Happy Winter Solstice! + Winter Gardening tasks

Today is the winter solstice-one of my favorite days of the year. Knowing the days are getting longer and it will soon be prime gardening season, the green flush of growth, sparkling lights around the city... yay for today and for a new year of possibility ahead. All the best to each of you this holiday season *

Exciting projects are happening at our Ft. Scott Community Garden! It only took one year, but the greenhouse is finally functional- there is a floor, benches, a door, and the inaugural flats of seeds are inside. We're growing seedlings for our PresidioGrown beds- plots where we are growing vegetables that Presidio Foods uses at The Golden Gate Club and The Commissary, and for veggies to support our Trust and Nursery volunteer programs. But we're also growing seedlings in the hope we'll have more to share with you! The garden resource days on the second Saturday of each month will be great times for you to come visit us at the Ft. Scott Garden and grab some compost, mulch, and (fingers crossed) a few veggie seedlings. The calendar at the bottom of the blog is your go-to to find out when free resources will be available in 2018.

Taylor has also begun work on her independent project. She led a team of fellow interns to start clearing out the overgrown herb garden, salvaging plants, and getting ready to install an improved pollinator and herb garden this spring. Interested in helping her out? We can always use volunteers- get in touch! Below is her latest post on winter gardening tasks:

Hello Presidio community gardeners,

I thought that it might be helpful and relevant to write a blog post about winter gardening in the Presidio. So here it is!

I think it’s important to mention that although we do have a winter growing season here in San Francisco, there are few crops that actually do well in this weather. That being said, I would emphasize the importance of planning for the year ahead while you have little maintenance work to do in your garden. Planning for the year ahead requires only a bit of effort on your part but can make a huge difference in your spring and summer crop yields. Below is a checklist of actions you can take to ensure that your garden will thrive in the New Year!

(1)    Remove summer and fall vegetables (if you haven’t already). And give your garden a good weeding- it’s always better to get the weeds while they’re still small. Removing dying plants/debris from your bed helps to prevent unwelcome pests from making a home in your garden during the winter months.

(2)    Cultivate and amend your soil! If you planted tomatoes or squash during the summer/fall and are just pulling the plants now, chances are your soil needs amending. Heavy feeders like tomatoes and squash need a lot of nutrients in order to produce their fruits. Breaking up the top few inches of your bed’s soil with a shovel and then adding compost will help to rebuild the health of your soil.

(3)    Think about what cool season crops will thrive in your garden. Despite the chill in the air, there are a few crops that do well this time of year. Peas, leeks, fava beans, garlic, and greens (kale, lettuce, spinach, and chard) are all great vegetables for you to rotate into your garden for the winter season. Try growing a neutral or light feeder (like peas or fava beans) to ensure that your bed’s soil will not need further amending before the heavy planting that comes in early spring.

(4)    Ensure that your cool season crops have the tools they need to succeed! If you are planting peas or fava beans it is important for your garden to have a structure for these plants to climb! Also, small seedlings and transplants need a bit of help in this cold weather. Using the top half of a soda bottle or milk jug as a mini greenhouse for your plants will help them to thrive despite the cold weather.

(5)    Establish a planting plan for the New Year. Think about what you would like to try planting in your bed in 2018. Consult with a relevant planting calendar (planting calendars for San Francisco can be found online, in previous blog posts, and in your gardener orientation packet). When establishing a planting plan, take into account the importance of rotating your crops from year to year. Crop rotation can help with soil health and can also help with avoiding long term pests.

I’ll write another blog post to further explain crop rotation in the New Year (before the early spring season starts). Until then, happy holidays, happy growing!

-Taylor J

Winter garden chores/AT&T Park/Macro-nutrients

Post-Thanksgiving, pre-winter holidays...it's been raining and now the sun is out;  it's a perfect time to visit your garden. Guess what's growing in the gardens? Weeds! They're everywhere-plots and paths- and now is the time to disrupt them before they get established. Many weeds just need to be "cultivated" when small- lightly till the soil to dig up the roots and leave the weeds to decompose in your garden. However, it's important to be able to ID your weeds and dig up the more invasive ones or any that are already making seeds. While weeding Monday I went after any cheeseweed seedlings, Oxalis, and bindweed first with a hori-hori and then tilled the soil to kill the annual grasses and forbs coming up. Next, I'll mulch to reduce the next round of sprouts. 

Other work in the garden is cleaning up the cold sensitive plants- we just cleared several beds of tomato vines and zucchini plants. Not leaving debris in your garden helps reduce the amount of pests and disease that can carry over into the new growing season. We also harvested all the green (and the few red) tomatoes and ended up with around 30 pounds! Can't wait to see what dish the chefs create to use them.

The last fun winter garden chore is looking over seed catalogs and planning your spring garden! The main planting season is just around the corner- but we can't wait, so right now we're planting peas, kale, chard, spinach and fava beans to take advantage of our secret 4th growing season-winter. What are you excited to grow?

We look forward to seeing those of you who have RSVP'd for our Winter Wreath Making event at the Presidio Native Plant Nursery on the 9th. Interested in joining us? RSVP here!


Our Sustainability Team and the folks from Presidio Foods (kitchen and catering staff from the Golden Gate Club, Arguello restaurant, and management) took a field trip to see the Garden at AT&T Park recently. Farmscape manages the garden, produce is used in the two cafes (one is gluten free and makes tasty pizzas, the other is vegetarian/vegan), and there are regular education programs bringing kids to the ballpark and introducing them to delicious and healthy veggies. It's a great program and we had fun doing a scavenger hunt in the garden and making our own pizzas with veggies and herbs we had picked. 

Taylor's Blog Post #4: Organic Fertilizers
Hello community gardeners! A few weeks ago I promised that I’d write a post about supplementing your raised bed with organic fertilizers, and here it is…

I’d like to start by saying compost is not an organic fertilizer. Compost is an amendment that can be added to your bed to build up overall soil health. In addition to compost, your plants also need an organic fertilizer with a healthy balance of the major nutrients NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) in order to produce a bountiful harvest. Organic fertilizers can provide your plants with healthy, fast-acting doses of NPK or with slower release during the season. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are all essential to a plants growth and it is important to remember that each of these nutrients nourishes a different part of the plant. Below I’ve outlined which part of the plant is cultivated by each nutrient of NPK. I’ve also listed organic fertilizer options specific to the various types of growth you may be trying to target.

•  (N) Nitrogen- your plants need nitrogen to achieve leaf growth. Organic fertilizers rich in nitrogen help your plants with leaf formation. If you are trying to grow leaf vegetables (lettuce, chard, spinach, etc.) or trying to facilitate leaf growth in your plants, fish emulsion, bat guano, and blood meal are good nitrogen-rich organic fertilizers to utilize.
• (P) Phosphorus- your plants need phosphorus for root formation, stem growth, and fruiting. Organic fertilizers rich in phosphorus help your plants in early stages of development as well as in  fruit production later on. Organic fertilizers such as bone meal, crushed shellfish, and rock phosphate are all great options for giving your plants a healthy dose of phosphorus.
• (K) Potassium- your plants need potassium for flower growth, fruit growth, and immunity. To help with blooming, fruit production, and plant immunity, organic fertilizers high in potassium such as kelp meal, seaweed, and wood ash are effective supplements to add to your raised bed.

It’s important to remember that too much of one element of NPK and not enough of the others could be a serious limiting factor for your plants. Excess nitrogen in the spring encourages rapid growth which often attracts pests like aphids. Too much nitrogen (without enough phosphorus and potassium) could cause your plant to grow too many leaves while limiting flower/fruit. This could pose a problem for fruiting crops (such as tomato or strawberry plants), but might actually be helpful when growing leaf vegetables like lettuce, chard, and spinach. It’s important to cater to your plants needs especially if you want to get the most from your harvest. Finding an organic fertilizer that is rich in all three of the NPK nutrients can also be an effective way of making sure that your plants are getting a balanced dose of nutrients.

Organic fertilizers also have the benefit of providing essential micro-nutrients. We’ll talk about them in a future blog post.

Don’t forget that we are limited to using only organic fertilizers in our beds so keep this in mind when choosing a fertilizer for your plants! Organic fertilizers are made from naturally derived materials as opposed to conventional fertilizers (i.e. MiracleGro) which are processed or manufactured; nitrogen heavy ones are derived from petroleum.

Want more information? Check out these websites:

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/955

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/inorganic-fertilizer-vs-organic-fertilizer-39528.html

https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/organic-fertilizer

https://www.groworganic.com/natural-and-organic-fertilizers.html

The rains have begun!

The season certainly has changed- leaves turning colors, rains falling, and weeds sprouting everywhere! Now is an ideal time to start weeding- get them while they are small and easy to pull. In our gardens we've harvested the pumpkins and planted fava beans. Favas are a hardy crop for winter- ready to harvest in early spring or to turn under as a cover crop after they flower but before they make seedpods. We grow ours to eat! Tomatoes are still ripening, although with the rains I think that will end soon and it will be time to clean out the old vines. We also planted garlic in October for harvest next June and sowed a few beds with a cover crop to add nutrients to the soil. Unfortunately the rodents have decided it makes a great dinner for them :( We're all suffering from rodents- the gardens, the residents, the businesses. My neighbors even have them in their cars! Let's hope the population crashes soon and we can get back to work growing food for our own consumption!

Our last special event of the year is coming up on December 9- winter wreath making at the Presidio Native Plant Nursery. If you have a wreath form from last year, we love to reuse them! RSVP here so we make sure to have enough supplies

Blog Post #3: Microclimates

Hey community gardeners of the Presidio, this is Taylor, Jean’s intern, and this week I’ve got some info for you all about SF microclimates and garden microclimates. I’m hoping this post will help you guys to decide what to plant in your beds and when to plant it for the 2017-2018 season. Keep reading to find out more and to be an informed gardener!

San Francisco’s maritime climate produces a variety of microclimates throughout the Bay area. A microclimate can be described as a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in surrounding areas. You know how on some days it can be 57 degrees Fahrenheit in the Presidio and 67 degrees a few miles away in SOMA? This is a perfect example of San Francisco microclimates. San Francisco microclimates are very important for urban gardeners to be aware of because they help to guide our planting calendars and give us clues about how best to take care of our gardens.

Our microclimate here in the Presidio is a part of San Francisco’s “fog belt.” The fog belt is characterized by cool to moderate temperatures, foggy to clear days, and light winds. Summers in the fog belt are foggier and colder than elsewhere in the city and the winters are generally wetter. Vegetables and other plants that thrive in the Presidio’s fog belt microclimate have specific times of year that they need to be planted in order to produce a bountiful yield.

There are different planting times and plant lists that gardeners in the Presidio’s foggy microclimate need to pay attention to. There is a fantastic plant list and calendar specifically for foggier SF microclimates created by local gardening LEGEND Pam Pierce featured in her book “Golden Gate Gardening.” I believe that Jean included this planting list/calendar in your garden orientation packets but in case you’ve misplaced your packet or just want a refresher, I’ve created an interpretation of Pam’s calendar with this blog post so that you can check out what grows best in SF’s foggier microclimates. This attachment also tells you whether to use seeds or transplants to start the crop that you are trying to grow. (we're working on posting this-look to the right where there are pages to click on.)

There are also some factors that affect microclimate on an even smaller scale within the Presidio. It can be very helpful to go out to your garden plot and assess your “backyard microclimate” by examining the following factors:

1. What is the aspect of your garden plot (the direction of the slope of the land)? An ideal site for a vegetable garden is one with a gentle slope facing south or southwest.
2. Are there any buildings, trees, fences, tall shrubs, etc. that create shade? Shading objects will cover the most area in the garden if they are located on its south side. Typically vegetable gardens are sun loving and need at least 6-8 hours of solid sunlight every day.
3. Are there any buildings, trees, fences, tall shrubs, etc. that help protect plants from wind exposure? In the Presidio, winds typically come in from the west or northwest so tall objects in the immediate west/northwest will do a good job of protecting your gardens from strong winds.
4. Are there concrete surfaces or heated buildings close to your garden plot? Heat radiates from heated buildings and from concrete surfaces. Your garden plot will appreciate the extra warmth.
5. Are there any water features or heavy vegetation nearby? Water features and heavy vegetation increase humidity and can help to moderate climate. Seedlings (in particular) appreciate the increased humidity levels that water features and heavy vegetation produce.
6. Do you have any light colored or dark colored buildings close to your garden plot? The color of a building affects plants growing in front of it (especially in the case of a southern facing wall). Light colored buildings encourage flowering and fruiting, while dark colored buildings encourage leafy growth.

These factors don’t make or break a garden plot, but it is helpful to understand your garden plot’s microclimate so that you can plant accordingly and get the greatest yield from whatever you decide to plant. Right plant, right place! There are many vegetables that do well in sun, but there are also quite a few vegetables that don’t mind shade. Most leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, kale) will tolerate shade with no problem. So if your garden plot has a large tree on the south side, don’t panic! Instead plant shade tolerant veggies and research other plants that will thrive in your shady microclimate.

That’s all I’ve got on microclimates, happy gardening-   Taylor    

(Feel free to email me with any questions- tjais@presidiotrust.gov)

Pizzas & pumpkins + all about garden soil

RSVP here for the rescheduled Fall Pizza Potluck and Pumpkin Party- 
Saturday, November 4th, noon to 3pm 
We grew 75 pounds of sugar pie pumpkins to share with our garden community. If there are more people than pumpkins, we'll have a raffle, but I hope that by giving out one per family we should have enough. The wood fired pizza oven will be hot and supplies for make-your-own pizzas available + delicious food that everyone brings (that's you)! RSVP by November 1-thanks!!

Garden resource Day- Saturday November 4th, 10am-noon
While I'm at the Ft. Scott garden getting ready to host the pizza party, the truck will be there with compost. Please come by if you want some to add to your garden. If you haven't been there before, the garden is at the end of Wisser Court- enter by 1330 Kobbe and take the 2nd road on the left (it's gravel and goes past a few garages). Vehicular entry will be closed at noon for the pizza party.

Looking ahead to December: Saturday December 9th, 10am- noon winter wreath making at the Native Plant Nursery. More details in future posts.

Hey everyone! This is Taylor (Jean’s gardening intern) kicking off a series of informational gardening posts with an exciting look into soil health. Healthy soil= healthy plants: providing your plants with soil rich in organic matter helps them to grow faster, resist pests and diseases, and yield a larger crop.

The soil in your raised beds should have a healthy combination of sand, silt, and clay (a “loam” soil) as your bed has been prepared specifically with a loam and compost mixture. A good way to check your soil is to do a simple jar test. I’ve included an image that gives you instructions on how to conduct a jar test below. I just pulled the image off the internet but it actually gives really great instructions!

Once you’ve identified what your soil is composed of, you can start assessing what amendments or organic fertilizers (if any) are necessary. Compost is a great amendment to consistently add to your raised bed because it actively builds up soil health while slowly releasing many nutrients to your plants over time. Mixing 4-8 inches of compost into your raised bed before planting would be a great idea if you think that your soil is nutrient-depleted. Also a 1-3 inch layer of compost would be good to add to your raised bed a few times a year as a top-dressing. HOWEVER it is important to remember that compost is an amendment to build up soil health and NOT a fertilizer.

Your plants need a healthy balance of NPK (as well as other minerals) in order to thrive and yield a bountiful harvest! Only fertilizers can provide your plants with fast acting doses of NPK. NPK=nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.  

*Nitrogen helps with leaf growth, phosphorus with root growth, and potassium with flower/fruit growth.*

It’s important to remember that too much of one element of NPK and not enough of the others could be a serious limiting factor for your plants. Too much nitrogen (without enough phosphorus and potassium) could cause your plant to grow too many leaves while limiting flower/fruit growth. This could pose a problem for fruiting crops (such as tomato or strawberry plants), but might actually be helpful when growing leaf vegetables like lettuce, chard, and spinach. It’s important to cater to your plants needs especially if you want to get the most from your harvest. Adding organic fertilizers that are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium is the best way to immediately provide your plants with the nutrients they are missing. I’ll most likely be writing a post about organic fertilizers in a few weeks so stay tuned!

That’s all I’ve got for soil health! Email me if you have any specific questions- tjais@presidiotrust.org

(Next time I’ll be writing about microclimates woohoo!) -Taylor

Fall Pizza Potluck postponed to 11/4

Unfortunately we will be postponing our fall harvest pizza potluck due to the health advisories about air quality. I hope everyone stays safe and our thoughts are with friends, family and communities affected by the fires.

I have a truck full of compost so I will be at the Ft. Scott Community Garden from 10am-1pm tomorrow for the garden resource day- please come by for compost if you need some.

We'll reschedule the pizza party to the next planned garden resource day on November 4th. The pizza party will start at noon and end at 3pm that day.

Thanks so much for being part of our amazing garden community- continue reading to meet my new garden intern, Taylor, and learn about her upcoming year here. 

Hello community gardeners of the Presidio, my name is Taylor Jais and I am Jean’s new gardening intern. I’m extremely excited to help Jean out with the beautiful community gardens of the Presidio for the next year! Jean and I thought that it would be nice for me to tell you all a little bit about myself in a blog post, click to read more about how Taylor will be helping you this year!

Fall in the garden

This Saturday I'll be at the Ft. Scott Garden for the September garden resource day- come by from 10am-1pm if you need some compost for your garden plot or woodchips for your pathways. 

Next month, following the garden resource day on 10/14 from 10a-1p will be our fall pizza and pumpkin potluck. RSVP here by 10/10

Continue reading for a garden update, plot check info, and photos of a trip to the Recology facilities (including a falconer!):

Garden resource day on 9/9 & Alemany Farm Workshops

The September garden resource day will be on Saturday September 9th from 10am-1pm at the Ft. Scott Community Garden. I'll be there with buckets of compost and a pile of mulch. Please stop by for materials to use in your Presidio Community Garden (this is open to garden members for use in their garden plots- thanks!). 

Alemany Farm is another amazing garden resource in San Francisco. They have several volunteer days each month and are hosting a series of classes you might find helpful. Check them out!

Join Friends of Alemany Farm for our Fall Workshop Series. Over five weekends in September and October expert instructors will offer donation-based classes on topics ranging from basic soil fertility to food preservation, with much in between. These sessions are great for both farm newcomers and regular volunteers. Deepen your knowledge, explore a new skill, or pick up some tips and ideas you can apply in your own garden or kitchen. All workshops will take place at Alemany Farm. $20 suggested donation per workshop; no one turned away for lack of funds. Please register in advance

Our first workshop of the season will help you get a head start on planning for winter:

Planning a Winter Kitchen Garden

Saturday, September 9 — 10 a.m. to Noon at Alemany Farm

Instructor: Jason Mark

Here in coastal California we’re blessed with the ability to grow food crops all-year long. What crops are the best to plant during the Bay Area rainy season? When is the best time to plant them? And what challenges can one expect from a winter garden? We’ll address these questions and others during this workshop, and you’ll come away with a better understanding of how to garden during the winter. Winter-appropriate vegetable starts will be on sale while supplies last. Participants have the option to join our regular community workday following the workshop.

Jason Mark is a co-founder and volunteer co-manager of Alemany Farm.

Register for the workshop.

Other workshops include:

Water Gardening/Pond Clean Up Workshop & Solar Cooking Demo

Saturday, September 16 — 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Alemany Farm

Instructors: Brett Stephens & Kerry Hughes

Building Healthy Soil: Soil Basics, Soil Fertility, and Cover Crops

Saturday, September 23 — 10 a.m. to Noon at Alemany Farm

Instructors: Abby Bell and Evanthia Skalkos

Preserving the Harvest: Pickling and Fermentation

Sunday, October 1 —  10 a.m. to Noon at Alemany Farm

Instructor: Mei Ling Hui

Introduction to Urban Beekeeping

Saturday, October 7 — 10 a.m. to Noon at Alemany Farm

Instructor: Fernando Aguilar

Find full descriptions and register for workshops on our website.

Suggested donation per workshop is $20 per person; no one turned away for lack of funds. All donations will benefit Friends of Alemany Farm via our fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. You can pay with cash or check at the workshop. Checks should be payable to San Francisco Parks Alliance.

See you on the farm!

--

Abby Bell

Farm Manager

Alemany Farm

Alemanyabby@gmail.com

alemanyfarm.org

Garden tips and Zucchini Fritters

A big welcome to all the new community garden members joining us from the brand new Lendrum Court Community Garden! One of the members from another garden sent me this link and I thought I'd share it with you all: Gardening in a Raised Bed It provides some helpful advice and good things to think about as you begin (or continue) your gardening adventure. 

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply is one of my go-to sources for information and supplies. They even have videos to help you learn. 

Other sources for seeds and supplies we like are:

Baker Creek Seeds which you can go visit in person at the Seed Bank in Petaluma
Bountiful Gardens located up north a bit in Willits
Johnny's Seeds
Green Jeans in Mill Valley

Rodale is a big name in the organic farming world and their article has some helpful information. Of course, it's not all applicable to our climate (I don't recommend corn, for example).

Sloat is another local spot with a pretty helpful website.

Do you have favorite places we should share with the community? Feel free to pass them on to me for future blog posts!

In case your zucchini is getting away from you, here's one of my favorite recipes to use it up:

Zucchini and Fresh Herb Fritters

about 2-2/12 lbs. shredded zucchini, squeeze the water out
2 eggs
1/2-1 c breadcrumbs
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
lots of fresh mint and basil
green onions/red onions/shallot- sliced thinly
salt and pepper
feta (optional)
(I've also seen recipes that use potatoes and flour, but I generally don't)

Squish it all together like you're making meatballs, form patties about 3" across, and fry in small amount of oil on both sides until brown. These even freeze well- I place them on wax paper inside a zip-lock bag and then put them in the toaster oven to reheat. Great way to store zucchini to eat later! You can get fancy and serve with a lemon or garlic yogurt sauce.

Reminder: Garden Resource Day on Saturday 7/8

Don't forget that I'll be at the Ft.Scott Community Garden this Saturday from 10am-1pm for a garden resource center. Community garden members are encouraged to stop by for materials to use in their community garden plots.We'll have compost and woodchips available. Bring your own containers (large plastic totes work well) or borrow some of our white buckets to transport to your garden plot. If you have specific garden questions, feel free to text or email photos with your question. 

Here's what we've been up to in the gardens: 

2017 calendar- June to December

I hope everyone is enjoying their community garden plots and starting (or better, continuing) to harvest delicious vegetables! Don't forget to put "ask a neighbor for garden watering help" on your vacation to-do list this summer. If you need an intro to your plot neighbor, email me (or leave them a note).

Looking ahead at the rest of the year, we're considering ways we can help you have a great garden! Generally, spring plantings start to finish up in mid-summer and it's time to plant fall crops in July and August-- which means it's time to start planning! Once your lettuce, kale, chard, etc. start to bolt, it's time to pull them out, amend the soil, and replant. Yay for new plants!

We're starting a trial garden resource center based out of the main community garden site at Ft. Scott. We'll have compost and woodchips available, and possibly a few seedlings, one Saturday a month from June-November. Bring your own containers (large plastic totes work well) or borrow some of our white buckets to transport to your garden plot. If you have specific garden questions, feel free to text or email photos with your question.

Fall plot checks will happen on Tuesday, September 12. Much like the spring planting deadline, this will be a hard deadline- your garden plot should be weeded, planted, and in good shape for the fall season and the pathways should be weeded and mulched. I'll also be showing off the gardens to my yet-to-be-hired new intern that day- let's make it a great & inspiring tour! In the meantime, expect messages from me if I'm in your community garden and see anything that needs to be tended to.

Upcoming garden dates- we look forward to seeing you!

June 3: National Trails Day- volunteers will be helping out at MacArthur Community Garden
June 10: Garden Resource Center open, Ft. Scott Garden, 10am-1pm
June 15: BBA Garden #2- weeding and woodchip party, 5-7pm RSVP here
June 20: Summer Solstice Garden Party Potluck, 3-7pm RSVP here
July 8: Garden Resource Center open, Ft. Scott Garden, 10am-1pm
August 12: Garden Resource Center open, Ft. Scott Garden, 10am-1pm
August 25: intern Anna's goodbye party, details to come
Sept 9: Garden Resource Center open, Ft. Scott Garden, 10am-1pm
Sept 12: Fall Garden Plot Checks- all garden sites
Oct 14: Garden Resource Center open, Ft. Scott Garden, 10am-1pm
Oct 14 (tbc): Fall Harvest Pizza Potluck and Pumpkin Party, 2-5pm
Nov 4: Garden Resource Center open, Ft. Scott Garden, 10am-1pm
Dec 9 (tbc): Winter Wreath making, Presidio Native Plant Nursery

What to plant in July and August:

The fog is here, it must be summer in San Francisco!

And what do we do to celebrate summer? Have a Summer Solstice Garden Party-Potluck! Follow the link for more information and to RSVP- the party is on Tuesday, June 20
RSVP here by 6/16

Garden happenings:

We've been busy in the main community garden at Ft. Scott hosting volunteering corporate groups, weekly drop-in maintenance, and a few special events + harvesting! 

I also attended a fundraising pizza party at Garden for the Environment at 7th and Lawton. Their garden is looking fantastic- I highly recommend a visit. Their garden is open to the public for visits 24/7 and is staffed on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10-2pm. Check it out!

 

Need more veggie starts for your garden? Visit the JCC today, 11-3pm

Rooftop Garden Spring Plant Sale & Open House

Stop on by to learn more about the JCCSF Urban Garden Program and garden spaces, and pick up a plant or two at the inaugural JCCSF rooftop garden spring plant sale and open house. JCCSF Urban Gardening staff will be available during the day to answer your garden-related questions and give informal tours of the building’s growing areas. Attendance is free. Plants will be individually priced.

Friday, Apr 28
11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California St (@ Presidio)
Laurel Heights neighborhood


*There is one public elevator next to the customer service desk that goes to the roof.  When looking at the two elevators it's the one on the left side.  There is also a main stairwell that goes all the way up (4ish flights of stairs)

website link 

Spring Planting Deadline- checks

I checked on all the gardens today and Baker Beach community garden #3 wins, hands-down, for the best looking community garden. The plots were weeded & planted and the paths have been maintained. High-five to everyone in that garden! Which garden will get the best-of show award next?!

Here are a few other gems from around the gardens:

I'm off on vacation for two weeks- stay tuned in May for garden updates!

Spring Planting Deadline is April 15

We have two sunny days ahead- just in time to plant your garden by the spring planting deadline!

What to plant? arugula seeds, green beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrot seeds, cauliflower, chard, collard greens, cucumbers, fava beans, kale, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, peas, radishes, spinach, strawberry plants, summer squash (i.e. zucchini), and turnip seeds. That's a lot of options!  

If you are a continuing gardener from 2016, you need to have a relatively fully planted garden bed by Saturday if you wish to continue using it in 2017. 

This has been a perfect spring for growing- rainy and sunny. Yesterday we harvested a full crop of radishes planted on March 3.     Don't miss out on your own amazing harvests! 

We'll be taking a break from garden visits for a few months while we focus on other garden projects. 

Keys to maintaining a healthy garden:

• Look closely for pests; learn what kind of pest each plant is susceptible to and how to treat them.
• Fertilize appropriately (with organic fertilizers)- leafy plants need nitrogen, fruiting plants like tomatoes need phosphorus (look for one where the middle number (phosphorus) is larger than the first number (nitrogen), such as 2-3-1). A good article from Rodale.
• Water as needed- when the rains stop, plan to water deeply 2-3 times a week.
• Understand your plant's life cycles- when to harvest, when are they bolting, etc.
• Ask a garden neighbor to watch your plot while you are away. Even a week can make a big difference! 

read more about what we've been up to...

Spring Pizza Potluck Party- this Friday

Hi!

The Spring Equinox Pizza Party was rained out last Monday, but it's on for this Friday, March 31, starting at 4pm. The weather looks great- come out to the Ft Scott Community Garden and bring some food and drinks to share. We'll have pizza dough, sauce, and cheese and harvest what we can from the garden for toppings. Your RSVP means I make enough pizza dough! We look forward to seeing you at the garden!

RSVP here

A few notes:

• There is no parking at the garden for the event- parking is available nearby in Wool Court and around the Upton/Kobbe area. Expect to walk a little bit.
• There is a portable restroom at the garden, as well as an adjacent playground.
• Wear layers- it gets chilly fast!

February Garden notes: upcoming dates and garden education resources

February's garden notes:

I'm sure you've noticed the signs of spring everywhere. In our gardens the tulips, daffodils, irises, and hyacinth are all open. That means it's not too early to think about planting- let nature water your garden for you and take advantage of establishing early season plantings.  The February crop list includes arugula, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, collard greens, fava beans, kale, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, onion seeds and sets, peas, radish, spinach, strawberries, & turnips. We continue to visit the gardens for plot checks and to distribute compost. Coming up: 3/14- West Washington, 3/21- South Baker Beach, 3/28-MacArthur... all from 2-4pm.

Please come out and work with us in the gardens! Weekend hours:
Ft. Scott February Volunteer Program Saturday 2/25, 10am-noon (please RSVP)
MacArthur compost and mulch: Saturday 2/25, 1:30-3:30pm
South Baker Beach compost: Saturday 3/11, 10am-noon
Baker Beach compost: Saturday 3/11, 1-5pm
West Washington compost: Saturday 3/25, 10am-noon
Portola compost: Saturday 3/25, 1:30-3:30pm

Our Spring Equinox Pizza Potluck is on March 20-RSVP here

In case you didn't know, we have a great resource for gardening in San Francisco right in the Inner Sunset-Garden for the Environment has been teaching SF to garden and compost for 20 years! A full list of their spring workshops can be found later in this post. Click to read more about GFE and other places to learn about growing veggies in San Francisco:

Garden Pests: birds and rodents

A lot of garden plots, ours included, have been demolished this winter by garden pests. Bird damage is usually easy to identify- they leave little triangle shaped notches in the edges of leaves, or eat the tender middles of kale leaves. Do your very best to keep birds out of your bird exclusion netting if you have it installed- use many bungee cords, try attaching the bungees to the wire mesh on the bottom of the garden bed, and/or "sew" up the edges with bamboo stakes.





More troublesome are the rodents. A common culprit is the California meadow vole or meadow mouse Microtus californicus. You may have seen these cute, native rodents scurrying across sidewalks. Wikipedia article However, it could be voles, mice, or rats chewing holes in the netting and helping themselves to your tender vegetables. These are frustrating pests- they climb, dig, and chew!!

Meadow vole inside garden bed

check for holes in netting

rodent damage

rodent leavings

Here are a few ways to discourage rodent activity:

Put cloches over the young plants: 

Build yourself some wire mesh cages or line the edge of the box with hardware cloth. 1/4" is the recommended size for mice. These photos are from the Ace Hardware on Clement Street- you want the hardware cloth, not plastic netting or 'chicken wire'. 

 Here's one gardener closing up holes in the netting with hardware cloth:

On our beds at the nursery we've built large and small rodent exclusion cages:

We've also noticed that their favorite foods seem to be peas and members of the broccoli family. They avoid strongly flavored foods (arugula, mustard greens) and don't seem to be as fond of chard and lettuce. So you can selectively protect your plants. Also, try to keep the garden bed tidy so they feel less comfortable there- they like plant cover to hide under. Finally, cultivating the plot regularly- digging up the soil to make sure they aren't creating tunnels and actually living in your garden plot is important. The best news is that they seem to be most problematic in the winter, so let's hope they find other things to eat in the spring!