Lots going on in the gardens these last 2 weeks. I don’t remember ever gardening in heat like
we have had this season. My pump is running most of the time just trying to
keep everything watered! If this is the
way it is going to be in the coming years, I believe those of us who are
providing food for the local communities are going to face new challenges for more
effective ways to conserve water and address the increase of insects and bacteria
that are cropping up in some of our soils.
I know that here in my gardens I water with overhead sprinklers because
I pump water from the irrigation ditch.
This increases the potential for fungus which will grow on the big
leaves of cucumbers, beans, squash and tomatoes. It seems that many gardens in the area have
been affected by “powdery mildew”. This
is the first year that I have experience it in my garden and we have it now in
the community garden. Spraying with Neem
Oil can knock it down, but it is not always affective, especially when we have
to water so much in this heat. This will
definitely affect the yields this year for these crops.
Did I mention that I was consulting on the Whitetail Park
Community Gardens
here in the Heights on Sioux Lane? It is a pilot project for the Housing
Authority’s low income properties. We
have had a great year, and just last Saturday we had “Music in the Gardens”. The activity brought awareness to the garden and
it was fun to see the interest of those living in the neighborhood. The young children painted rocks to place in
their garden plots and there was good food and chatter! Hopefully these
community gardens will be a new focus in the coming years for these types of
housing projects.
This weeks share will provide you with an abundance of food…and
I don’t want to hear any whining about “what am I going to do with all of these
squash and cucumbers”!!! ;--))) With the cost of food certainly on the rise
with the national weather challenges and crop loss, I think you need to
consider freezing and canning all of those extra veggies. I would be more than happy to teach you
how! It’s called sustainability, and
self sufficiency! Your basket will have
lettuce, beans, broccoli, pattypan and zucchini squash, radish, beets, tomatoes
and cucumbers.
I have lots of canning books here if you would like to
peruse recipes. I have already given you
several pickle recipes to try, so I hope you are taking advantage of the
cucumbers you are receiving. I always
have extras that I sell to the Fieldhouse Café and Good Earth Market, but I can
certainly save some for you. It’s salsa
making time, too. If you want tomatoes
to can, let me know.
Remember to recycle those clam shells and baskets that I am
sending you home with. Bring them, along
with your box or cooler on your share day.
See you on Thursday….2-6 PM. Please let me know if you are not coming.
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