Happy July!!

The garden project continues…

Thank you, PLNU for the generous donation!

10am-12pm: Children’s Day at the Garden

Children are invited to OBCG to enjoy a variety of garden activities. Several engaging activities will be available for children and an accompanying adult(s). All activities will be self-guided with all materials provided. Join fellow gardeners between 10am-12pm ready for fun in a community garden environment. Hope to see you then!

Refreshments will be served.

Great start, Christi!! Much more to come!!

This planting guide refers to the coastal and inland regions of San Diego County. Planting periods for some common cool and warm season vegetables are given for a year having average weather conditions. The beginning and end of a planting period can vary by several weeks from year to year. Gardeners need to exercise more judgment when planting early or late in the season.

Suitable planting dates are dictated to a large extent by the amount of time a vegetable takes to grow from seed to a harvestable size and by the vegetable’s climatic requirements. Seed packets and catalogs give the number of days required from seed to harvest under optimum growing conditions. The cold tolerance of some vegetables is listed below as a guide for early planting.

Hello June!

Note from Brijette, SDSC Owner & Founder

Summer is around the corner. Are you ready? We are working hard to take advantage of the cool days on our farm and in our garden to get our soil covered and plants protected from the summer heat.

What exactly can you do to help your garden get the most out of the hot summer? MULCH! MULCH! MULCH! We recommend adding up to a foot of mulch around your plants, in walkways, and anywhere there is bare soil. This will prevent the soil from drying out as quickly and help plants be more heat tolerant. We have moved more than 100 yards of mulch on the farm to help protect our soil from the heat waves that are coming. While you might not need 100 yards of mulch, adding mulch to any size garden is beneficial.

Leaving artichokes to bloom

Artichoke flowers are not only beautiful, they are also rich in nectar which will attract bees and butterflies to your garden.

What is Vermicomposting?

Vermicomposting is composting with worms. The vermi in vermicomposting comes from the Latin word for worm – Vermis. Vermicomposting differs from normal, or microbial, composting. In vermicomposting, worms do most of the work breaking down organic matter instead of fungi and microorganisms. There are other differences: vermicomposting bins do not heat up, and bins do not need turning. You do not even have to touch a worm.

The Mexican Evening Primrose is native to Texas, southern New Mexico, and Mexico, and grown at OBCG!!

Thank you to all of the CSF students who volunteered at OBCG during the 2021-2022 school year. Good luck to the graduating seniors - looking forward to seeing everyone else in September!! Our community garden is stronger when our community youth are present!!

Companion planting has been used since ancient times but is often disregarded by scientists as anecdotal. Let’s take a look at some of the science of what, how, and why companion planting does/doesn’t work, how to utilize various methods in the garden, and share examples and results from our own garden practices. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate!

May isn't too different from April for growers in zones 9 and 10. I did add in zinnias and sunflowers, so you will start to see more summer flowers worked into the mix here like marigolds and cornflowers. Don't be limited to just these two species, though! You definitely don't want to overlook flowers, and we'll continue to sow seeds for several weeks. Flowers are so good for the garden and add beautiful colors as well.

The ground should be soft and warm enough to direct sow and transplant just about anything for anyone in zone 8 or warmer. Keep an eye on those nighttime temps, though! If you get seeds in the ground but have a frost incoming, just use a row cover to help out. For example, if you want to plant watermelon, it's especially sensitive to the cold. If you need to, wait until the end of the month. The only thing on the list here that we haven't started yet is pumpkin. That's another we want to wait for until the end of May so temperatures will be nice and warm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwYlgkQlSXM

Growing a Garden Full of Pollinator Plants

Growing a garden is so much more than producing food and flowers for you to enjoy. It’s about creating an ecosystem where wildlife, pollinators, and nature can thrive. Creating an abundant ecosystem is even more important in urban spaces where greenways, parks, and nature preserves are just not enough. As urban sprawl continues to gobble up precious green areas, we as gardeners, need to do our part to create spaces that allow pollinators and native wildlife to flourish. Not surprisingly, the easiest way to start is to fill your garden with pollinator plants that insects, birds, moths, and other wildlife can enjoy.

Our high school garden club has been busy. This year alone, they have grown, harvested, and donated 50 pounds of fresh, organic produce to Loaves and Fishes in Ocean Beach. Last year, they donated over 120 pounds of produce. This is a true display of young people taking an active role in cultivating positive change. It is clear their actions help improve the health conditions for our community’s most vulnerable residents. Growing and supporting civically engaged young people is at the heart of our collaborative service!. Donations are prepared and shared with Loaves and Fishes on Monday mornings.

Despite the fact that they lack inflorescences (meaning they don't produce sugary sweet nectar), bees love poppies because they provide lots of pollen. Bumble bees, honey bees and a range of solitary bees will visit poppy flowers in shades of red, pink, yellow and orange.

OBCG recently hosted an Earth Day scavenger hunt for a local Girl Scout troop. The girls walked around the garden to explore pollinators and discussed the importance of growing pollinator plants in our own gardens, school gardens, and neighborhood gardens. The girls earned their Earth Day Patch after the garden pollinator activity.

The OB Community Garden is honored to host high school student volunteers in the garden each month. Every second Saturday, the Point Loma High School California Scholarship Federation members volunteer their time with special projects and educational opportunities. Our community grows stronger with the commitment of each student volunteer.