with the community by bringing extras to the office and offering some basil cuttings at the "open house"...
II. Garden "open house":
Wednesday after Faculty Normal (time TBD). If you want to, hang out in the garden, prune basil, and answer questions from interested community members. The idea here is to communicate what labor and benefit is involved in our community garden and to generate a "waiting list" of interested gardeners (space permitting).
III. LET ME KNOW if you're "in" or "out" for fall planting...
In Tennessee, autumn-to-winter is a great time for cool-season crops like lettuce, spinach, and kale. What you're getting into: fall crops may be planted between now and Sept. 15; and will harvested (roughly) between Oct. 15 and Thanksgiving. Final cleanup will take place before Christmas break. If you are "out" for the fall, it does not mean that you lose your summer spot - but to keep your summer spot, you must assist with the cleanup of the summer garden. Speaking of which...
IV. ...End-of-summer Cleanup!
When school begins, it is harder to find time, and no longer are we motivated by the anticipation of the first delicious tomato. But cleanup and soil care are the most important factors for the success of next summer's garden. Because it is unlikely that we'll find a weekend when everyone can devote a day to garden work, please choose what fits your schedule and email the group to "sign up" for you're able to do (or add something I missed).
Now through Labor Day: Ideal for people who will NOT be involved with fall planting.
- Till cucumber area in upper tier
- Bag the pile of vegetable waste and completely remove diseased plant material to trash
- Cleanup the tool shed area to the Hall's water spigot: trash, fallen branches, weed trees, etc.
- Cut back weed trees on upper fence
- Weedeating around perimeter
Mid-September through October: Ideal for people involved in the fall, but possible tasks if the beginning of school is all-consuming.
- Remove vines, soil amendment in middle tier
- Pull, bag, and trash tomato/eggplant/pepper vines
- Soil amendment in lower tier
- Planting of cover crops or heavy leaf mulching
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