July 2018

July 2018 E-Newsletter

"Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.”
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

rainbow carrots from the OVF donates collection

Featured Instagram Photo of the Month: A Bunch of Rainbow Carrots from the OVF Donates Collection

Upcoming Garden Events:

Jul. 14 - Saturday Workday - 9:00 AM - Noon 
Jul. 14 - Pest & Mold Control Workshop - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM 
Jul. 21 - Board Meeting - 9:30 AM 
Jul. 28 – Tomato Tasting - Noon - 1:00 PM
Jul. 29 - Sunday Workday - 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Useful info:

  • Summer!  We made it! While the weather is still warming up, it has been nice to have more days where the marine layer burns off before midmorning. Gardeners are leaving their plots with small handfuls of tomatoes and baseball bat-sized zucchini have started showing up in the giveaway area under the big pine tree. Remember to set aside some time to deep water your plot once a week.  Here is one simple technique for deep watering: place a hose on the soil directly above your plant's roots, turn the hose on to a trickle. The goal is to have the water at a slow enough velocity that it is able to trickle down into the soil rather than spill sideways off the top.  You can check to see how deep the water has gone by inserting a stick into the soil and testing for dampness.  Plants that aren’t yet established or that have shallow roots systems like a radish will need more frequent watering.  Plants with a deeper root system like tomatoes and melons will need less frequent watering but should be watered longer.  Here is a handy guide to the root depths of these common garden crops
  • While you water, spend time harvesting your plot, weeding and pruning your plants.  This is a great time to remove blighted leaves and spray for pests or powdering mildew.  If you want to know more about organic pest and disease control, OVF Vice President and Gardenerd founder Christy Wilhelmi will be on hand after the July 14th workday.  See below for more information. Lastly, please remember that diseased plants should never be put in the compost bins.  This is especially true for diseased tomato plants which always need to go into the dumpsters or green waste bins.
  • Want to impress everyone during your summer picnics?  Phase 2 gardener Anthony Lai has created a garden to table video showing you how to make fresh basil pesto.


OVF Announcements: 

Organic Pest and Mold Control Workshop
powdery mildew on a squash plant
Have a plant disease or pest that you don’t know what to do with?  Bring a snipping of the affected plant or submit a photograph and Gardenerd Christy Wilhelmi will ID your issue and offer up some organic solutions.  This event is open to the public.  July 14th from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM.

Tomato Tasting

It’s that time of year again!  One of our favorite OVF events, the Tomato Tasting is the time we get to gather and sample everyone’s crops.  This year the event will be on July 28th from Noon-1:00 PM.  Arrive early to register your tomatoes for sampling or just show up to be a judge.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three tomatcut tomatoesoes and everyone who entered a tomato for tasting will be entered into a raffle. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Did you know that there are more ways to earn your community service hours than workdays?  Here are some great ways to get involved with the OVF community which don’t involve a shovel.  Did you like Anthony’s video about making pesto?  Think you could create some great content too? We want to hear about itAlicia needs help with the OVF Donates program on Sunday afternoons and Gale could use some extra hands around the orchard.  There are still a few slots left for gate closing duty.  Signup to be a gate closer in the main shed. Lastly, 10 volunteers are needed to help coordinate the Tomato Tasting event on 7/28.

No More Clean Pot Donations for the Time Being

Nina kindly requests that you hold off on donating clean pots for the time being. The greenhouse has all they need.

Letter from the Garden Master

Garden Master Ed Mosman shares some photos of the new orchard irrigation system being laid:

This was a project to install a new watering system for the orchard.  It took place on Saturday June 9th.
We had an assembly line system set up with diggers and plumbers working together to lay pipe throughout the orchard.  It was completed and tested in approximately 3 hours. In time to attend the potluck dinner.  We have since repeated this in the lower orchard on Sunday Workday June 24th.

Thank you to everyone who worked to design and build this important project!

irrigation team

 

As always: we want to hear from you!  Send us an email, reach out on Facebook, or tag us on Instagram @oceanviewfarms. 

That’s all for now.  Happy gardening!