Our third growing season is officially coming to a close. Our dedicated volunteer Ernie is mowing down the corn field in preparation to till it under and put the 900 block of 2nd Ave N to rest for the winter. With the help of our amazing community we have grown over 21,000 lbs of fresh produce for hungry families in Saskatoon!! Stay tuned for a video project chronicling this years progress and an extensive list of
THANK YOU’S!!!
Final harvests are pouring into the Food Bank with Autumn around the corner. What an amazing growing season our third year has been!
It seems like yesterday that I was listening to Matt, our summer student (business??), tell me about his very clever home made vermi-compost system during his interview. This Friday is his last day with us:( I absolutely love this picture even though I know Matt does not….
While both Matt and I were away during the same week recently I received a text asking if I had noticed the aphids on the corn before I left. This picture followed shortly after and my reaction was, THIS IS BIBLICAL!! I was feeling a bit helpless being so far away and admittedly over reacted! I was assured by the plant sciences department at the UofS and all that I read online that the aphids don’t tax the corn so I relaxed. All seems fine but It certainly looks horrible:(
Our big corn harvest is 2-3 weeks away. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come and help out! It’s going to be a wonderful day, details to follow.
The beet harvest has started to pour in and some are absolutely enormous!
Cucumbers were a last minute addition but are doing fantastic and will definitely be part of the plan next year.
Our tomato and spaghetti squash plants are having a relationship and there is NO breaking them apart!
So many beautiful Spaghetti Squash!
More squash along 2nd Ave N
The bean pole tipi has started to produce pods!
As teams pull out their final harvests the plots are being planted with a buckwheat cover crop in hopes of smothering out weeds and adding some nourishment to the soil when it’s tilled under next spring.
Big week of harvesting ahead! Stay tuned for the update.
The summer certainly does fly by. The Garden is looking fantastic thanks to our amazing teams and volunteers. We have harvested some of the plots and replanted. Gorgeous radish, onion, beets and baby potatoes were sent to the Food Bank, with yields totaling 225kg so far! Added to that will be the second harvest of plots as well as our potato and corn fields!
We have been battling the ever so frisky Colorado Potato Beetles. A number of our plants in the centre of the potato patch have been annihilated so we harvested the wee gems. The last of the beetles will soon be looking for a place to burrow down for the winter (jerks) and our remaining lovely plants will get a break. Here is hoping we have time to fertilize them in the coming week.
The corn field is reaching for the sky and so were the weeds until recently. Last Sunday we put a call out for volunteers to come to their rescue. Getting down low in the corn field means being eaten by mosquitoes as well as enduring a significant temperature increase! Some teams spent extra time after their weekly plot maintenance to tackle them.
Progress – Arrested Development
Liberating the Corn – Bookworms
Just when we feel certain we have gotten them all, we spy an overlooked thick jungle that needs to be addressed. You can really see where old house foundations vs gardens existed in the past. We fertilized the struggling stalks with some compost tea today so hopefully they will catch up to their buddies who are starting to grow silks. We have had some pretty crazy storms lately and as a result we often arrive in the morning to find much of the corn pushed over but after a day or two they seem to find their way back to the sun.
What else, what else…..we have some monster tomato plants and our squash, cucumber and pumpkin are loving life and starting to produce fruit. At the centre of the garden is a growing bean pole tipi looking lush and soon to be filled with pods.
In Closing:
While out for a walk the other day I came across this boulevard with raised beds. Someone was growing tomatoes and zucchini and greens etc. I then heard a sweet, very concerned, voice ask if I worked for the City. This little lady was the Gorilla Gardener responsible for the raised beds and was she proud, rightfully so!! What an amazing city we live in Saskatoon!
Savory greens for salads, flavorful addition to meat dishes and Ah Pi’s favorite; one of the main ingredients in a delicious cold soup. Who knew common weeds could be this tasty?
Now, this was not an anecdote made by one individual from one country. This was a claim verified by someone from each of the countries who were weeding that day. That means the countries of Burma, Vietnam, Colombia and China were all represented. Who knew that weeding could be so educational?
We laughed as people posed for pictures. We “chatted” as we worked, comparing our vegetables with the vegetables of other groups. Our plot gets a “thumbs up” except maybe for the carrots. We snacked on watermelon, grapes, and cookies. Who knew weeding could be so much fun?
Last week we harvested the radishes. It was hot and muggy and the ground was hard. This week we harvested the onions. We grew a lot of onions!! We are happy to give radishes and onions to the Food Bank. Who knew giving back could feel so good?
Who knew?
Please click on thumbnail for larger view and description.
With a couple of rainy days ahead that would keep us from the garden we turned our attention to urban ag projects at the Saskatoon Food Bank on Ave C South. Repurposing and upcycling old cinder blocks into a creative planter, yes please! The Habitat for Humanity Restore gave us a deal on a pallet of cinder blocks and Gerry kindly delivered them across the street with the forklift. In order to stack them we would need to remove the old mortar that was on….all four sides??!! We hadn’t thought about that:( Next to enhance stability we used Liquid Nails to adhere them all together. The areas open for planting (above ground level) got some chicken wire covered in landscaping fabric wedged into the bottom. We were then able to start planting in them!
Blend up some yogurt, moss and a bit of sugar, paint on a wooden or concrete surface and it should grow into lush green graffiti. Fingers Crossed!!
