Taylor and I so excited to dig in for the new year and so far are very happy with the successes the greenhouse has yielded-cauliflower and arugula seedlings sprouted and with a set of true leaves in only 3 weeks. They are a little leggy, I suspect due to reduced winter sun, but otherwise they look really healthy.
Come out and see the new greenhouse, get some compost, and maybe take home a seedling this Saturday from 10am to 1pm at the Ft. Scott Community Garden. It's a little tricky to find, but if you head towards 1330 Kobbe Avenue and take Wisser Court-the second road on the left (there are 4)- you'll find the garden at the end of the road. The driveway isn't in very good shape, so I'd recommend parking near (but not blocking) the garages.
A few calendar items of note to all gardeners. Ft. Scott volunteer programs are open to everyone to help us with garden improvement projects. Thanks!
January 27, 1-3pm: Ft. Scott volunteer program
February 10, 10am-1pm- Garden Resource Day at Ft. Scott
March 10, 10am-1pm-Garden Resource Day at Ft. Scott
March 22, 4-7pm, Spring Equinox Pizza Potluck at Ft. Scott RSVP here
April 17- Spring Planting Deadline, all gardens plot checks
Starting on March 20, we'll visit each garden for one evening garden session where we'll bring compost and seedlings to you and be available to answer questions in person. Please check the calendar and make a note of when we'll be at your garden.
Here's Taylor's blog posts about pests:
Hello all! In this post I’ll be focusing on pests that
you may be encountering in your garden beds.
I thought that this would be a great topic to cover in light
of the recent rodent epidemic that most garden beds in the Presidio have fallen
victim to. And, though the rodents are doing their best to distract us from the
other pests lurking in our raised beds, it is important to remember that there
are also many non-beneficial insects that plague our garden beds. In order to
give our vegetables the best chance to succeed, we need to understand how to
manage these pests in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Below,
I’ve listed a few of the major pests that community gardeners in the Presidio
should be aware of (these are pests that I’ve personally observed over the past
few months) and how to manage them in a sustainable way without the use of
dangerous chemicals and pesticides.
Rodents: Agh! The scourge of the Presidio community gardens!
There has been a huge boom in rodent population this past season and I’m sure
many of you have felt the effects. If seedlings are disappearing from your
garden bed or it looks like large bites have been taken out of your vegetables,
the rodents (most likely) are to blame. Jean and I are hoping that the number
of rodent predators (hawks, coyotes, etc) will soon catch up with the rodent
population. But for now we are using hardware cloth (gopher wire) to make
protective cages to place around our seedlings. As a last resort, we’ve also started
using traps (with peanut butter as bait) at some of the gardens. Rodents are
actually quite smart and often the traps don’t fool them. With this pest
I think the best thing to do is just wait out the population boom, and maybe
research rat-deterring plants to grow in your garden bed. *important note- rodenticides
can be dangerous because the poisons that work on rodents can also kill humans
and other mammals that may accidentally come into contact with them, or kill predators that eat the poisoned rodent. Do not use
rodenticides in or around your garden bed (or at all really)!*
Aphids: I’d say aphids are definitely one of the most common
pests I’ve seen on our vegetable plants in the Presidio. Aphids are very small
insects that you may have seen clustered on the undersides of leaves or flowers
in your gardens. They can be gray, black, or light green. Just a few aphids
won’t do much damage to your plants, but quite a few can be damaging to your
garden as they spread plant diseases and stunt plant growth. There are a few
different ways to get rid of aphids. The first is through physical removal. If
possible, crush aphids when you see them. If there are too many to crush (or
they are in a tough location to reach with your hands) a quick blast of water
can remove them from your plants- just make sure to stabilize your plant while
you are blasting it with water. If worst comes to worst, using a soapy water
spray or an organic/chemical free insecticidal soap with neem oil or essential
oils will definitely do the trick.
Snails/Slugs: During the rainy season these pests thrive in
our garden beds. They are especially dangerous to new seedlings or a newly
planted garden bed. If you see holes in the leaves of your seedlings there is a
strong possibility that slugs or snails are the culprit. I’ve found that
physical removal and killing of the snail or slug is the best way to stop the problem.
Snails and slugs come out to feed after 10 PM and sometimes will feed on your
plants well into a wet and foggy morning- so nighttime and early morning hunts
may prove fruitful! A thorough garden cleanup is productive step to rid your
bed of these pests- take out weeds and any brush that has accumulated in your
bed (this is prime snail/slug real estate). Sluggo is an organically approved pesticide that kills snails and slugs. Or you can try saving clean eggshells and crushing them up in a thick ring around the bottom of the plant. If you find any native Banana slugs, toss them in some nearby vegetation.
I think the most important thing to remember about pest
control is that the most effective work is often done by hand. Looking carefully and physically
removing non-beneficial insects from your plants will go a long way in setting
up your garden for success. (And hang in there with your rodent frustrations,
you are not alone!)
That’s all for this post- I’ll try to do another pest post
in the next couple of months outlining some more pests that I’ve come across in
the Presidio community gardens.
Please email me if you have any questions or need advice
about how to deal with a certain pest! tjais@presidiotrust.gov
-Taylor
