Spinach Mountain

Last year I had Swiss Chard coming out my ears... This year it is spinach! I planted it in succession, every couple of weeks starting April 25. (Yes, I know we hadn't officially started planting...) It has been growing really well in the cool (until this week) weather. I started harvesting it at the beginning of June - now my first plants are just about to bolt, and my last row is starting to produce (shown here with some volunteer dill trying to hog the limelight). I picked a large grocery bag full last night. Home grown spinach sure beats the stuff from the store - thick and crunchy leaves and great flavour.

I planted Bloomsdale Long Standing this year. Has anyone tried any other varieties? How do they compare?

Smelly Plant?

Sherri has this plant growing in her plot. She knows it as "smelly plant" but is not sure of the right name. Does anyone know for sure? It looks to me like it might be garlic chives. Any recipes?

Good growth!

Well the heat means good growth, as you can see here. Every time I go to the garden everything seems several inches bigger. Some of the leaf crops are harvestable already, and the summer crops seem to be coming along really well.

Of course, the hotter it is, the more we gardeners worry about water! It can get to be our only topic of conversation!

Last night was a busy one at the garden, with several people hauling water from tap to plot. If you've been in the last few days you may have noticed the NEW TAPS! Hose has been trenched in underground, and three taps added. One is at the East end of the West garden - giving better access to the plots at that end, as well as the raspberry plot. The other two taps are on each side of the East Garden (B Plots) - At last!

So now both plots have taps within a reasonable hose distance. We all still need to remember to attach the main line to each set of taps at the meter when we start, and to un-attach them when we are done. At this point we can't have both gardens hooked up at the same time.

Brian reminds me every time I see him, that the underground lines are only old hose. That means they could burst or spring a leak some time without us knowing it right away. If that happens with the hose still attached at the meter, we could flood the whole garden, and blow our summer's water budget, in one go!

Busy day at Hummingbird Garden

Well, the heat has everyone out in the garden this weekend. Everything seems to be coming up well, even the new plots are going strong. The heat following a week or so of cool wet weather has brought up the sprouts. Everyone seems to have at least something coming up (except for one plot still not planted...) and some people have everything coming up!

A few people have been particularly busy:
Marge spent the whole evening today weeding the flower bed at the West end - thanks Marge!
Bob and Brian were out with mowers this evening trimming around the raised beds and the edges of the plots.

Brian asked me to pass on a few reminders in case anyone is reading!

The water tap will soon be locked up - gardeners will need to bring a 9/16 socket or an adjustable wrench to get into the control box. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE turn off the water at the meter when you leave for the day, and make sure all the hoses and taps are turned off. The last thing we need is a blowout in the underground hose!

From the mowers - everyone is reminded to please keep the grass clear - no rocks, bricks, toy trucks or other things to clog up the mower blade! And if we all pull out the long stuff next to our raised beds, they can just go through quickly and chop it all up.

The bricks from the new garden area need to be kept off the grass - Brian suggests piling them next to the composter. If everyone picks a few every time, the field will be clear in no time. Weeds can go in the composter and will be taken to the compost area at the landfill. We had thought we might be able to use the compost in the gardens, but we get too much miscellaneous junk that just won't turn back into soil - so off it goes to the dump!

That's all for now - my back is aching and I need to clear the dirt out from under my fingernails! Happy seeding and weeding!

Water!

There is water at the West garden (A) now, with three different taps.  Brian has rigged up a tap at the middle of the A plots and at the north edge to give access to the ground plots and the raised beds.  

The new plots on the East end have no water tap (yet?!).  We are hopeful that a tap will be brought over to the B plots soon, but no news on when.  For now, Brian has a plan B for the B plot gardeners - on Saturdays and Sundays, he will bring over a long heavy gauge hose and connect it at the A plot tap.  He will be over in the morning, and leave the hose there until early evening.  Today I was there at about 8:30 pm and he was just gathering the hose up.  

Brian also asked me to remind everyone to turn off the tap at the ground when we are done watering.  So far the hoses have held, but if we ever had a leak or some mischief, we could have a minor flood (and a ruinous water bill) before we got it turned off.  

Happy watering everyone!

Garden Season is Open

Hummingbird Garden is up and running for the season as of Thursday May 14th.  Our unofficial head gardener, Brian, tilled our main plots, and broke ground for a set of new plots to the East of the original garden.  The new plots mean everyone on the waiting list got a plot.  Word has got out and I think they are all full now...  

A few other changes - the raspberry plants have been corraled into two small areas, so they won't be taking over our veggie plots.  There is still a small pile of dirt for topping off the raised beds, too. 

If you have a plot and you're not sure which one is yours - check out the plot map on the bulletin board at the garden.  If you're not sure which map goes with which plot, ask one of the experienced gardeners.  

We can also show you how to access the water pipe.  But not until our water line is turned back on...  Should be soon!

A new season - a new name!

Hummingbird Garden

We now have an official name for our community garden.  The votes came in over the winter, and most of us preferred Hummingbird.  There should soon be a sign with our new name.  And the lanscape designer that is working on a plan for our layout will include hummingbirds into a theme.  Watch the garden sign for signs of change!