First Harvest

On Saturday I harvested the first of my radishes - sort of thinning them out.  I also planted more radish seeds near the tomatoes.  By the time the tomatoes need the space it will be too hot for radishes.  I learned this space saving trick from a local farmer, Eddie Stuckey.  He plants radishes with broccoli and says the radishes act as weed barriers.

However, I'm not the only one harvesting things.  Master Gardener, Charlotte, has been tasting sweet handfuls of strawberries every now and then.  It's a good thing she put up the net to keep me away the squirrels.

The first tomato was spied this weekend in the Bone Yard.  Congrats to the Bones!!

 Also in Charlotte's Spot: pattypan squash.

Yum!  Summer is coming!

And thank you Lord for the nice gentle rain.

Epsom Salts on Peppers and Tomato Plants

Thought of using Epsom salts on your peppers and tomatoes?  According to this article, it would be beneficial when the plants flower.

Suckers

When you hear the word "sucker" what do you think of?

-lollipop

-gullible person

-gardening

-all the above?

Growing up on a farm in Kentucky, when I heard the word sucker it caused me to groan.  Sweet treats were not headed my way that day.  Instead I would be walking through a field breaking off shoots of tobacco.  It was sticky and definitely not sweet.

Thankfully, when gardening on a small scale, pinching off the nutrient sucking shoots is not a miserable task.  Do it now before those suckers steal your joy.  Below are pictures from my tomatoes.

See also this article on pruning tomatoes.

New Signs

This weekend three more signs were added to our garden (with more to come!)

For those who don't speak French, poireau sounds the same as the family name, Poirot, but means leeks.  The sign reads something to the effect of Poirot's Leeks or Leeks from the Poirots.  If you don't know the Poirot family, Mr. Poirot is a chef at one of the downtown hotels.

Filling the New Boxes

At 6:30pm, the work team was rather small.

Some were cuter than others.

But more came; the hands multiplied.

The children enjoyed themselves.

I think the men will be sore tomorrow.  Though my husband said it was a great work out.

The women had a grand time talking.  :)

I left at dark and the pile was greatly reduced.  My children had very dirty bath water.  It was a super fun evening.

Garden Updates

Charlotte is not the only one with a cute plot.  Kim and Cori Scott have theirs decorated with style, too.

Looks like Randy was hard at work this weekend building more boxes.  Now we need volunteers that can shovel some dirt into them.

Coffee Compost

Did you know that Starbucks gives away coffee grounds for your garden?  Often it is already bagged, waiting for  you to take it home.  However, if you go in a store and don't see any sitting on the ground just ask a barista if they have any.  Most of the time they are delighted to give you what they have.

It is better that the grounds go in the garden than fill up the landfills!  Earthworms love the coffee.

I tilled coffee grounds into my bed before planting but am also using the grounds as compost on top of the soil.

BJ's Nursery

Charlotte told me about BJ's - a nursery in Protho Junction.  They have better prices than nurseries in town.  Apparently all the Master Gardeners know things like this.  I wanna be one - someday.

Thursday was my birthday so I decided that part of the festivities would include buying plants.  BJ's is family owned and they were very helpful.  They even gave me a "bulk discount" (at least that's what I called it).  As I was checking out, one of the family members said, "Give her 10% off!"  I didn't argue.

Yes, that is bamboo - and I know most people don't like it.  I want it as a privacy barrier between my house and the apartments across the creek.  Look at all the other beautiful plants I brought home!

Because it was my birthday, I splurged on succulents.  They remind me of the four years we lived in Phoenix.

This was the main reason for going to BJ's: landscaping the front of our house.  Last fall we ripped out very big and very large ugly bushes.

This weekend my husband bought a truck load of compost to go with my new flowers.

 I'm so happy with the results.
And just for neighborhood kicks - here's a picture of the participants for our egg hunt on Saturday.

Personality

Our garden is beginning to show personality.

Charlotte added some very cute plant markers.

Jim Ault added one of his hand crafted airplanes/ weathervane.  He told me it takes eight hours to make them (and I forgot how many cans.)  Jim is a radio controlled air plane enthusiast.

What will you add?

Site Plan and Owner Map

Ever wondered who owns which box?

Randy Ripley made a document that answers that question.  I added to the blog.  You can find it here.  Or, for future reference, if you go to the homepage of the blog, you will see it as a tab across the top.

gypsum to break up clay clods

The following is an email Julie received from Bill Burgin.

I've started working on my grow bed at the park and found a lot of clay clods in the mix.  I used gypsum to break up clay in my garden in the past with good results and have decided to try it in the new bed.  It will not affect the Ph reading. Here is a website that covers the topic well, I think:

http://www.humeseeds.com/gypsum.htm

Of course, adding a lot of organic material like peat moss, compost, etc. will help too.

I did put sulphur in my bed for potatoes and tomatoes since they thrive better with Ph 5 for the former and Ph 6 for the latter. In a 4 X 12 bed, it will take one-half pound with more of it on the side potatoes are planted on and less on the tomato side.  The soil tested Ph 7, which is neutral. The sulphur disappears over a few months so it has to be reapplied next year.

Thought you'd like to pass this on to those using he beds.

People Have Been Workin'

Our fearless leaders - Randy & Claudette Ripley.

Bo Baker is filling one of the "C" boxes with edible as well as non-edible plants.  He'll trade you pots for plants.

The Ramsey family is jumping in with both feet.

I (Julie) have decided to use a grid this year for the first time.  I'll put tomatoes in the two foot sections.

The below box belongs to Jim and Margaret Ault.

Bill Burgin now has the stakes upright (but I forgot to take a picture.)

Charlotte is putting us all to shame!  Her box looks wonderful.