Last Harvest Photos

Here are the pictures from our last day in garden. The photos of the post-harvest are especially revealing as to how much we planted and harvested this semester.

Some failed radishes

Compare these radishes to the other photo

The pumpkin plant pulled through after all

Harvested vegetables!

Garden post-harvest

The final pile of harvested vegetables

Garden post-harvest

Notes on Working at the Garden 11/23

It had been a few weeks since we had been in the garden so there was quite a bit of work to do. First of all the pumpkin plant had grown so much that it was covering many plants from getting sunlight. Secondly, branches and leaves had fallen into some of the plots, especially the multicolored radish plot. Thirdly, the tomato plant had grown and needed to be tied up. Lastly, there was so much harvesting we needed to do!

We harvested only one of the dichon because the others were not ready, but we had a lot of mustard greens ready to be harvested. Along with those, bakchoy and radish were harvested. We had two plots of radishes–one multicolored and the other all red. The multicolored plot was guerilla planted whereas the other was not. After weeks of allowing both to grow, it is valid to say that guerilla planting proved ineffective. Majority of the multicolored radish either did not grow or came out stunted and in the other plot almost every radish grew to normal size.

We also found that two of the three pepper plants had disappeared and the only one left had dried up. It’s stem had turn woody, meaning it had died. The pepper plant was in the far left corner of the entire plot, an area where most sunlight hits. It was probably receiving more sunlight than needed and less water than needed. Spacing could not have been an issue because there were no other plants crowding around the pepper plant

We did find a brand new pumpkin from the pumkin patch we had not planted. There were also some new tomatoes that had not been ripe yet. Aside from those things, much of the food, like the celery and the daikon, is almost ready to be harvested. They may need a couple more days to be fully grown.

Pictures for this day were taken by Aaron.

This is post is a combination of notes from Anuja and Patrick

Garden Instructions from 10/26

When we met in the garden today we had a number of things in mind to accomplish. The goals for today were:

– to clean up the debris in the garden

– harvest the vegetables that were ready

– to clear out the pumpkin plant to make room for other plants

What we actually ended up doing in the garden on Tuesday was pretty similar to what we had outlined and we were able to accomplish all the goals. We began by first watering the garden to moisten the dirt and make it easier to harvest and pull weeds. We first learned how to harvest the different types of vegetables; for example, to harvest bok choy, you have to leave the root in the ground and simply take off the leaf and stem. The same procedure is used for the mustard green leaves. The radishes should be harvested if they are red and large, sticking above the ground.

The pumpkin plant was tied to the the fence so that it wouldn’t take up space in the dirt. I went around asking the class how they were deciding whether to harvest their vegetables. Anuja pulled out a radish that looked ripe and when I tasted it, it tasted really good, just like a real radish. The group that just spread seeds throughout their plot in the “guerrilla gardening” had many radishes growing and a lot of them were harvested.

David attempted to harvest the daikon, but when it was pulled out it wasn’t ripe enough, so he decided to put it back in the ground and re harvest it later. People were also weeding their plots to make sure that the weeds don’t steal nutrients from the plants.

Finally, the last step was to lay down the hay to create walkways in the garden. Also, the hay kills weed by stopping the sun from getting to them and smothering them. The goals from today were pretty much met, and hopefully the notes from today will help people in the future when they harvest!

Parallel notes from Saarah:

Today, we accomplished quite a few things with the garden. We began, as usual, by watering the garden, making sure to moisten the dirt (providing an easier setting for harvesting). Then, we pulled out the weeds. Although the straw did help with weed prevention, there were still a lot of weeds throughout the garden that needed to be pulled. We also had to re-tie the tomato plant, making sure it was held straight.

After we took care of preliminary care, we began harvesting. When harvesting, we had to make sure we only harvested plants that were READY. If we harvest a premature plant, or pull it out the wrong way, we could kill it. Thus, we have to be really careful. We were taught a few simple things about harvesting different plants:

1.      Bok choy: you do not harvest the root, only the leaves

2.      Radishes: should be emerging from the soil, round and juicy- color may vary because of the various types of radishes planted

3.      Mustard green: do not harvest the root, only the leaves

4.      Tomatoes: if they look round and the color looks right, harvest them

5.      Pumpkin: must be the right size and color

6.      Daikon: must be ripe enough, pull out from ground carefully

We harvested what we could, and left the rest to grow. Overall, we ended up with a good amount of harvest that some people took home to make dishes out of.

All in all, it was a pretty successful day at the garden 🙂

Garden Update 10/25/10

I found that I had to water the garden less today because there was still moisture from yesterday’s rain. The radishes are doing especially well, but for some reason the plants on the bottom left of the garden are smaller than the rest of the plants in the garden. Were those the transplanted ones? Another thing I noticed was that the bugs seem to be leaving holes in the leaves. As long as this damage is kept to a minimum, our garden should be fine. I am truly impressed with the way the garden is coming along, especially the radishes. They look like they are ready to be harvested any time soon.

Garden Day Notes 9/23

On September 23rd, we had a special presentation from our guest artist, Ari Kletsky. He educated us about the unconventional use of traffic islands. Did you know that..

• …islands were developed before cars? Very ironic, because we think of them today only as traffic dividers.
• …islands are considered to be the freest place in the American city? There is a twist to this. Although they should be protected by the First Amendment, they have a very peculiar standing in the Constitution. Since islands are a free public space, you would think you could do almost anything on there right? Wrong. In Santa Monica, you can walk or run over a traffic island, but you cannot simply stand there.
• …the city considers the appearance of traffic islands a trivial issue? This should not be the case. As citizens, it is our duty to make sure we do the best that we can in order to make our neighborhood look nice. Guerilla gardening is not exacly encouraged–get permission from the city first. Be a good citizen and transform your traffic island into a piece of art.

Back to the Garden

It is our turn to be good citizens and care for our little community garden. So far, we have been doing a good job, but Florence Nishida returned and gave us some more tips to ensure that we have the healthiest garden possible.

• Add organic fertilizer. The soil appears to be drying out because of the hot weather we have been experiencing lately. Remember that aside from water, plants need plenty of nutrients to grow healthily. Also, keep in mind that the fertilizer concentrates in certain spots. It is very likely that the plants growing in areas with more amounts of fertilizer are growing much better. In order to ensure that all of our plants can be healthy, we must make sure the fertilizer is uniform throughout the garden.
• It is definitely best to maximize our production. Right now, we have our plants growing in separate rectangles, but it’s okay to spread them out in a nonuniform manner. This way, instead of wasting so much space on borders, we can grow as many plants as the space in the garden permits.
• Tie up plants with long stems. If we leave them hanging, they will shelter smaller plants, thus blocking them from sunlight.
• Some plants in the sun are dying because they are not receiving an adequate amount of water. when watering, we have to be sure they are getting more water than the plants in the shade because the moisture will evaporate more quickly out in the sun.
• We have recently been discussing transplanting. Florence has recommended that we wait until the plant’s true leaves have grown. The plants in the sun are at this stage already, but the ones in the shade still have their heart-shaped (seed) leaves. Once the longer set of leaves has grown in, we will know the plant will survive if it is transplanted.
• When transplanting, selectively pinch the plant with your fingernails or a pair of scissors. Be careful–don’t damage the roots! We already know that without roots, the plant cannot survive because it will starve.
• Increase space between the plants in case something goes wrong. That way, you won’t have to pry them apart once they are done growing.
• Although it appears as if the plants in the shade are doing much better, the opposite is true. The plants in the sun are smaller because they are receiving adequate sunlight. If you notice, they do not have as many seed leaves as the plants in the shade. However, the plants in the shade have to stretch in order to receive solar energy, which gives them a larger appearance. So, even though they look a lot healthier, they really aren’t.
• Be careful when stepping on the garden bed! You don’t want to destroy the environment needed for the plants to grow adequately.
• You don’t have to wait till the plants are huge. In fact, picking and trimming the leaves will be better for it.

Hope this was helpful!

Garden Notes from 9/2 (Updated)

Compost

Things to avoid:

1. animal scraps/bones–these may attract rodents into our compost pile
2. feces–there is a risk of disease and/or bacterial transfer
3. plastics–these won’t break down in time for us to use

Items used for compost should be close to the target ratio of 30 Carbon-1 Nitrogen.  Some common compost materials include:

1. cardboard 350 C-1N (bad)
2. corn cobs 75-1 (ok)
3. fruit 35-1 (excellent)
4. leaves 60-1 (ok)
5. newspaper 175-1 (not too much)
6. peanuts 25-1 (good)
7. coffee grounds 20-1 (good)
8. grass 20-1 (good)
9. vegetables 25-1 (excellent)
10. egg shells (good because of their Calcium Carbonate shells)

Compost should be watered once per week because the invertebrate living in the compost need water.  Before watering, mix the compost thoroughly, then water for about 5 minutes.  The compost should feel moist and spongy.

Fertilizer

The key ration of fertilizer is Nitrogen-Carbon-Phosphorus.  Our fertilizer has a ratio of 7-4-5.  Before we mixed the fertilizer into the soil, we tilled the soil with the spade fork and the hand cultivator.  In total we used 15 cups of  fertilizer.

Some Good Planting Techniques

There is a big difference between planting seeds and seedlings. When spacing seeds in a garden, you don’t need to waste too much space spreading them apart; it is extremely inefficient. Instead, estimate how wide the diameter of each plant is going to be so that adjacent ones do not merge together. Even if this occurs, it is not a big deal; all you have to do is cut them apart with a knife after they are picked.

Some things to keep in mind if you are planting a seedling or a potted plant:

• Do not aggressively tug the plant out of the pot. Doing so may result in root damage, which will severely shorten the plant’s life. The correct approach is to handle the roots with intense care and make sure they are harmed as little as possible.
• It is really important not to let roots dry out. Keep in mind that the roots are the ones taking in the water and nutrients from the soil. Without the roots, the process of mineral uptake is nearly impossible, and plants will be unable to photosynthesize because they are not receiving anything that can be converted into glucose (aka expendable energy).
• When planting a potted plant into the soil, make sure you dig the hole as deep as the soil mold of the pot. The surface of the soil of the potted plant should line up with the surface of the soil in the garden. This way, the plant will have a better time adjusting to its new environment, and the roots will continue to grow.

Watering the Garden

Aside from using compost and fertilizer on top of the garden bed, one of the most crucial elements of attaining a healthy garden is to water consistently. Here are some tips and information to ensure that you water not only efficiently but also correctly.

• Many people are not aware of the fact that the amount of time that plants should be watered depends on what time of day it is. The sun will cause a lot of the water to evaporate, so it is probably best to water the garden more during the day than at nighttime.
• Temperature is a direct function of seed germination. Make sure that your seeds are receiving as much sunlight as possible. If not, they will never receive the signal to start growing.
• In order to ensure proper plant growth, water consistently (morning and evening). Forgetting to turn on the sprinklers is one of the biggest reasons that plants die prematurely.
• During the day, plants use their water to carry out photosynthesis. It is crucial that you water enough so that there will still be enough moisture after evaporation takes place. At night, keep in mind that you do not have to water as much because it will not evaporate as quickly. However, make sure that there is enough water in the soil to last through the night.
• It is important to know that water goes directly down into the soil, so make sure you are watering directly above seeds and their roots. If you water next to the seeds rather than on top of it, you lessen the chance that the roots will properly receive the water.
• Over-watering is another factor of plant death. Normally, in Southern California gardens, it is so dry that this is not really a problem. One of the few times that over-watering causes premature plant death is in houseplants. The soil in the pot gets so wet that there is no space for oxygen. Fungi start to accumulate and rot the plant roots. Again, since we will be dealing with an outdoor garden in a dry climate, this should not be a problem.

If we keep all of these things in mind, we should have no problem maintaining a healthy community garden throughout the semester.