Today marks the garden's first large winter squash harvest! After a long, hot summer, some winter squash are ready to harvest. Pictured are today's Waltham Butternuts, Sugar Pie pumpkins, a Jack Be Little pumpkin, and an acorn squash. I love the bright orange of a ripe pumpkin! More beets, turnips, kohlrabi, kale, celery, peas, and a large basket of cucumbers were also harvested today. The cucumber plants have proven to be incredibly prolific this year; we seem to harvest a few large baskets a week. The varieties we are growing this year are Spacemaster 80 and Straight Eight. Even in the heat of August, we are planning and preparing for the fall and winter seasons, in which we plan to create cold-frames and grow cold weather crops such as broccoli and cabbage well into the winter. Visit the Community page to learn how to help us prepare!
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It's only been a week, but August has been highly eventful at People's Patchwork Community Garden! Many plants have been very productive in the late summer heat--especially the tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. On Monday, we began the month of August with a colorful harvest of kale, onions, shallots, rhubarb, acorn squash, kohlrabi, corn, cucumbers, turnips, celery, tomatoes, chili and pimento peppers, beets, and zucchinis. Finally, we gathered a quick harvest today consisting of acorn squash, cucumbers, summer squash and zucchinis, tomatoes (Beefmaster, San Marzano, Lemon Boy, and a few unidentified heirlooms), and the season's first pumpkin, a petite Jack Be Little!
It has been a very busy week for everyone at the People's Patchwork Community Garden: people weeding and harvesting, bees pollinating, frogs and toads hunting for cutworms, fungi breaking down organic matter, and the hazy clouds above providing fresh rainwater. This week we have donated another 72 pounds, beginning with Monday's harvest of many cucumbers, zucchini, kale, kohlrabi, sweet corn, beets, and some small peppers: pimento and cayenne. On Thursday, I found that most of the sweet corn (a classic summer favorite) was ready for harvest. Over 60 ears of corn were donated this week! Additionally, the garden's first winter squash (two Early Acorn Hybrid squashes) were harvested, marking the change of gardening seasons--an exciting event for squash lovers. Pictured is Thursday's harvest: Finally, on Friday, more sweet corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes (including an impressive Beefmaster tomato) were harvested, as well as kohlrabi, kale, and cartons of sweet peas and broccoli.
Today's colorful harvest marks the 100th pound of produce donated by the People's Patchwork Community Garden! Even with all of the obstacles such unusual weather, pests, weeds, and the fact that the garden was newly established this year, it has exceeded all of our expectations. Pictured above is today's harvest: cucumbers, celery, colorful tomatoes, hot peppers (cayenne and banana), broccoli, zucchini, sweet corn, beets, kohlrabi, and cabbage.
The People's Patchwork Community Garden is truly springing into action this July! Pictured is our Monday harvest, consisting of broccoli, cucumbers, kohlrabi, hot peppers, banana peppers, zucchini, peas, kale, and a few turnips. Additionally, on Tuesday morning, I harvested some lettuce and a few more zucchinis. They seem to ripen overnight! Our current varieties of summer squash include Black Beauty Zucchini and Dark Green Zucchini; later in July, I will be transplanting a few Yellow Summer Crookneck squashes. These summer squashes, along with Picklebush cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, and multiple colors of bell peppers, will be planted after the sweet corn is harvested.
It has been quite the eventful week at the People's Patchwork Community Garden! The week began with a large harvest of leafy greens and lots of radishes. As the month of June comes to a close, I harvested all of the remaining radishes and replaced them with five varieties of beans: Kentucky Wonder, a pole bean, and French Garden, Tenderette, Provider, and the classic Fordhook 242 Lima bean. Additionally, I have started harvesting lettuce, which is a cool-season crop. The lettuce will be replaced by a compact, quick-growing variety of cherry tomato in early July. Turnips, kohlrabi, kale, and even an early Spacemaster 80 cucumber are also ready for harvest. Even with all the lettuce that was harvested today, the lettuce patch still appears fairly full!
As the winter squash and pumpkin vines continue to establish themselves and the corn predicts a late July harvest, some earlier vegetables such as kohlrabi, radishes, kale, lettuce, turnips, and strawberries are ready for harvest!
It is with great joy that I am presenting the People's Patchwork Community Garden's first spring harvest and food donation: kale, rhubarb, strawberries, and radishes! As our garden is very new, we are still in need of plant donations to add to our Patchwork. More donation information can be found on the Community page.
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AuthorHello! I'm Calista Swensen: gardener, environmentalist, student, volunteer, and aspiring botanist. Archives
July 2022
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