Garden Updates: June 7

Blogging from the garden!

It’s another beautiful day in the garden. Right now, the breeze is bringing both scents of garden blooms, as well as the sounds of a ukulele player who is currently serenading the plants (and me). While I plan on gardening today, first I’m going to post about a few things discussed in the most recent garden meeting, as well as items I’ve collected from recent group emails.

Tag sale

Don’t forget the Summit Street Garden Tag & Bake Sale is on Saturday, June 13, from 10 am–3 pm. Shawna has sent out an invitation to sign up for shifts and for baked goods and food. Shifts are 9­–11 am, 11 am –1 pm, 1–3 pm and 3–4 pm (breakdown), with three to four people per shift.

Remember to sign up for garden hours

There are still plenty of spots open for June, and the garden is looking gorgeous right now.

This could be your view when you sign up for hours.

Grilling season

The grill is now repaired, with new grates and a new ignition system, thanks to Shawn.

No food scraps in the compost, please

Sondra recently sent out a friendly reminder not to put kitchen scraps in the compost. It makes for smelly compost that attracts flies, so it's best if the compost contributions are limited only to garden cuttings. If you’d like to compost food items, the Carroll Gardens Greenmarket on Carroll Street, between Court and Smith streets, accepts food compost from 8 am–1 pm on Sundays. Compost can also be dropped in the rotating box (not the compost box) in the Backyard Garden, but if you’re not sure where to drop it off, please check with a member there.

Thinking about putting kitchen scraps here? Don't do it! This compost is for garden cuttings only. 

Moonflower by the arbor

Be careful not to pull up the moonflower planted by the grapevine near the arbor. Claire has sent a helpful photo to let us know what it looks like, and says, “This is a photo of a young moonflower plant, an annual with amazing white trumpet flowers later in the season. It's in the morning glory family and its flowers have a similar shape, but it doesn't drop seeds for next year.”

This is a photo of a young moonflower, courtesy of Claire.

Birch tree

Some concern has been expressed about the health of river birch at the back of the garden—specifically a menacing dead branch. Claire has spoken with a community gardener who is helping another local garden with some tree trimming, and she’ll keep us posted on the birch tree status.

River birch

Herbs in the garden

Lily sent out an email to the garden about her herb gardening throughout the communal areas. “Probably most people are aware that one of my biggest gardening interests is the propagation, growth, harvesting, sharing, and eating of herbs of all sorts,” she writes. “To this end, I have begun populating some of the common areas (Mediterranean Mound, patio planters) with tasty edibles for everyone to share.”

Expect a map to come shortly. Lily also says that she plans to incorporate more herbs and edible flowers both into the section she has adopted (the shady patio by the pines), and other sections of the garden. She also thanks Stephanie and Claire for the contributions of some herbs—including spearmint, basil and sage—into the garden this season. She also would like to hear from fellow gardeners as to what we would like to see be available for communal harvest this summer. So far, she’s suggested more basil, cilantro and rosemary, but she’s open to suggestions and help with the herbs project.

Edibles

Blog

Thank you to Lindsey, who set up a Tumblr account. I’m afraid I’m the one holding things up now, as I haven’t had the time to sit down and take a look at uploading yet. I hope to have a new site launched by the end of the summer! In the meantime, you can find news and updates here.

Carpenter bees

The carpenter bee activity by the shed seems to have eased up a bit for now. In the last meeting, putting wood elsewhere for them to bore was suggested, though everyone seems to have pointed to a direction where they usually aren’t gardening (but someone else is.) So we’ll see how things go with the bees. They’re good pollinators and rarely sting, but they can be a little intimidating.

OK, that’s enough typing for me—time to get my hands dirty! Happy gardening!

—Josie