Guided Work Party - June 12th

Last of the heat loving summer veggies were planted today (basil, hot peppers, and eggplant).

Mini cucumbers (green apple, west India burr gherkin and cucamelon) were planted up the vertical garden on the side of the shed.

Garlic scapes on our porcelain garlic were ready to harvest today and a few early spring garlic bulbs were harvested for a sneak peak. They are still small, but should be ready in another 2 weeks.

Selina

Mini cucumbers planted along vertical garden. Dad’s shovelling compost, mum’s weeding, daughter planted 10 cucumber seedlings

Making teepees for runner beans and pole beans.

Huge harvest of greens - romaine lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach, radicchio, nozawana (Japanese turnip green), cilantro, radishes, mustard greens; salads for everyone!

Happy gardeners leaving with fresh spring garlic

Composting Conversations - Master Gardener Workshop

And that’s a wrap!

Master Composter Angela Hoy led two very informative and fun composting workshop this past week for fellow master gardeners from all over the Greater Vancouver Area. Angela prepared a wonderful talk on how everyone can getting started with composting and provided tips to improve existing composters. Even the crows above were listening attentively.

Gardeners were keen to try their hands at turning the compost bins and were able to observe the different stages of the compost material. Participants also categorized tricky green waste items which generated more interesting discussions around Keurig cups, tea bags, paper towels and dog poop!

- Wenwen

Gardeners participating in the composting game.

Many gardeners showing up to the workshop!

Guided Work Party - June 8th

A perfect day for gardening, partial cloud and quite warm! Selina was keen to get the rest of the summer crops in, so after a quick second to weed those that had grown in the last couple of weeks, more of the vertical growing supports were erected and cucumbers, squash and tomatoes planted. We noted that the garlic spathes have now started to appear, although only in one variety so far. And the broad beans (fava beans) were ready to have their tops removed as greedy black fly have been attracted by the soft juicy foliage. Some celery seedlings were added to the eastern herb bed, and the bean bed was prepared ready for the school group to plant later this week.

Angela

Celery seedlings around last year’s celery

Broad bean with tops removed

Bush bean plot ready for planting

Guided Work Party - June 5th

Supports erected for the upcoming cucumbers

More tomato supports

Despite the dreadful weather forecast and the occasional downpour, we managed to complete the usual two hour work party today; we erected both the tents and had to run for cover at least once!  However, we were able to erect the vertical supports and plant out tomato, tomatillo and squash plants, and Selina showed us how to remove the first flowers and lower leaves to encourage the plants to develop healthy root systems before starting to fruit. We had a surprise harvest of young lettuce, arugula and spinach leaves, some celery stems, and a few rogue potatoes that were growing in the wrong place!  Weeding continued in the leek and onion bed, and the squash bed before planting commenced.  

The Buddhist contingent arrived as we finished, and recited a liturgy before distributing and blessing the worms in the Edible Forest area and a few in the compost bin.

Angela

Guided Work Party - June 1st

Today we launched the planting of our heat loving summer crops. With nighttime temperatures finally getting closer to 15 degrees, we started to plant up the Four Season Summer plot and the Salsa plot with tomatoes, tomatillos, and summer squash.

Selina gave instructions to the group about cutting off the lower tomato leaves and burying the tomato stems deeply to encourage more root development, as well as cutting off any flowers on the plants, so that the plant’s energy focuses on growing more roots for a stronger, more productive tomato plant.

The tomatoes planted included the three cherry varieties for the FarmFolk CityFolk Citizen Seed Trials, which included the tried and true hybrid Sungold and two open-pollinated varieties Soleil and Strawberry Cherry. We also planted 6 varieties of winter squash in the decomposing straw bales from last year and put in new white stemmed chard seedlings in the Arabic plot.

Volunteers enjoying Silva’s delicious lunch!

The day was topped off by a NSG-funded lunch of chard fatayers and banana bread, courtesy of Silva, much appreciated by everyone! For refreshing beverages, Selina brought soda stream sparkling water with homemade flavouring choice of rhubarb rose cordial or rhubarb angelica ginger shrub. Surprisingly, the ‘shrub’ was the favourite, made with apple cider vinegar.

Link for Rhubarb Rose Cordial

http://www.morselsandsauces.com/2016/04/rhubarb-rose-gin-gimlet.html?m=1

Link for Rhubarb Shrub

https://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/rhubarb-ginger-shrub/s6g5c5wy  (*250 grams of sliced angelica stems were added to the rhubarb infusion)