More plums are ripe at the garden!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the delicious fruit from the middle plum tree by the back patio this past month. There are just a few plums left in the high branches of this tree but now the fruit in the other two plum trees are ripe and ready for picking!

All fruit in the garden is available to members of the garden. Feel free to use the fruit picker on the long pole by the toolshed to pick some plums. Position the padded basket of the fruit picker beneath the plums that are ripe. Tap the branch and the plums should land in the basket. I'll also leave some plums on the top of the compost bin.

If you discover that the plums are still hard and not fully ripe, give them a little extra time to ripen. If you refrigerate them before they are ready, they won't ripen.

We want to make sure that everyone gets a chance to enjoy these plums, so please don't take more than your fair share. Thanks!

Bamboo fence under construction

If you've been by the garden lately, you've probably noticed that construction has begun on the bamboo fence up front. Last weekend, Gabriel and I built the frame for the fence. The next step is to construct the two panels that will fill in the fence within the frame. The fence is based on a traditional Japanese design and is going to look amazing when it has been completed. It's coming along nicely and we hope to complete this project soon.

Victory Gardens return to San Francisco

Did you know that there were once hundreds of vegetable garden plots in Golden Gate Park maintained by local residents? It was all part of the nationwide Victory Gardens program during World War II that encouraged the growing of vegetables on public and private land to help reduce the pressure on the food supply brought on during the war. At its height in the 1940s, these gardens produced over 40 percent of all the produce consumed in the country.

Now there's a big effort to bring back Victory Gardens in San Francisco. Victory Gardens 2008+ is a program of Garden for the Environment and the City of San Francisco's Department for the Environment. This two-year pilot project aims to support the transition of backyard, front yard, window boxes, rooftops and unused land into organic food production areas.

Victory Gardens 2008+ will install at least 15 pilot urban organic food gardens in San Francisco this year. While 1940s-era Victory Gardens were part of a massive government effort to address food shortages during wartime, Victory Gardens 2008+ aims to encourage self reliance and independence from the industrial food system, according to founder Amy Franceschini.

Perhaps the most prominent pilot garden of this effort will be the demonstration garden now underway in front of City Hall (a photo of the garden is shown above). This quarter-acre, edible, ornamental landscape is being organized by Slow Food Nation and will feature a wide variety of heritage organic vegetables suited to the Bay Area microclimate.

The planting for the Civic Center demonstration garden is scheduled for Saturday, July 12 beginning at 9am. To get involved in the planting and to find out other ways you can support this effort this summer, contact info@slowfoodnation.org with "Victory Garden" in the subject line.

Volunteers needed for Open Garden Days

Last weekend, we held our first Open Garden Day to enable more folks in the neighborhood to enjoy our beautiful, little garden. We're hosting Open Garden Days on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month from 10am to 2pm this summer to provide a regularly scheduled opportunity for people who aren't members of the garden to come by and check it out.

Volunteers are needed for 2 hour shifts during these days to welcome visitors to the garden. Last Saturday, Lynn kicked off our first Open Garden Day and was on hand to great a handful of people who stopped by, including one person who signed up on our waiting list. Thanks Lynn!! I took over during the second half and talked to a few more folks. It was all very low key and provided a fun and relaxing way to enjoy the garden for a couple of hours on a nice afternoon.

I'm heading out of town today for a 10-day vacation back east and need to recruit two folks who can be on hand for the July 12th Open Garden Day. If you are interested, please sign up on the volunteer list posted on the tool shed. Volunteers are also needed for upcoming Open Garden days in August.

This is an easy way to help support our efforts to make the garden more accessible to our neighbors and to build greater connections with the community. Please consider volunteering today. Thank you!

Sunny summer work day in the garden!

Our summer work day turned out to be a big success thanks to a great turn out by members of the garden and beautiful sunny weather throughout the afternoon. Everyone pitched in and we got a lot done, including a thorough weeding of the footpaths and common area gardens, spreading new wood chips throughout the garden, repairing the compost bins and some damaged garden plots, and reorganizing the work space by the tool shed. Thanks to all who came out and lent a hand last Saturday!

After a few hours of work, we took a break for a brief meeting and to talk about some ideas for the garden. Here’s a brief rundown of what we discussed:

New Bulletin Board: The city recently installed a new bulletin board at the front of the garden. Bulletin boards are being installed at all community gardens throughout the city and are designed to serve as a spot for posting notices about the garden (left side) and the community (right side) for the neighborhood. We deliberately chose a shady spot in the front of the garden for the bulletin board so that it wouldn’t block too much sun.

Open Garden Days: The city is encouraging community gardens, especially those like ours that are locked, to look for opportunities to provide greater public access. This summer, we’re going to host Open Garden Days on the second and fourth Saturday of every month from 10am to 2pm. Volunteers are needed for 2 hour shifts during these days to welcome visitors to the garden. You’ll find a volunteer sign up sheet posted on the bulletin board on the tool shed.

Bamboo Fence: Gabriel is leading a project to construct a bamboo fence along the west side of the front of the garden to replace the damaged chain link fence in that area. The fence is based on a traditional Japanese design and will be built in the coming weeks. Marina and Darrow volunteered to help him with the construction.

Tool Shed Inventory: We’re going to do an inventory of the tool shed later this month to identify what tools we have on hand, which ones might need to be replaced, and what other supplies are needed. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Annual Garden Barbecue: We made plans to organize our annual garden barbecue and party on Saturday, September 13. Volunteers are needed to help plan and organize the event. This event is open to all and inlcudes live music, great food, and other fun in the garden! Please let me know if you are interested in helping out.

Movies in the Garden: Lynn has been exploring the idea of hosting a movie night at the garden. She has a friend who is a film collector and the idea is to show some films (cartoons and other family-friendly movies) on the outside walls of one of the buildings bordering the garden. Stay tuned for more details.

Other ideas for improving the garden: We ended the meeting by having a discussion about other ideas people had for how we can continue to improve the garden and make it a real gathering place and focal point for the neighborhood. Mang talked about a garden art project he is interested in doing at our garden his interest in plantings that attract butterflies. Other art projects like mosaic and stencil work on the walls were discussed. We also talked about hosting potlucks at the garden and organizing workshops on composting, making jam from the garden plums, and other gardening subjects. We're looking into ways to expand the garden beyond our front gate, including the idea of creating sidewalk gardens along our block of Page Street. Finally, we're interested in adding some additional sitting areas along the sides of the patio and reconfiguring the compost bins to make room for a larger upper patio and stage for performances.

Ever since the garden was saved from development a few years ago, we’ve put a lot of effort into making it an even more special place for the neighborhood. It’s undergone a wonderful transformation since then thanks to the creative energy and talent of a growing core of gardeners who have volunteered for special projects like the ones above. I’m excited about all we’ve accomplished these past few years and look forward to building on this success.

If you are interested in helping out with any of these projects or have other ideas, please let me know!

Summer Work Day Coming Up: Saturday, June 14

Mark your calendars for our next garden work day, which will take place on Saturday, June 14 from 10am to 1pm. Summer is approaching and we've got a few projects to tackle to help get the garden ready for the new season. Join us on the 14th to help with weeding, repairing some of the garden plots, spreading another layer of wood chips on the footpaths, and some work on the compost bins.

Everyone is encouraged to come to each work day, but please keep in mind that all gardeners are required to help out on at least one work day every year.

I hope to see you at the garden on the 14th!

Community Hero Honored: Barbara Wenger

A couple of weekends ago I attended a very inspiring event organized by the Chrissy Field Center to recognize Bay Area residents who have worked to improve their local environment. Among the Community Heroes honored this year was Barbara Wenger, a longtime neighborhood activist who founded the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group and headed up the effort to clean up Koshland Park right down the street from our garden.

In the 1990s, Koshland Park was a magnet for drug dealing and prostitution in the Lower Haight. Barbara volunteered to lead a committee to reclaim the park for the community. She organized a "Take Back Your Park Day" and the response from the neighborhood was tremendous. Hundreds of neighbors turned out and spent the day removing trash and other debris from the park and began working to restore it as a safe place for kids to play.

Today, Koshland Park has a new playground, beautiful landscaping, and a vibrant community garden that serves as an outdoor classroom for children at nearby John Muir Elementary School. Check out the video posted below and you'll be amazed at how this organizing effort transformed a derelict park into neighborhood jewel.



The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group has restored play structures, replanted three parks, rejuvenated two community gardens, and enriched the neighborhood with art projects, including the Peace Wall that surrounds Koshland Park.

The work of Barbara and all of those who came together to restore Koshland and the other nearby green spaces has made such a difference in our neighborhood. It inspires me to continue working to improve our garden and to look for more opportunities to build community and beautify the neighborhood.

Gabriel and I have been tossing around a few project ideas for extending our gardening efforts beyond the Page Street Garden's front gate. Stay tuned for more details and to find out how you can get involved.