Changing Season in the Garden
Changing Season in the Garden The season is changing in the garden. All the spring greens are being persuaded to give as much as possible before they bolt and get pulled out. The beautiful chard and lettuces brought lots of color this spring, but it is time to start planting summer crops. What's Growing Blueberries - have berries! Strawberries - have berries! Thornless Blackberries - have berries! (and are staged beautifully - swing by and check them out!) Peas - getting huge! These are a mix between vine and bush. Kabocha Squash - under the cloche. Carrots [...]
Grocery Outlet
Norm & Tammy @ Grocery Outlet Norm & Tammy: Owners of the Grocery Outlet, find them working on the floor! Part of our community: Their passion is schools. They provide all the food for the annual Ballard Performing Arts spaghetti dinner fundraiser. They also donate to students, including annual donations of Thanksgiving Meals and the snacks for Ballard Grads Bus. And that's just a small sampling! Hiring Philosophy: look for nice people. "You can't teach people to be nice," Norm said. "But you can teach them what they need to know to work in [...]
Get Creative with Play Streets
Host a play street on your block! Neighbors can get together and turn their block into a play street - up to three days a week! The permit is free, the process is accessible, and the possibilities are endless! Bike free for all Talent Show Neighborhood Crafting Party Fire pit and BYO Bocce or Cornhole or Street Hockey Battle of the neighborhood bands Fun for kids, and adults. Permitting Process All the city info you need is here. The city has streamlined permitting, but it is still a process. If you have any questions or want somebody [...]
Support the Food Bank at the Community Garden
Support the Food Bank at the Community Garden Gardeners Fred and Christal spend many hours in the various gardens they manage across the neighborhood - at the Crown Hill Center, Whitman Middle School, and the Holman Grove the garden in the triangle by the Petco. We are so lucky to have them here driving the vision to make our community greener, prettier, and more delicious. All the food grown in these spaces are for passersby to enjoy. Most of the food is donated to the Ballard Food Bank. On Monday, Fred loaded up his bike trailer with over [...]
Root for the Kale!
Root for the Kale! The gardeners are planting kale! We have such a perfect climate for growing kale, but the Crown Hill Community Garden was unable to grow it. When the gardeners took over the space, the dirt was full of club root - a fungus that affects the roots of most brassicas. So the gardeners focused on growing chard and lettuce - lots of chard and lettuce. Club root spores can live for ten years - that's a lot of lost broccoli and kale. Not to be deterred, of course the gardeners came up with a clever [...]
Huge Spring Haul to the Food Bank
Huge Spring Haul to the Food Bank This week, the gardeners donated 100 pounds of fresh herbs and greens to the Ballard Food Bank. Boxes of chard and miner's lettuce along with piles of fresh herbs - all harvested from the land outside the Crown Hill Center. Before this plot was turned into farmable land, it was an underused stretch of grass - and now it is creating a place for neighbors to connect and find nourishment! Stop by on Saturday! Do you manage the roundabout on your block or other right of way garden space? Are [...]