Inside Brian's Garden
August 14, 2024 - A Winning Collection
TOP LEFT - Thanks to Denny, we submitted our garlic and onions to the County Fair this year. Here are the results! Ribbons are fun to hang, but so are LOTS of onions curing ABOVE.
Dear BG Team -
Tomorrow is forecasted to be partly sunny with temps in the 60s-70s. We’ll have a rolling start to the work party between 9 and 10 am.
This Week’s Harvests … 162.5 pounds!
Monday 8/12 evening harvest for the Brinnon Food Bank was supported by Lindsay, Lys and Amber. They harvested beans, beets, cucumbers, salad mix, stir fry mix, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, summer squashes and zucchinis, squash leaves, parsley, basil and garlic for a total of 113.75 pounds.
BELOW: Wednesday 7/31 morning harvest for the Port Townsend Food Bank was supported by Karl, Lys and Amber. They harvested beans, carrots, cucumbers, kale, onions, peas, summer squashes and zucchinis, stir fry mix, parsley, basil, garlic and flower garnishes for a total of 48.75 pounds.
Thanks to August 8th Work Party Volunteers!
Diane weeded and planted chard and radicchio. Mike planted radishes in the grow bags and started on garlic clean-up. Karl added hog fuel around the harvest washing station and weeded the south-east corner of garden along fence-line by rhubarb patch. Mehdi weeded the front entrance to the garden, around the chicken coop and in the garden itself. Lys weeded path weeds and behind the chicken coop. Amber staked tomatillos in grow bags, tied-back peas, maintained tomatoes, cleaned up squash plants, installed ollas in the watercress bed, finished garlic clean-up and took a load of yard waste and trash to the dump. Denny weed whacked at the Fairgrounds to complete our commitment to them for letting us use space for our planting party back in February.
So many jobs well done!
And on Tuesday 8/13, Kathy S took Amber to her neighbor’s house to get us a large supply of BioChar to use in the garden. Another excellent tool in our cultivation box!
Tasks for August 15th Work Party
Planting:
- fill newly emptied grow bags with compost and seed radish (round two)
- transplant radicchio starts in Bed 6N (round two)
- transplant bunching onion starts in Bed 9S
- transplant chard starts in Bed 6N
- Planting Schedule for Fall and Winter Harvests:
- August 15
- seed in flats: Afghan collards (4 4-packs)
- direct seed: carrots (Bed 1S)
- August 22
- direct seed: onions, radishes, carrots
- August 29
- direct seed: beets
- transplant: collards
- September 5
- direct seed: Asian greens/bok choi, lettuces, Swiss chard
- September 12
- direct seed: kohlrabi, spinach, radishes, arugula
- September 26
- direct seed: fava beans
Irrigation:
- finish making sure all irrigation lines are in direct contact with the soil underneath any straw mulch, pin in place
- check lines for any leaks or excessive drips and repair where necessary
Groundskeeping:
- weed aisles and add additional hog fuel to sparse aisles
- weed vegetable beds
- (HIGH PRIORITY) move remaining soil pile along inside east fence-line into buckets or grow bags, weed and mulch where pile was
- weed behind the chicken coop, add cardboard and hog fuel to sheet mulch the entire area
- install ollas in celery bed
Plant maintenance: (HIGH PRIORITY)
- train cucumbers and squashes to use their trellises
- weed green beans and tie them up
- weed Brussels sprouts under insect netting
- harvest shallots (from Bed 9S) to dry in chicken coop
- maintain tomatoes (tie-up and remove suckers)
- remove poppy seeds from dried plants
Compost:
- set-up second Earth Machine composter next to first one (after soil pile has been moved)
- (HIGH PRIORITY) get three-bin compost system under control and managed on a regular basis
- we will be adding decaying fruit from the orchards within the next month to our system
We hope to see you for some FUN in the garden!
- Amber, Lys and Denny
Co-managers at Brian's Food Bank Garden
P.S. 3-Bin Compost System Resources:
https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucmgnevada/files/118303.PDF
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