Victory Garden status Monday June 24 2013

Summer's here, we're hard at work and reaping the fruits of our labor.

Monday morning June 24, 2013, Whit and I did some weeding and watering and mulching and picked 22 lbs of 1 cucumbumber, one onyun, 5 squarsh, 3 bell peppers, one tater, and 5 cabbiges and delivered to Shotgun Row on South St. See pic below.

Whit, Rita, Jane, Sue, Arlene, showed up to work Monday but it was so hot it was dangerous so we decided to postpone until Friday morning.

Selby and Jan (Dickey) pulled 30 big beautiful lbs of corn and took to a Food Pantry!!!

Zinnia beds have they first blooms.

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

      05/13/2013  21 lbs

      05/16/2013  51 lbs

      05/23/2013  94 lbs

      05/25/2013   2 lbs

      05/30/2013  37 lbs

      06/10/2013   2 lbs

      06/14/2013  97 lbs

      06/24/2013  52lbs

   2013 total    578 lbs

Next work date is 730am Friday morning.

We need to:
    Water and weed.

    Prepare plot 3 (left front) to plant peas.

Finance report:

Expenses 77.69.

$100 donation from Whit.

$100 additional donation from Patree.

We are waiting honorarium from Cordova Garden Club.

Prior balance as of 5/1/2013: 707.80.

New balance as of 6/24/2013:  830.11.

We plan to sell excess garlic and give all proceeds to either the Food Pantry or Page Robbins. Please let me know your preference. $2 per bulb specific variety and $1 per bulb unknowns.

Ain't God good!
cw

One bee with heavy pollen sacs

Produce delivery 6/24/13 

Victory Garden status Monday June 17 2013

More wonderful news and opportunities in the garden.

Friday morning June 14, 2013, Arlene, Whit, Val, Bari, Crystal and 6 scouts:

1. Dug all the taters (77 lbs) and onions (10 lbs) which I will take to the Food Pantry this Thursday.

2. Mulched around the pole bean pots.

3. Weeded and watered.

Selby and Jan (Dickey) work daily in the experimental plot (6) with fantastic success!!!

Zinnia beds have they first buds.

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

      04/11/2013  41 lbs

      05/01/2013  64 lbs

      05/13/2013  21 lbs

      05/16/2013  51 lbs

      05/23/2013  94 lbs

      05/25/2013   2 lbs

      05/30/2013  37 lbs

      06/03/2013 117 lbs

      06/10/2013   2 lbs

      06/14/2013  97 lbs

   2013 total    526 lbs

Next work date is 7am Thursday morning.

We need to:
    Water and weed.

    Mulch all bare ground with the many bags of grass clipping I gathered dis mornin,

    Prepare plot 3 (left front) to plant peas.

Ain't God good!
cw

Bari and Arlene planting pepper plants

Whit and Crystal and scouts diggin taters

Victory Garden status Satiddy 6/8/13 Next Work Day Monday June 10 430pm

We made excellent progress in the garden dis morning.

Amy, Adam, and I got plots 2 and 5 all weeded and all the unplanted spaces planted in purplehull peas and set out mater plants 19-21 and spread out all the bags of grass clippings in plots 2 and 5.

We also watered everwhere needed. We ran out of time before we dug any taters. I also put diluted fish emulsion on the Verlington zinnia bed trying to resurrect it. I suspect some premerge since it has been richly fertilized, carbon boosted, watered, and had a nice soup of diluted fish emulsion. The zinnia bed on Peterson Lake appears to be coming along just fine.

Next work day, as I try to accommodate a wide range of schedules, is Monda 4:30pm in da afternoon. Please RSVP to this email if you will be there.

We need to:
    mow and trim at least oncet a week (needs mowing now, but not trimming),

    water the three pea patches on even days of da month (plots 2, 4, 5)

    pull any weeds you see, 

    get about 20 more bags of grass clippings (da more we mulch da less we weed),

    spread grass clippings on all bare ground, including plot 1 'cept da corn stalks,

    and dig the middle row of taters.

Ain't God good!
cw

Amy settin out more mater vines

Adam waterin pea patch number 2

Freshly mulched pea patch number 1

Victory Garden status Thursday 6/6/13 Next Work Day Satiddy June 9-11am

Things are moving quickly in the garden. Lots getting done and a lot to be done.

Whit and Jan have been doing a lot of badly needed infrastructure work as has Kirk (Janet Trent's son). Kirk is also fixing up our bulletin board. If you have any ideas for it, let me know.

This morning Bari, Whit, and I watered and fertilized (and added some small vine seeds) to the 30 pole bean pots, pizened an ant hill, pulled up and picked all the sweet pea vines, took one lb peas to ninos y ninas in the Rowlett trainer park, planted all the raised wooded beds in purplehull peas, planted 4 more mater plants in the south side front raised bed (2 Indigo Rose, 2 Gold Medal), snatched up curbside and took to the garden 11 more bags of grass clippings, and pulled the last giant elephunt garlic. See pix below.

Next work day, as I try to accommodate a wide range of schedules, this Satiddy morning 9-11am.

Please RSVP to this email if you will be there.

We need to:
    hill and plant purplehull peas in plot 2 (middle left/south),
    weed the pepper plant row in plot 5,
    spread the bags of grass clippings where they ain't no seeds planted,
    weed around the mater cages,
    and dig the middle row of taters.
WHEW!

Ain't God good!
cw

Whit and Bari hard at work

Beautiful giant elephunt garlic

Victory Garden third and last garlic harvest for 2013 HUGE SUCCESS!!!

Note and some pix from Chief Tater, Onyun, and Garlic Scientist for the Victory garden!!!!

More info coming soon about the total harvest.

"We had the third installment of the garlic harvest this year, and the best to date!

We harvested:  180 gargantuan elephant garlic, 70 beautiful St. Helen's Red, some chippy Mountain Carlos, spicy Kilarney Red, and a bevy of random garlic.

Garden angels who put in two hours of work in the harvest were:

Stephanie, Bari, Jane, Leah, Sue, Dave and Rita.  Plus three boys bent their backs to the task:  Anthony, Aidan and Conor.  Thanks to all for the help!  Each of the Elephant garlic weighed about a pound apiece and there was much digging and hauling.

See attached pictures of Anthony holding an elephant garlic, the angel crew, and my garlic clown car stuffed with the pungent allium!

Thanks All!

Dave"

VG status Monday June 3, 2013 next work date Thursday 7am

Dave Fitzgerald and others finished the garlic harvest Monday. He will be issuing a report soon.

Whit and Jan Whitacre have been moving the soil pile into the raised wooden beds. I don't have a list of who all worked Monday but last week was Val and the Whitacres and me.

Last Thursday I took the onyuns drying in my garage from the previous week (37 lbs) to the Food Pantry. This week a charity group from Fayette County picked 117 lbs of beautiful white and red Texas candy onyuns for a distribution in the Yager community. Pam Demato, a former VG volunteer, works with that group. She was responsible for our primary funding for several years.

Harvest report:

    2013 to date:

      04/11/2013  41 lbs

      05/01/2013  64 lbs

      05/13/2013  21 lbs

      05/16/2013  51 lbs

      05/23/2013  94 lbs

      05/25/2013   2 lbs

      05/30/2013  37 lbs

      06/03/2013 117 lbs 

   2013 total    427 lbs

Next work date is 7am Thursday morning.

We need to: 

 

1. Water the 30 pole bean containers next to the trellises on even days of the month.

2. Plant purplehull peas in all open areas.

3. Weed with a hoe around the corn in plot 1.

4. Remove the weeds from around and under 14 tomato cages.

5. Edge around the zinnia bed on Peterson Lake Rd with a sharp hoe and weed it. I did the Verlington bed this morning and fertilized it.

6. Everyone including your friends neighbors: we need about 40 bags of grass clippings to spread in all middles.

7.  Mow and trim. I edged with Roundup this morning.

8.  Maybe dig the taters.

 

BIG THANKS!

cw