First off, thanks to all who made it out to our first ever garden Meet & Greet event. Let's hope it's not our last.
WATER
As most of you are aware, city permits have delayed us from hooking our watering system up. But it's just too darn hot not to have water, and so we're bringing in a temporary water storage solution.
As of Thursday morning we'll have a 500 gallon water tank on site.
A faucet and short length of hose will allow you to fill a watering can, which you'll then march over to your beds to water your seeds and seedlings with. Watering cans and buckets will be stored in the garden shed (combo 000) -- please return them when you're done.
And please make sure the water is turned off at the tank when you're done filling your watering cans. For obvious reasons, it would be a disaster otherwise.
Between now and Thursday, consider trucking a couple water bottles to the garden to appease your thirsty seedlings.
Finally, thank you so much for your patience with this one! We hope to have the permanent watering system installed ASAP.
JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP
If you're one of those internet-savvy types, why not join the Broadway & Victoria Community Garden Facebook group? Great place for updates, photos, advice-sharing, watering help requests and more.
Here's the link. Make a request to join and I'll get you in right away.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/529269347409842/
GREEN WASTE BIN
As a reminder, any and all green waste can be placed in the cedar Green Waste Box, located beside bed 32, near the garden entrance.
Please don't put your plastics and other trash in here; garbage should be packed out of the garden.
GARDEN TIPS: PEST RESISTANCE + TOMATOES
It can be easy to forget all about aphids when the nights are still cool and our tender green shoots grow undisturbed in their little soil beds. But come hot season (um, like this week), you'll want to have some measures in place to deal with the threat that is most absolutely for sure without a doubt on its way.
I'm talking about pests. Little green flies that suck the nectar from your kale. Thick grubby caterpillars that chew right through your broccoli leaves. Slimy slugs, feasting on your future salads.
Here are 3 simple approaches to dealing with them:
1. Helpful plants: flowers like marigold and petunia have pest-repelling qualities, where a plant like nasturtium will attract aphids (away from your veggies). Garlic and onion, as well as strong-smelling herbs like chive, basil, oregano and sage do wonders when planted in close proximity to your vegetables, and they're also quite flavourful and delicious.
2. Organic Sprays: such as insecticidal soap, store-bought sprays or homemade versions work well in drier conditions, when the rain doesn't wash away the coating. One drawback is that these solutions can also ward off beneficial insects, such as ladybugs.
3. Manually: perhaps the most basic and most effective method, once an infestation is underway, is to kill the buggers with your bare hands. This is easier with large pests like slugs and cabbage moth caterpillars. Firm spray from a hose works well to get rid of smaller pests like aphids.
And for tomato enthusiasts looking for some basic advice on how to plant and cage tomatoes, here's a nice starting place from Rogers Gardens. Note that you probably don't need to go to the same lengths that David does with his mix of different additives (not that a little fertilizer booster will hurt!).
