This is the 2nd year that we are tracking what we plant and harvest in the Riley Park Community Garden. At the end of each work party, gardeners weigh the produce and write on our sheets the type, variety and amount harvested. We are happy to say that as of August 21, 2022, we have harvested 51 produce types representing 140 produce varieties weighing 157kg. We have a very biodiverse garden. A big thank you to our volunteer who made the numbered bed signs so we know in which garden bed we grew the produce.
Transplanting plants and a bountiful summer harvest - Aug 28 Guided Work Party
Tons of beans, cucumbers, summer squash and tomatoes were harvested from the garden as well as blueberries, leafy greens and chives. A truly bountiful harvest today!
Read moreGuided Work Party - Aug 24th
Some of our fruit trees have canker! Oh no, this is a fungal infection that kills off the meristematic tissue (cambium) below the bark. Alex, will be going in and cutting those branches off. Don’t put them into your home compost bin, otherwise the canker will spread throughout your garden! City green bins should be okay as the city compost reaches a higher, more sterilizing temperature!
We also transplanted some more lettuce seedlings, hopefully these will get to a good size before winter. We also harvested some chard… remember to twist and pull at the bottom of the leaf to get the whole thing. This will promote more leaf growth at the top of the plant!
Beans, beans, beans, the more you harvest the more you get and this is certainly true for us!
There’s always a bunch of blueberries being harvested, kale, arugula, and lettuce as well.
Jan
Farmers Markets Donation Stations
Fighting food insecurity with Vancouver farmers markets and local farmers!!
Heirloom tomatoes from the Mt Pleasant Farmers Market Donation and cucumber extravaganza from the Riley Park Farmers Market Donation! What a great August haul ~
Produce placed in the Community Fridge @ LMNHS.
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Guided Work Party - Aug 21
We started the day off by looking for pollinator - plant relationships in the south pollinator garden. There were many bees on the beebalm (specifically Monarda puntata) and hoverflies over umbelliferous flower heads like fennel. Hover flies aren’t hairy and have two sets of wings while bees only have one set of wings. We generally think of charismatic pollinators such as honey bees but we can’t discount hoverflies (1) and other pollinators that can be just as if not more effective! There were some spent flowers (like the butterfly bush and daisies) that we deadheaded.
We spent some time plating our lettuce starts in the winter veggie bed. There were also lots of beans and blueberries to be picked. So much of the foragable veg purslane, we harvested some to take home and left some in the free library for passers by to take home!
Jan
