How To Use This Blog

We have set up this blog as a way to share with the community what we are up to and so members can see what needs to be done in the garden week to week.

How to use this blog:
We will post the to-do's and you simply write in the comments what you will be taking care of so we know it's getting done.
  • After you have entered your comment, simply hit the arrow next to profile, select anonymous and make sure you write your name in the comments section so we know who you are!
  • To make sure you don't miss an update, please enter your email address in the "Get Alerts for New Posts" form on the right column of this blog.

Monday, June 23, 2014

THE CORN HOUSE IS IN!

This weekend Eagle Candidate Sam Holland and Troop 110 completed the corn house project. We now have a very creative, walk-in solution to our squirrel problem. My congratulations to Sam for a job well done. I know it was a challenging project. It will serve the community for years to come.

So, join me in the garden this coming Wednesday, around 9:45 a.m. I will be sowing corn and lima beans (succotash garden if you please). I know it's a little late in the season, but I want to use the corn house immediately. I will cover the bed with a summer weight fabric to keep moisture in until the seeds germinate.

The tomatoes are really coming along. We should be able to harvest them in a few weeks. At that time I plan to also harvest the basil: we will be able to donate a great summer salad to our local lunch program at All Saints B.H. The tomatoes were a donation from Armstrong Garden Centers, and I would like to thank them again for their incredible generosity to our garden, and also Whole Foods B.H. for their ongoing commitment.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Square Foot Gardening Now Lives Here!

Today Jean Rosenblatt and I installed our first "Square Foot Garden" up at Greystone. SFG is a proven technique with which anyone (and I mean anyone, of any age or experience) can grow their own produce anywhere, for 50% of the cost, 20% of the space, 10% of the water, and 5% of the seeds used in traditional gardening methods. I am becoming a certified teacher of this method, and I will be teaching it up in the park starting July 26th (my first unsuspecting students will be from All Saints B.H. hehehe).

Following is a photo essay demonstrating how Jean and I built our 4 foot by 4 foot plot.
First you dig out your old soil, making a space 4'x4', 6" deep
 Then you make "Mel's Mix" (compost, vermiculite and peat moss)
 Always take time to greet and honor your wormie friends
Line the bottom of your 4'x4' by 6"deep bed with weed guard fabric
 Mix together 8 cu. feet of Mel's mix
 Moisten the mix as you fill your box
 Jean is very artistic
Lay out your grid on top of the box and you are ready to plant.
More on Square Foot Gardening as the summer progresses. Please join me up at the park any Wednesday morning around 10. Lots to be done, lots to learn and enjoy. Happy Father's Day to you all. With love, Garden Girl Lives Here.

Friday, June 6, 2014

I don't want to brag but....

I do want to show people some of the take-homes I have gained from learning about gardening and horticulture. The following photos are of produce I picked at my house this morning, also one of my box turtle babies and my at-home worm composting farm. You all can do this at home, believe me.



Meanwhile, our garden up at Greystone is proceeding apace. Sam Holland and Troop 110 are working on our "corn house", picture below, I'm sure it will be completed soon. On Saturday, July 26th, I will be building our first "square foot garden" with the gardening group from All Saints Beverly Hills.  Come fall, I may be teaching this invaluable gardening method through Recreation and Parks: look for me in their catalog. I am in the garden Wednesday mornings from 10. Or, feel free to contact me at <blinder01@roadrunner.com> should you desire to come up and work/visit at another time. Garden on! Barbara Linder