Tax Day update! April 15 garden notes

April has been a great month so far- there are flowers blooming everywhere, there's still been some rain, and most of the garden plots are looking fantastic! We've had some really lovely open garden sessions around the Presidio- neighbors coming out and meeting each other, garden members sharing extra seedlings and produce, and lots of information exchanged about pests, how to plant, and when to harvest. 

We also had a fun volunteer event yesterday afternoon- we screened enough worm castings to fill 14 five gallon buckets and chatted about how we make compost in the Presidio. Coffee and pastries rounded out a sunny two hours. Thanks to those of you who came out and helped! Our next event will be May 26 at the Native Plant Nursery! RSVP here

Here's the upcoming schedule. We hope to continue to bring out a few seedlings when we visit the gardens. 

Free Seeds at the JCC and Indian Valley Farm plant sales

Free seeds at the JCC on California (Tuesdays 5-6pm and Fridays 11:30-1pm) and plant sales this weekend and next in Novato:

mid-March garden update and April special event invite

Happy March!

What a great month for gardening! Those of you who planted in the sunny days of February are seeing the results- a few weeks of rain, and now more sun. The veggies in the garden plots look great! For those of you who have not yet planted this spring, you have just 2 weeks left to get plants in the ground by the March 31 planting deadline.

Excited about the pizza party on Friday? We are! I've made 5 batches of pizza dough. We're planning to harvest leeks, potatoes, arugula, broccoli and kale for the pizzas.

For April, our special event is a compost yard tour  and volunteer work party- we'll be screening vermicompost (aka worm castings) which is an amazing fertilizer we incorporate into the compost we give you for your gardens. Come help out and see where all those green weed bags end up! RSVP here

Coming up on the calendar:
If you've never gone, the SF Flower and Garden Show started today in San Mateo and it's always worth a visit: https://www.facebook.com/SFFlowerShow/

Daylight savings time has begun so we have started our evening open garden times!
3/17, 5-7pm  Portola open garden
3/18, 3-7pm Ft. Scott Pizza potluck
3/21, 2-4pm WeWa plot checks/ open garden
3/21, 5-7pm BBA 1&2 open garden
3/24, 5-7pm WeWa open garden
3/25, 10-12pm, SBB plot checks/ open garden
3/28, 5-7pm BBA 3&4 open garden
3/31, 5-7pm SBB open garden

Garden to-do list:

• Pull annuals that are flowering and replant.
• What to plant now? Try arugula, runner beans, beets, bok choi, broccoli, broccoli raab, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chard, cilantro, favas, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard greens, peas, radish, spinach, strawberry plants, and turnip.
• Check for aphids! In the hot days of late February the aphid populations were exploding on members of the Brassica family (kale, broccoli, cauliflower etc.). These aphids are grey. Also look for black aphids showing up on fava beans, chard, and members of the Allium family (chives, onions etc.). Wash them off with water and remove infected leaves. If they are bad, spray with insecticidal soap/soapy water. Do not buy and release ladybugs in our national park, however. Vigilance and frequently checking your plants makes a huge difference and avoids this:

  

  grey aphids on cabbage

• Prepare to plant your warm weather crops in the next 4-6 weeks: green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini.