Work at Garden 6/28/11

It's June 28th and it started raining about 1.00 PM and has rained on and off all day and evening (now 9:30 PM).

Dick and Bruce installed the first course of trellis fencing on the posts driven on beds D1 and D2.  Dick assembled the two remaining 4' x 10' x 9.5" high raised bed boxes.

Bruce harvested the following for the Open Heart Kitchen:

• Carrots, Danvers 86                      28 ea.               6 lbs         A5
• Carrots, Coreless Amsterdam        64 ea.             12 lbs         A5  
• Carrots, Imperator                         11 ea.               3 lbs         A5
• Cabbage (large)                               2 ea.          12+3lbs         B4
• Kale, Vates Blue Curled             1/2 Tub                 6  lbs       A6
• Collards, Southern Georgia               1 tub                 7 lbs        B3

Total: 49 lbs of produce to OHK.

Largest cabbage was 12 to 13 inches in diameter and weighed about 12 lbs. The outer leaves of both cabbages were thoroughly infested with earwigs and aphids that appear to have occured late enough that they had very little effect on the developement of the heads.  The largest plant had about 12 "axial Brussel sprout- like flowering heads beneath the main head.

Harvested about 1/2 of the A6 bed of Vates Blue Curled Kale Two plants had bolted to the point where the main stem had significantly branched and the leaves were small and numerous. the leaves were smaller (6 ro 8 inches long but were good tasting. Need to harvest Northern side of bed tomorrow.

Harvested 1/2 of the Southern Giant Collards, which were sweet and succulent. Flavor is a little like turnip greens. Need to harvest remaining 4 plants tomorrow. Leaves are spreading out enough that they were significantly shading 2 or three of the crook- necked squash.

Three of the Raven Zucchini plants are growing fast and have started to set fruits.

Beans are growing vigorously in beds B4 and AB9.

June 21-22 harvests and work

Bruce, Lance, and Mark gardened 2011 June 21, Tuesday.

Bruce and Mark rototilled a new bed, using the rototiller borrowed
from Wanda Finn.

The June 21 harvest included
* Red Russian kale from bed B5, about 10 pounds, the plants were no
longer productive and were pulled;
* Vates blue curled kale from bed A6, about 6 pounds, most plants are
still producing;
* 3 small Royal Chantenay carrots;
* 31 yellow and orange sunshine carrots (about 4 pounds);
* 10 Bolero Nantes carrots (about 1.5 pounds);
* 15 Babette carrots (about 1.3 pounds);
* 33 "Danvers 86" carrots (about 15 pounds).

The carrots were all from bed B5. In bed B5 some Danvers 86 carrots
are still present, but the other four kinds are finished. Three of the
Danvers 86 carrots were very large, more than 2 inches in diameter, and
one of those was over 12 inches long.

Judy and Lance gardened 2011 June 22, Wednesday.

Bed F (planted June 18) was watered, as were other plants transplanted
that day.

The June 22 harvest included
* 15 "Charmant" cabbages, perhaps 25-30 pounds, from bed AB9, there are no
more;
* Fiz kale, about a half tub, was taken from bed E2; the plants were pulled.

On both days, weeds were pulled.

Work day 18Jun11

On 2011 June 18, Saturday morning, Bruce, Judy, Lance, and Mark worked.

Before work started, an inventory of the not-yet-transplanted plants located at the garden found
26 Waltham Butternut winter squash (#188)
13 crookneck summer squash (exact variety unknown - origin is Dale McNeal, UOP)
9 melon, Delicious 51 (#145)
6 kabocha hybrid Naguri winter squash (#154)
4 Vietnamese mint (#149)
3 Trombetta di Albenga summer squash (#36)
2 eggplant, Japanese long (possibly #155?)
1 fennel, Zefo Fino (#37)
1 melon, Hale's Best 45 (#144)

That is a total of 65 plants.  Of these, 48 were transplanted.  The following were not transplanted because they appeared moribund or inappropriate:
2 kabocha Naguri (#154)
7 crookneck
1 trombetta (#36)
Vietnamese mint (#149), eggplant, and fennel (#37) (7 plants total).

The following planting and transplanting activities took place:

F:
Planted from south to north:
24 hills of Sugar Buns sweet corn seeds (#171)
4 plants of Waltham Butternut (#188)
24 hills of Double Standard sweet corn seeds (#159)
4 plants of Waltham Butternut (#188)
24 hills of Stowell's Evergreen sweet corn seeds (#146)
4 plants of Waltham Butternut (#188)
24 hills of Painted Mountain flour corn seeds (#160)
4 plants of Waltham Butternut (#188)
16 hills of Earth Tones corn seeds (part of a Three Sisters "kit" sold by Renee's Seed Co.)
16 hills of Sugar Buns sweet corn seeds (#171)
8 plants of Waltham Butternut (#188)

AB8:
Appending to the plants at the east end, 2 crookneck summer squash were transplanted.

C1:
Appending to the plants at the north end, 2 trombetta (#36) summer squash were transplanted.


B4:
Spaced throughout the bed and around the remaining two January King (#103) cabbages, all ten melon plants were transplanted:
9 Delicious 51 (#145)
1 Hale's Best (#144)
Interplanted with the melons were four rows of purple royal burgundy bean seed #185.  The rows were placed exactly between the T-tape runs, and seeds were spaced at approximately 2 inches in the row.

AB9:
Transplanted into the eastern half of the bed, after removal of Vates Collards (#89) stems/roots:
2 Waltham Butternut (#188)
4 kabocha Naguri (#154)
4 crookneck
In this bed, Charmant (#73) cabbages still remain in the W half, more than half harvested but roots still remaining...the Waltham Butternut were placed up against the cabbages.  Kabocha were placed E of these, and then Crooknecks to the E end of the bed.  Purple Royal Burgundy beans were interplanted exactly as in bed B4.

B6:
All remaining Bull's Blood Beets (#75) were harvested.  Several were tiny, but a few, especially at the W end of the bed, were large-rooted.  Within an hour after harvest, these beets were processed by pickling and canning.  The result was exactly 6 quarts.  These jars will be presented to OHK.
After beets were removed, three hills of Golden Hubbard winter squash seeds (#131) were planted, centered in bed B6, with five feet separating the hills and five feet separating the end hills from the ends of the bed.  Beans were not interplanted at this time.  Prior to planting these seeds, the book "Golden Gate Gardening" by Pam Pierce was consulted...for the region including Walnut Creek, it was stated that mid-June was the last chance to plant winter squash so we are attempting it.

Work day 17Jun11

On 2011 June 17, Friday, late afternoon, Bruce, Jennifer, Lance,
Mark, and Ruth (alphabetical) worked.

Bed F was rototilled and made ready for planting. Wanda Finn lent her Kubota rototiller for this work.  About 15 bags of manure were worked into the soil.  We achieved a friable depth of approximately 12 inches.  Many large stones were removed.

Bed A3: About 20-30 garlic bulbs were harvested.

About 137 peppers were transplanted, as follows (data provisional):

At the west end of bed AB7, 24 peppers were planted, including
Big Dipper
Fresno Chili
Coyame

At the western end of bed AB8 some more peppers of the above three
varieties were transplanted.
Next to the east were transplanted
Marconi Rosso.
Next to the east were transplanted these:
California Wonder (#17)
Emerald Giant (#141).
Next to the east were planted
Canary Bell (yellow) (#206).

Most of bed AB8 is now peppers, starting at the west end.

Harvest 8Jun11

OHK Harvest day:

Five people worked today: alphabetically, Diana, Erica, Lance,
Liz, and Teresa.  With all that collective enthusiasm we harvested
(weights are very rough estimates):
    * 10 cabbages (about 30 pounds) (bed AB9)
    * kale, Vates blue curled (about 5 pounds) (bed A6)
    * kale, Fizz (about 3 pounds) (bed E2)
    * collards, Georgia (about 3 pounds) (bed B3)
    * swiss chard, various types (about 3 pounds) (bed E2)
    * 8 beets (bed B6)
    * 11 carrots, orange and yellow sunshine (bed A5)
    * 4 carrots, Bolero Nente (bed A5)
    * 7 carrots, Imperator (bed A5)
    * 2 carrots, Danvers (bed A5)
    * 2 bulbs garlic (bed A3)
 
    Carrots were specifically selected for thinning to make room for
others.
 
    Other work included watering the plants still in pots, layering and
watering the compost pile, and weeding.

Weeding and Weed notes 3Jun11

On 3Jun11, Mark weeded most of the garden.  In particular, a stirrup hoe was used to remove large weeds in the boarder area adjacent to the community garden, and also in the walking isles.

Notes on weeds seen:

Field bindweed is throughout garden, both seedlings and vines, some in flower.
Henbit is still present, in flower, but on its way out.
Annual bluegrass is everywhere but not too many young plants.
A couple of Nightshade plants, in leaf only, were seen in the beds.  Most likely Solanum nigrum.
A couple of Doveweed plants were seen in the boarder area.  Species is Eremocarpus setigerus.
Pigweed is now well established and several larger plants in boarder areas were in flower.
Cheeseweed is in two conditions: seedlings and older scenescent plants with seeds already fallen.
Knotweed is very old and lanky, forming mats in boarder areas.
Scarlet Pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis, is widespread, and forming small mats in beds and boarder areas.
Black Mustard is in flower in boarder areas.
Ryegrass, Lolium perenne, is in flower in boarder areas.

Garden workday 2Jun11

Taken from an email sent by Lance:

Missions accomplished except for the weeding.  Diana (as you have seen)

and Liz both took photos.  Harvest estimates:

   10 cabbages, about 18-20 pounds total

   Lacinato kale (finished), from bed A6, about 3-4 pounds

   Fiz kale, from bed E2, about 3-4 pounds

   Vates blue curled kale, from bed A6, about 1-2 pounds

   15(?) beets, from bed B6, about 3 pounds

The large, lovely cabbage in one of Diana's photos was in a separate bed

and was not harvested.  We had to harvest a photo of it, though.

Most of the bindweed flowers were removed to prevent new seeds, but

otherwise weeding was negligible.