Strawberries are Popping, so are Donations

The garden is looking glorious, and that is before the old boat full of wild flowers gets going. Beautiful, and full of life. Plants, birds, neighbors growing and tending a garden together.

More than just creating a community space, Fred makes two deliveries a week to the Ballard Food Bank. This spring that meant growing, harvesting, boxing up and packing onto his bike over 700 pounds of chard, herbs, and lettuce. The standard bundle of chard weighs about 10 oz. Now that we are moving from the spring greens into the heavier summer vegetables, the pounds donated will be a bit quicker.

Fred and Christal manage the garden, but they can’t do it alone! Last week, Luke and his son dropped off starts and helped build a drip irrigation system. Beau manages his own innovative garden, while also helping out around the community garden. His strawberries dot the sidewalk side of the garden. Jose keeps the Holman Grove watered. Nora shared some seeds for Japanese garlic chives. Joe planted all the beautiful flowers in the roundabout by the cemetery and grew some starts to donate. Joanie donated a fig tree and lots of tree knowledge. Cheryl rescued raspberries from a pending development to replant at Holman Grove. Phil noticed the herb garden needed work and organized a work party. Holly from Sage Homes made all the stunning new signs. Kids built the bird houses that have nesting baby birds.

Stop by on Saturday!

So many starts to get planted! And always some weeding to be done.

Saturday June 19th

12pm – 4pm

What’s Growing

  • Beans – Starts of Rattlesnake pole beans and seeds of Kentucky Wonder.
  • Lettuce – most of the spring lettuce is picked. But lots more starts going in.
  • Tomatoes – starts donated by neighbors, the garden hotline, and a few volunteers.
  • Cucumbers
  • Summer squash – thank you for the starts Luke!
  • Jerusalem Artichoke
  • Blueberries
  • Rhubarb
  • Potatoes – starting to flower.
  • Peas – starting to harvest and donate!
  • Mint, rosemary, bay leaf – growing along the sidewalk closer to 95th.
  • Strawberries – drop by and pick one – nothing like a fresh strawberry!

Donation Request

We need a person with a truck to help haul some dirt!

Soil test for moisture

With rainy days and hot days all mixed together, it may not always be obvious when you need to water. Fred suggests doing a moisture test for your soil. Scrape away the top layer, grab a handful of dirt, and squeeze. If it falls apart it needs to be watered.

Avoid powdery mildew

Dreams of quick bread has me feeling extra vigilant about powdery mildew on my zucchini. The silvery lines on the leaves Fred says are probably from transplant shock. He said that preventative measures are most effective. If you can postpone it starting for even a few weeks you are way ahead. Drought stress reduces resistance, so never let your zucchini get dry. You can also spray the leaves with a water and baking soda mix. If you do spot some starting, you can clip that part of the leaf off.