June 2023
Barbara's Garden Notes
The Garden is looking especially beautiful this time of year, after the big rain a few weeks ago. Hoping that the disease stays away, that the tomatoes set fruit, and that the beans are plentiful.
Please send us pictures of your garden successes for the newsletter. You can send your failures as well, if you want. Email to me at Barbara@growwilliamsburg.org. Please also include a selfie!
Great job by all the volunteers for the last Work Party! It wasn’t FUN, but it was fun, if that makes sense. Mark your calendars for the next lower-case fun Work Party on July 15. August Party will be on August 5.
Valves Left Open!
There has been an increase in the number of incidents where hose valves have been left open, resulting in spills from leaky hose nozzles. Although our water is free, the cisterns cannot be refilled on the weekends. So if the water is drained on a Friday, the entire garden could be dry for up to 3 days. Please try closing the valve BEFORE you wrap up your hose. You wouldn’t walk away with the hose still on the ground, so use this trick to ensure you have closed the valve. And thanks to those who have walked from their cars back to their plots “just to check” if the valve is closed.
Designer Bricks Are Here!
Be the first in your Garden section to display your own Designer Brick! CGer Jim Thompson is spearheading a fundraising effort by creating personalized bricks for just $5.
What are Designer Bricks? You may have seen a prototype at the garden. They are regular bricks (approximately 4” by 8”) painted in two colors of your choice. You do the designing. You decide the message (within reason - children might be reading them), the size of the letters, and the color of the letters and background. The bricks are painted on one side only.
What messages can you put on them? Garden-related items are popular. Names of plants; names of Gardens (Bob’s Garden), plant puns (Beet It; It’s Thyme; Sage Coach) are all possible. Names of children, family members, pets, and names of colleges with the college colors are also pretty unique.
The bricks can be used for outdoor garden decor, or make wonderful bookends, paperweights, barbells, tarp holders, or just weight to hold down things from blowing away in the wind at your plot.
To order a brick (or two, or three), call Jim Thompson at 757-977-8151. He will take your order over the phone. He will need the information on the attached form…so please look it over before you call. This will provide you with the opportunity to ask questions and ensure good communication. If you would rather, you can email a copy of the form to Jim. The form can be downloaded here.
No need to pay for the bricks until you pick them up. Jim is usually at his plot (#73 near the pergola; Kensington Garden) several times a week…so he will notify you when they are ready for pick-up. To pay for them, bring cash or a check made out to Williamsburg Community Growers. Sorry…can’t handle credit cards at this point. Turn around time usually will be less than a week, and usually only a day or two.
Blackberries are Coming!
Our blackberry patch behind the bee boxes out the gravel road is getting ready to ripen. These are thornless Triple Crown blackberries with large, glossy black, firm fruits. With a tasty blend of sweet and tart, these berries are great for pies and baking and jam. Seeds are smaller than those of wild blackberries.
Last year’s harvest was amazing, far surpassing the number of berries needed by our food bank partners. So, we opened the patch up for the Community Gardeners to “pick-your-own”. We hope to do the same this year. Prices and the procedure of payment will be announced shortly. Watch your email.
From seeds:
Beans, bush or pole
Beans, lima
Okra
Corn
Transplants:
Eggplant
Peppers
Sweet Potato
Tomatoes
From Seeds or transplants:
Cucumbers
Muskmelon
Pumpkins
Summer squash
Winter squash
Watermelon
What to Plant Now?
Now that you have pulled out all your lettuce and maybe your broccoli is starting to peter out, what can you plant as a succession planting in mid-June? Here are the recommended plants from the Virginia Tech Extension:
The complete guide for what to plant when in our zone can be found from the Virginia Extension at Virginia Tech here.
No Sevin in the Garden!
As you all know, we are a strictly organic garden. Recently it has been rumored that a number of people have been using Sevin, which is a highly toxic chemical that will not only kill pests, but will kill the microorganisms in the soil you are trying so hard to develop. It is not allowed!
At the "What’s Bugging My Garden" workshop held on June 3rd, we discussed organic solutions to the most common bug pests in the garden.
A listing of organic products and the pests they control is listed on page 53 of the VCE 2023 Pest Management Guide here.
What's Growin' On?
Enjoy the beautiful pictures from our June Garden! Great job WCGers!!
Our Garden - Seven Years Ago
Seven years ago this June the first gardeners were planting their plots… and fencing them in… and hauling water from their homes! We've come a long way! Here are a few more pictures from those early days
Monthly Smiles
Don't Turn Your Back on Zucchini!!!
Kids Corner
Painted Garden Rocks
Painted garden rocks are so adorable. You can use them for garden markers, something for the kids to arrange when they are in the garden and they’re done gardening, or just as decorations to liven up a corner of the garden. Bumblebees, ladybugs, butterflies, dinosaur fossils, or maybe even sprinkle donuts! The list is endless and is sure to bring hours of fun and long lasting memories.
Supplies:
Fun shaped rocks (a rock hunt is always fun)
Non-toxic acrylic paint
Gloss spray (I used modge podge)
Instructions:
Paint your designs, let them dry, finish with gloss spray and BAM! Your garden has now become a masterful piece of art!
For more information, visit the little sprouts learning company here.
Have fun!