Neighborhood garden visits in the evenings are starting on Monday 3/26 at the MacArthur garden (ppd. from 3/20), 3/27 at Portola, 3/29 at West Washington, 4/3 at Lendrum Ct., 4/5 at Baker Beach 1+2, 4/10 and Baker Beach 3+4, and finally South Baker Beach on 4/12. Phew! Taylor and I are ready for a busy four weeks leading up to plot checks on April 17. We'll be bringing seedlings and compost to your garden, or you can stop by the Ft. Scott Garden on April 14 during the Saturday Garden Resource Day from 10am-1pm.
Seedlings we hope to have: lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, kale, cauliflower, and peas. Be prepared with some way to protect your tender new seedlings- a bottle with the bottom cut off works for a week or two. Just be sure to remove it before the plant starts getting too big for it, or it will get stressed out and bolt without making a food crop. If your garden has rodent issues, plan ahead to get creative with galvanized hardware cloth and make some free-standing boxes to put over your plants.
What to know about buying strawberries for your garden: if you're heading to the nursery to buy strawberries, make sure you get what you expect. If you want good sized strawberries for eating, don't buy groundcover, native, or Alpine varieties. Look for varieties like Albion, Chandler, and Seascape. Further reading from Pam Peirce and Sloat.
Here's Taylor's blog post about spring in the garden:
Hello Presidio Community Gardeners, it is almost spring
time, which means it is time to plant! In this blog post I’ll be talking about
March/spring gardening tasks. I’ll give you some notes about things to focus on
in your garden, and even provide a list of plants for March sowing and
transplanting. J
(1)
Prepare beds for planting if you have not done
so already. Pull weeds, break up any soil chunks that may have formed in your bed, and clear any brush or debris. Amend your bed with compost,
manure, or organic amendments like bone, blood, and kelp meals. We have a
compost giveaway every month at the Fort Scott community garden. If you missed
our giveaway on March 10th, the next giveaway is scheduled for Saturday,
April 14th.
(2)
Start vegetable seeds indoors. If you are
starting seeds indoors, place pots next to a sunny window. Sowing seeds
directly into your plot will work especially for those that must be directly sown
(carrots, radishes, turnips) or for those that do well (cilantro, beets, fava beans, peas, squash). Buying transplants or
seedlings at a local nursery is often the best option when you only want one or two plants, or need them a bit larger (brassicas, squash, strawberries).
(3)
Check planted seedlings for signs of damage and
aphids. Wash aphids from plants using a strong water spray with a hose. For
smaller vegetables and flowers, use an organic soap spray to control aphids.
Keep an eye out for ants. Visit:
SFPUC for the Pest Control Tips booklet. The Pest Control Tips booklet will help
you with identifying the pests in your garden, and give you tips on how to
combat them. There are other great gardening resources on this site as well, so
definitely check it out! Remember that you are limited to using organic methods
of pest control in your garden plots and not all the tips listed are OK in this national park.
(4)
Leafy green veggies like kale and lettuce that
did well during the winter in sunny garden spots may bolt (begin flowering) as
temperatures warm. Plant these crops in part shade for summer leafy greens.
(5)
Prune flowers that have already bloomed (early
bloomers).
(6)
Many weeds will begin flowering and setting seed
as rains slow and temperatures climb. Be sure to remove weeds before they can
release their seeds into your garden soil.
(7)
Consult a planting calendar to see what you can
sow and transplant into your garden plot this month. I took a quick look at Pam
Peirce’s “Golden Gate Gardening” and came up with a quick list of crops that
can be planted this month (all of these can be directly sown unless otherwise
noted!):
Artichoke (bareroot), fava bean,
scarlet runner bean, snap bean, beet, broccoli (transplants), cabbage, carrot,
cauliflower, celery, collards, kale (transplants), leek, lettuce, mustard,
onion bulb (seeds or sets), parsnip, pea, potato (tubers), radish, spinach,
squash, swiss chard, turnip
I hope this list is helpful! Thank you for reading my post
and if you have any questions feel free to contact me at tjais@presidiotrust.gov
Taylor
