Happy July! Garden update -- please read.

The garden looks beautiful, although there have been bumps along the way, which is normal. From past blog entries, you can see that it's normal for us to be fighting bugs this time of year.

Please keep at it! Your efforts are very important. And nothing does the trick like good old fashioned squishing. Spraying with a neem oil solution is also effective, but temporary.

Remember that this is a community garden and an organic garden. Organic gardens take extra work as a matter of course -- but so does maintaining a community. Without a community -- one that respects boundaries and does its best to keep all members from harm -- there would be no Flerra Garden at all.

Squash bugs will actually kill your plants if left unaddressed. And they will kill your neighbors' plants, too -- they can't tell the difference. If you have a plant that is far gone, or which you know you can't save, you have to pull it up and take it home and dispose of it. If you've lost a plant, we're sorry about that. We'd like to hear about it, so we can keep track of things, but it can be unavoidable.

If there are any issues at the garden, good news or bad, we appreciate you sharing them with us. Our job is to mediate and keep the garden running the best we can. It is a priority to keep the garden a welcoming place for all levels of gardener. The culture has been great so far. Please don't entertain disputes with abutters or other gardeners. If there's a question about the rules or the garden culture, we are the source. 

We are volunteers who do the best we can, but like you, we have full lives and limits. We are delighted to help you because we enjoy the place to much -- but we depend on you to care for your plot and communicate.

So since you read this far and got through my whole message in, here's really cute video of a beagle bringing toys to a baby.

The pump

Oh, our old friend the pump.

It is broken again. If you can bring water to the garden, that's probably the easiest solution. Use the garden cart to haul it into the garden.

You can also bring watering cans down the pond to get the water from there -- this is how it was done in Year One of the garden.

We've alerted the Boxborough DPW, and they will be working on the well. When we learn what's up, we'll let you know!

If you haven't been over there this weekend, the garden looks beautiful!

Garden alert! Bugs and fences need your attention.

Bugs! 

Squash bugs are out in droves. It's very important that everyone tends to their bugs. If you spend time eradicating bugs and eggs in your garden and your neighbor is not, you'll soon have bugs again.

It's important to inspect your plants -- especially any kind of squash, but any plant they can hide in -- underneath the leaves, on the stems, and the earth around the stem for bugs. Egg bunches will be under the leaves in an area usually smaller than a nickel.

The offenders:

The squash bug, about the size of a pencil eraser:

The stink bug (may not be exactly the right bug, but looks just like this) about 3/4 of an inch long:

Stink bug nymphs, very tiny:

Eggs from both these bugs are similar, and will be grouped like the photo. They look like tiny seeds. Do not just throw them aside: Take along a small container of soapy water, remove the eggs from the leaves and put them in the solution, and dispose of them at home. 

The Fence

The fence has been torn and pushed down several times in the past week. We suspect there may be deer or racoons (or both) breaking into the garden, or becoming trapped inside and destroying the fence on their way out. 

We will be repairing the fence as soon as we can -- but do appreciate it when you look after it, too. Please take a look at the fence when you are there, and mend it if you can and let us know if it's broken.

Please don't forget to close the gate when you leave the garden. 

Also (smaller problem), please take all your equipment home and put all garden equipment back in the garden entrance before you leave. Plot owners are responsible for keeping the garden neat. If you bring helpers, please show them where things are put away. If you have any questions, please let us know!

Last But Not Least

Everything looks wonderful! You guys are doing an amazing job on your plots. It's a pleasure to walk through and see all the hard work everyone's doing. THANK YOU! :)

    

The garden is in full swing this weekend, and we walked over after Fifer's Day for a look. I was so impressed with everyone's progress! I took some pictures -- not everybody's pictures came out, but there's some beautiful stuff over there this weekend. Nice work, everyone! 

Flerra Community Garden, Fifer's Day 2014

      

 

Update for everybody

First, thanks to everyone. The garden is almost full - almost twice the number of gardeners this year - and everything looks fantastic.

We need to knock the manure pile down soon - probably on Saturday morning before Fifer's Day. I'm aiming to be over there to do the work around noon. If we can get a few people to help, we can have it done in under an hour.

There's also the option of adding a community corn plot in one of the few empty spots. If I can get a show of hands from people interested, we'll get the seed and sort our row assignments. We've done this in the past to great success. The advantage: Everyone gets corn and by combining the rows, we guarantee pollination. So wave your hands - or email - and we'll get started.

Eggs underneath the leaf.

These guys. We hate these guys.

They're back: The cucumber beetles have made their annual appearance. These little nasties are about a centimeter long and black and yellow striped. Because we are and organic garden, we can't nuke the hive from orbit, resorting instead to subtler methods. The best way is to get over and hand pick the beetles and squish them. It's oddly satisfying. Then check over the leaf for eggs. If you find them, scrape them into a jar full of dish washing detergent and water. If you knock them on the ground, they hatch and you haven't solved anything. Then spray the plant with Neem oil. This will need to be done several times to ensure we have an impact.

The pump works. Not particularly well, yet, but we're trying to make easier. We'll put some bottles over this week for priming water, although that hasn't been needed yet.

If you notice deer incursion, let me know ASAP, so we can address it before it becomes a real issue.

Finally, it's not July yet, but now's a good time to start thinking ahead to the AG Fair in September. Enter your best and brightest for ribbons and bragging rights. Abby Floyd has won the largest sunflower contest twice for plants over 12 feet tall. That's like four of her. [See, bragging rights]. We'll post a link to the sign up when it becomes available.

Progress is progress! Some start-up reading.

Some more start-up news and a new map! Two new members signed up in the last few days. If you know anyone who is interested in signing up for a plot, there is still space! Please let us know.

For your reference, here's a map of the Flerra Garden. The garden is near the entrance to Flerra Field, immediately to the left. There is a path through a small patch of woods to the garden. Parking is important. Please try to park on the garden side, by the side of the road but not on the grass. Your attention is appreciated!

Some reminders:

Please read the rules and regulations. The rules and regs may have some twists and turns in them; keep in mind they were carefully crafted when the garden was started to keep the garden organic, orderly and to make sure it blends in with our surroundings. If rules are not followed, chances are good we will get a complaint. This makes us sad. We dread having to be "the heavy." So keep in mind, rules are usually good. But if you have a question, please don't hesitate to ask us.

Be careful with invasive plants: There is a great deal of literature on the Web about invasive plants and why it's important not to encourage them. We are gardening in a meadow, and we want to preserve the original grasses there. Plants like mint or pansies, that are perennial and/or will spread, should not be planted directly in the garden earth (if they are in a pot, that's OK).

Be thoughtful about pollination: If both you and your neighbor are planting tomatoes (or other flowering plants), please don't plant yours directly adjacent to them, to cut down on the risk of cross-pollination.

Be sure to leave space for your neighbors: We are always surprised every year when that cute little baby squash plant turns into a giant, gaping four-foot wide monster. Every year. Be sure to read the guidance on your plants, and plan accordingly.

About corn: We will most likely be planting corn in a communal space (in assigned rows). Everyone will have the opportunity to have a row or two -- and it works great because corn grows better in larger plantings. If you want to plant corn in your plot you can, but please only use butter-and-sugar varieties -- corn pollen gets airborne easily and can contaminate other plants, so we select one variety only. No ornamental corn, please.

Don't discard things over the fence: When you pull weeds, remove them to the compost heap, on the left side of the path as it re-enters the woods. Rocks go just inside the woods on the right side, so others can find them and use them if needed.

Keep it clean: Leave your plot neat and clean. Take all your equipment home. Put any communal tools back. Pull your weeds so bugs have no hiding spots -- this is vital for you and for your neighbors, too.

Have fun!! Don't worry: We don't hover like this all season. We're just getting started, so we need to make sure everyone's oriented and knows what to do. So don't worry, it really is all about fun. :) We like it here and we want you to like it too!

Last but not least, here's the latest garden map!

Share! Share your stuff, share your thoughts, share your ideas!

Comments are enabled on this blog.

Here's a spot for you to leave comments about sharing stuff. 

If you have extra squash plants -- share! 

Extra bean seeds? Share!

If you needs some gardening supplies but not the whole package, ask if someone wants to go in on the purchase with you.

Get the idea?

Anyway -- you may need to actually go to the blog (and not the RSS email) to see the comments.