Inside Brian's Garden

Thanks to September 19th Work Party Volunteers!

Lys finished pruning grapes and removed affected branches, leaves and fruit. Amber removed remaining pea plants, added a drying line under the canopy where we can hang towels to dry, moved some grow bags to inside east fence-line and planted with arugula, seeded beets in Bed 6N. Karl weeded along the north fence-line. Mike prepped Bed 2N and planted collards and kohlrabi and transplanted onions in Beds 6N and 8N. Kathy transplanted Asian greens/bok choi in Bed 9S and lettuces in Bed 3S.

Karl also made us some more low hoops we can use in the garden! They will be fantastic for next spring when we put our starts in the ground or when we need to have a place to store flats of seedlings. Thanks, Karl!

Tasks for September 26th Work Party

Planting Preparation: 

• Garlic Bed
• prepare Bed 7N for planting garlic next week
• remove all plant material
• amend soil with compost
• add 3 wheelbarrows full and rake into existing soil

Groundskeeping: 

• continue weeding and adding chicken-wire to outside north-fence line and sheet mulch along fence afterwards
• weed in between double fence-line (east side of garden)
• weed aisles and add additional hog fuel to sparse aisles
• continue weeding behind the chicken coop, add cardboard and hog fuel to sheet mulch the entire area

Plant maintenance: 

• remove squash plants that have died and are no longer producing fruit (yellow crookneck and scallop squash plants in Beds 4S and 5S)
• water plants in grow bags

NEXT WEEK: Planting Party - Thursday, October 3rd

• Garlic
• two varieties to be planted: hardneck (Music) and softneck (Transylvania)
• plant spacing = 4-6 inches apart in all directions (the more space given, the larger the heads will grow)
• after planting, mulch with straw
• Radishes
• seed in empty grow bags along north fence-line
• plant spacing = 1-2 inches in all directions
• planting depth = 1/2"
• Fava Beans
• treat with legume innoculant before planting
• prepare beds for planting (remove all plant material and amend soil with compost)
• north ends of Beds 4N and 5N (after cucumbers are removed)
• entire Bed 9 (after zucchini is removed)
• plant spacing = 3 inches in rows with rows at least 12 inches apart
• Cover Crops
• inoculate any legume seed with inoculant before planting
• prepare beds for planting 
• east side of Bed 3N (after mizuna is removed)
• west side of Bed 2S (after lettuce is removed)
• south ends of Beds 4N and 5N (after delicata squash are removed)
• south ends of Beds 4S and 5S (after cucumbers are removed) - be sure to leave watercress
• plant very densely to cover all areas of the soil
• we will tarp Beds 6S and 7S after plants are done producing 
• (this will allow us to use this space for our compost pile rehabilitation project)
• Mache
• prepare beds for planting (remove all plant material and amend soil with compost)
• north ends of Beds 4S and 5S (after scallop squash and yellow crooknecks are removed)
• Spring Flowering Bulbs ??
• if anyone has any of the following bulbs to share, please let us know and we can add them to the garden for spring blooming bulbs!
• Lily
• Daffodil
• Iris
• Trillium
• Grape Hyacinth 
• Tulips

**planting tips and recommendations from “Vegetable by Vegetable: A Guide for Gardening Near the Salish Sea” by Marko Colby & Hanako Myers

We hope you can join us in the garden to maintain this wonderful food hub!
- Amber, Lys and Denny
Co-managers at Brian's Food Bank Garden

P.S. An updated garden map can be found on the inside of the shed door.