Dundee Community Garden This Week

Hello Dundee Community Gardeners and Friends,

Happy Fourth of July!

HARVEST NIGHT: We'll be having our next regular harvest night on Monday July 5, at 7 p.m.  Last Monday we picked 14 pounds of beets, chard, kale, collards and lettuce (as well as one summer squash) from the community beds for Together Inc.'s food pantry.  Please remember that Monday nights are a good time to get in some of your 8 hours of volunteer time-- weeding or picking produce or watering or whatever needs to be done!  Record your hours in the red notebook.

SPRAWLING CROPS: Some of your tomatoes, squash, potatoes, etc. are working their way outside of your 4'x10' plots.  Please rein them in!  Consider the lawn mowers!

THANKS: Thanks to Vince Huebert for helping so many of us make very sturdy tomato cages out of rebar.  There's still a small amount of rebar left, so we could make another cage or two on Monday for those of you who would like to make one.  ($5 for cost of rebar.)

BRACELET: One of our members lost a cloisonne bangle bracelet in the garden last night.  If you find it, please let me know! 

SAVE THE DATE:  July 25, 3-5 p.m.  Dundee Community Garden Watermelon Feed and Scarecrow Making Party.

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I'm repeating the gardening tips from a couple weeks ago, as they still apply:

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. 

Happy gardening,

Mary