Full Summer Sun

You may be uncomfortable in the extreme summer heat, but the garden really loves it!

A good portion of the sunflowers have opened up and new ones open every day. The peppers have finally started producing too! We've gotten two bell peppers so far and there are a few more on the way. There are also handfuls of baby jalapenos that should be ready to harvest in the next couple of days.

Maybe the most exciting thing to watch grow is the watermelons. There are at least six or seven tiny watermelons the size of cherry tomatoes just getting ready to fatten up. A few bigger melons, like the one pictured below, almost doubles in size every day. Maybe by next week's work day we'll be able to cut one open. In effort to keep the watermelon vines out of the walkways, I've placed a few bamboo posts throughout the bed for the vines to grow upward. As watermelons begin to grow, their weight pulls the vine back down to the ground as needed. There are plenty of vines that do not have melons and really benefit from being exposed to more sunlight.


Our next couple of work days will be full of discussion about what to plant in the fall garden and starting those seeds. Join us!

Let there be squash!

The most productive crop in the garden right now is by far the squash. You might be surprised how quickly a blossom turns into a full blown squash. I've harvested at least 12-15 off of the four plants in the last week. All of it has gone to be handed out in the Deacon's Deli. As you can see from the next picture, there's plenty more on the way.


The watermelons are bringing up a close second place for most productive. Although there are not yet any melons growing, the watermelon vines seem to double about every two or three days now. They've completely covered their bed in the garden and are very quickly invading the walk ways. Because watermelons use up so much of the soil's nutrients, it is important to either spend a lot of time building up excess nutrients in the soil before planting or to constantly add fertilizers. I have even heard of people digging a hole, filling it with compost, and growing melons straight out of it. We've been spreading compost around the base of the plants and pouring compost tea on the leaves at least once a week.


The tomatoes and peppers, while growing a lot, have not started to fruit. Although they ideally should be producing by now, it isn't time to give up hope yet. They have also been receiving a weekly helping of compost tea (a mixture of compost and fish emulsion) and obviously respond well to the application. Some plants spend too much energy and nutrients in growing and maintaining their foliage and not enough on producing fruit. Because our plants can access so many nutrients, the lack of fruit is probably more due to lack of sunlight and the unbearable summer heat.

Volunteers at the next garden work day will begin seeding plants for the fall garden. We'll begin phasing in the fall garden as the summer garden reaches the end of its run.

Progress

Tomatoes, basil, marigolds, sunflowers, okra, watermelon, squash, cucumbers, and a few others are all thriving in the CCG. The tomatoes are just beginning to climb the trellis made of bamboo, while the cucumbers are just beginning to stretch out across the bed.

Tomatoes and basil are known to be great companion plants and are often planted together. Coincidentally, these two also taste great together! As you can see in the picture, the basil has taken off already. Stop by the garden any time and pinch off a few leaves! Some of the tomato plants have begun to flower-hopefully some fruit will follow soon.

The cucumbers have begun stretching out across the beds. They have also begun to flower. If we can get the squirrels to stop digging so close to the plants, we'll have cucumbers in no time.

Not to be outdone by the speedy basil plants, the watermelons are growing at an amazing rate! These plants double in size every couple of days. All that growing does use up a lot of nutrients from the soil, so volunteers will be spreading compost for these guys on a weekly basis from now on.

A mixture of compost, greensand, and chicken manure was been added to the soil. All three will help improve the soil structure by working in plenty of organic matter and loosening the clay. The greensand is high in potassium, one of the nutrients our soil test revealed we needed.

There has not been any problem with weeds at all. A few little guys have sprung up here and there, but the soil sterilization took care of the majority of weeds in the area. To help the soil retain moisture and to protect against pesky squirrels and chipmunks, straw and bamboo mulch covers the beds.

Thanks to the work of Lindsey Mullen, the CCG was awarded a Parish Based Outreach Grant from the Diocese of Alabama. How to spend the funds awarded will be the topic of the upcoming meeting on Tuesday, June 15th. Those wishing to contribute should meet in the student center at 6pm.

Homegrown Alabama and Deacon's Deli

Through the efforts of Homegrown Alabama and Canterbury parishioners, visitors of Deacon's Deli are now able to receive locally grown produce. Money raised by parking cars on the lawn during football games has been put towards funding a voucher program for the Farmers Market. Each visitor of Deacon's Deli receives $12-$20 worth of vouchers. The vouchers are only redeemable at the Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market held on the lawn every Thursday.

Vendors of the Farmers Market have also started donating unsold produce at the end of the market. Snow's Bend Farm and B&S Farms have made major produce donations while Evergreen Farms has donated pepper and tomato seedlings also to be distributed at Deacon's Deli.

Volunteers have been on hand to collect the donations on Thursday afternoons, distribute the donated produce and young plants on Tuesday mornings to visitors of the Deacon's Deli, and to help preserve any leftover produce (pictured above). The preserved produce will be used during the Fall Harvest Party. Students, parishioners, farmers, and all other community members are invited to celebrate the efforts of Canterbury Episcopal, Homegrown Alabama, and the CCG in answering the call for increased access to fresh produce, particularly in food ministries. Date and time TBA.

There is growing interest in expanding this program to neighboring churches and food pantries. Discussions pertaining to fundraising and volunteer schedules will be scheduled in the coming weeks. If you're interested in volunteering time and/or resources to this effort, send an email to canterburychapel@gmail.com or get in touch with Erica Smith (contact information to the right).

First Soil Test

View a copy of our first soil test from Auburn University here.

Certain crops prefer certain soil characteristics. Getting your soil tested should be done at least week before tilling the soil and building beds. Soil amendments can be added in order to manipulate the pH balance or the availability of key elements.

As you can see from our soil test, the pH of the CCG is 6.8. Although most vegetables prefer different pH levels, they all generally do well in soils with a pH between 6.0-7.0. We probably don't need to spend time or resources altering the pH at this time, but we should be sure to note how the reading changes over the next several soil tests.

The soil test report also provides information regarding the amount of key elements in the tested area. According to our test, the CCG has a very high amount of Phosphorus and a medium amount of Potassium. Although Magnesium and Calcium are both in high numbers, they are not excessively so. In order to avoid raising the Phosphorus numbers, the CCG will only add fertilizers with low ratio for Phosphorus. Most crops do not require a lot of Phosphorus to survive, leaving most of it in the soil to build up over the years. The Phosphorus will eventually decline as we stop adding new sources of the element.

If you're interested in testing your own garden site, you can pick up a soil testing kit at the county extension office for free. Auburn does charge a $7 fee for their test report. You should expect your report within a week of submission. The CCG will plan to test the garden site twice a season (summer and winter) in order to make the best decisions about adding soil amendments and crop rotations.

Steamy Soil

Tim Duren of Evergreen Farms has volunteered to sterilize the CCG site. Tim sells snapdragons, sunflowers, and other small plants at the Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market held at Canterbury on Thursday afternoons. 

For the past several decades, Tim has been sterilizing his soil using steam. The steam raises the temperature of the soil high enough to kill all weeds, grass seeds, diseases, and harmful bacteria or fungi that may be lurking just under the surface. Healthy soil requires the presence of certain beneficial soil organisms that are, unfortunately, also killed when the soil is sterilized. However, the steaming process can also improve the soil structure by increasing air and moisture availability. 

Although the process will kill beneficial soil organisms in the CCG site, we have decided it will ultimately be a good idea. The soil in the garden site is so tightly compacted, any attempt at loosening it up and improving the aeration will be more than worth the loses. Adding compost and other organic material will eventually attract the beneficial organisms back to the garden site.

Tim will be demonstrating the process during the next Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market on May 20th. Stop by to watch and as questions.

Once the soil has been sterilized (Tim is also going to till the soil), the beds can be formed and planting can follow!

First things first

The first CCG work day was held on Wednesday, May 12th. The first task was to remove all of the grass in the garden area in order to get to work adding compost and tilling the soil.

Some went about this task in a very organized way in order to reuse the sod elsewhere. Others used any tools available, hoes, shovels, and rakes, to remove the grass. While the first method takes a little more time, the second method is very labor intensive. The second method also leaves plenty of loose grass and seeds in the bed. All together, the area was clear in about an hour.

The group then started spreading compost from the University of Alabama Arboretum. The compost is made up of pre-consumer waste from the University dining halls along with organic waste like grass clippings and raked leaves from campus and the grounds of the Arboretum. Other area farmers and gardeners purchase this compost from the Arboretum and swear by its richness.

Take a look at this amazing video put together by Ms. Lindsey Mullen. There are clips and photos from both the groundbreaking ceremony and the first work day:

Canterbury Community Garden from Lindsey Jayne on Vimeo.

The CCG is off to a great start with plenty of participation from the community! That doesn't mean we don't need more help though. There will be plenty of opportunities to get involved with the garden. If you're interested in helping out with the garden, come by during a work day or contact Erica Smith.