Garden Expansion Workday, Saturday, May 28th at 10 a.m.

Come join us Saturday, May 28th at 10 a.m. at the Pierson Park Community Garden.  Be a part of the community garden expansion project.  We will build raised beds, set up fencing, etc.  Bring your cordless drills and other useful tools.  See you there!

Contact Gary, Jamie or Spring for more information.

gardemck@gmail.com

Pierson Park Community Garden in the McKinleyville Press

Check out the current edition of the McKinleyville Press.  There is an article about the Pierson Park Community Garden and the McKinleyville Community Garden Project.

Today in the Garden

From front to back Blue Fescue, Bravo Red Petunia, and Garden Sage 

Early this morning, I weeded the ornamental community garden bed.  A friend saw me from over at the bank and stopped by to chat about landscaping projects and Costa Rica.  I headed home to ready myself for a botanical garden meeting and my last art class; for the latter I was unfortunately late.  After lunch at Pachanga Mexicana, I headed home again to pick up the plants that I'd purchased at the Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation plant sale and some that they had so nicely donated.  I also brought a shovel, wire cutters, gopher wire and pruners.  I drove down to the garden, brought the plants over from my car, prepared the bed with some of the Wes Green topsoil-compost mixture purchased by the Humboldt Area Foundation Grassroots Grant.  Thanks to Wes for the discount and thanks again to the Humboldt Area Foundation for the grant.  Then, I proceeded to wrap the Bravo Red Petunia root balls in gopher wire.  I wrapped then planted one by one until I ran out of gopher wire.  I planted a couple of Nepetas after wrapping them too.  After I ran out of wire, I watered the community beds and my allotment bed.  Adrienne stopped by with her Jack Russell Terrier.  We talked about JRTs because I have one too and then she started to water her bed and we said our goodbyes. I gathered my plants and tools and put them in the back of my car.  I was about to leave when I noticed the Magnolia stellatas also donated to our garden by HBGF needed pruning.  I went back to my car, grabbed my pruners and went back into the garden to prune the trees.  I love pruning!  Jeff Dunk stopped by to pick out one of the plants donated to our garden by North Coast Community Garden Collaborative.  He opined that my pruning job "actually looked pretty good".  It kind of made me laugh because of the "actually" and I felt pretty content that someone else appreciated my not-so-novice-anymore pruning ability. 

Prune dead wood first, next branches crossing other branches, next suckers and last stand back and evaluate if the specimen requires any aesthetic pruning and always clip with the sharp side of the blade flush agaist the part of the branch or trunk that is to remain.  I thought I was done with my day at the garden and then as I was leaving I saw the preschoolers coming in line over to the garden.  I ran back to my car to grab my camera, which was in my back pocket and then back to the garden to take pictures of the kids.  I tried not to interrupt and let them go about their business.  They were very interested in gardening except for maybe one or two who were more interested in me.  I left after the first little girl began planting.  I was out of time and had to pick up my son from track practice.  I picked him up, we headed home, passing by the garden.  I worked on the post about children gardening and realized that I hadn't taken photos of the community ornamental bed that I'd been working on, so quickly I headed down to the garden and took some photos of the new plantings and then some of other beds that were looking quite nice in the garden.

And here I am at the end of the day, still thinking about the same community garden I was thinking about this morning when I thought about gardening for a bit before art class.

Nitrogen Fixing Cover Crops

Above, Sabra Steinberg's and Jeff Dunk's bed has from right to left a lovely artichoke, garlic and fava beans.  According to Jeff, both the fava beans and the garlic thrive in our Humboldt County winters; both plantings act as a delicious food source with the added benefit of protecting the bed throughout the winter as a cover crop. 

Fava bean is a nitrogen fixing plant that takes nitrogen from the air and transfers it to the soil, increasing the nutrient value of the soil.  Cover crops have the additional benefit of protecting planting areas from soil erosion while the area would otherwise lie fallow.  More on cover crops and crop rotation.  Below, another community gardener has planted fava beans.

Fava Bean Crop Cover Planting

Preschoolers at the Garden

A group of Rooney Preschoolers visited the garden today. They arrived in an adorable line, each child carrying something to plant. They listened as their teacher showed them how to plant and then began to take turns planting. 

Teaching children to garden in a community garden teaches them more than just about growing nutritious food.  It offers the children exercise, social interaction and builds a sense of community bridging social, economic, generational and cultural gaps.

Rooney Preschoolers' Garden Bed

How to Build a Mini Green House

Build an inexpensive mini hoop house-green house for your raised bed and extend your growing season.

How to Prepare a Vegetable Garden Site

May 7th Garden Meeting

Above, at Saturday's community garden meeting, Jamie Rutten selects vegetable starts, an Elk River Nursery donation collected by the North Coast Community Garden Collaborative.  Below, Jamie Rutten and Gary Rees discuss the garden's grass roots origin, the upcoming garden expansion project, and soil and bed preparation practices.

Pierson Park Community Garden Meeting

Pierson Park Community Gardeners

Raina, Garden Bunny

Ask an Expert Gardener

Where is a good place to get soil for a raised bed garden?  I live in Eureka.  I don't have a truck, so I will need it delivered.  I'm planning on making the bed 4' x 8' and 2' high.  I estimate I will need about 3 cubic yards of soil.  Thanks, Gail

Gail, Taylor's Landscaping Supplies (707)443-1431 at 1011 West Del Norte Street #B in Eureka will deliver topsoil in any amount.

Ask an Expert Gardener

Simply Beautiful French Garden

What I love about this garden bed is is three-fold.  First, I love that all of the plantings are common.  Second, I really like the unusual way the small beds of petunias are tied together with the main bed via natural bamboo-like arches turning the planting into an art piece.  Third, I love that French plantings are relevant in our Sunset Zone Seventeen and can be used as a local resource and a source for inspiration as French gardens always have a certain je ne sais quoi that I find worth emulating.

Photos Courtesy of Rodrigue Redrejo

Calling All Gardeners

If there is a garden related item that you would like posted on this page, please submit the information to gardenmck@gmail.com and we will post it for you.

Ask an Expert Gardener

Submit your garden-related questions to one of our knowledgeable community gardeners.  Questions may be submitted in the comment section below or at gardenmck@gmail.com .  Questions received by Tuesday will have responses posted every Saturday morning.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Flying Blue Dog Farm & Nursery--Willow Creek

Flying Blue Dog Farm & Nursery Farmer's Market Spring Plant Sale

Humboldt Botanical Garden Plant Sale Fundraiser

Humboldt Botanical Gardens Plant Sale
Saturday, May 7th from 10-2
North Entrance, College of the Redwoods Eureka Campus

HBGF on facebook

North Coast Community Garden Collaborative Newsletter

Check out an article about our garden in the Spring 2011 Edition of the NCCGC Newsletter.