Cranes in the gardens

With the summer solstice more than a month behind us and the days growing noticeably shorter week after week, now is a great time to check in mentally with the fact that it is indeed still summer and that there are experiences left to savor.

A member of our community recently took the time to snap a few photos of Sand-Hill cranes at EHCG. I appreciate the opportunity to share these little reminders of the life and beauty around us.

 We have been collecting donation produce for Saint Vincent de Paul for several weeks now on Wednesday mornings (8 AM pickup) and Saturday mornings (10 AM pickup), and I hope that you have a chance to donate those few extra zucchini or tomatoes or leafy greens that you find yourself unable to consume or preserve. Please keep in mind that donations made Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning and Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning will be exposed to the sun and heat and not keep in time for the actual pickups. If you find yourself overburdened by produce at the gardens and no pickup time is close, please feel free to leave items at the Share Shelf so that other gardeners can put them to good use.

The weather is warm and we have some rain expected in the next week. Take advantage of these beautiful days in the time we have left.

Happy gardening.

Planning for Autumn

Although the days are still warm and even heating up over the next week, it is never too early to start thinking about Fall planting. There are many print and online guidelines for late season planting; the above is an example from the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Personally, I still have Fall sowings of carrots, chard, lettuce, peas, and even fava beans ahead of me. Autumn will also be the time for harvesting very long-season crops like winter squash.

What do YOU plan to plant now, for the Fall?

Summer in the garden: a photo update

There are so few days of Summer here in Madison, Wisconsin, that I think we really ought to go the extra mile to enjoy every single one. In that spirit, I make a point of actually walking the (4) extra mile(s) from my apartment in east Madison to EHCG as frequently as I can. One of the bright spots of this trip is the Howard Temin Lakeshore path, with gorgeous views of the Mendota Lake.

Boats on the lake in July. 

More boats.

When I arrive at the garden, there are always wonderful surprises waiting for me.

Even a community gardener can grow fruit in Wisconsin, if the fruits are appropriate varieties for the growing season, like strawberries and ground cherries (perennial and annual, respectively).

Strawberries harvested in late June.

Ground cherries, not yet ripe.

Cabbages planted in the Spring have grown large - the cabbage below yielded several cups of cole slaw on the 4th of July.

Red cabbage, grown from a Garden to Be cabbage start.

Fava beans have grown large and buttery through cool Spring days and the warmth of the early Summer sun.

Fava beans, a late Spring treat in Wisconsin.

Peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplants, and more are beginning to put out flowers, signaling the advent of the height of Summer produce.

Poblano pepper.

Squashes burst into expansive green foliage, hiding young yellow blossoms.

Pattypan squash.

Forrest of carrot tops. 

The plot as a whole - a little messy but full of life.

The life cycle of the garden demands a lot of energy and time from the gardener between April and June, but from July to September, Mother Nature does most of the work. Over June and July, I have spent my time in the garden weeding, although the new weed germination is greatly slowed, and harvesting. The use of leaf cover as mulch (see above) reduces the need to water and to weed, letting me spend more of my time in the garden enjoying the view.

Be sure to make some time this Summer to really enjoy the sunshine and blue skies abundant at this time, yet so fleeting. It can be difficult to find time for relaxation and reflection while balancing our over-committed schedules, so we ought to treasure the time we do have to put on old jeans, strap on gardening shoes, and hit the soil.

The arbor, covered in grapevines.

Happy gardening.

Share the Bounty

Hello all -

I hope that you have been keeping pace with the lettuces and carrots growing quickly in your plots, and are having luck with warm-season crops either directly sown or transplanted over the past few weeks. In this time of burgeoning abundance, it can be easy to take for granted having enough - or even too much - fresh produce.

For several years, EHCG has maintained a donation program, Share the Bounty, for the St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) food pantry here in Madison, WI. During the productive months of summer and early fall, we collect vegetables on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, which are driven to SVdP by EHCG volunteers. If you would like to donate to the Share the Bounty, please place produce in the plastic bins that will be located on the white stands at both EH and UH gardens starting July 2.

If you choose to donate, we ask that you arrange to place donation produce in the collection bins close to the collection time to avoid wilting/spoilage/loss. For instance, lettuce donated on a Thursday at noon would not be collected and transported to SVdP until Saturday morning, and would wilt far before arrival.

Please do not take produce out of the donation bins, as our gardeners have chosen to donate their fruits and vegetables to those in need. Remember that items meant for sharing with other gardeners at EHCG are placed on the share shelves, not in the SVdP Share the Bounty bins.

I look forward to seeing overstuffed Share the Bounty bins on Saturday mornings over the upcoming weeks. In my experience, any successful attempt at growing produce over-yields, and there are always more zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans that I can easily consume - perfect for donation.

Happy gardening.

EHCG in bloom

I find myself unable to believe that Madison was so frozen and barren just a few months ago. Spring changes the landscape and daily life so much more up here than it does in my native Texas.
Everywhere, the outside world is full of life and green foliage. Blooms from the daffodils and tulips have already come and gone, and now the irises are reminding us that summer is just around the corner. Soon, EHCG will be full of blooms that quickly fold and morph into young fruits, the origami that Summer loves to practice a few months of the year.
This photo, taken by EHCG gardener Melita, reminds me of the fleeting nature of these warm and lively months. If you have other photos you'd like to share with us, please contact me at ehcgarden@gmail.com and I will post them.
Happy gardening.

Watering your garden in the warm months

Hello all -

As we enjoy the warm days full of light and increasing garden greenery, I think this is a good time to have a discussion about watering.

You don't need a very green thumb at all to be able to list watering as a basic gardening chore. It is common for new gardeners to think of watering as it is shown in movies or TV - light overhead watering that lasts about two minutes. Novices tend to lightly water their plots at least once a week, sometimes more.

Unfortunately, frequent shallow watering doesn't accomplish very much other than use up water. A few minutes of watering won't put down enough water to soak the first few inches of soil, and will really only distribute enough to evaporate or osmose deeper and farther away from your plants' tender, thirsty roots. According to Adam, one of our garden workers, "The problem with light watering (just wetting down the top of the soil) is that it promotes shallow root development which in turn requires more watering and a lot of the water evaporates before it is accessible for the plants".

Instead of light watering, optimize your time and resources by planning to only water when you really need to, and then water DEEPLY. "Stick your finger in the ground and if it's moist 1/2 down no water is necessary," explains Adam. "If it's dry an inch down then it's time to take the time to water." Look out for these conditions after a week or more without rain.

Watering deeply is the best practice which can be done lots of ways (hand watering, soaker hoses), all of which water the plant's root zones, not the plants themselves or the soil surface. Thorough watering also takes considerable time, as the water is slow to soak down deep into the soil. If watering is indicated by the soil conditions, don't plan to get in and get out quickly. Be patient, and really take the time to soak the soil. 
 
Adam points out, however, that "the trick to watering is to prevent the need to water". This can be done easily and cheaply through the use of mulch. He advises putting down mulch (including leaf mulch or straw) around plants at least 3 - 4 inches thick, and an additional 3 - 4 inches after the first deposit of mulch has settled (ideally, a final total of 6 - 8 inches). You can do this serially as the plants grow up, putting down the first layer as soon as the first true green leaves of your spinach and carrots poke up out of the soil, and the second at the end of Spring when transplants go in and the plants are more developed. Take care not to cover your plants, but of course pile leaf mulch on top of weeds to your heart's content. Leaf and straw are also great mulch for paths, and can be laid down even thicker. "If you do this," counsels Adam, "unless we have an extreme drought year, you'll only water once a month... at most". Sounds good to me.
 
Only water fruiting plants during flowering and fruit set. When watering fruiting plants, don't lazily water overhead; it's not good for the plant foliage to remain wet. Instead, water at the base of the plant, with an eye on soaking the roots. Adam's final word of wisdom: NEVER water ripening fruit, no matter how long it has been since the rain. "In fact, if it's going to rain on your ripening fruit it might be best to pick it a little early and finish ripening inside. Ripening fruit can split (like tomatoes), go mushy (raspberries), go mealy (melons) and flavor gets watered down (all fruit) if the plant gets an influx of water."

Regardless of how you choose to water, be mindful of garden rules and neighborliness. We have already had an incident this year involving a sprinkler left on overnight in the gardens. While we understand that deeply watering is a long, involved, tedious task, we have to insist that you be present for it. If you choose to use a sprinkler to water, you must remain in the garden to oversee it and turn it off when ready. We do really prefer that people not use this approach; sprinklers may be great for your lawn at home, but at EHCG they are rather wasteful, sending water great distances with no regard for whether it lands somewhere helpful (carrot roots) or harmful (the paths already populated by grass and all manner of weeds). 

Please also consider your neighbors with whom you share access to a spigot. There are probably at least 6 other plots that call your spigot their own, and it is impolite to monopolize the shared water source for very long. Finally, when finished watering, be certain to shut off the water flow completely, to avoid water dripping into the path. Even a minor drip adds up over several minutes or, worse, hours, wasting water and encouraging weed growth in the path. If you find a spigot that just won't shut off, email Gretel the registrar right away (ehgardens@rso.wisc.edu) and we will get it sorted out.

Thanks for dropping by the blog, and don't hesitate to send us your questions and comments.

Happy gardening!

Manure deliveries in the gardens

Hello all - 

The blog got a question submitted via the "Blogger Contact Form" last week:

What is the best way to use the horse manure that was delivered this week?

We are fortunate enough to have deliveries of manure provided by the UW Hoofers. According to Will, one of our garden workers and committee members, we used about 14-15 yards of manure from the Hoofers barn last year. We continue to find this resource helpful for our gardeners and our gardens alike, and are working on future deliveries.

To answer the question about how to best use this resource, I turned to our other garden worker, Adam. He responded: "Use in tomato or pepper beds. If they haven't been planted, rake in the top of soil and use a cup in the transplant hole. If planted side dress the plants." Manure could also help support the growth of other heavy feeders, like squashes and melons. Some gardeners prefer to use manure around crops whose skin is not eaten (winter squashes, melons); however, the manure we get from Hoofers is well decomposed and these measures are merely personal preference.

If you have other questions for our garden workers, check out the EHCG facebook page. Adam and Will are both admins on this page, and are also extremely knowledgeable and likely able to answer any question about any gardening topic under the sun. "Like" the page to keep updated on garden worker advice as well as activities (sales, work days), deadlines, and more.

On an unrelated note - I would love to add more pictures to this blog, and keep forgetting my camera at home on the weekends. If you have any photos you'd like to share, please email this blog account (ehcgarden@gmail.com) with them, and I will feature your images in a future post.

Happy gardening.