PATHWAY PROJECT CONTINUES

Gardeners,

Just when you thought the garden was winding down....

• keep harvesting, plenty of delicious produce waiting to be eaten!

• Saturday--two gardeners are bravely steering a sod cutter through the center block, follow them down the garden path and roll up the sod
• cover crops can be planted!  Email the garden to buy yours or show up on Sunday for the City of Calgary Neighbourwoods tree planting presentation at 12pm
• an INTERFAITH FOODBANK donation is
  
  getting organized...stay tuned
• a POTATO CONTEST is spudding along...stay tuned.
• a crew from outside our garden is coming on Sunday to roll up sod, lay down cardboard and landscape fabric, mulch heavily...
• please come on out, cheer on Sunday's crew, share snacks, and enjoy the late summer blitz

SAVE THE DATE! Mid-Sun Community Garden Harvest celebration

Friday, October 4, 2013   6-9pm

Mid-Sun Community Center meeting room

Join your fellow gardeners and guests to celebrate the season

Hope to see you there!

Details to follow



Cover Crop update--you can still plant yours!

Flowering pea

·         Look at the beautiful blossoms on the cover crops!
·         An eager gardener will soon “chop and drop”, before they go to seed.
·         The tops will be left on the plots to decompose over winter.
·         Then in spring, one month before planting, the roots and tops will be tilled under.
·         12 plots have already been planted this September. Very fast work, gardeners.
·         Most crops have germinated and a few are 2” tall. YES!!!
·         Remember to water, just like in spring.
·         Crops planted in September will not flower but will freeze except for fall rye. All good.
·         Root development now will nourish the soil. Organic matter is also added.
·         A garden is regularly tilled in the fall and the spring so the only extra step is scattering the seed. For minimal effort and cost, soil can be improved.
·         It’s not too late, you may still plant and we expect rain next week.

Sundance gets their Neighbourwoods Tree Education event

Nasturtiums

Some great garden learning on nasturtiums....

Won't produce flowers if the nitrogen is high in the soil,  the fact mine haven't produced flowers is a good sign.  And companion planting will seduce those aphids away from your vegetable crops.  

Cover Crops for Community Garden Plots--we have seed for sale!

Cover Crops or Green Manure

·         Cover crops are grown to be dug into the soil before maturity in order to improve the soil for the next food crop. Cover crops feed the soil.

·         When an area is not being used for food production, cover crops can and should be grown.

·         Benefits:

1.      Replenish nitrogen and “fix” it in the soil.

2.      Add nutrients that are depleted.

3.      Increase water holding capacity.

4.      Loosen packed soil.

5.      Suppress weeds.

·         Some examples of cover crops are the grass family (fall rye, barley, buckwheat or oats) and the legume family (clover, hairy vetch, broad beans or field peas). For overwintering (leaving the plants in the ground all winter), we have:

Crimson Clover: ·       Sow in July, Aug., early Sept. ·         Can interplant with vegetables. ·         Red flowers in late spring. ·         Hardy to -23 degrees.	Winter Field Peas ·         Sow in late Aug., early Sept. ·         Use inoculant on seed. ·         Plant 1 to 3” deep ·         Hardy to -23 degrees.
Fall Rye ·         Sow in late Aug., early Sept. ·         Sow no deeper than 2”. ·         Looks like grass. ·         Hardy to -40, good for Calgary. ·         May continue growing in spring. ·         Cut down before it is 12”. ·         Excellent soil builder.	Buckwheat ·         Sow in spring or summer and in empty spaces during growing season. ·         Grows tall with broad leaves. ·         White flowers attract bees. ·         Winter kills. ·         Adds calcium. ·         Good after breaking ground for new gardens. Grow 2 successive crops.

*** Time is needed in beginning for roots to establish and after tilling for decomposition.

Procedure:

1.      Clear the area and till it.

2.      Scatter seeds evenly, rake in and water.

3.      Till entire crop under before mature or one month before planting.

4.      Never let it go to seed.

Congratulations to the many keen Mid Sun gardeners who have taken the initiative to improve their soil through cover crops! We still have seed available for gardeners in the community who wish to purchase. Each package covers approximately 32 sq. ft. and is $4.00. You may email us at midsungarden@gmail.com.



about summer squash--a weblink