Urban Gardens of San Francisco

   It's nice to find peaceful gardens in the midst of a busy metropolis. While traveling to San Francisco I found a few urban gardens.  

     The first one was tucked in the back of an average park.  There is a large range of plants that are kept by kids in an after-school program.

      I ran into a neat "Mini-park," while on the way to another community garden.   It was surprising to see how much variety was between two large condos!  

       After traveling further, I found a neat strip of community organized gardens.  The lady there said it was originally part of a homeless employment program, however that program was shut down and it is now a garden the local residents keep up.  It seems like a good way to get people outside and working together.

   
      I ran into this garden on the walk back.  It was at a school with a large lemon tree, that fruit on it in January!  It is neat to see that even in a big city, youth are learning in nature.

 
      Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

Winter Update

    The cold season is in and the leaves have nearly all fallen.  This is a good time for planting leafy greens, onions, garlic, broccoli and other frost tolerant plants.  Last month I cleared out the beds and turned them with compost, leaves, and chicken droppings/hay.  The ground is softer now and has fewer deep-rooted weeds.

   A few weeks ago I planted arugula, beets, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, Swiss chard, and peas.   Between the hens eating them and the nights where it got really cold they are stunted to say the least.
Instead I began to focus on weed removal and making a few more beds.

   Recently I just planted some red lettuce and blue broccoli from the local nursery; as seen in the photo.

   The lettuce is an heirloom variety called Red Romaine. Red lettuce seems to do well in frost and is very flavorful.  I'm hoping the broccoli will help keep the frost away from the lettuce once it grows larger.

   No-till gardening is becoming easier the more I dig in.  There are some things I've learned that make a huge difference.  First, let the ground work for you; instead of exhausting yourself with digging up a clay bed, pile organic material over it and water it for a few months.  Once the ground is softer then dig the leaves or mulch into the clay.

   Second, make sure to water any compost or organic matter you wish to activate;  by activate I mean bring to life.  The process of composting is done by a mix of factors, we mainly think of worms.  There are a lot of other insects, bacteria, etc. that play a part in the decomposition of soil.  They need plenty of water to remain present and flourish.

  As I go through the dirt, I set aside any fair sized rocks in one of the paths; to help roots grow more freely and to get fewer misshaped carrots or onions.  I'm looking forward to the warmer season with longer days.  That's all for now.  Thanks for reading and best of luck with the garden!

Life

Today I walked in the chicken coop to find a blue egg; the first one so far!  This is an update on the vegetables I've been growing.  The corn is doing fair.  Definitely need to find a way to keep the grass from the rows.  Leaves and pine needles worked well as a mulch and nitrogen source.  There are lots of tomatoes coming in; more than I have been using.  One is a cherry tomato plant with a bit of fence to hold it up.  The other has pear shaped tomatoes and didn't have a fence.  Proper cages would have been more ideal.  As the fence is hard to reach through, and without many tomatoes were unusable.

Recently I planted some jalapeno plants in the ground after being in pots for most of the summer.  They are growing better with more sun and space to grow.  Most of the onions and garlic have been harvested.  There was a good amount of very tasty red onions and a few small gloves of garlic.  I think they would have done better with more constant water.

Well, life is beautiful.  Keep exercising and being healthy!  Enjoy good company and good laughs.
Thanks for reading!

Fresh Fruit Juice - Blackberry Cherry-Plum Juice

 Today I noticed some apples coming in well and began to wonder what would be a good use for them.  This led me to making apple juice.  It turned out to be a surprisingly easy process.  After trying an apple I realized they aren't quite ready yet.  However the cherry plum trees and blackberry bushes are abundant with ripe fruit.   Wanting to try what I had just learned, I proceeded to pick a fair amount of cherry plums and blackberries.  Following the instructions online I mashed them up a bit, then simmered them for about 5 mins.  Put in threw a strainer, added water to taste and had some homemade blackberry, cherry plum juice!  Compared to what you buy it the store, it tastes a bit less sweet put makes up for it with fruit flavor.

I'd encourage you to try this with extra fruit you have around.  It's an easy way to make an enjoyable treat to share with family and friends.  I'll go over the process as it appears similar with most fruits.  Cut or mash the fruit, depending on softness.  Put in a large pot and add water till the fruit is covered.  Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally.  Once most of the content of the pot are soft, pour through a strainer.  Use a spatula to squish more out of the pulp.  Once it has cooled off add water to your liking.  If it comes out too sour or tart add sugar or honey to balance it out.  Try mixing different of your favorite fruits for your own fruit punch blend.

Thanks for reading.

Summer update

Greetings,  the summer has arrived and it shows in the garden.  The jalapenos and strawberries wilt down, needing water just about daily.  They are in partial shade.  With enough water everything grows much quicker.  I pulled a few red onions yesterday, now I'll let them dry for about a week.  They look and smell good.  The corn is growing well, some of the oldest plants have cobs growing.  Also the tomato plants are doing great.  There are maybe up to thirty tomatoes growing on one of them.  Some of the garlic is doing really well while others aren't growing as well.

It has been hot, I've been drinking so much ice water.  Mixing it with a bit of cranberry or raspberry juice for extra flavor.  Also got a sun hat to help protect against the sun's rays.  Now I'm working more often so it's tough to allocate the time efficiently.  There are a few spots this aggressive crab grass has grown in.   It doesn't appear to be affecting the plants too much.  I've been focusing on watering.

Thanks for reading!