June 2021 E-Newsletter
"What a strange thing it is to wake up to a milk-white overcast June morning! The sun is hidden by a thick cotton blanket of clouds . . . But the sensation of illusion is strong. Because the sun can break through the clouds at any moment." Vera Nazarian
Featured Instagram Photo of the Month: A Frizzly Poppy is Worth the Wait.
Upcoming Garden Events:
Jun. 3- Jun. 6 - Greenhouse Fundraiser - 10:00 AM - Noon
Jun. 19 - Saturday Workday - 9:00 AM - Noon (date moved)
Jun. 19 - Potluck Lunch - Noon (tentative)
Jun. 19 - General Meeting - 1:00 PM (tentative)
Jun. 27 - Sunday Workday - 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Summer is nigh! Of course, in coastal California, that can mean entire days of not seeing the sun for most of the month. Still, things are in full swing at the garden. Tomato plants are getting big and setting fruit, early-planted zucchini are have started producing basketfuls of squash, and sunflowers are already showing their sunny faces. Plant, water, weed, harvest, repeat. Don’t skip a week or something will get out of hand. Everything grows fast this time of year. That includes the weeds. Stay on top of the false garlic, nutgrass and bindweed or could have a real mess on your hands in no time. False garlic is flowering like crazy right now. If you can’t dig it up, at least make sure to deadhead the flowers before they have a chance to go to seed. All three of the aforementioned plants need to go in the garbage, not the compost to keep them from further spreading throughout the garden.
This is the time of year to plant! It’s still cool enough that seedlings have a chance of establishing themselves before getting pounded with the heat of July and August but the days are super long giving them lots of energy to grow. If you’ve still got empty dirt in your plot, this is your moment! There is a greenhouse fundraiser starting this week to help you out. More details follow below. For a full list of what do in the garden in June we bring you your monthly installment of the Gardening in LA Blog.
OVF Announcements:
June 15- California Reopens! What Does it Mean for OVF?
Great question! We wish we had an answer for you. Ocean View Farms has to follow whatever recommendations Los Angeles Parks and Recreation put forth. The Parks and Recreation rules are why garden members and their guests are still required to wear masks while inside the garden. Unfortunately, Parks and Recreation have been very slow to publicly announce their reopening plan. As soon as we have information as to how OVF will be affected by the changing rules and regulations, we will certainly let you know. In the meantime, the Los Angeles Times has a good overview of which restrictions we do know will be lifted on June 15th.
Workdays and Meetings After June 15th
In anticipation of the loosening restrictions post June 15th, the OVF board has made the decision to move the first June workday to Saturday, June 19th. We’re hoping to be able to have our first potluck and general meeting in over a year following the work day. Once again, we will make sure to send out an email confirming these events as soon as we have confirmation from Parks and Recreation.
Greenhouse Fundraiser
The June greenhouse fundraiser will be held June 3rd-6th from 10:00am-noon. There are so many goodies during this sale it’s hard to keep track. There will be six different varieties of basil available for sale, three different varieties of eggplant, four varieties of pepper, three varieties of squash, three varieties of tomato and two varieties of zinnia. There will also be bush beans, cantaloupe, cucumbers and summer lettuce available for purchase.
At some point all gardeners have had to learn the difference between summer and winter squash. Many a new gardener were shocked to find that the butternut squash and pumpkins they wanted to grow were not supposed to be started in cool weather. Summer squash and winter squash have the same general growing season, which is NOW. Plant squash now for harvest this summer and fall. Summer squash, like zucchini, get harvested fast (and often frequently). Winter squash, like pumpkins, tend to grow slower and stay on the vine longer often into the fall. All squash plants like the heat and dryness of the summer to grow. Winter squash like butternut squash, delicata, spaghetti, acorn and pumpkins are named because their thick skin allows them to be stored all winter long. Before storing, winter squash must be cured. Fun fact! Some squash like tromboncino are harvested both as summer and winter squash. Some tromboncino squash are picked young and eaten like zucchini while others can be left on the vine until their skin hardens to store for the winter. The greenhouse fundraiser has some lovely summer and winter squash available for sale. One the summer squash front, there is the beautiful, two-toned zephyr squash. Zephyrs are yellow and green and prepared like zucchini. Yellow scallop are a prolific patty pan squash. They are especially delicious when picked small but can be left on the vine until they are around 6 inches across without suffering. For winter squash, the greenhouse fundraiser will feature a butterscotch butternut. This is a small and, as its name suggests, extra sweet variety of butternut squash. Definitely a fun addition to your dinner table whether you chose to eat it fresh off the vine or cured and stored for a rainy day.The June greenhouse fundraiser will be held June 3rd-6th from 10:00am-noon. There are so many goodies during this sale it’s hard to keep track. There will be six different varieties of basil available for sale, three different varieties of eggplant, four varieties of pepper, three varieties of squash, three varieties of tomato and two varieties of zinnia. There will also be bush beans, cantaloupe, cucumbers and summer lettuce available for purchase.
At some point all gardeners have had to learn the difference between summer and winter squash. Many a new gardener were shocked to find that the butternut squash and pumpkins they wanted to grow were not supposed to be started in cool weather. Summer squash and winter squash have the same general growing season, which is NOW. Plant squash now for harvest this summer and fall. Summer squash, like zucchini, get harvested fast (and often frequently). Winter squash, like pumpkins, tend to grow slower and stay on the vine longer often into the fall. All squash plants like the heat and dryness of the summer to grow. Winter squash like butternut squash, delicata, spaghetti, acorn and pumpkins are named because their thick skin allows them to be stored all winter long. Before storing, winter squash must be cured. Fun fact! Some squash like tromboncino are harvested both as summer and winter squash. Some tromboncino squash are picked young and eaten like zucchini while others can be left on the vine until their skin hardens to store for the winter. The greenhouse fundraiser has some lovely summer and winter squash available for sale. One the summer squash front, there is the beautiful, two-toned zephyr squash. Zephyrs are yellow and green and prepared like zucchini. Yellow scallop are a prolific patty pan squash. They are especially delicious when picked small but can be left on the vine until they are around 6 inches across without suffering. For winter squash, the greenhouse fundraiser will feature a butterscotch butternut. This is a small and, as its name suggests, extra sweet variety of butternut squash. Definitely a fun addition to your dinner table whether you chose to eat it fresh off the vine or cured and stored for a rainy day.
Help Needed
OVF is looking for a garden member who is also a CPA and can help OVF file their taxes in the future. Community service hours will be allocated for the task.
Meeting Minutes Are Always Online
Thanks to Secretary Rena Sunshine, you can always read a full summary of the meeting notes from the board and general meetings. To find the meeting notes, log into your OVF Account. On the menu on the left, click the link “view meeting minutes.” It’s a great way to stay on top of everything happening at OVF.
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!