Dundee Community Garden Harvest Night and Tomato Cages

Hello Dundee Community Gardeners and Friends,

HARVEST NIGHT:  Our first Harvest Night will be this Monday June 28 at 7 p.m.  We'll meet at the garden and harvest some of the crops from the community beds to donate to Together Inc.'s food pantry.  This is also a good time to help out on the community beds with weeding or mulching, and a good time to work on your own bed.

TOMATO CAGES:  On Monday we'll also be making tomato cages out of wire fencing.  We'll help you make a cage if you wish-- bring $5 to help defray the cost of materials.  Tomato cages will give your tomatoes the support they need as they grow taller, and help contain the tomato plants.

MASTER GARDENER: Master Gardener Rebecca Reagan will be on hand at our work nights to answer any questions you have about what's growing in your plot.

*Please make sure your plants stay inside of your 4' x 10' bed!  There's lots of squash trying to make it's way out, and it gets in the way of our lawn mowers.

*Hope to see many of you on Monday-- please be sure to sign in your volunteer hours in the red notebook.  We ask each member to contribute 8 hours towards the community beds/ community activities.

*Watering:  As a reminder, please water your individual plots with water from the rain barrels, using a watering can (not the hose).  If rain barrels are empty, you can fill a watering can with water from the hose/ house next door.

*And make sure you have this date on your July calendar:

Dundee Community Garden Watermelon Feed and Scarecrow Making Party, Sunday July 25, 3-5 p.m.

Dundee Community Garden this week

Hello Dundee Community Gardeners,

Thanks to everyone who came to the Ice Cream Social last Sunday-- the weather cooperated later in the afternoon and it was a big success.


Many of you have vegetables that are ready to be harvested from your plots. Don't forget to harvest and eat what you've grown! See Rebecca Reagan's excellent list of timely garden tips below for harvesting and other information.


We harvested over 6 pounds of beet tops, radishes, kale, chard, and lettuce from the community plots this week, which we dropped off at Together Inc.'s food pantry on Tuesday. And we just got the sweet potatoes planted this week. Watch for regular harvest nights to start up soon!


Mowing-- thanks to Mary Lincoln and Jeff Beierman for doing such a good job keeping up on the mowing. As mentioned in the gardening tips below, please make sure to keep your vining plants INSIDE your 4x10 garden plot, so that the mowers can get through.

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Other gardening news:

Garden Member Amanda Leet is starting a community garden at her workplace, Norris Middle School. If you have plants (flowers or vegetables), tools, gardening supplies, or time and expertise that you can donate, she can use it! Contact Amanda at 208-7735, or aleet@mail.unomaha.edu, if you can help her out!

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Rebecca's Tips for the Garden:

For a continuous harvest, cut large outer leaves of leafy greens (such as lettuce, spinach, chard, collards, kale, etc.) and let the inner leaves continue to grow. This way, you harvest just what you need for a single serving and the rest stays fresh in the garden.

Now is the time to cage or stake tomatoes. Good support keeps the vines growing vertically instead of sprawling all over the ground. Plants not only take up less space, but are less susceptible to pests and diseases. Tomato plants can become quite large, so plan on adequate support.

Mulching is extremely beneficial for your garden. It traps moisture in the soil, so you don't have to water as often. In addition, it suppresses weeds---you won't have to weed as often (that sounds good to me). For tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, it is especially helpful. The mulch will cut down on common problems (diseases) associated with this group of plants. Grass clippings are usually easy to use and are probably the easiest to obtain. In addition to being good for the plants, grass clippings can be good for the soil, since they add organic matter as they slowly decompose.

Vining crops, such as cucumbers, melons, and vining squash will need support to keep them out of the mowing areas. These crops can be quite large and will take up quite a bit of ground. Getting them off the ground and onto a support will cut down on diseases and save space.

Dundee Community Garden Update

Hello Dundee Community Gardeners and Friends,

You won't want to miss our ice cream social this week, open to all members and friends of the Dundee Community Garden! Join us Sunday for ice cream, great toppings, and fun. And we'll have materials available so you can paint a stake for your garden plot.

Sunday June 13, 3-5 p.m. Ice Cream Social at the Garden
*Make your own sundae or float for $1.
*Paint your plot sign.
*Face painting for the kids.

And make sure you have this date on your July calendar:

Sunday July 25, 3-5 p.m. Dundee Community Garden Watermelon Feed and Scarecrow Making Party,

Attached are the DCG watering guidelines. As a reminder, please water your individual plots with water from the rain barrels, using a watering can. If rain barrels are empty, you can fill a watering can with water from the hose/ house next door.