Plan, Work, Water

*** Important Update ***
We are going to try to meet regularly on Saturdays at 6pm to work and plan. So, put us on your calendar!
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A week ago, we managed to empty the compost barrel and mix the good stuff into the empty spots in the main bed. Then we set some seeds in. I took a chance on summer squash and gave it a large section in the bed, 4x4 feet! I planted flax in various places, just for some color. Other seeds included greens like chard and mustard. As soon as I find the chart I made, I will post it.

The takeaway is that all areas of the garden should be watered, especially the entire raised bed. Please don't be selective and only water those areas that already have plants, or our seeds will never sprout. I also planted some pretty/fragrant things over on the bamboo pile. The bamboo pile is really intended to be for pretty non-edibles that will attract pollinators. I'm not keen on planting food there. This pile also needs to be kept moist so that the compost at the ends will break down, and so the flowers will grow. Don't forget to dump a bucket of water around our mulberry tree, the avocado at the fence, and the eggplant that is kind of hidden behind the mulberry.

Home Garden

I would like to open up this space as a place for our members to discuss their home gardens as well. If you have a home garden and would like to contribute to this space, please contact me and I will arrange it. I think we all have good advice to share on how to garden here in the Melbourne area.

Volunteers Needed

Volunteers to help with the garden will meet at 6 pm on Saturday the 19th and 26th of May, weather permitting. Please bring sun and eye protection, gloves, and sturdy shoes.
 
Tasks include:

Weeding (lots and lots of weeding)
Preparing compost
Rubbish removal
Sowing seeds

A Garden Green

Last weekend we dined on carnival carrots, bell peppers, and eggplant from the garden. I am looking forward to a large crop of carrots and parsnips. So, now is the time for us to consider sharing our bounty with those in need. Carrots keep for a while, are easy to prepare, and can be snacked on fresh or cooked into stew.

Also growing quite well are beets, peas, lettuce, and maybe even a few tiny tomatoes. Finally, tomatoes are fruiting! I never thought I would see the day.

I find myself thinking about building more beds with paving stones. It would be nice to build a little 2x4 foot bed for each of the little kids to grow a salad! The eggplant is still growing, flowering, and producing fruit. It has become a bit skinny and lost leaves with this recent chill and lack of rain. It did not occur to me when I planted it (novice!) that it was a perennial plant in this climate, but it sure is! The bed we have is really not designed for a large, long-lived plant. I've decided to try moving it at the end of the month. That means I will need a large, deep bed to plant it in.

Water is a continuing issue that is being discussed in the official meetings and such. Yes, there is a pond, pump, and whole setup back there. I tried priming and running the pump this week, and got no suction. I pulled the end of the pipe out of the pond and found the filter was fairly clear. I am clearly no expert, but I think the pump isn't working. Meanwhile, one of the watering cans gave out this week, so we are down to one. I enjoy the brute, earthy carrying of water buckets to the garden, but I am obviously the only one :)

I took the big little step, and signed the UUCB membership book today. I know! I've been here a nearly year and felt welcome from day one, but it just didn't seem necessary to make it official until recently.

What did we plant today?

Actually, that is a really good question. As you know, we are using the Square Foot Gardening technique (loosely). The fire ants colonized the bamboo we were using to partition off the squares, so we tossed those aside for everyone's safety. The beds are still planted in a square foot pattern, and as of now there are no empty squares. I didn't write down what we planted as we went, so from my poor memory... it might go like this:

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Green Bean	Bell Pepper
Celery (10/23)	???
Eggplant	Onion
Bell Pepper	Parsley
Leeks	Peas
Basil	Beets (10/23)
Carrots (10/23)	Green Bean
Raised Stone Bed (10/23)
Carrots (10/23)	Beets (10/23)
???	Kale (10/23)
???	Green Bean (10/23)
Lettuce (10/23)	Beets (10/23)
Bell Pepper (10/23)	Kale (10/23)
Parsnips (10/23)	???
Carrots (10/23)	Peas (10/23)

I admit, in the ??? spaces I can't even guess what we planed there. But there is, really, some seed there! There are only two spots labelled Empty/Available in the image above. If you have a hankering to plant something, tell me which of those two you want.

The Thank You Post

Today was the day I've been waiting months for... the compost is finally ready!

BIG THANKS to...

Richard, who rolled the heavy compost barrel all the way out to the garden and helped empty it into the second stone bed.

John, who mixed the compost into planting soil, leveled it all out, and put seeds in the ground.

Helen, who provided some tomato plants that will "grow like a tree." We planted them today as well.

Lisa, Stacy, and Max, Dan... everyone who has assisted with various odds and ends and advice.

Everyone else who brought matter for the compost bin. Without your rotting vegetables, our garden would not be possible!

Sunday Construction

Big thanks to Richard, John, and Lisa for deciding to move stones today. We managed to move 30 or so more paving stones to expand the garden bed. More of the same next week, and then we can fill it up with soil and plant some more stuff.

I set some more peas into the ground, hopefully these will do alright. We didn't harvest any eggplant today, even though 3 or 4 are growing now. Next week we should have a nice big eggplant dish. I'll go water tonight if it doesn't look like it will rain.

There were bees on the cantaloupe (muskmelon!) flowers today, so maybe things will be okay there after all. Flowers on the bell peppers are pretty little white/cream ones.