Egg Moon

March 24th 2012

The Spring equinox marks the point midway between the shortest day  and the longest day - a time of balance.

On March 10th the black aphids were acknowledged as having thwarted all hope of a salvageable fava bean crop and the two rows were cut to the ground early as a green manuring. Being legumes the beans have been fixing nitrogen and enhancing soil fertility all winter.

Fava Beans cut and left as mulch

Also on March 10th we built the 4th potato tower and planted Colorado Rose potatoes. We added recycled wire mesh to the bottom of this one as there are many signs of gopher activity in this part of the garden.

Caden and Mike adding wire mesh to the base

Caden ready to position potato tower number 4

There are plenty of Snap Peas to harvest. The more we pick them, the more they will flower and produce more pods so please pick away!

These are the Snap Peas

Potatoes

Our Yukon Gold Potatoes planted on February 4th 2012 are showing above ground.We will keep adding soil, almost covering the leaves, to encourage the foliage to grow up and so elongate the stem. The tubers will be spaced out along the stem. I think it will be June before they are ready to harvest.

Kale Chips

We are currently harvesting Swiss Chard, Kale, White Turnips, Carrots and Spring Onions.

Here is a photo from Jim and Karens' Kitchen. They sent us a picture of some baked Curly Kale chips made from Curly Kale at CACG.

Baked at 350 for 10-15 minutes, with some olive oil, salt, and Parmesan cheese. Jim adds that they really need watching as the thin chips burn easily.

Looks really good, thank you.

Edible Weeds!

We are also getting ready to plant our Edible Weeds Bed. Dandelions, Lambs Quarters, Miners Lettuce and Salsify are among the more common edible weeds. We hope to showcase and label a variety of nutritious plants that grow wild locally and could contribute to a meal.

 Composter at work

Ysidro Master Compost Maker at work

Ysidro has been very active in producing the fine sample of finished compost that we now have in the center bin. Jim and family painted the sign that instructs us which bin is currently being used to receive fresh weeds and trimmings from the garden.

Wattle Making

Linda and Missy work on a short panel for screening our tool compound

There is much more going on at the garden and MPC but I'm going to stop this post here and start another one soon.

Many thanks to all that contribute to building this community around CACG. It is a pleasure to meet and work with you all. David.

ps Remember to keep picking those snap peas!