Posting this as a goal for myself. The plan for the future blackberry bed. Do this now, plant bare root in the early spring. Finger crossed. 

Hugelkultur (hoo-gul-culture), is a German horticulture method to make raised beds that use rotting wood to provide nutrients for fruits, vegetables, and herbs. This permaculture technique allows gardeners to replicate nutrient cycles that occur in natural forest areas. By layering different materials (compost, mulch, fertilizer, etc.) on top of the wood to provide additional nutrients, gardeners are able to create a self-sustaining raised bed.

 

Spotted a couple of friends at the community garden today. Here’s hoping they like gophers! (photo thanks to Erica!)

 Maggie and Luke are trying a new-to-us method of staking zucchini plants this year. Fingers crossed for a huge harvest. Check out the method: How to Grow Zucchini: You've Been Doing It All Wrong. (theartofdoingstuff.com)

 The new-to-us greenhouse has arrived. With a little TLC, we'll be set for Spring and new starts. 

 August, October, November and 60 yards of bark has been moved in to cover all our pathways. Could have use a bit more but everything looks great now. Great turnout, too. Everyone worked so well together and had a good time. 

 Ding Dong, 2 gophers dead. We've been chasing these guys from box to box for more than a month. The gopher trapping has finally paid off. Good work, Bill and Erica, Rebecca and Daphne! 

Sweet potato harvest started today; a total of 45 pounds was collected. The bed was only watered every 10 days or so, due to the current drought. The largest bunches occurred because an olla was set between the plants. Slow and continuous seeping water produced excellent results.  

 March 2022 Workday - sunny and warm and very nice turn-out for some spring house cleaning. 

Here's Derek and Izzy, digging in. 

Elaine and Stella, with Sue looking on, rooting out a bumper crop of weeds. 

Erica, Sue and Rebecca are digging the sunshine, too.  

Winter monsters harvested. We're waiting on the "coleslaw" experiment results. 

It's a beautiful February Workday and we're cleaning out the orchard. Non-producing trees like the almonds and sickly trees like so many of the apples are headed for the compost bins. Our intrepid tree removal team is on the job! Master Removers, Kristen, Erin, Hunter and Jonas really dig in. 

 

 This year's winner of the biggest abandoned zucchini for 2021! Olalla takes the honors. 

 

 Carrie harvests her first radish in the shared community box. 

Our garden is looking amazing, the soil is still damp so no need to water. Our Olla’s are full of water. I took the opportunity to indulge in some of our bounty. Pak Choi, kale are all really doing well… And I planted 6 rooting baby red potatoes.

Six gardeners, one box, also reportedly working just fine! Thanks to Janelle and Carrie, Maggie and Kera, Deborah and Paul, using the Square Foot Gardening method and planting in rotation. 

 Janelle reports: Fall is in full swing and so are the pomegranates at the garden. They’re juicy, sweet and gorgeous. I took a couple that were cracked and two that were scarred and they’re just too good!

Hope y’all have a safe & happy Halloween weekend.
Sharing some images of our pomegranates and Hallie who’s curiosity never stops.

 Here we are in a drought, being careful not to use too much water and boom - what is that green swath of grass by the irrigation box? Mud Buddies to the rescue! Dug out, discovered and fixed on our Saturday workday. Hooray for the Mud Buddies - Bill and Paul and Derek and Kristen and Tom!

 

 Garden Work Day, April 10, 2021. 

oh-oh, there's a new gang in town...

 March 19th - a surprise drop off of mulch creates a bit of a panic. We have to have it off the driveway before Sunday services. Harper leads the way up the hill. Less than 24 hours later, the garden has fresh smooth paths and the parking lot is swept clean. 

 Garden Work Day, March 13, 2021

First: coffee and donuts. 

Sir Edin repainted the garden shed 2 years ago. As Daphne and Carrie show, it's still looking good. 

Thalia maintains morale with hugs for everyone, while Stella keeps her eye on the ball.    

 February 2021: Rebuilding the compost bins - they have served well for 10 years but now it's time for an update. Special thanks to our Compost Kings (right to left) Eino, Mark, Bill, Kristian, and Erin, with supervision provided by Skippy. (It's been almost a year and masks are still mandatory.)

Good Morning. Today we start the rebuild on our Compost Bin!

 Hooray for Mark and Bill and Eino, all compost kings!  

 hey-hey-hey - It's 2021 and the garden is still alive and thriving. Stay tuned for updates, once we figure out how to manage this blog!!