Great music, food, and fun in the garden!

Spring has sprung at the garden!

Thanks to all who came out to our recent spring work day! We did a thorough weeding of the garden, turned the compost, repaired some of the garden plot frames, planted new seedlings, and cleaned out the area by the tool shed. The garden is looking terrific and spring has definitely sprung. Special thanks to Carla who took pictures during the work day and has volunteered to help revive our garden blog. Her pictures are below with photos I took of some of the flowers and other plants growing in the garden.

Sidewalk garden gets planted out front

For years we've been wanting to create a pocket sidewalk garden out front and this year it's finally happening! These pocket gardens are built by removing sections of the sidewalk and planting directly into the ground. The City has been encouraging residents to create sidewalk gardens to help beautify neighborhoods, establish more habitat for wildlife, and provide more permeable surfaces to absorb rainwater.

Earlier this year we got a permit from the City to create our own sidewalk garden and made arrangements to have a crew from DPW remove sections of the sidewalk outside our front gate. We were able to get the City to waive our permit application fee and remove the sections of the sidewalk at no cost. So far we've planted succulents and some California natives that are drought resistant and should do well in this new space. Special thanks to Gabriel for working with me on the design, permits and installation and Adam and Brad for helping create the bamboo fence that surrounds the garden.

To learn more about sidewalks gardens, check out PlantSF.

Mushrooms sprouting in Laura's garden plot

Laura recently discovered mushrooms growing underneath the squash plants in her plot. It turns out they are morchella esculenta or common morel, which is a highly sought after edible mushroom. I believe they were cultivated in that same area of the garden by a former gardener. These mushrooms are sometimes called the "May mushroom" because they consistently fruit during that month. We'll look for them again next year!

Our newest and youngest garden members!

From Gardener Mary Good: I live right next door to the garden, and for weeks I have noticed a Mama and Papa Robin flying about and scolding the cats. Two nights ago I watched Mama Robin from my bathroom window, feeding what I thought was her one fledgling, as they both hopped about in the garden. This morning, I witnessed both parents feeding THREE fledglings. And I thought having just one toddler was hard work! You may have noticed some of the earth upturned, especially around the edges of the boxes...that's from Mama, digging for worms. The babies like to hide in the larger plants, like the rosemary and artichokes. If you see them, please do your best to not disturb them, and make room for Mama when she flies in. The kids are out of their nest, but can't fly yet.

Potato Harvest!

Chopping, turning and learning about compost