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Spring Happenings: Upcoming Activities, Events To Note

3 Feb

Bookmark this page and check back for updates on specific times. See also CVEarthlab google calendar*.

Friday March 29th: Lettuce and arugula broadcasting**  6:00pm to 6:16pm

Sunday, April 7th: CV EarthDay Fest (possible weed pull and toss event **)

Mid March:  Weekend workday to direct sow early veg, prep

Mid to late April:  Watering on schedule starts

April 27 or 28 (or both days of weekend):   Workday to transplant flowers, herbs (from GrowNYC plant sale)**

Wed May 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd: “May Wednesdays” Gardeners converge outside from 6-7pm to water, answer seedling, transplant questions. **

Early June: Tomato transplanting, staking

Early to Mid-June: Spring Celebration/ Strawberries + Salad Tasting

*Don’t miss any gardening opportunities! If you use a gmail calendar, subscribe to CVEarthlab google calendar by clicking cal icon on CVEarthlab.com (This is not the same as following the blog via email notifications, which is also recommended. Subscribing means CVEarthlab events appear on your google cal.)

** especially fun and kid-friendly

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Vote For Your Favorite Flowers!

20 Jan

Time to think Spring! CVEarthlab core members will order seeds for the Indoor Planting Workshop on March 2nd , and we’d like input from committee members.

What Flowers Should We Grow?

You are welcome to check as many boxes as you’d like. The poll requires an email registration; you are welcome to send feedback to CVEarthlab@gmail.com if that is preferable. Thanks in advance for sharing your opinion!

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Scenes From Sachet Workshop, December 2018

19 Jan

Check out pictures from the sachet-making workshop in early December. To upcycle dried lavender, lemon balm and other herbs harvested at the end of the 2018 season, the garden committee hosted an intimate and fun event.  About 11 attendees made a total of 35+ fragrant sachets.

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Next time we hold a pre-holiday sachet workshop, harvesting and drying herbs before October will allow us to do the crafting several weeks before Hanakkuh and Christmas, hopefully accommodating more participants.

What To Pick and Eat Now

30 Jun

Bee balm, aka Monarda, sprouts an edible flower.

Bee balm

Borage, with its small blue glow, also has petals you can eat.

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Borage flowers

Hot weather means the sweet pea season will be over soon — grab one now!

Alpine strawberries (small but super sweet!)
Snap peas on the trellis
Pot o Mint

Alpine strawberries are small but sweet. Spearmint and peppermint, in pots around the garden, are almost always available.

Coming soon: Patty pan squash, tomatoes, ground cherries, cucumbers and more!

Related: The watering schedule is available.  Go to the signup to volunteer for a specific date.

Thanks!

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Early June in the Garden

7 Jun

Photo: Ezra Schultz

Sat July 9th: Crazy Growth Report!

9 Jul

I hadn’t been outside in a few days, so today I was amazed by how fast things are growing: Almost all of the tomatoes need staking/pruning/ support.

There’s also sprawl from the ground cherries that I tried to reign in…The cucumbers are ready to climb so I pulled down some of the snap peas… I suppose I will snip off the scapes this weekend and plan a garlic harvest.  Who wants some?

 

Climbing cardinal really climbs!
Pretty sure these are balloon flowers, possibly from last year?
Cardinals with less sun don’t get as much height

Have you watered lately?  Its hot and those tomato plants are thirsty, click here to volunteer to water on a specific day.  See you outside!!!  -Denise

 

 

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Preparing Tomato Plants for Transplanting

18 May

Today I started “hardening off” the two tomatoes that I started from seedearlier this year.  If you too have tomatoes in your window, you’ll want to get them ready to move outside.

I’m aiming to get mine in the ground by Memorial Day weekend, so I’ll spend the next 6 to 9 days gradually exposing them to the outdoor air, light and temperatures before they go into the garden bed.

Shari shares this guide to hardening-off tomatoes: growinggardens.org/hardening-off-plant-starts. I have some flowers, too, but I’m assuming they aren’t as complicated as fruit-bearing tomatoes to toughen up.

Who else has tomatoes, and how many? We should think abtomato-seedlingout what is going where in the small garden, so we don’t end up with too many tomatoes!

 

Perennial Plantings Sat 4.30

30 Apr

 

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Echinacea along fence near shed.

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Viola
Lavender and viola

Facing the long border fence, from left: Coral bells, viola, bee balm, viola, lavender, viola.

Related: Check out our other pollinator-friendly perennials here. 

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Little Cans For Small Hands

28 Apr

IMG_7746Watering season is almost upon us! We’ve moved the kids’ watering cans out of the shed for easy access. Children are welcome to water the flowers and plants in the ground along the play area fence, the Jay St fence or the short border fence at any time. Traditionally, we observe the rule that only grownups are allowed to use the hose, turn on/or spray the water. That said, we encourage adults to fill up watering cans for their little cvEarthLab2of9guys.

If you’re new to the play area, know that we keep sharp tools, soaps and basic chemicals locked in the shed, away from the kids. But the garden is not childproof; there are trip hazards, wood splinters, sharp corners and hardware wire edges around the beds.Please supervise children inside the garden space, or block the entrances with chairs or logs to prevent them from hurting themselves or the seedlings. Its tempting to pull up sprouts from the raised beds, but it will be cvEarthLab1of9.lpgmuch more satisfying once the veg are full grown! (See what’s planned here.)  If you have an idea about how we can make it easier for your child to co-exist with the baby plants, email us, please, at cvearthlab@gmail.com. Once the season is in full swing, we’ll highlight the sensory garden pots that contain mint, cinnamon basil, lemon verbena and other fun to smell, taste and touch herbs.

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It’s almost time for the 2nd Annual Pollinator Appreciation Party! Mark your calendars for Friday May 13th at 6:30pm. We’ll have more planting activities in the coming weeks, and a watering schedule for the vegetable beds will be posted soon. Stay in the loop by signing up for email notifications on CVEarthLab.com. Thanks!

–Ansley, Deb, Denise, Sandy, Shari & Alison, The Core Garden Team

Home Care for Sub-Irrigated/ Self-Watering Planters

25 Feb

IMG_3034Thanks to all who came to the workshop last night. I am sharing some tips we use at Benji’s school for PTA plantings…But this is one philosophy or approach, not the only one. Ansley and other gardeners may have different takes on how to proceed — keep your eye on the comments section!

1. (At home) Remove and fill the bottom reservoir cup with about 2-3 inches of water. For one time only, water plant from the top to allow soil and wick to settle. Wick should dangle into liquid to allow soil to “suck up” the water and “self water” the plant.

2. Place in full sun or sunny windowsill.  aclk

3. Add water to bottom cup every 2-3 days. It is OK to spritz soil from the top, but “watering” should be done via the reservoir in the bottom of the planter.

4.  If you need to add soil, use organic potting soil.

5. Depending what you planted, be ready to transplant a little early, because, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, Spring may come early.  The 2016 prediction for NYC’s last frost is April 1st. (Last Spring Frost prediction tagged as having 50% probability).

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