Download Summer Maintenance Letter

Summer Garden Maintenance
Thank you for volunteering to care for this organic school garden! Below, you
will find a list of common summer chores and answers to general
maintenance questions. Attached you will also find a map of this particular
garden outlining what is planted where. Should you need further support at
anytime over the summer, do not hesitate to contact Growing Up Organic at
[email protected] and we will be more than happy to help!
Watering
Water plants early in the day this gives plants time to dry or before the cool evening sets in
and will help prevent any fungus. Never water in the heat of the mid-day, the cool water
can shock the plant. Water the soil, rather than leaves to reduce disease. Water plants
slowly allowing the soil to soak up a lot of water – this promotes deep root growth.
Squashes and tomatoes need extra water while they are growing their fruits. Lettuces and
root vegetables like carrots and beets need a steady supply of water throughout their
growth cycle.
Pruning
Whenever herbs start to flower, flower buds should be removed. This ensures that the
plant keeps devoting its energy to producing edible leaves, rather than putting that energy
into going to seed. When plants like parsley, radish, and lettuce flower they become bitter
tasting; try to harvest these vegetables before they flower.
Weeding
By using the map of the garden attached, you should be able to identify weeds (they will be
plants that look different from the dominant vegetable plant in any square foot area!). Pull
weeds as soon as you see them, slowly, in order to make sure the root comes out with the
stem. The best time to weed is early in the morning, or in the evening, after a rainy period.
Pests
Recognizing pests can be tricky. Here are a few common pests you might see in the garden,
if you do, simply pluck them off with your fingers; if there are many and you are concerned
about an infestation, please contact GUO at [email protected]
Aphids: Tiny (1/16" to 1/8") sucking-insects that can be brown, black, pink, white
or green.
Cabbage Worms: smooth, green caterpillars with two lengthwise white lines, or
velvety green.
Colorado Potato Beetles: yellowish orange, 1/3-inch beetles with black stripes on
their wing covers and black spots on their thorax.
Slugs and Snails: soft-bodies, wormlike animals. Slugs have no shells while snails
have coiled shells. Both leave a trail of mucus when they travel.
Squash Bugs: 5/8 inch long brownish-black in color and flat-backed. Nymphs are
whitish green or gray when young, darkening as they mature and spider-like in
appearance.
Reseeding
If the school has provided you with seeds, these can be re-planted over the summer to
ensure a continuous harvest into the fall. Use the map to determine where to re-seed
certain vegetables after they have been harvested (or are ready to be harvested), plant
more seeds (check the log-book to make sure this has not already been done!). In one
“square foot” space, you may plant 16 radishes or 4 lettuce seeds, if you are planting in
rows, this is the equivalent of approximately 2” apart.
Harvesting
Ah! Now the good part! As a token of our appreciation, summer volunteers may harvest any
vegetables that are ready to be eaten during the summer months. Typically, this will
include green beans, peas, tomatoes, nasturtiums (edible flowers – leaves are edible too),
kale, Swiss chard, zucchini, beets, radishes. We ask that you leave carrots, winter squash,
melons and pumpkins, in the garden for a fall harvest. Lettuce can be harvested with
scissors, leaving the root of the plant in the soil to produce new foliage.
Many herbs may be large enough to harvest as well, make sure to leave the bulk of the plant
in the ground so that it may continue to produce – only take what you need!
The Potato Project
Several schools are participating in the Potatoes for the Food Bank project launched by
Heritage Academy earlier this spring. If your school is participating, you should see a grey
or black “barrel” cut into three parts, somewhere in the garden – this is where the potatoes
are growing! Potatoes grow vertically, so keep an eye on the sprouts in the bottom of the
barrel. When the sprouts grow to about 6-8 inches tall, add another layer of soil and
compost till the sprouts are nearly covered. Repeat this process of allowing the sprouts to
grow and then covering the sprouts until the barrel is filled to the top. If the soil passes the
edge of the barrel, add the second or third piece of the barrel. Make sure to keep the soil
moist at all times. The plants will flower indicating that you have growing potatoes. When
the plant turns yellow and dies back, usually around September, your potatoes are fully
grown and ready to be harvested.
IMPORTANT: if you see small green grape-sized fruit on the potato stems, these are
POISONOUS, do not eat.