Garden harvest update

Hello all,

1) I harvested the Swiss Chard, but left some of the smaller leaves since the forecast was for warm weather.

2) I removed the Tomatillo plants as they looked to be at the end of their life. I also removed a squash plant that was not doing well. I left the larger plants as they still have blossoms and have produced fruit this season so far. 

3) I removed all of the carrots and onions that I found.  One alone was a little over 12 oz. (See picture below).  The total harvest of carrots was 11 lbs 2 oz, however about 9 oz had to be cut away due to slug and other bugs eating at the tops.  We may want to add some pans of beer next year for the slugs.

4) 

Thanks again,  Rose Sherryand have a great weekend!!

Harvest Today at Cobblestone Farms and St Francis

Harvest Today 2017-07-24
Ann Marie and I, Erich, harvested 12 ounces raspberries, 3 lbs zucchini, 2.8 lbs peppers and 3.5 lbs collard greens.  The beans have started to fruit, the tomatoes are growing, but still green.  Rows are beautifully weeded.  Here is a photo combined with the St Francis garden harvest which included garlic, peas, swiss chard, oregano, bush beans and onions.

Marion Spencer wrote:    As Candi  said, she worked on the edge of the rain garden. Neither of us know what is overtaking that garden.  Please look so we can try to figure out what this plant is. It spreads like strawberries but aren't strawberries.  Susan continued to cut the stems of the spent day lily flowers. I weeded more of the circle garden and put water on the vegetable garden for about 1 1/2 hours.

Marion Spencer wrote: I think I will become a vegetarian.

Linda Hancock Green  wrote:    Beautiful harvest!

Friday Update.

Hi,
I harvested this afternoon.  Two big zucchinis!! some peas and green beans.  The bush beans are producing now.  
I also watered Paul since it looked dry. I still hope that we get the rain they are forecasting tomorrow.
I watered Matthew as well because the squash plants were wilting.
I removed the pea plants on the east side since they and the peas on them were all powdery. There were peas that looked rotten as well. I'm hoping that the cucumbers will now have a chance to grow.  I threw the pea plants in the city compost bin.

Rose

Update on Sustainable Garden (Week of May 22)

Hi,

I went yesterday and did the following.

• Planted a 4pack of tomatoes; left another in case you don't get to store; otherwise I can plant
• Planted basil (2 plants by garlic) and (4 plants along outside perimeter north)
• Planted marigolds in 4 corners of Luke (tomatoes); left remainder (2 packs?)
• Encouraged/placed pea plants onto strings
• Kale, swiss chard, spinach are germinated
• Cleared most volunteer potato plants from Matthew
• Still have peppers at home (for pots)

Here are some photos:

          

This Week with the St Francis Garden Ministries

Kudos to Nadine Brown and Teri Murphy who have really polished/enhanced the Memorial Garden which to most visitors/viewers who honor their deceased family members would not notice.  Their activities have included but  were not limited to:

• Fertilized the rhododendrons
• Transplanted hosta for even and symmetric arrangement around the marble bench
• Weeded (of dandelions and voluntarily transplanted/seeded saplings) and mulched two upper tier areas
• Trimmed back the myrtle from the wall of name placards for better access to reduce plant destruction
• Removed old extraneous bulb (e.g., tulip) plantings
• Trimmed shoots, dead branches, and suckers off the larger trees
• Mulched the ground floor areas

Thank you very much, again, Teri and Nadine, for honoring the departed with this well maintained space.  Photos of their garden efforts:

Secondly, thank you to Erich and Ann Marie Jensen who this week finished mulching trees both right and left to the general entrance area of the Rectory that were not completed on the May 6th work day!

Lastly, big thanks to Karen and Jeff Cole who have begun transplanting grasses, penstemon and coneflowers along the stark gray cement wall at the lower sidewalk from the east parking lot to the front steps of the church.  Stay tuned for future photos, as the plants grow and fill in this area.

Respectfully submitted,

Erich Jensen 

Thank you for Donation

Dear Jan,   turnersannarbor.com

The 2 flats of tomatoes, one flat of basil, one flat of peppers and one flat of marigolds is a great donation.  We really appreciate it.

Here is a photo of cleaned garden with cool crop plantings only so far.

Regards,

Erich Jensen

Garden Ministry Coordinator

St Francis of Assisi

734.771.8511

Main Sustainable Garden

Some of The Volunteers

Side Garden

THANK YOU: St Francis of Assisi Grounds and Grooming Cleanup Day May 6 (Saturday: 9 am - 12 pm)

Our prayers were answered in many ways, a beautiful sunshine and comfortable morning (after 2 days of gray, cloudy, pouring rain), and a solid group of Scouts and Knights of Columbus volunteers and more parishioners to clear, clean, prune, hedge, sweep, spread, mulch, dig, edge selected areas at the front of the church, parish offices and rectory.

In particular, kudos, to Brian Biggs who singlehandedly moved and distributed all 180+ bags of mulch.  We also appreciate the efforts of Grand Knight Josh Peck and his son Patrick, and the many, many scouts and parents, including Laura, Freddy and Greg Babe, Lon, Jacob, Alex and Quinn Lowen, Matt and sons Grant and Ryan and scout Carl as well as parishioner gardening regulars, Edd Post, Amy Kilbourne, Susan Bass, Jane Antosiak, and Terry MacLean. (I apologize for any misspellings or missing names).

Here are snapshots of the accomplished work:

A beautiful Saturday Morning

Brian Biggs and Josh and Patrick Peck at the end of the morning

Weeded the Church Back Entrance West

Refreshing around the Bell Tower/Carillon

Refreshing mulch left and right of front church steps

Weeding, clearing leaves, removing tossed flagstones and respreading mulch disturbed by winter snow removal curbside east at church front steps

Hedging the yews and spirea at church front steps and removing invasive tree saplings

New mulch at left church front steps curbside

More blooms and cleanup in the Mary Garden at church rear entrance east

Removing old mulch, spreading 30 bags of fresh top soil and spreading attractive pine bark mulch across all parish office entrance beds 

Complete hedging of row of yews on southside of parish office so staff can view the gardens better

Refreshing wood chips for outdoor classroom southside hill in pine trees from parish office

 

Continuing to remove invasive old English Ivy and refreshing pine bark much across the entire front  and northside of the Rectory

THANK YOU: Spring Clean Up: Sustainable Vegetable Gardens May 6 [10 am - 12 pm]

Our prayers were answered.  Cool temperatures AND complete sunshine greeted our clean up day last Saturday.  Many thanks for your prayers and great volunteer attendance, in particular, Rose Sherry, Ann Marie and Erich Jensen, Julie White, John Schommer, Teresa Welsh, Sharon Sheldon, Dorothy Greca and her grandson Jacob, and Katy Derezinski who:

• Spread 10 bags of top soil in the Paul Garden after weeding it
• Planted potato seeds in the same bed
• Hooked up 2 rain barrels
• Picked up/Composted leaves
• Planted cool crops' seeds (spinach, kale, carrots and onion sets)
• Edged the perennial perimeter of the main garden (e.g., gospel beds)
• Deadwooded the black raspberry brambles
• Strung the poles as guides for the germinated pea plants
• Cleaned/slightly tilled Matthew, Mark, Luke and John beds

Here are photos of the day:

Left to Right: Katy Derezinski, Rose Sherry, Dorothy Greca, Jacob, Ann Marie Jensen, Julie White (not pictured: John Schommer, Sharon Sheldon, Teresa Welsh, Erich Jensen)

Paul Garden Bed with Potatoes

Main Sustainable Garden (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Beds)[Peas, Garlic, Onions, Kale and Spinach)

Remulched outdoor classroom/meeting space!

Continuing the story, mulching some of the rectory trees this morning……any one want to help mulch the other trees?

THANK YOU: EARTH DAY CLEANUP BY 7TH GRADERS St Francis Garden Ministries: School Involvement (e.g., Confirmation Service Hours)

Many thanks to the seventh graders who cleaned up a lot of the St Francis school and church grounds last week for Earth Day celebration!  Here are the results including some additional cleanup from a couple of other parties for the curbside pick up (Also thank you to whoever hauled all the bags to Winchell Street for this morning's pick up).

Special kudos to Ms Megan DeVerna for liaising with me on this simple but super beneficial project.  Hopefully this will become an annual tradition with the ENTIRE school.

Happy Easter season,

Erich Jensen

See the Garden Ministries blog!  http://sustainable-garden-project.blogspot.com 

Mary Garden

Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Mary looked beautiful yesterday with her skirt of daffodils!  Thank you!