Debbie's Pole Beans

Debbie Poirot has been quite successful with green beans in the garden. She told me today the seeds were saved from last year (as well as her okra.)

Harvest Bags

Jim and Margaret Ault have been hard at work ...again.  I'm so thankful they keep us supplied in bags!

What to Plant?

Bill Burgin posted on the gazebo a planting guide that he downloaded from the Cooperative Extension Service.  It tells what to plant and when to plant it in Arkansas.  Thanks, Bill! 

Fall Garden

Now's the time to plant your seeds for a fall garden.  Though the fall is not warm enough to give us sun-ripened tomatoes, many seasoned farmers tell me fall in Arkansas is a great time to reap a harvest.

Below are mustard greens I planted from seed a couple weeks ago.  They need to be thinned.  In the upper right of that same picture is kale that I transplanted from my house to the community garden.  The grasshoppers seem to really like the baby kale.  I have been advised to clip off the leaves that are yellow because the plant sends energy first to the dying leaf in an effort to save it.

This morning I talked with an organic farmer, Tara Stainton of Rattle's Garden in Vilonia, and she said she waited until this week to plant kale, hoping to miss the grasshoppers.

I have lettuce and collard green seeds waiting to find themselves in my soil...I just need the time to sneak down to the garden.  Anyone relate?  :)

As you clean out spent plants from the summer's garden, it's a good idea to add some compost or other organic material into the raised bed.  This will not only help aerate the soil but also add a fresh serving of nutrients.

Happy gardening!

To Carry Home the Bounty

I want to say Jim Ault should receive credit for this idea and its implementation (correct me if I'm wrong.)

If you look on one of the posts in the gazebo, there's a container with plastic bags to carry home your bounty.  Multiple times last summer I went to water my plot and went home juggling produce because I forgot to bring something to carry everything home.  Thanks to Jim, I've been able to carry everything safely home.  This week I made gazpacho and tomato soup from the garden bounty.

Some people haven't carried home produce in a while...and I am really tempted to relieve you of tomatoes that are rotting on the vine!  It's killing me to watch them go to waste.

Friday, my box received some general maintenance - pulled weeds and old tomato plants.  Some say, "let the tomato plants live" that the blooms will set again in cooler weather for "late tomatoes."  But I was anxious to start mustard greens (seeds) and kale (transplants from my house.)  Real estate is a premium with only 48 square feet.

This morning I went to the farmers market in Argenta (NLR), and my farmer friends say that fall gardening is really the best for raised beds.  The cooler weather and gentle rains make for healthy plants.  Be sure to add some compost or other nutrient enhancer occasionally because the raised beds leach minerals and nutrients quicker than a traditional "in ground" garden.

Beginning Beekeeping 3-Part Course

Ever thought of keeping bees in your back yard?

Learn how to do it in a FREE three session course.

TUESDAY EVENINGS, 6‐9 PM  OCTOBER 8, 15, 22

Evening 1: Bees hive & other equipment, honey bee biology
Evening 2: Seasonal colony management tasks
Evening 3: Keeping hives healthy – managing pests and diseases

Classes will be held at the U of A Cooperative Extension Office Auditorium 2301 S. University Avenue in Little Rock.

No prior knowledge of beekeeping is required. This course is offered for free and is open to the public, but registration is required to assure sufficient course materials will be available.

For more information or to register for the class, contact the Pulaski County Cooperative Extension Office at 501‐340‐6650.

Liquid Fish Soil Rescue

Do you take cod liver oil?  For about four years now I've been taking (and giving to my family) fermented cod liver oil.  It is said to be the superfood of supplements.  

One day I was looking on the website of the company from which I purchase my fermented cod liver oil and I saw they offered "byproducts and farm products."  Then I read this testimonial from a gardener in Phoenix, Arizona.  From experience I can testify that gardening in Arizona is no small feat.

Here's a snippet of explanation from the website:

When bacteria die off they give 15% of their weight in nitrogen, 3% phosphorus and 1% potassium.  When conditions and food are perfect bacteria can double in count every 15 min.  It does not take much to put out 200 lb's of nitrogen through bacteria if you feed your soils/bacteria. 

What is the perfect foods for bacteria?  They need protein, sugars, water.  For explosive bacterial growth vitamin B's and enzymes need to be considered.     Liquid Fish Soil rescue is an excellent living food for your soil.  We do not destroy the enzymes or change the product through any other heating / processing steps... it purely fermented.

A friend and I bought a gallon to share (you cut it down with water before application).  I'm looking forward to seeing some results!

Let me just say: this stuff stinks....like you'd expect "fermented liquid fish liver" to smell.

Has anyone used this? Or something similar?

Fall Garden

Who's in for gardening this fall?

It won't be long before it is time for those seeds to go in the ground.  I hope to plant lots of kale and collards.

Want to know what else to plant?  Green AR by the Day recently posted links to help us out.

Art in the Garden

Mickey Mouse happens to be a favored character in our house.  To our great surprise, we found one in the garden!

 We also stumbled upon the sculptor, Randy Ripley (also the garden's architect.)

Next time you see Randy, be sure to thank him for his many hours of creative effort to beautify the garden.

Busy as Bees

Ever noticed the fence at the end of the garden?

 Ever wondered what is behind it?

 Some friends are hard at work.

Yep, honey bees are helping to pollinate our veggies.   Their entrance is at the bottom of the box and the honey is at the very top.  There are over 30,000 honeybees at work in that box.

One of the most frequently asked questions regarding the hive is, "Who gets the honey?"  The beekeeper, whose name is Jon.  He was at the garden on Saturday.  Unfortunately I wasn't there when he came by (or I would have taken pictures.)  My husband and son said he gave a bit of demonstration and they were overflowing with information at dinner that night.

The next time you're at our garden, sneak back there and take a peek for yourself.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

To inspire you, this is a list of what was grown in our garden last year (in no particular order):

Eggplant
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Sweet Potatoes
White Potatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers - multi colors of sweet bell
Banana peppers
Jalapeño Peppers
Anaheim Peppers
Tomatoes - all kinds!
Okra
Peas
Carrots
Onions
Green beans
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Squash
Radishes
Turnips
Lettuce
Herbs - basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, rosemary
Flowers - zinnia , marigold, sunflowers


And here's a list from the U of A that tells you what and when to plant.

Spring: A Closer Look

Here are a few more pictures from the garden.

Charlotte has many flowers on her strawberry plants.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

 Bob Baxter admires his garden with a visiting young lady (I didn't catch her name.)

 The Aults have been busy.

 And two new signs in the garden...

Work Day in the Garden

We had a great turnout of volunteers for today's work day.  The kids certainly had fun in the dirt (and I have laundry to prove it. :)

 Several new boxes were built.

And several people did some "spring cleaning." (Steve Faubel on left, Jim Ault on right)  Mulch was spread between the boxes.

Others have plants in their boxes.  This reporter was a bit distracted by a certain 3 month old so I only took 3 pictures.

The garden is transforming.  Be sure to stop by and admire all the sweat equity.

Some of you asked about the red beans and rice recipe I served at lunch.  It is super easy to make and you can make enough for a crowd.  If you have leftovers, it freezes well.

Garden Expansion

We're starting to plan for more garden boxes.  Below is the site plan (green boxes are existing, purple ones are future).  I have begun to assign new boxes.  Contact me if you're interested in gardening this year.  luvmyhub AT gmail.com

A few of us met to talk about the gardens yesterday.  Cary Cox (POA President) is on left and Randy Ripley (architect and garden designer) on right.

Jim and Margaret Ault were working on their plots yesterday.  They gave me a nice mess of spinach and lettuce.  It made a yummy addition to my dinner.
The Aults also shared spinach with the Ripleys.  Below Claudette is helping herself.

I planted seeds (spinach, onions and lettuce) last week but they've yet to germinate.  I hope they didn't wash away in last week's downpours.

The Winter Garden

Y'all, I'm getting excited for spring!  Three weeks ago I gave birth to our third child, a 10 pound 10 ounce healthy boy (details here).  I feel a million times better than I have in nine months!

Yesterday I went to the garden for the first time in months.  Oh boy - it looks different from this fall.

First of all, the garden fairies built a compost bin.  It looks great!  Who wants to take credit for it?  All we need now is more compost.  :)

Looks like Clay Paul sowed some winter wheat as soil-enriching ground cover.  And, it looks like his mint survived the cold snap.

The main reason I went to the garden was to dump our ash bucket on my plot.  My parents scatter their fireplaces ashes on their garden so I thought I'd follow suit.  You can read more about using ashes to amend the soil here.  Our next bucket will be scattered in our yard.  We've loved burning a fire this winter!

 I suppose technically I should have had a soil sample taken first.  I'll put that on my "to do" list.

 I'm getting excited for spring!  The daffodils are poking up their sleepy heads in my flower beds.