IT IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE GARDEN OF 2015
The last few weeks have seen a drastic change in the weather, signalling to the garden crew that it is time to start packing it in. With school back in full swing, and activities taking up multiple nights of the week, time is limited. Time to weed, time to plant, time to enjoy watching the garden grow is just not there. Summer is over. It is now time to clean up the mess, celebrate our harvests, and get ready for next spring.
GARDEN PRODUCTION 2015
Although exact numbers are not in yet, the stats we do have show astronomical increases with many crops - Kale production up 250%, Tomatoes up 400%, Zucchini up 9 units (from zero in 2014).
A perennial producer, the Raspberry bush, continued to fill bowl after bowl brimming with berries. Approx 40-50
** cups worth
**Stats
on the berries are estimated this year as the bush was raided during
the 80's Birthday bash by many party goers and stripped bare before
stats could be calculated.
Elli took the lead on Raspberry maintenance and climbed into the bush with a set of heavy duty wire clippers. He went to work cutting down the old canes. If left to grow, the old canes will not produce many berries next year. Removing them also allows the newer canes to have more room and expand - allowing them to reach 'peak berry production'. This is important and dangerous work (due to the thorns that grow on the stems). Work gloves, long sleeves, and protective eye gear should be worn.
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| The old raspberry canes (description: Brown and two years old) were culled by Elli earlier this week |
2015 was the first year for carrots and it was very successful. Very little work and one pack of seeds produced one giant bowl of grade A, delicious tasting, bright orange roots.
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| Bowl o' Roots |
Carrot harvesting was a fun event held late Sunday afternoon. Using only their bare hands, a shovel, and buckets full of determination, the Dirty Hands crew uncovered carrots of all shapes and sizes.
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| Lolli found a big one |
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| Oskie pulled with all his might... |
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| ...success! |
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| Lacking a tooth did not stop Elli. |
Another new addition to the garden in 2015 was a mint plant. The younger citizens have become fond of a drink called '
water with mint leaves'. Over the summer they made many glasses of water with a leaf or two of mint in it. As the season ends a bowl of leaves was picked, dried, and is to be used over the winter in a drink called '
hot water with mint leaves'.
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| This mint plant also plays an ornamental role in the front garden. |
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| Fresh mint |
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| Dry on rack for a week |
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
One long term strategic goal of the Garden Committee is to become as self sufficient as possible, especially in regards to plants and seeds. This year the committee took a giant leap forward saving seeds from many of the top producing plants. Green beans, Kale, and Yellow Tomato seeds have been saved and sealed away to be grown next year.
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| Green Beans / Kale / Yellow Tomato |
GARDEN UPDATE 6 - Zuch is evicted
GARDEN UPDATE 5 - Zuch harvest
GARDEN UPDATE 4 - Lots o' Green
Wow- look at those carrots- nice. Mint is easy to grow around here- we grow it in our garden outside the café- it really comes in handy for the summer drinks we serve.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great year, nice work! Those carrots look great!
ReplyDeleteWow, it sounds like had a very successful growing year! I have lots of mint and I use it in iced tea sometimes. Like the others, I'm very impressed with your carrots!
ReplyDeleteThose carrots look great, and I love your goal with seeds, quite impressive.
ReplyDelete