Saturday July 14, 10am-1pm: Garden resource day at Ft. Scott Community Garden (click for a map)
- From 10-1 I'll be at the garden with buckets of compost and seedlings to give away. This month there is: Red Russian Kale, Arugula, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Red Mustard, Broccoli, Cabbage, Tuscan Kale, and Romanesco. Tools are available for you to borrow during that time (shovels, pitchforks etc.). Please plan to return tools, buckets and empty pots to the garden by 2pm. Thanks!
Tuesday July 17: Summer Plot checks
- I'll be checking all garden plots to make sure they are planted, watered and don't have too many weeds or any vegetables flowering/making seeds that shouldn't be. If you have questions about what's in your plot, please ask before then! Plots with these issues will get a warning, and then will have one month to fix the problem.
Friday July 27, 4pm: Taylor's End of Internship Potluck Happy Hour at the garden
- Join us for snacks and drinks at the Ft. Scott Community Garden to celebrate the amazing year Taylor has had with us in the Presidio. She has transformed the herb garden, started a brand-new Intern CSA and made innumerable contributions and improvements to our program. Her cheerful, enthusiastic, and welcoming presence will be missed!!
Garden updates:
Here we are - it's summer! The plants are needing our attention this time of year- water (2-3 times a week), pest management, probably a little organic fertilizer. San Francisco, and the Presidio specifically, is such a unique place to grow vegetables. Our best season is early spring resulting in bumper harvests right now. But the plants struggle during the dry, windy summer, when most of the country is knee deep in corn and tomatoes. At least the weeds have died down a bit!
In the gardens we're harvesting cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and pounds of squash. Radishes, carrots, greens, potatoes, leeks, and onions are filling out the intern CSA boxes, starring on the volunteer snack tables, and occasionally showing up on plates at Arguello and The Commissary. All the peas are done and ready to replaced. The cherry tomatoes are just starting to appear. And we're looking for open spaces to fill in so the harvest will continue into the fall.
We hosted 33 folks from Salesforce at the Ft. Scott Community Garden last Tuesday. They helped clean up- removing vegetation, flowering weeds, leaves etc., plus potwashing and mulching. They also helped with some pest prevention- adding wire onto the bottom of new raised beds in the herb garden and in our soon-to-be dahlia and edible flower gardens. We continue to appreciate their hard work in our garden and the donation pending to cover a new potting and storage shed!
Finally, here's a cool shot of a Western Fence Lizard hanging out at the garden beds in West Washington. I also spied a Western Bluebird at the MacArthur Garden. What have you seen?
Recipe Recommendation:
Looking for a great recipe to use that giant cabbage you grew? I love this and it's great for picnics since there's no mayo! You can grow the cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and green onions! We'll be making some for an upcoming block party at the Presidio Native Plant Nursery this month.
Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro and Orange Dressing
Bon Appetit, July 2007, Yield: Makes 8 servings
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
2 (8-ounce) bags coleslaw mix (bagged?! nope- from the garden!)
4 ears of fresh corn, shucked, kernels cut from cob
2 medium carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, cored, cut into thin strips
6 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Whisk orange juice concentrate, rice vinegar, and canola oil in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
Combine cabbage, corn kernels, carrots, red bell pepper strips, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes for flavors to blend. Toss again and serve.
Interns take note: Summer squash
-by Emily Lovell
A question I get asked
frequently when I’m in the gardens is “What can I plant right now?” One
suggestion I have is summer squash, but you’ll have to hurry! Most summer
squashes can be planted through the middle of July in San Francisco but that
date is fast approaching. In our San Francisco climate, I would suggest growing
zucchini (maybe an heirloom variety), which is the most vigorous type of summer
squash and the most resistant to blossom-end rot.
Blossom-end rot, another
topic that has come up a lot recently in our garden community, is a
physiological problem commonly associated with cucurbits or members of the gourd
family, Cucurbitaceae. This occurs when a fruit begins to mature but the tip
starts to decay. Sometimes this is because of a nutrient imbalance, root damage
or uneven watering. In foggy climates, such as San Francisco, blossom-end rot
tends to be caused by the squash blossoms staying too moist, sticking to the
fruit and rotting, rather than drying up and falling off. To try and prevent blossom-end
rot, remove the blossoms when the fruit starts to swell. The squash should still
continue to develop and can then be harvested when fully developed. If you’re
interested in using squash blossoms in a recipe just note that harvesting the
blossoms before there is a developing fruit means that a fruit will not
develop. Remember, the smaller the squash when you pick it, the better it will
taste. A good rule of thumb when harvesting squash is to wait until the fruit
is at least 4 inches long but never more than 10 inches. (Jean's note: squash have male and female flowers- the male ones can be harvested without reducing plant yield; consider hand-pollinating the female flowers to ensure that rotting isn't caused by lack of pollination)
In closing, I’ve included
some summer squash blossom recipes that use a lot of ingredients that might be
growing in the gardens right now.
Squash Blossom Recipes:
