You say Tomato, I say Tomahto

Uh...what's a girl to do with a ton of tomatoes? I just can't keep up. I roasted a bunch which are now nicely in the fridge. They are great with cheese and crackers. Next step is to roast and then freeze for sauce in the winter. It's the end of the tomatoes though and I'm so proud they did so well. "Yes Virginia, you can grow tomatoes in the Fog Belt."




Garden looks a little sad. Pulled out all the squash. They never did very well. Planted more lettuce and beets. They're doing great. Also planted peas which are getting attacked by slugs so have little wells of beer in the bed. At least they can get a little tipsy before they DIE!!!!

too busy for photos!

This weekend has been a blur - spent several hours in the Community Garden cutting back and tying up the communal (thornless!) blackberry bush, then separated a dozen onion shoots, transplanted more onion (three varieties!) broccoli and brussel sprout seedlings, took up the tomatoes and blue lake beans and transplanted three of the six fava bean seedlings I'd started from seed. After that, I harvested some young radishes, two small heads of frisee* and pruned the lemon verbena (tree) shrub.

All said and done, it was a solid 4+ hours in the CG, and while the garden has a greenhouse, it has no OUTHOUSE, so I was in such a hurry to get to, how shall I say?, le facilities, that I failed to take any photos of the fruits of my labor.

And that is why you get only words. But they're good words, non?

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DIY greenhouses

The transition from summer to fall in SF can be quite harsh - the biting cold 'coastal effect' of the heat from the inland regions rising in the afternoon, which creates a sucking in of the chilly ocean air from the Pacific Ocean. It's BRUTAL.

As I've been starting my fall greens from seed, and the community garden's greenhouse has been in high demand for exactly the same purpose, I decided to improvise. The apartment dwellers of the CG don't have access to directly sunlight as I do in our backyard, so I figured I'd best leave the greenhouse to them, and get my seedlings started on my own turf.

The conclusion was: DIY greenhouses.

I reuse 4" squares and 6-packs from nursery seedlings, and fill with a mix of compost and vermaculite (ala Square Foot Gardener). I start the seeds (Botanical Interests is my preferred brand) and then I slip them into standard grocery store clear plastic baggies (the kind you bag loose veggies in) and do a simple knot at the top. This simple enclosure provides a mini-greenhouse effect - protects them from the harsh cold evening winds, while capturing and containing the heat generated during the day. In the mornings, I untie the baggies and roll them down to let fresh air and sunshine in, then roll 'em up and tie again in the evenings. and Voila! DIY greenhouses.



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End of Summer

Well, if this week's dramatic deluge on the earth didn't signify it, summer is over in SF. Time to clear away the summer squash, the collapsing tomato vines and salvage the salad greens. I made my final 'clear out' of the garden(s), and made off with the goods, with a new batch of fall planting seedlings getting going on the side.



The stately chard, leeks, beets and radishes paused briefly for a photo op, then dove right into the oven and the stewpot. Really, they did.

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Serving for One

Well, the French Beans have been off to a slow start - could be the dry spell of my european vacation, when I forgot to stick in the 'water me' sign until a good while gone, and had to email the Community Garden manager and ask him to put it out at my plot.

I did get a small harvest from the four stalks - just enough for one serving, sliced lengthwise, sauted with a diced strip of bacon and sliced red onion. Delish!



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boucoup bamboo

The bamboo was planted 4 years ago. Over that time, the small quart tub plant has grown into a very nice visual screen along the property fence, and tall shoots are continually harvested. I havested a BUNCH this past weekend:



The 12+ foot tall shoots were trimmed down to 7 foot lengths, to use as trellis supports, with the thin top lengths to be crossties. Additional shoots were dried into half-loops, to support protective netting over the veggie beds. A nice DIY project, with homegrown raw materials!

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ambitious goal, partial success

The Boy and I got in just a couple of hours of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass this past weekend - the crowds and the bitterly chilling evening gusts were a bit much for us this year. Even Steve Earle made some "d*mn wind!" comments while on stage, and as I couldn't feel my fingers at that point, I'm betting they were having a rough time, too. When we trekked out of the park, my scarf wasn't enough to keep me warm, and I was dreaming of something hot to consume, tout suite!

To my delight, The Boy had made us dinner reservations just down the path, at the new California Academy of Natural Sciences' swank downstairs restaurant, The Moss Room. I'd heard about the space (interiors done by an arch/fabrication firm I've done some consulting with in the past) and had seen gorgeous images of their ambitious full height Living Wall at the restaurant's entry stair. The promo shots showed a fully populated wall of ferns and moss, dripping with lushness.

Not quite what remains, after about 7 months of operation, but still pretty none the less:




The structure appears to be on a series of horizontal steel members, with tall vertical slabs of slate anchored with wide washers held by nuts between the slabs (layered like fish scales, you can't see the anchors except at the bottom row). Behind the slate are wedges of growing medium - looks like coir or other fiberous matting, allowing the plants to take root within their gaps.



Credit that most of the plants strive to be natives, including maidenhair ferns. Up above the wall, sloped along with the angled ceiling, are a track of growlights and a well concealed landscape mister system which activated twice during our visit.

While most of the plants appeared healthy, their spotty placement (and in the easiest to maintain locations) make me think that they're replacements to what were the original plantings.

Nice effect, but only time will tell if the maintenance on this Living Wall will be ongoing with the tenant.

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water fairies

I love these handpainted "water me" signs we use in the Community Garden. One of the gardeners painted them herself! Lovely!