garden news-a busy month in the garden

GARDEN NEWS-A BUSY MONTH IN THE GARDEN

this is me leading a group of kids through our tunnel of trumpet squash hanging down from a trellis
as i walked through the tunnel i hit the squash making them swing back and forth so its like an obstacle course
i tell the kids not to touch the squash and try not to let the squash touch them as the squash sways back and forth
they never listen but they enjoy the experience


here after a 20 minute session on nature appreciation where they sat under the big ole giant grandfather pepper trees and they learned about the bees and the big ole tree and listened quietly for a few seconds listening for sounds and listening to the song what a beautiful world by l armstrong
i told them first we would take the poppy seeds in their pincher fingers and throw them on the hillside
so that this spring poppies would be growing there
then
i warned them we were headed into the banana grove to see the banana trees and the bananas hanging down with its big ole purple flowers
there also may be a monkey sighting
geoge the stuffed monkey 
some believe he is real and some dont
they get quiet though as they travel through the banana grove


before we get to the banana grove we stop along the way 
i tell them that in nature the poppies pop out their seeds into the air to plant them
they are allowed to throw their seeds or pop them out over the hillside on the count of 3
yes i count in my donald duck voice which they enjoy
they are told to come back this spring to see our poppies in our garden
some will be theirs

our fall harvest program had over 400 elementary students do our 2 hours program this month
they also picked their own pumpkin
lots of smiles this month


we received a large grant this year to help with our expenses
so we bought a 15 yard load of good organic compost to use in our gardens
we make most of our compost ourselves but we need more especially during fall and spring plantings
remember the best compost is the one you make yourself

you know compost is good when you feel like you could eat it since it smells and looks so good

we will add about a 3-4 inch layer of compost on our beds prior to planting
this will be forked in along with some organic compost then the bed will be raked out smooth

we are hoping for a good harvest this year of our fall and winter crops like
cabbage dino kale curly kale swiss chard celery cabbage broccoli onions leeks some beets and carrots lots of sweet peas and snap peas cauliflower and herbs like cilantro and parsley
all will be donated to those in need


we start most of our plants from seed in our greenhouse
we have a greenhouse volunteer that i convinced to run the greenhouse operation

so most of our veggies that one sees growing in our garden was started in our greenhouse
this winter though we will get our onions and leeks from a supplier in texas called dixondale farms
interesting is some of the local nurseries and seed companies get their plants from there also 
we plant the onions after thanksgiving and the leeks after the new years

the beds are already prepped with compost and organic fertilizer awaiting the onions and leeks arrival

we also start our fall plant sale next week selling the same plants we have growing for our garden
it runs the month of november ending with our christmas tree lot sale on december 2nd

last sunday we had a leader of the chumash native anerican tribe come talk to folks 
it was well attended
he gave a history of the lands around here before the area was taken over by outside folks
and the history since then
he also did his fire dance 
the chumash use to use fires to burn some of the lands 
this is natures way of rejuvenating the soil and the foliage

we showed a charlie brown movie last weekend also in our front pumpkin patch area after dark

this weekend i will tour a group of gardeners from a local garden coop
it usually takes about an hour to do

then next week a girl scout troop will do an hour tour and do some harvesting that we will donate

later next month a jewish church group will come in to do a 3 hour work day with us

so 
this community garden is doing its thing
educating all ages on gardening
providing food for those in need
providing a location for folks to grow their own food
providing a place for others to enjoy

yes
im tired but happy after all this activity this month
i am also the new volunteer garden manager


this is a picture of our evening in the garden fundraiser where about 60 people attended last month

its also the picture we used for our fundraising crowdfunding that starts next month

seedmoney.org allows community and school gardens to fund raise then allows them to compete for grants of up to $1000
eg we spend about $1000 a year on supplies to grow our veggies for planting and our plant sale

go to this link to see our crowdfunding site
https://donate.seedmoney.org/8831/trinity-gardens

on or after november 15 please consider donating to help keep our good work going
the more we raise the higher a grant we qualify for

even small amounts like $5 or $10 will help

thanks

the organicgreen doctor