Thursday, April 19, 2018

May Garden Resource Day/ Our week at work/ Maximizing Growing Space


Hey all,

Dates:
The next Garden Resource Day at the Ft. Scott Community Garden will be on May 12, 10am-1pm. We'll continue to have seedlings to give away, so if yours were eaten, plan on some protection before you replant. 

And not related to the gardens, but good to know: the Presidio Spring Cleaning Day (for residents only) will be on May 19. 


This has been a bit of a stressful week. We had an education program all set for Monday morning which canceled because of the rain. Tuesday was the Spring Planting Cut-off and unfortunately quite a few folks didn't meet the deadline. It's never fun to be the enforcer but I try to be as fair as possible, keeping in mind that other neighbors are waiting for a turn to use a garden plot and that we want to promote well-maintained, attractive, and weed/pest free community spaces in the park. For everyone who did tend their gardens-we're *so* glad you're continuing to participate in the community garden program. Many of the plots looked really lovely :) Enjoy the harvests to come! And don't forget to start watering twice a week now that the rains have stopped.

Moving on this week we have 3 good sized volunteer groups coming out- Salesforce, Redaptive, and Earth Day in the next 3 days. Taylor and I have big plans for getting the Ft. Scott Garden all cleaned up and ready for a new season. Finally, tomorrow I have an additional intern starting- Emily will be joining us for six months and we're super excited! 

Here's Taylor's new post on: Maximizing Growing Space
Hello community gardeners of the Presidio! It’s that time of year where Jean and I are out checking gardens to make sure everyone is planting. A wonderful added bonus of visiting your gardens is seeing how creatively each of you use the space you’ve been given. I love observing the differences between garden beds and contemplating how everyone arranges their spaces in totally different ways. Your creativity has inspired me to do some of my own research and write this blog post on maximizing growing space in your raised bed gardens. 

1) Think of your garden in layers
Start with the tallest crop (artichokes, tomatoes, peas, fava beans) then think of mid-level/low-level crops that might create beneficial relationships with your tallest crop. For example, lettuces, chard, and rhubarb thrive under shady conditions. Perhaps placing a few chard and lettuce plants underneath your tall artichokes may help you to grow more food while also maximizing garden space! Remember to utilize your horizontal AND vertical space. Pole beans, tomatoes, peas, and squash can be trellised- leaving a whole lower level of garden space for you to plant shade-loving vegetables. Thinking of your garden in layers can help you to produce more food in a small amount of space. 

2) Succession planting
This one is pretty simple- don’t plant all of your veggies at the same time! Odds are they are going to grow at pretty much the same pace (especially if they are greens like lettuce, chard, and spinach) and you will find yourself with a whole lot of food that you don’t know what to do with! Staggering planting times can really help to keep you with a consistent and manageable amount of food. Do a little bit of planning and research and see how much time the plant that you are growing takes to mature. If you have a packet of radish seeds, don’t sow them all into your garden at once. Space out your plantings/sowings so that you always have radishes in your garden bed that are ready to harvest. 

3) Inter-planting/companion planting
I could probably write a whole blog post on this topic alone! Basically, there are certain vegetables that have been reported to grow well together. For example, planting basil next to tomatoes can improve the flavor and growth of the tomatoes because of the basil’s ability to repel certain pests that often plague tomato plants. Beans and peas are great for planting alongside most crops as they help to enrich soil by fixing nitrogen to their roots and pulling it to the top layer of soil. Beets are also great soil-enrichers and are great companions with lettuce, onions, and brassicas. However, it’s also important to remember that some plants do not make very good companions! For example, beans and beets have been observed to stunt one another’s growth when grow side by side. Do a little bit of research on companion plants before placing new plants into your bed and maybe you’ll be able to keep some pests away, or maybe you’ll plant crops that will help enrich your soil and your other veggies!

Hope you all are enjoying your gardens in these beautiful spring days, email me if you have any garden related questions- tjais@presidiotrust.gov
Taylor