Saturday is Bed Building Day

Please join Chanan Batra and Boy Scout Troop 33 this Saturday, November 3d, 8 a.m. until we're done. We will be installing our new set of raised beds.

Very exciting news!! The City of Beverly Hills is going to install a small fruit orchard a little ways up the hill towards the mansion, and they are asking for our input as to what trees to choose. So, come on Saturday prepared to discuss your choices. Steve Hough will be on hand to "take notes" for the City. We will help to maintain the orchard: it will be a great learning experience.

NOTICE: Do not come to the garden on Wednesday, November 7th:  the police canine unit will be holding a training session all over the park. We need to stay out of the way.

Please come to the garden on Saturday, October 27th!

Please come help us on Saturday October 27th between 8 and noon:  As you can see, we have some tomato hornworm visitors in beds 1 and 2: please bring some zip lock bags, deposit any and all worms and dispose...I know it's yucky but it's the only organic method of controlling them.

There may be ripe tomatoes: feel them to see if they give a little. If ripe, please pick them. If the girl scouts are up, give them to the girl scouts. Otherwise, someone please take them to the kitchen at All Saints on Sunday morning, or drop them off at my house (Barb Linder 278-2987).

Please bring a cultivating tool, and do some weeding on our back hill: Steve Hough will continue to provide additional irrigation for us there, and I think we will plant pumpkin seeds there in the spring!!  Steve will be there Saturday morning setting up irrigation for our new raised beds.  If you would like to donate a tool, put it in our little shed: the combination for the lock is 0070. Feel free to use anything in there, return tools and lock the shed when you're all done.

NOVEMBER 3, 8:00A.M. WRITE IT IN YOUR CALENDAR. PLEASE TURN OUT TO HELP TROOP 33 BUILD AND INSTALL OUR 5 AND 6TH RAISED BEDS!!!

Our fall crops are starting to come in: below are the pea vines.

The Worms Are In!!!

Wednesday, October 17. 

Today, due to a generous donation by Whole Foods Beverly Hills and Organic Control, more than 1000 earthworms were given a home in our garden. Volunteers Jeannie Cohen (intrepid nature photographer), Ilona Sherman (Chair of the Human Relations Commission), Helen MacDonald (Future horticulturist and Information Sciences Major), Kevin Artofer (engineer), Jessica Emmerson, Cindy Brynan (both City staffers) and Barbara Linder (always hanging around) dug holes all around the garden, filled them with water and gently lowered in the new inhabitants.

They will now go to work aerating our soil and adding valuable nutrients Go worms! We put some in the compost heap to help that project along. We also were privileged to witness a frightening encounter between a huge orange garden spider who has a web in the vegetable patch and a bug (bug lost).

Next Wednesday, October 24th, Barbara will be in the garden at around 10:30 checking on tomato ripeness. Please join me! 

Yesterday in the Garden (Oct. 11)

Wednesday, October 10th

Today we planted pea seeds in the 4th bed: First we went to the City compost heap and rescued some very attractive pruned tree branches. We then made the artistic arrangement you see here. When the pea vines start to grow, they will be supported by the dead branches. After harvesting our peas, we will cut off the roots, leaving them in our bed to add nitrogen to the soil (legumes have a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria that "fixes" nitrogen for use by future roots), then we can add the spent pea vines and the branches to our beautiful compost bin. 

We also assembled a very compact storage unit next to the fourth bed, donated to the garden by BHHS student Charlotte Frank, on behalf of the high school ecology club. Charlotte also donated 3 shovels, which are in the storage unit for all of you to use, and the collards, kale and lettuce seeds that we planted today in the 3d bed. Now, if you would like to loan or donate tools to the garden, we have a secure, locked area for them!!! There is a combination lock on the unit, the code is 0070, please feel free to use the tools, but return them to the shed and lock it when you're done.

I would like to welcome Helen and Kevin to our garden: two wonderful new volunteers I have met through my horticulture classes at UCLA. We are cooking up some great hopes for the future of the garden area.

 I wanted everyone to see the beautiful bench we have at the garden, designed, executed and donated by Tanya Latta.

 People want to know what this interesting mesh bag is:  It contains hair (either human or dog works), a dryer sheet and a bar of very strong soap(Zest is good). The smells are supposed to keep  vermin away from the produce (squirrels, raccoons, deer).

This week in the garden (Wed. Oct. 17th)

This week in the garden (Wednesday, October 17th)

On Wednesday Oct. 17th, at around 10 a.m. we will be having the "great worm release".  Organic Control, by way of Whole Foods B.H., will be shipping us containers of our best friends: the earthworms. Anyone who is interested in watching or participating should come up!!  Oh come on, don't be afraid of the worms. They are very cute.

This past Saturday - The fun you missed!

This past Saturday, October 6th, Wendy, Shirley, Tom and Martha and her Girl Scouts met at the garden to do a little maintenance before the fall planting starts.

We turned the compost pile, added some of the beautiful compost to the beds, added shredded newspaper, turned the soil and lastly, and thanks to a donation by the Girl Scouts (their favorite part), we added baby earth worms to the beds. When we were turning the earth, we were excited to see a bunch of large worms already making our beds their home!

Learn more about the benefits of newspaper and worms in your garden.

 Shirley turning the shredded newspaper into the soil.

 Checking out the new wiggly additions.

 "Are you sure we have to do this?!"

And just like that, the little guys were settling into their new home.

Seed Note

If you are coming up any time during this next 7 days, please bring a packet of sugar snap peas, or any kind of leafy green such as kale, collards, Swiss chard, spinach etc. We will plant the seeds next Wednesday Oct. 10th. Please put the packet in a closed zip lock bag and leave it on our tile bench. Thank you.

Saturday, October 6th and Wednesday, Oct. 10th

Please sign up in the comments if you would like to join Soozie Eastman and company on Saturday the 6th, around 10 a.m. They will be:

• filling the butterfly bath and watering the butterfly garden (the roots are not yet fully established and it has been very hot)
• checking irrigation levels in the 2 cleared beds (we were getting too much water and Steve Hough has turned down the volume) by digging down 6 inches: let me know if the soil is still soggy.
• WORMS:  can someone bring up some earthworms, either from your own garden or you can buy a container at your local nursery, and please release them in all 4 beds. Also, we need 2 more bags of either cottonseed, bone or blood meal (all are available at Anawalt). Leave the bags in between the beds for now.
• please bring up coffee grounds and egg shells to put in the compost heap.
• we need some supports for peas: if you have any pruned tree branches, please bring them and leave them on the last bed. Tree branches are a great support system for peas.
• Check the tomatoes; I suspect that they may not be quite ripe. Note that some are green zebras, press one gently to see if it gives. Soozie, let me know if you've harvested: we will need to get it over to All Saints for the Monday meal. 

Wednesday, October 10th:  meet me in the garden at 10 a.m. Jean R. and I will be seeding the 2 empty beds, and possibly harvesting tomatoes for the All Saints Monday Meal. Sign up in the comments and I'll see you in the garden!!

Saturday in the garden: Look What We Did!

This past Saturday, the 29th, was very productive in our Greystone Garden. Volunteers Jean Rosenblatt, Lisa Davis, Barbara Linder, and Kevin and Vivian Schroder worked hard harvesting corn and clearing two of our beds to make way for fall crops.  Kevin learned how to turn the soil over with a pitchfork, he amended the soil with blood and bone meal and we even incorporated some ripe compost from our own little factory!! We also celebrated the addition of a couple of very handsome worms from the compost heap.

We added the detritus from the corn to our compost, thus completing our first sustainable season in the garden (from seed, to harvest, to compost, and then eventually back to the garden as that all important actor, Mr. Organic Matter).

Next up:  We should have many ripe tomatoes within the next week or so. I will let you know a harvest date. On Wednesday, October 10th, Barbara and Jean R. plan to seed the 2 cleared beds with peas and greens, starting at 10 a.m. If you would like to help, please join us.

 

Before the Clearing                                       Ready for Fall Crops!

 The Harvest

 Our Beautiful Compost Pile

Saturday in the garden: September 29th

Saturday, September 29th:  meet Barbara in the garden at 10:00 to harvest.  Dick Motika, this week the produce will be donated to the All Saint's program. Can someone come up on Saturday and take the  produce to the All Saint's kitchen for us?

SATURDAY, SEPT. 22nd

SATURDAY, SEPT. 22D

• Girl Scout troop 10855 will be in the garden harvesting this Saturday. If you go up, please fill the butterfly bath and check for any wilted plants that need to be watered with the hose. I think squash and basil are ready, but not corn/tomatoes.
• Remember to bring up a bag of cottonseed meal, bone meal, blood meal or any other organic soil supplement you can find. We are storing them in between the beds, or up on the edge of the beds.
• It should be easier to make a comment now as Soozie has twitched that a bit. Use the comment section to let us know what time you will be in the garden, so you won't be alone!Send me a comment after Saturday to let us know how it went.
• Bring food for the compost bin!! (coffee grounds, egg shells, dead leaves, shredded newspaper. And water the compost.
• Remember the City only wants us to use the middle Doheny gate between 8 and noon. Thanks.

Doheny Road Gate Closures

Doheny Road Gate Closures

• Note:  Due to some filming going on at The Mansion this week and next, the middle gate on Doheny Road will not be open. If you would like to access the garden area on either of these next 2 Wednesdays, go to the gatehouse and tell the ranger where you want to go, or park on Doheny Road and walk in through the most westerly gate on Doheny Road, which is always open during the week.

Welcome to our blog!

Hello Greystone Gardeners,

We have set up this blog as a way for both our members and surrounding community to see what we have going on! Please make sure you enter your email address in the box on the right side of the home page so that you receive notifications of new posts.

Our plan for this page is to be a means of letting our members know what needs to be done from week to week. The success of this garden depends on all of us taking an active part in making it flourish. Our leader, Barb Linder, will be posting weekly to-do's on here. All you have to do is "comment" on the post to let us know what you will be taking care of. The tasks could range from making sure the Butterfly Garden pond is full to weeding to creating a pest control concoction. We will also be posting the contact information for the individual who will be collecting the harvests from week to week.

Happy Gardening!

This week in the garden (September 19th and 22d)

This week in the garden (September 19th and 22d):

• Wednesday: Meet with Steve Hough and Barbara Linder to make decisions about the next planned raised bed project. 11:30 a.m. All are welcome to attend.
• Saturday: Please come harvest with Martha Galvan and Pantea Shakib (Martha will you post when to to meet?)  Sign up to harvest in the comments section of this post.

Whenever you come to the garden:

• Use the hose to fill the butterfly bath. If you notice any limp plants in this heat, by all means water them with the hose! If the hose and hook up are not visible, call Steve Clark and ask for some help in locating them (310) 285-6835.
• During the week, collect compost items such as egg shells, coffee grounds, bags of dead leaves or grass clippings from your yard and bring them up for the compost bin. Please water the compost, which is located at the far end of the beds.

We will be posting times on this blog each week for meeting others in the garden on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  I will post chores on a regular basis. Use the blog to notify the rest of us if there is a problem or you feel it's time to do a garden chore.

Upcoming dates:

Saturday, September 29th: Harvest Day. Keep an eye out for a post for signing up.

Saturday, November 3d:  Eagle Scout Chanan Batra will be in charge of installing our new raised bed!! Please plan to be there to lend a helping hand. A post will come up in October so you can sign up to attend.

Fall Crops - please sign up!

We are already planning our FALL and WINTER Crops:

• We are planning on peas, kale and chard, radishes, beets and lettuce. 

Please start purchasing packs of seeds. You can bring your seeds on the planting day for beets, radishes and lettuce (date to be determined) please begin seed starts at home for peas, kale and chard.

We will be growing peas in their own raised bed, kale and chard together, radishes and beets together and a variety of lettuces together. We say that so everyone knows we need plenty of seeds and seedlings come planting day.

Please sign up in the comments section to let us know what you are bringing.

Come Grow With Us!

Just wanted to show you what a little sweat and dedication can do. At the end of June our first raised beds were built and just two months later, we have quite the bounty. Keep checking this blog to find dates and times when you can come and join us!

                          BEFORE                                           AFTER

A big thanks to Jeannie Cohen for being our Garden Historian! She has taken pictures from the very first meeting and is keeping great record of this project.

Pictures of the Garden's First Season

Our Junior Gardeners hard at work feeding the now bountiful plants.












The historic Greystone greenhouse.

The planning committee deciding where the summer crops go.

You should see how big this little plant is now!

Hmmm....where should we put the tomatoes?

City of Beverly Hills Parks and Urban Forest Manager Ken Pfalzgraf with Park Services Supervisor Stephen Hough and gardener Soozie Eastman.

Girl Scouts troop 10885 water the newly planted babies.

Soozie Eastman with garden founder Barbara Linder smiling after a hard day's work.

Monarch Butterfly Migration

Check out this beautiful video of some of the same little guys who visit our Butterfly Garden on a regular basis!

For more information on Monarch Butterflies, check out this great wesbite!

http://www.squidoo.com/monarch-butterfly-migration

Beverly Hills Patch Article on our Build Day

Ellen Lutwak did another great article on our Build Day up at the Community Demonstration Garden. Check out the great photos and be sure to check back in for opportunities to come join us! It's a great time for the whole family!

http://beverlyhills.patch.com/articles/volunteers-continue-work-on-greystone-demonstration-garden

Building the Garden - Phase I (Video)

Check out the video of the day we build Phase I of the garden! Make sure you keep checking the blog for our fall planting days and Phase II build day!