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 | Howdy folks, In last week's letter I wished for the return of hawks to the garden. Upon arrival at the garden that morning what did I find? Two hawks! One sat in plain view in a tree above the garden and called loudly for almost an hour. I don’t know if they caught any gophers yet but I sure enjoy hearing their cries and watching them soar among the tall pines. We took our first tomatoes from the hoop house to market yesterday and thanks to Rebecca we have enough wood for new tomato boxes in the greenhouse. Yeah Rebecca! Many thanks also to Howard for donating the redwood propagation benches. We have been wanting to replace a worn section in the greenhouse and one of the new benches will fit perfectly. The farmers market was lively and fun and the interns have enjoyed taking turns helping in the booth. Today they will be going over to the Headstart Family Garden to help with the new beds and on Friday will install wire on top of the north field fence to further the deer proofing. Soon it will be time to get out the tiller and lay the rows for more fall crops. We are busy sowing seeds.... try growing some purple sprouting broccoli this year! Please feel free to join us for gardening fun anytime Friday afternoon(s) from 1-5. You are also invited to enjoy a garden party Celebaration of Earth, Sea, & Sky this Saturday from 1-6 at Open Door Arts in Mendocino. Dazzled by dahlias Sakina |
| July 15, 209 Greetings from the garden,
Got pesto? Just when you think you can sit back and enjoy some warm weather bounty it’s time to start planting for Fall harvests. This week we planted lettuce along the edges of the pea bed and have prepared space for more carrots and broccoli. You could sneak in one more planting of summer squash for Thanksgiving and now is the time to start cabbages, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and kale so they can get big and strong before the days get short and cold. We have sown plenty of extra and will continue to bring starts to the market on Wednesdays. I am happy to see bees in the garden this week, They are feeding on the blooming oregano and the broccoli we left to flower. It is always a good idea to support biodiversity in the garden, especially pollinators! Now if I just had some owls or hawks to eat those gophers..... Many thanks to Woody for installing the new solar fan in the greenhouse, it works great! And also a big thank you to Sterling for the donation of a refrigerator, we really needed one. We would like to recycle your clean plastic bags, please drop them by the garden or the farmer’s market if you can. Farmers Market today at 3:30. Special on basil! Sakina |  |
 | June 23, 2009 Greetings friends of the garden(s), Being a food forester is wonderful. There is something deeply satisfying about growing food for the community and learning to live in a more sustainable way. I learn something new every day and snacking on strawberries is pretty fun too. On Friday we get to harvest the big bed of garlic! There is other stuff to do too, please join us from 1-5. Sharing the bounty Sakina |
June 10, 2009 Greetings from the garden, We will be busy as bees harvesting for the farmer's market today. The garden has lettuce, spinach, kale, fava beans, onions, broccoli, strawberries, carrots, cherry tomatoes, basil, and flowers! We have more treats to look forward to as the tomatoes in the hoop house are growing like mad, the cucumbers are making little fruits, and the zucchini are starting to get big. To package these goodies for customers at the market we use the ubiquitous plastic bag. Rather then buying new ones we invite you to recycle your clean plastic bags by dropping them off at our booth at the market or at the Learning Garden. Yesterday the high schoolers had a BBQ to celebrate the end of the school year and today they take their final exam.We all learned a lot and a few of these students will be continuing to learn as they work in the garden as interns this summer. We are fortunate to continue our partnership with the Mendocino Private Industry Council and will be able to expand the summer program, increase the amount of the stipend, and include more disabled youth. This summer the interns will also be helping out over at the middles school garden. Many thanks to those of you who have sponsored a youth this summer. Please join us Friday for gardening fun from 1-5. This week we can sow a new bed of carrots, plant some broccoli, work on the flower beds and start plants for planting next month. We might even eat a few strawberries. Enjoy the day, Sakina |  |
 | Wed, Apr 15, 2009 Hi folks, Hold on to your hats! It's a good thing we have greenhouses to play in otherwise I'd just have to go home and hide there. This wind sure is frisky. The garden is holding up well, the row covers are intact and sheltering broccoli and lettuce. The peas have a good grip n their trellis' and the carrots are bravely sprouting. The lettuce and spinach planted under cover a month ago is looking fabulous and will go into the Earth Day salad. It's been a bit quiet this week as the high school is on spring break. This weeks lettuce and spinach went to the Redwood Coast Senior Center and Piaci's,both great places to have lunch. Today I started organizing the nursery in preparation of the plant sale on the 26th and I noticed we have some broccoli, celery and flowers that are ready to plant. If you would like to get some plants for your garden please come by the garden this Sunday in the afternoon for a little 'pre-plant sale'. The Friday work days have been great fun.I send many thanks to all of you terrific volunteers for all you do and special hurray to Scott for installing new vents in the greenhouse. This Friday we will continue to get ready for Earth Day and also tend to the Food Forest which needs weeding and prepping. We also have celery to plant, the turnips need thinning, the old brassicas need to go to the compost pile, and we can harvest lettuce, spinach, cilantro, chard and kale. 1:00 -5:00. cheers Sakina |
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