Today in the garden...

Thank you to my wonderful gardeners for moving the chicken coop. I was out of town and they were totally successful in moving the ladies. I know those girls can be a handful but am so thankful the coop got rotated. They loved it under the eucalyptus tree but time to work on another grub filled section of the garden. Go chicken go!

Today in the garden we will be doing a little bit of cleaning up. The rains have been wonderful but left things a little messy. The weeds are popping up everywhere but so are the carrots and peas. Nice to have a snack along the way.

Don't forget to enjoy those winter crops. Beets, broccoli, romanesco and all the greens are coming in strong. But its already time to get ready for spring. Time to get those tomatoes, corn and beans started. Hope you all made those seed orders. If not let me know we still have Baker Creek Seeds for sale.

Hope everyone is enjoying these first signs of spring. At our house the daffodils and freesia are blooming and its just beautiful.

Happy growing!
Sasha Kanno

Thank You Baker Creek!

We have loved you for years. We subscribe to your Heirloom Gardener magazine, we plant your seeds with love.

Thank you for the generous seed donation. It is much appreciated and will be planted by all the gardeners. Heirloom veggies and flowers for all!

Good article on brassicas - broccoli and the like

Good article from Earth Matters.

An Uncommon Garden

Earth to Kitchen: Mustard family greens called Brassicas pop with fresh flavors and big yields.

By John Lyons | Wednesday, 13 January 2010 | 18:12

EARTH TO KITCHEN: BRASSICAS Third in a series on growing what you cook and cooking what you grow. The large group of plants belonging to the mustard family Cruciferae -- genus Brassica -- covers a range of common and not-so-common vegetables: from broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts to kohlrabi, rutabagas (Swedes), turnips, collards and choy. Brassicas are edible from flowers to roots. Depending on the plant, cooks prepare the stems (kohlrabi, choy), leaves (cabbage, choy, mustard, kale and collards), flowers (cauliflower, broccoli), roots (turnips and rutabagas) and seeds (mustard and rape). Rich in potassium, soluble fiber, folic acid and vitamins C and K, these vegetables are an absolute must in a daily diet. When home-grown, the taste and vitality of the vegetable is unsurpassed. Growing Brassicas are quite easy to grow, though knowing the correct soil type is important. Most prefer a rich, well-draining soil that has been prepared with well-rotted manure and compost. Ideally the soil should be slightly acidic. Adding lime can increase the ph and adds calcium and magnesium to the crop. Recommended Seed Companies Landreth Seed Company John Scheepers Renee's Garden Seeds Franchi Sementi Seed Savers Exchange Territorial Seed Co. Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply Pinetree Garden Seeds Seeds of Change Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds In Southern California, the ideal time to plant the winter garden is November onward when planting established plants, or as early as August when starting from seed. Southern Californians can continue to plant in succession through late January, but in the rest of the country Brassicas should be grown in early spring. Brassicas need their space in gardens. They grow large -- albeit slowly -- but eventually their habit of spreading can shade anything planted too close. When harvested, the yield will be substantial, especially with cabbages. Broccoli will form a main head, which should be removed; this will prompt the plant to produce side shoots that can be harvested for many weeks. Turnips can be easily grown from seed, just remember to thin out the plants to a 5-inch spacing once the plants reach 3 to 4 inches. (The removed plants can, of course, be eaten as turnip greens.) Allow extra garden space for a succession of plantings every six weeks and you'll have a steady supply of fresh vegetables throughout the season. Pests There are a few really pernicious pests that enjoy eating these plants. The insidious, soil-borne fungal disease commonly known as club root is one of the most serious. If your soil becomes infected, this disease can remain in your garden for many years. A great advantage in growing brassicas from seed is that you avoid accidentally bringing such a disease into your garden via nursery-bought seedlings. The cabbage white butterfly is another opportunistic pest that can wreak havoc in crops. The butterfly lays large amounts of eggs, and its voracious caterpillars render leaves skeletal in a matter of days. An organic solution is a spray of Bt (bacillus thuringiensis), a parasitic bacterium that effectively kills the caterpillars when ingested. Such products can be found at most garden stores and are applied through spraying. Another solution: Cover the crop with fine netting to physically prevent the butterfly from gaining access to the plants. Aphids also can congregate in large amounts and be effectively controlled by a short, sharp blast of water from the hose. Finally, some of these plants may be eaten by rabbits and birds, something problematic usually in rural areas. Again, netting is the best solution to keep animals away from plants. Heirloom and hybrid varietals for the garden Select breeding and hybridization has resulted in a wide array of choices within each variety, but it can be hard to find them all at nurseries. Seed companies are where you'll find a full complement of options. Broccoli: Legend, Packman, Fiesta, De Cicco Broccoli raab: Zamboni, Spring Sorrento Kale: Winter Red, Nero di Toscana, Improved Dwarf Siberian Brussels sprouts: Long Island Improved, Vancouver, Rubine Collards: Champion, Flash, Georgia Mustard (red and green): Southern Giant Curled, Osaka Red, Green Wave Turnips: Gold Ball, Purple Top Globe, Seven Top Choy: Pac Choi, Bok Choy, Ching-Chiang, Tatsoi Cabbage (red and green): Early Jersey Wakefield, Ruby Ball, Red Acre, Copenhagen Market, Savoy Kohlrabi: Dyna, Kongo, Purple Vienna Cauliflower: Snowball Early, Self Blanche, Cheddar, Snow Crown Rutabagas: Marian, Laurentian, Champion Collet Rouge John Lyons is the founder of Earthmatters, a gardening school in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood, and The Woven Garden, a firm specializing in edible landscaping. He has written on gardening for the Los Angeles Times and California Gardener. Photo by Ledette Gambini

Tomorrow- Big Day!

Hi gang-

We are getting really excited about tomorrow. Few more things I wanted to mention. It looks like we have all the survey materials handled, but if you have a tape measure or favorite hammer please bring it. We are also taking tool, plant and seed donations, and don't forget to grab an application.

Also, we will have a cooler with ice and drinks but if you also have something to share please bring it.

ok, can't wait to see you all at the garden.

Have a great aloha Friday!
-Sasha

Garden Progress

Aloha gardeners-

Happy 4th of July. I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful day and eating lots of wonderful home grown food.

This week the Wrigley Garden saw lots of progress. We are working very hard to open the garden in time for a late summer planting. This Saturday, June 11th we will be at the site laying out all the garden plots. If you are available to come and help or even just swing by to say hi please do. If you have not been by the location this would be a great time to come and visit. You can get a feel for things and see where you would like your plot to be. We will be there from 8am until we finish.

We decided to have a variety of plot sizes to choose from. Our standard plot size is 4'x12'. In this amount of space you can grow a wide variety of fruits and veggies; tomatoes, greens, eggplant, brussels sprouts, okra the list goes on and on. This is the perfect size for a family plot. We also have a half size available, 4'x6'. We thought this might be a good idea for the folks who already garden at home and don't really need the larger size. This would be perfect if you wanted to grow something that is too large to grow at home; artichoke, blackberry's, corn, pumpkins, watermelon all of these things would be great grown in this smaller size. We also designed a kid size plot this 4'x4' square is great for them to grow their favorite edible or flower. I have a feeling we will see lots of strawberry's and everybody's favorite the mighty sunflower growing here soon.

Don't forget this Monday the 6th there is a Wrigley Association meeting happening at Veteran's park @ 101 E. 28th Street (off of Pacific Ave). As always the co-op exchange will be set up around 6:45. If you have any extra homegrown produce please bring it to the table. For now we will not be doing the seed exchange, we will however be collecting seeds if you have any to donate. We are also collecting gardening tools and the most needed, monetary funds.

Have a great holiday, see you Monday at the meeting or Saturday at the garden.

Aloha-
Sasha
Director, Wrigley Garden