Good bye to 2010

As 2010 draws to a close, I think we can all be grateful for what we have - our friends, our family, our comfortable lives. We can be proud of our effort for the 2010 Garden and I look forward to 2011 and the second year of our Food Banks' Garden. While the snow covers the ground and darkness comes far too early, we will soon be planting seeds in the greenhouse and tilling the newly warmed soil.

Happy New Years!

And for interest's sake, here is the Farmer's Almanac weather forecast for the prairies for 2011....

Annual Weather Summary: November 2010 to October 2011

Winter will be 2 to 4 degrees C colder than normal, on average, with the coldest weather in mid-January and other cold periods from the second half of December through much of January and in mid- and late February. Precipitation will be a bit above normal, with above-normal snowfall, especially in Manitoba. The heaviest snowfalls will occur in early and mid-November, late December, and late February.

April and May will be much cooler than normal, with near-normal precipitation. Snowfall will be above normal, with late-season snowfalls in early and mid- to late April.

Summer will be drier than normal, with temperatures below normal in Alberta and Saskatchewan and above normal in Manitoba. The hottest temperatures will occur in early to mid-July and mid-August.

September and October will be drier and slightly warmer than normal.

Feedback from the Lethbridge Interfaith Food Bank

"The total weight of produce brought in was 2079.50 pounds, for a value of $4159!  This is absolutely amazing, and considering we didn't have such a great growing season, your garden was definitely one that kept our stock up enough to ensure enough produce for our clients.  Please pass along our thanks to your crew, you guys did a fantastic job!"

Final harvest

The final carrot harvest was completed this week. In total, we donated 2079.5 lbs of produce to the Lethbridge Interfaith Foodbank!

There is a bit of work left to do in preparation for next season's garden. We'll be spreading compost and tidying up the garden in the next few weeks. Then it's time to rest until next year!

Remember - Potluck at Ken's this Wednesday!

Tomato harvest

On September 14 & 15, we harvested tomatoes. They were green but the risk of frost was imminent.

We also harvested peppers, peas, lettuce, carrots and beets.

Our mascot "Jazz" (and our other mascot "Ken")

Approximately 600 lbs

We now have donated approximately 600 lbs and have beets, carrots and the majority of our tomatoes yet to harvest.

The weather is still wet and temperatures are cooling. We have had to prune our tomatoes hoping to encourage ripening. The danger of frost is lurking and we have a contingency plan should we need to harvest the tomatoes before they are ripened.

The beans have finished and the peas are nearing the end. Lettuce is still growing and we have harvested a few eggplants.

We have seeded radishes two weeks ago and plan to have an early fall crop to harvest.

The apple trees on site are nearing ready for picking. We'd love to have extra help when it comes time for this. Let us know if you are able to help!

Harvest

For the past couple weeks, harvest has been under way. We have now delivered about 350 lbs of produce to the Interfaith Food Bank. This includes lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, peas, beans, some peppers and tomatoes.

Include a cheat sheet with unusual veggies....

An interesting article from another giving garden....

Rain delays

For the past week, volunteer gardeners have been trying to get into the garden to weed and harvest beets and lettuce. It has made watering easier, but we just need a couple days to catch up!

Heat units!

The garden is beginning to flourish. On Thursday, 13 volunteers met to weed the garden, thin carrots and seed lettuce.

On Friday, the first produce was harvested! Lettuce and spinach were delivered the the Interfaith Food Bank.

What we learned? Water the lettuce well before harvesting, harvest when it is as cool as possible or have water in the harvest tub to keep the lettuce from wilting. The gourmet mix proved to be hardier after harvest than the other lettuces (Grand Rapids).

How much water does my horticulture crop require?

Jose´ found a good website from Alberta Agriculture with information on "How much water does my horticulture crop require? When is the best time to water (when is adequate moisture critical)?". 

Electric fence

Deer have decided to visit our garden. To dissuade them from entering, we have put up an electric fence around the periphery of the garden.

Instructions for turning off power supply to electric fence

1. Use pliers to turn the power switch to “off” postion.

2. You should see the voltage gauge drop to zero.

3. If the power has been disengaged, you should hear no clicking sound.

4. Please remember to turn power switch to “on” when leaving the garden.

A digital garden - Online resource links spaces and growers

This article in Calgary's FFWD magazine describes how the digital age is helping those with gardening space and those who wish to garden create linkages.

Community gardens in Calgary

When travelling through Downtown Calgary, I encountered this community garden. These are company controlled greenspaces that are tended to by volunteers. The harvest goes to charitable organizations.

From the Downtown Calgary website -

Gardening provides tremendous psychological and physical benefits for individuals. And community gardening is also good for your business.

• A more vital downtown means a better work environment
• Giving back to the community is great for corporate morale
• Garden is a great tool for team building
• Your corporate pride will grow with your crops

Frost?!?!?!

Friday night frost risk. Yup. June 11. The tomatoes, peppers and eggplants were covered with tarps and removed Saturday. Thanks to those that volunteered tarps and those that did the covering and uncovering.

Seeding and weeding

On June 9, the Lettuce and Spinach team seeded more lettuce and spinach.

And hoed up weeds.

Shannan had a few plants left over from her home garden so these were planted as experimental crops.
Leeks, parsley, rosemary, basil and cantalope.

Emergence

Peas are up!

So are the beets!

Lettuce, spinach and carrots have begun to emerge. We dug down to check on the beans and they have germinated.

And the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and marigolds are beautiful.

Calendar added

A calendar has been added to the blog. Visit this to check on upcoming gardening events and schedules. The calendar is located at the end of the blog or jump to it by clicking on the link on the right.
LRC Foodbanks' Garden calendar

More lettuce & spinach

The Lettuce Team is planning on seeding more lettuce and spinach Wednesday, June 9 after work. They'll also do some weeding. If you wish to help, meet at the Garden between 4 and 4:30pm.

Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant are in the ground!

Thursday, June 3, the Tomato/Pepper Team planted out tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. They plan to plant out some marigolds tonight (Tuesday, June 8) after work for pest control.

Lettuce & Spinach varieties in our garden

Lettuce

Gourmet Mix-Canada No. 1

Lettuce

Grand Rapids-Mckenzie Seeds

Spinach

Bloomsdale Long-Mckenzie Seeds

Tomato Varieties

Beefsteak

A very popular garden variety, producing large fruit ideal for fresh, cooking or canning. Each fruit can weigh up to 1lb (454g). It matures in 70 – 80 days and was developed by Johann Muster at his Marathon, New York State farm.

Roma

The characteristic Italian tomato. Good for sauces or fresh. It is plum shaped and matures in 70 -80 days.

The English word tomato comes from the Spanish tomatl, first appearing in print in 1595. A member of the deadly nightshade family, tomatoes were erroneously thought to be poisonous (although the leaves are poisonous) by Europeans who were suspicious of their bright, shiny fruit. Native versions were small, like cherry tomatoes, and most likely yellow rather than red.

The tomato is native to western South America and Central America. In 1519, Cortez discovered tomatoes growing in Montezuma's gardens and brought seeds back to Europe where they were planted as ornamental curiosities, but not eaten.

Most likely the first variety to reach Europe was yellow in colour, since in Spain and Italy they were known as pomi d'oro, meaning yellow apples. Italy was the first to embrace and cultivate the tomato outside South America.

The French referred to the tomato as pommes d'amour, or love apples, as they thought them to have stimulating aphrodisiacal properties. The earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples 1692, though the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources. However, in certain areas of Italy, such as Florence, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration before it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century.

Pepper and Aubergine (Eggplant) Varieties

Early California Wonder

This variety produces large blocky bell peppers that can be harvested when green or later when they mature to red. At both stages flavour is sweet and mild and texture crisp. Excellent source of vitamins A and C. 75 days to harvest.

Cloche Rouge

This variety produces beautiful bell shaped fruit with colouring from medium green to red depending on maturity. It matures in 95-110 days. Contains vitamins B1, B2, A and C.

Orange Sun

Peppers are green turning to orange at full maturity. Matures in 75 -80 days. To avoid injuring plants harvest all peppers by carefully cutting off fruits along with a short piece of stalk.

Black beauty

This variety is known for its large plump deep purplish black fruits, forming after a bright purple flower. Plants grow about 2 feet (61cm) tall and produce several fruits. Harvest by cutting from plant when glossy and dark purple. Skin should not spring back when pressed with thumb.

The eggplant or aubergine is our experimental crop. They are delicious fried, in casseroles and in several ethnic dishes such as the moussaka dish of Greece and the lasagna of Italy.

Beans are planted

The beans are now in the ground....sunshine and heat, we need you!

planting

After a setback of snowfall, the planting of the garden has begun in earnest. Carrots, beets, spinach and lettuce have been planted and peas and beans will be in the ground this evening. The peppers and eggplant have been transplanted as they have outgrown their pots. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant will be planted outdoors once the chance of frost has passed (typically, after this upcoming weekend).

Tomato seedlings

Our tomato seedlings are coming along......

Thinking of getting involved?

Would you like to help out regularly or occasionally? Email lrcgarden@yahoo.ca for volunteer information.

Or consider growing extra produce in your home garden. Bring it to work and one of our volunteers will deliver it to one of the local food banks.

Tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings

Tom K. has graciously donated tomato seedlings to the garden project. Thanks!

And yesterday, Drusilla and Parthiba planted pepper and eggplant seeds for seedling starting.

We're on our way!

Garden plan established

Today the Team Leaders met in the blustery Lethbridge wind and planned the set up of the 2010 LRC Foodbanks' Garden!