Houston Community Garden

Cardy Lewison and I picked and watered and cleaned out aged plants from beds this morning.  With the warm weather and constant watering things are producing very nicely.  All the beets are gone and we picked 12 pounds!!! of green beans.  I suspect for that the next week or two picking 8-12 pounds of beans every 2-3 days will not be unusual. Tomatoes are starting to come in as well. There will be quite a few ready for picking within a couple of days. Feel free to pick what you may need, keeping in mind that Joan and Judy pick for the Manor and Court sunday/monday/tuesday somewhere in there. Pick and share while the harvest hits!  It comes fast and goes just as fast!

Despite my best intentions, we’re more than half way through the season and I’m finally getting a little report on numbers.  The cool and wet beginning spring and early summer meant we watered only a couple of times during May and June. It seems that the weather also affected the growth of heat-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers, which are looking a little rough, although still producing.

The inclusion of private boxes this year has also made numbers for the total harvest and hours spent in the garden change, so comparing one year to the past isn’t quite accurate.  I must say, however, what a wonderful treat it is to have so many folks using the garden on a regular basis and I’m very grateful to everyone for helping to water the community beds as well as their own.

Here’s some numbers to chew on

All are approximate and based on what was recorded in the log.  I’m sure actual time, workers, visitors, and harvest is larger than indicated.

March: 10 hours (prepping for and planting w/2nd graders)

3 different volunteers + 25 second graders and teachers

April:  15 hours

4 different volunteers

May: 85 hours

35 different volunteers (mostly 2nd graders planting the garden)

June: 29 hours

17 different volunteers

July: 42 hours

20 different volunteers

In addition, garden “renters” logged 75 hours of time on their own boxes and general garden maintenance, and we had 10 visitors sign the log. We even had a special note from GOD, who took the time to sign to log and let us know he brought the rain on July 24th.

Harvest has been slow but is quickly picking up as we move into August.  

May brought a surprise batch of Morel mushrooms scattered throughout the mulch.  Just enough for Roger and I to split 

June saw mostly lettuce, radishes, peas, parsley and spinach, but things really kicked into gear in July with 22 different items harvested during the month: 4 dozen garlic bulbs (cured in my garage and now ready to go), 10# of peas, 10# beets, raspberries by the handful, kales, swill chard, basil, and the beginning of zucchini, cucumbers (>15# already!), onions, carrots, tomatoes and peppers.

Harvest usually continues well into September for peppers and tomatoes as well as sweet potatoes and winter squash.  The next month will find us picking lots of pole beans, zucchini and cucumbers, which are always fun to eat and share. And Dill! We have dill! Come get some! Please!!!   And Horseradish. If you want horseradish, let me know. We have plenty that will need to be dug this fall!

Thanks to Joan Redig and Judy Munson, a healthy harvest of items makes it into the hands of folks in the Manor and Heritage Court each week.  And the Food Shelf continues to benefit on Thursdays (when I don’t get rained out! Thanks, also, to Laura Vanderlei who waters on Sundays and Deb Miller who waters on Tuesday evenings when necessary. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful volunteer firefighters who fill up our tank: Skifton, Carr and Schutte. Gracias!!!

Over the past week or so, the garden “fairies” have responded wonderfully--weeding and picking up the garden area when possible.  On Tuesday, Karen Bennett and I spent a couple of hours finishing up weeding inside and out, and my six kids for the day did a terrific job staining all the benches and picnic tables.  I must say: the garden looks terrific! Thanks to everyone for stepping up to pull weeds!

Enjoy these beautiful beautiful summer days as we head into fall and place your order for an Indian Summer that will take us--and our garden into October.

See you in the garden!

Audrey

 P.S. Volunteer Karen Bennett is working on putting together some recipes for seasonal produce.  Stay tuned!

Well,  If you weren't at Pesto Festo last Sunday you missed a great day!  With 10 different pestos, Roger's wine, and a lovely cheese tray from the always generous Marge Kitchen and Karyl Dronen, we had a full "brunch" on our hands!

Joan Redig walked away with the top honor of "Besto of Pesto Festo" with her Genovese Basil Pesto, while Laura Vanderlei was awarded 2nd place for her chive pesto, and Irish Britson earned 3rd place with spinach basil pesto. As a side note, upon a recount afterward, it was discovered that Brenda Grupe's Mango Parsley Pesto also earned a 2nd place finish and was overlooked.  Sorry Brenda!  Your "Besto" award is "in the mail!"

Meanwhile, at the garden, WE ARE HOT! Who would have thought we'd be wishing for rain, but we are!  Thanks go out to Rich Carr and Steve Skifton, who filled up our tank last week.  Hopefully we won't be asking you to do again too soon.

Thursday is supposed to be hot hot so I plan to get out there by 5:30 am to harvest and water for the food shelf so I can avoid the heat of the day at 2 pm.  Join me if you want!

Happy sunny days!

It appears that we may have more sunny days than rainy days in the near future, so if you're not doing a happy dance, you should!

What a fabulous day at the garden! A chilly morning brought sunny skies and a fantastic opportunity to spend some time outside. Matt Schutte and Heather Martin walked over from the elementary school with their second graders and we.....planted! Everything (almost!)

Highlights of the day included a bald eagle soaring overhead, threatening a nest of some red-winged black birds who were convinced they were going to be able to get the best of that eagle, mid-air! And a late discovery of a Killdeer nest on the ground next to the gourd rack explained why that bird was SO upset at our activities all over the garden today! We left the eggs where they were, as they are not in any major traffic area. The birds will hatch soon and be on their way, I am sure. If you go in, just be prepared for a shrieking killdeer to greet you.

Happy Spring (finally)!

Roger, my kids and I spend the morning out at the garden preparing boxes, weeding and moving some free mulch Roger aquired. And what a beautiful day! I was so happy to see several of the family boxes already planted! What fun! I look forward to seeing what everyone is growing this summer!

Steve Skifton put some water in our tank last week, (THANKS!!), so we have water for planting, and Mr. Botcher from the city recycling center was kind enough to turn over the leaf mulch pile with his bobcat this morning. Whew! That saved us days of work with a pitchfork!!

We're supposed to get rain tomorrow, which will be nice, but the strawberries and peas already planted will need to be watered by Sunday. Even though more rain is forecast, sometimes it doesn't amount to much. Is anyone available to check on and possibly water the few things Saturday and/or Sunday? (I have triathlon on Saturday and a graduation in Iowa on Sunday).

The next big day is planting with the 2nd graders, currently scheduled for Wednesday, May 22nd, with a rain date of Friday the 24th. We've moved the time to the morning, from approximately 9 am until 11 am. I already have commitments from two folks to help out, but I could always use another two to help direct the planting groups If anyone is available on Wednesday from about 9 - 11 am and would like to help out, let me know!

Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful season of sun!

Audrey

Despite the winter that won’t let go, the Houston Community Garden is busy planning for another season of growing good food. In March, the Houston Elementary Second graders began the process, planting seeds in recycled egg shells and egg cartons. With help from their teachers, Matt Schutte and Heather Martin, the kids will water and “love up” their seedlings, recording their growth as they sprout under lights in their classroom. Weather permitting, they’ll plant their seedlings in the garden in May.

This summer marks the fifth year of the Houston Community Garden, a volunteer effort and project of the Friends of the Houston Nature Center with a goal to provide food to the Houston Food Shelf and educational opportunities to the greater community. While our goals have remained successfully consistent, each year we add something new to improve our variety or experiment with techniques. Last fall, we planted blueberry bushes and rhubarb, and made room for a large raised bed for strawberries, which will be installed when the weather allows.

While plans for educational classes are fewer this year, we look forward to hosting the first annual “Pesto-Fest-O” on Sunday, July 14th. The afternoon will include taste-testing competition and recipe sharing of a variety of pestos. Prizes may be given for the favorite pestos of the day. So break out your favorite recipe and tune up your taste-buds for this seasonal treat!

The biggest change this year is in opening up some 4’ X 16’ garden plots (boxes) for the use of individuals or families on a first come first served basis. For a small requested donation, the garden will provide everything except seeds and labor that will allow a person or family to grow what they’d like. Interested gardeners must sign up in person at the Houston Nature Center by Friday, May 3rd and attend a mandatory orientation session on May 5th.

Lastly, everyone is invited to the Houston Community Garden open house and orientation meeting for gardeners and volunteers on Sunday, May 5th at 1 pm. (We have requested a sunny day of 70*, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t stop by!) The garden will be open for tours and we’ll be accepting new volunteers and orienting new gardeners! If you’ve never been out to the community garden before, this will be a great opportunity to be amazed at what we have accomplished in a short time. It truly is a special space! Meet us at the nature center and we’ll guide you to the garden!

Until then, dream of sunny days and warm weather! It’s out there somewhere!

-Audrey

Hello Garden Friends!

Whew! Just when I think that the season is done, there's always more to do!

Roger has been busy at the garden mulching leaves, cutting back unwieldy raspberry bushes, planning for blueberry bushes, and working on getting us some water piped into the garden.After the third graders pretty much emptied the garden at the end of September, we've been pretty quiet. Cardy Lewison and I spend several hours cleaning out all the beds and have yet to move compost from the pile into boxes for next year. Garlic will need to be planted at the end of the month, too.

We are still moving full steam ahead with the plans for the Wine and Cheese Social on Sunday, November 4th from 3 to 5ish. (Music!!!) I'd like to have a meeting of the minds prior to the event however, for those who can make it, so we can talk about the future of the garden. I would love for anyone who has interest in the garden or who has helped to stop in so we can best plan. It's always nice when I'm not the only one making decisions...

So, here's what we have: END OF SEASON meeting: Sunday, November 4th at 1 pm, Skifton Building WINE AND CHEESE SOCIAL: Sunday, November 4th, 3 pm, Skifton Building

I decided to take a peek at the sweet potatoes yesterday and found wonderfulness under the dirt! Hailey and I dug about 1/2 of each of the two beds and came away with 37# of sweet potatoes! Beautiful! I'm saving the rest of the potatoes for when the 3rd graders return to the garden next week. They'll love to help dig them up!

I also grabbed all the logs and tallied numbers.

In July, August, and through yesterday, 866# of food were harvested and logged, representing 28 different foods and herbs. 46 people logged visits and volunteer hours. Over 200 hours were put into the garden during that time. An estimated 230 people from the Houston area benefited from the harvest of the garden.

Once again, I like those numbers. Mainly because I know that they are all higher. Many visits aren't logged in the book. And once extra food is put into the library, who knows how many different families may benefit?

Good stuff happening!

We still have tomatoes, peppers, lots of squash, sweet potatoes, kale, and a handful of lettuce, in addition to herbs. Joan is guiding me to work with the horseradish after the frost. Anyone want to participate in a horseradish party?

Stop by the Taste of the Trail tomorrow, Saturday to taste some yummy tomato soup and squash soup, both made from garden harvests. Roger will be there with some of his yummy stuff, too.

And, mark your calendars for the 2nd annual Wine and Cheese Social! November 4th from 3 pm - 5 pm! Special music guests is the chamber group, Quintessence. I'm excited!