Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Winding down 2014 at PAR Davies.

Hi Everyone,
Today's Harvest 22 lbs.     YTD 1704 lbs.

Today was really chilly, but there was no frost at the garden and picking was easy. Gardeners today were Jamie, G.A., Susan, Steve, Nancy and myself.

Only two heads of broccoli harvested.

Our small harvest today consisted of cabbage, kale, radishes, spinach, broccoli, turnip/mustard greens and bok choy. I thought there would be more cabbage to pick, but we decided to give it more time to get a just a little bigger. It should be nice and big if we can wait until January. In the meantime, should we get a hard freeze, it will be picked sooner.

Our future 'Field of Dreams' planted in vetch and clover.

The above picture shows where corn will be planted next year. This will be a trial run on the corn, and pray that the raccoons don't get it before we do. Wishful thinking? Probably, but what is gardening without a little experimentation.

Dark rich compost.

When I arrived at the garden this morning, Jamie was already at work on the compost. He had acquired two 5-gallon buckets of coffee grounds and was turning and layering the compost. There are oodles of leaves for the browns and coffee grounds along with shredded pea and bean vines, and soon-to-be-added remains of the cabbage and broccoli for the greens. Steve joined Jamie, and they worked the rest of the time on the compost.

BJ's Lettuce uncovered and undeterred by freezing temps. It's a keeper.

In addition to working on our compost in an effort to improve our soil, G.A. took soil samples to get an idea of where we stand after the bed upheaval last winter/spring. Five samples were taken and these will be sent to the UT lab.

Nancy picking bok choy. 
Crop on the left is kohlrabi with leaf mulch to insulate from the cold.

This will be the last garden workday this year, unless of course, if freezing temps make us harvest the rest of the cabbage and broccoli. All our gardeners will be taking a much deserved Christmas break, and I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas to all of our gardeners and our blog followers.

On another note, this will also be my last report as project leader. It has been a little over two years since I took over leadership (with trepidation), not feeling nearly qualified! I have learned so much since then, and have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many wonderful people--all supportive and hard working. I appreciate each and everyone of you, and hope that I will continue to see you at the garden.

I will be passing on the leadership position to a most capable gardener, Susan Phillips. She has been at Davies PAR since its inception, and I know she will do an excellent job. Be sure to keep up with the Instagram pics she is posting for PAR Davies in the 'Photo Gallery' on the MAMG website.

So (again to paraphrase Garrison Keillor)... That is all the news from PAR Davies, where all the men and women are strong and good looking, and all the vegetables are above average.

Dianne
Moi




Friday, December 12, 2014

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Saturday, December 6, 2014

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