The garden is always—even if it is raining! But we had our workday inside so the gardeners didn’t melt.
A very indoor workday
We still had a lot to do. We talked about our goals for the garden. Some highlights included:
Making the outside of the garden beautiful
Keeping the garden organized/tidy around the fences
Keeping a community engagement focus
Donating abundantly
We agreed to set a donation goal of 2,000 lbs. for the year. Help us out by logging all your donations and by harvesting regularly so nothing goes to waste.
A rainy garden day
We also had a spirited conversation about the merits of having teams harvest weekly to avoid any produce spoilage. There were strong points on both sides, but for now no decision has been made. Bring your ideas to the next workday!
In terms of what to plant, February is a tough month as the last frost date isn’t until March 10. That said, for now the weather looks very mild. Plant at your own risk!
It’s the time for potatoes, onions, and leeks. Lots more to come next month, and think ahead—planning your garden “wishlist” now will ensure you save space for all the things you want to grow.
Winter is coming to the garden! Prepare your plots by pulling any dead plants, adding compost to the bed, and consider adding a cover crop to keep the soil healthy.
Remember to disconnect all hoses after every use and cover your plants with a frost blanket or similar when a freeze is expected.
Volunteers repaired and replenished the front beds
It’s a good time to add slow-release fertilizer and turn your soil to break the life cycles of diseases and insects.
We have to watch for veggie nibblers of all sizes—even for our huge carrot harvests!
Keep an eye out for the cabbage louper moth, which may be trying to nibble holes in all your leafy greens! And remember, if you harvest from outside in, you can keep harvesting your lettuce plant multiple times.
Refresh your bed in winter
There isn’t much to plant in December, but you have a few options, including annual rye, spinach, mustard, or turnip greens, turnips, radishes, and carrots, and onions, garlic, and leeks.
It’s always a beautiful day in the garden!
How to Prepare Your Luffa
We harvested the luffa but due to timing, our plants weren’t able to dry on the vine this year. Don’t despair! You can DIY. Here’s a video that explains how.
In summary:
Cut off the ends and poke a few holes in the luffa skin
Put on a baking sheet and bake at 300-350 degrees for 30-40 minutes
Let cool completely then peel the skin
Rinse then let dry for a few days (I also soak them in a tiny bit of bleach with water for a few minutes to kill any organic material)
Shake and squeeze the dried luffa to remove the seeds
Give away your home-grown luffa and impress your loved ones!
Bee-Lunch, New Plots, and T-shirts
Join us after the workday on January 13 for a “bee”utiful brunch! We will celebrate our harvest and learn a bit about our honey-loving hive. All are welcome! This is a true potluck, so bring whatever you would like to share!
January is the time for new gardeners! If you would like a plot or are an established gardener ready to switch your plot, please plan to attend in January! You must be present to get assigned a plot.
Plots are $35 each, paid to the garden
New gardeners are limited to one garden plot; experienced gardeners can sign up for two
Gardeners who want to switch spots can let Dan know so we can arrange switching/trades
A mock-up of our cool shirts!
T-shirts are coming! We agreed on a simple shirt, dark green and short-sleeved, with a logo on a front pocket and a design on the back. We are still working on ordering and pricing but shirts may be around $10-20 each. More details coming soon!
Thank you for coming to the workday!
See you at the next workday, Saturday, January 13 from 9-11 — with brunch after!
Batten down the hatches, everyone! It’s gonna freeze tonight! Please unhook and drain all hoses and be extra-sure the water is turned off. Cover your plants with a frost blanket—If you use another type of covering, plan to remove the cover again in the morning so you don’t overtoast your greens!
We’re in the thick of it now, but the garden is still looking good thanks to our water team!
We even discovered a spider friend!
We focused on harvesting and mulching. Special shout out to the Young Men’s Service League for helping with the heavy lifting.
Turn that compost!
At this point, the focus is on just getting through. Pull any struggling plants. Water often and partner with nearby gardeners. Okra and peppers still like the heat, so try to keep harvesting. If you can keep your tomatoes and eggplant alive until it cools down, you can get a fall crop! Otherwise, plant a cover crop of black eyed peas or basil just to keep the soil intact.
Feels like hot season!
At this point, our temps are predicted to remain over 100–we don’t recommend trying to plant anything new. As soon as the heat breaks, you may be able to plant our cole crops for fall, but planting now will just roast them. Hang in there!
Black eyed peas make an excellent “green manure”
We also learned a great technique to keep our hoses in good shape—thank you to Mike for teaching us this firefighter load method and Fire Marshal Kimberly for teaching us the name (the “High rise load”). Basically, just loop the hose back and forth across the hanger instead of creating a circle. This will help our hoses last longer and prevent kinks!
Mike demonstrates the better hose technique
By popular vote, our September meeting will also start at 8 a.m. See you Sept. 9 from 8-10. Hang in there!
It was lovely to garden and brunch with so many wonderful people this weekend! We accomplished a lot and had a lovely time.
Quite the group at the workday!
We had a big group of volunteers from the Young Men’s Service League and the Boy Scouts—we thank them for their help!
Many thanks to our eager helpers
We focused on pulling out diseased and dead plants—and we saw a lot of blighted tomatoes. They had the “early blight” fungus that grows well in hot, humid weather. Make sure you put these cuttings in the trash, not the compost, to try to limit the spread of blight next year.
So much to harvest!
Now is the time to trim back your summer plants, and make sure to water, water, water. Our sporadic summer rains aren’t going to be enough, so please supplement.
It is ok to use a timer or a sprinkler, but only when you are present at the garden. We do not want to leave water running if we aren’t here—water is expensive and we don’t want a flooded garden! so please be mindful.
Remember to grow UP not OUT
Looking ahead, we need to focus on harvesting. Okra can be harvested every single day. It is the only crop we allow anyone to harvest from any plot! It just grows too fast for us to keep up otherwise.
Wow, what a haul! We’ve donated 800 pounds and counting so far this year!
Things to plant: okra, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers (for a fall harvest!), OR try cover crops like basil or black-eyed peas. A cover crop protects your soil and keeps the bees happy!
Delicious garden brunch
Special thanks to Ed and Lynn for their work on the garden brunch! So many people brought fantastic garden-fresh dishes to share, and it was lovely to spend time relaxing with fellow gardeners.
Remember you can share harvests with friends and neighbors!
Thank you and we’ll see you at the next workday, Saturday August 12, 8-10 a.m.!
Thanks to Al and Dan for helping out at the new Metrocrest Teaching Garden. The garden will be open this fall, and will help teach how to grow vegetables and fruits organically
Use this quick guide to identify the different gourds growing along our fence!
The long, skinny Trombocini squash are edible just like summer squash. The fatter bottle squash (or Chinese gourd) is also edible, but will be easier to eat when small. It gets a tougher outer skin as it gets larger. Luffa are also edible, but only when really small—when big, they are very fibrous and it is better to dry them out to use as organic sponges.
These plants are growing intermixed on the side of the fence! Pick carefully!
The Texas winter made it a quick and mostly indoor workday — thanks to those who braved the cold!
Not much survived the Great Freeze!
We tidied up our plots — not much survived the freezing temperatures. Then we moved inside to talk spring planting and plot assignments.
Gardeners, will you lettuce be your Valentine?
Think ahead for the whole spring season! If you want to plant potatoes, that part of your plot won’t be available again until June! If you want carrots, go ahead and plant the seeds, but be prepared to water often until they get established.
Remember, grow UP not OUT — we practice square foot gardening.
The type of crop you plant will determine how much space you have left for spring
Remember to replenish your compost! We want soil all the way up to one inch from the top. Include a slow fertilizer to help give your spring plants a boost.
Spring planting is around the corner!
Harvest your winter greens. We are in the last bit of winter and spring is coming (even if it doesn’t feel like it yet!). If crops were badly damaged in a freeze, you can sometimes remove just the damaged areas, but many in our garden looked like a total loss.
The good news is it is time to plant many things — as soon as the soil warms. It is still too early to plant tomatoes outside but we are getting close!
Plant potato “eyes” and we recommend “hilling” as you go. Onions can be planted from sets an inch deep. Root crops should be planted by seed; don’t let the upper layer to dry out.
Otherwise, think lettuce, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, beets, or pea pods.
Our next workday will be Saturday, March 12, from 9-11 am. See you there!
Ick! Watch out for the invasive hammerhead flatworm. Read more to see how to kill them safely. (Spotted by Megan in Plano this week!)
This invasive species has hitchhiked to the US from Southeast Asia and threatens our earthworm populations. The Hammerhead Flatworm moves like a snake and has a flat head like its namesake, the hammerhead shark. They look super gross.
In addition to directly competing with and killing earthworms, they carry parasites that can harm humans and mammals (like our pets!), plus they can make predator species like birds ill.
If you find one, please take a photo and report your find to researchers at the link above; they are tracking the spread of this threat. Then, kill it — citrus oil or salt are the fastest ways to handle these pests. Do not handle barehanded and do not cut them up — that will just produce more!
Last warning! Tonight is supposed to hit the 30s! If you didn’t harvest your summer crops, consider this your final warning!
Cole crops like broccoli or cabbage should be fine, but you may want to consider covering anything delicate. Please remove any coverings during the day so your plants don’t bake!
Please be sure ALL hoses are off and disconnected toprotect our pipes!
Grow & Share Community Garden 