Change is in the Air!

It's official: The season has shifted from fleeting summer, and the smell of fall is in the air. And with the change of seasons, there are a lot of changes happening in the garden. Perhaps the biggest change is that Cali, the very dedicated garden coordinator who has been with the Pea Patch almost since its inception in 2009, has left, and a new Americorps volunteer has come to take her place. Ellen moved all the way from northern New England to take the Americorps position at the Pea Patch, and is very excited to put her community garden and farming experience to the test in the Northwest!
To contact Ellen, send her an email at esabina@olycap.org or call her at (360)302-1221.

Work Party - June 19th

What: Work Party at the Pea Patch

When: Saturday, June 19th, 10am—1pm

Where: OlyCAP Pea Patch
10632 Rhody Drive, Port Hadlock

What to Bring: Gloves, water bottle, clothes to garden in, and a smile.

All ages welcome.

For more information, e-mail ckeck@olycap.org or call 360.302.1221.

March in the Pea Patch

The old saying describes March weather as, “in like a lion, out like a lamb,” however we had the opposite this year. Unseasonably warm February weather continued into March and the gardening bug bit everyone.

March Milestones:

Eleven additional plots were added to the Garden. John Gunning tilled to get the soil ready for us. On March 20th, volunteers installed irrigation to our new plots. The following weekend, we built the fence around the new plots. Teamwork paid off, and the fence went up in a few hours. Plots are getting snapped up quickly, though we still have a few available.

Fence Building Work Party, March 27th.

March also marked the return of harvestable veggies in the garden. The over-wintering broccoli is producing side shoots, as well as the kale and cauliflower. I’ve harvested 20 pounds of produce so far this spring, and I’m eyeing the rhubarb. Speaking of fruit, a dozen strawberry plants, five rhubarb, and five artichokes were donated to the garden this month. The rhubarb and artichoke are in a plot that wasn’t utilized last year, and the strawberries are on the hill next to the raspberries. Potential, thy name is Pea Patch.


The New Raspberries.

As March wound down, we were the focus of a front-page article in the Peninsula Daily News, featuring a color photo above the fold of the paper. Hooray! I brought out our new sign and it looked great for the picture. Unfortunately, two days after the article came out, a storm pulverized the sign and washed its beautiful paint job onto our newly tilled dirt. Big time bummer. To read the entire article, visit http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100331/news/303319983

February Happenings

Ack, February is already over. What did I do, what did I do? I know, I pulled weeds. Well to say I pulled weeds undervalues the rejuvenative effects of bringing an abandoned garden back from the brink. As our garden plots are in stasis, my attention has focused on the overgrown herbs adjacent to the Pea Patch. This month, I discovered two established rhubarb plants. Two! This brings our rhubarb patch up to seven big glorious plants. With less weed competition and more mulch, all are expected to thrive.

Speaking of fruit, we got raspberries! We had a couple little canes from back in the day and their fruit was much cherished, though 3 berries a day isn’t going to make a pie for anyone. One afternoon, our Food VISTA, mentioned seeing raspberries on FreeCycle, so I tracked them down. After an initial disappointment, (showing up at the garden on bicycle only to find an empty yellow bucket) I got a call back for the second round of plants. The raspberries at the Christian Science Church Community Garden in Port Townsend did very well, and they donated their extras. We now have 40 plants, both everbearing and summer bearing. I dug out the sod on the hill beside our herbs to create the raspberry patch. This spot gets good morning sun, as well as makes use of a slope that would otherwise not be utilized. I also created steppes between the canes to reduce run-off and make harvest easier. These canes were fertilized with worm castings from the worm bins that were donated to the garden last year.

Gardening in December

Ah, December, my sweet friend. You froze our plants, broke a few water fittings, locked vegetables in the soil and then to add mess to anxiety, doused us with rain. But I know your game. I know its all a strategy to make us truly appreciate the few extra milliseconds of sunlight you bless us with each day. Thank you. I look forward to the day when millisecond becomes minute. The dark is leaving us.

This month I partnered with a local high school art teacher to have a sign painted for our gate. He has four students interested in painting in exchange for community service hours. I found a board and paint, and delivered both to the high school before winter break. The colors are to be a jumping off point as I gave the girls artistic freedom after that. I look forward with excitement to see their creation.

A volunteer and I cleared out the wild weed patch between the garden and the store in anticipation of a communal herb patch in the spring. Blackberries don't look so big in the middle of winter.

Additional Gardening Info near PT

I recommend these groups for up to the moment gardening info in East Jefferson County.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ptcommunitygardens/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JeffcoFoodandGarden-Forum

(No worries if you're not inclined to subscribe, I share relevant info here at The Green Bean.)

Winter Crops: Tasty Morsles

Winter Crops: What do I do with them?

Composting Basics

Helpful Titles for Gardening in the Northwest

The Maritime Northwest garden Guide by Seattle Tilth

Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest by Binda Colebrook

The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food by Tanya L.K. Denckla

Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman

The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman

Organic Gardening by Christine and Michael Lauelle

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon

Food Bank Plot Plan

This is my tentative schedule for our Food Bank Plots.

Gardening Guide Example

In my plannings for the Food Bank plots, I put together this handy guide of Northwest hardy plants with an emphasis on late harvesting. I divided it into sections (brassicas/roots/other) for a simple crop rotation guide.

Sow Inside: Start seeds inside your house.
Sow Cloche: Start seeds in a cloche or under Crop Cover.
Sow Outside: Start seeds in the ground.

Most of this information came from Seattle Tilth's Maritime Northwest Garden Guide. Its $15 at The Food Co-Op, or I have a copy to lend.

Leader Article October 16, 2009

Here's our article from the Peninsula Daily News.

Cider Press Success!

We chopped, we pressed, we drank apple cider! There was talk of bobbing for apples, but it was too cold. A big thanks goes out to Brad and Mary Jo for letting us use their cider press (and for to their son for taking the first shift of pressing). Also in attendance were Bonnie, Buzzy, Cali, Carl, and Gail. In this picture, Brad and Gail feed apples into the grinder. After grinding, the pulp is pressed and the cider drains out the bottom. Don't worry, the left over apple pulp isn't attracting deer to our garden. It was all taken away by two local farmers, Nina and Alexa, to feed their pigs.

Listen about Community Gardening!

Tom Allen of WBCS, the community radio station of Bellevue Community College traveled to Port Townsend to interview gardeners about the boom of community gardens in our area. The broadcasts are available as free downloads at http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2968
Happy Listening.