Garden Resource Days are Moving! | |
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The word is out about SFRPD's Garden Resource Days, hosted by the Community Gardens/Urban Agriculture Program. Our most recent event provided over 300 residents with compost, mulch, seeds, plant starts and gardening information, prompting us to look for a new location that can safely accommodate groups of this size. And we found one!
Where: Overflow Parking Lot at Gleneagles Golf Course, adjacent to the McLaren Bike Park. See maps below or view at this link: New location. A waiting line will form on the north side of the street. Please approach from east to take a right turn into the parking lot.
When: Saturdays, August 20, October 1 and November 12
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Don't forget your buckets!! Compost will be limited to two five-gallon buckets per person.
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Come check out the newly rebuilt community garden at Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center on Saturday, July 16 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Corner of Montana Street and Plymouth Avenue). Help us thank Supervisor Safai, the Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Council, and the San Francisco Parks Alliance for their support with this project, tour the garden, and learn more about the SFRPD Community Gardens Program. | |
Garden for the Environment (GFE)
Get Up! Become a compost educator and regenerative gardening advocate. Apply now for Fall 2022 Get Up!, an intensive three-month program that teaches a cohort of aspiring environmental leaders the fundamentals of regenerative gardening and urban agriculture.
APPLICATIONS DUE: Friday, August 12th, 2022
APPLICANTS NOTIFIED: Friday, August 19th, 2022
COURSE FEE: $400-$550* sliding scale; some partial scholarships available
COURSE DATES: September 10th - December 8th, 2022
COURSE TIMES: Saturdays 10am - 3pm at Garden for the Environment
Eight Thursdays 6:30pm - 9pm online + in person TBD
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Composting Learn how to make your own backyard compost... for FREE! Keep precious organic matter and plant nutrients in your yard and improve your soil.
When: Saturdays (July 9, August 6, September 10, October 1, November 5, December 3;
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Where: In person at Garden for the Environment, 1590 7th Avenue
Registration: GFE Free Compost Workshop
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Beginning Beekeeping Do you want to learn more about beginning beekeeping and what to consider when raising bees in a city? This is the class for you!
When: Sat, July 16, 2022; 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: In person at Garden for the Environment, 1590 7th Avenue
Registration: Beginning beekeeping
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Grow Your Own Food in July/August In this engaging workshop, learn about planning for your winter garden and summer pests and diseases to look out for.
When: Sat, July 16, 2022 or Sat, Aug 13; 10:00 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Where: In person at Garden for the Environment, 1590 7th Avenue
Registration: Grow Your Own Food
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Summer Fruit Tree Pruning Fruit trees require year-round care, and summer pruning is critical to their health. Learn best techniques for it in this workshop!
When: Sat, July 30, 202; 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: In person at Garden for the Environment; 1590 7th Avenue
Registration: Summer Fruit Tree Pruning
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UCCE Master Gardeners
San Mateo Arboretum Society Plant Clinic Come anytime between
11am - 2pm for this walk-in plant clinic. Master Gardeners will be available to answer your questions from general information to advice about specific problems. Bring samples of your problem plants for better diagnosis. If you suspect insect damage, try to include some of the insects so they can be correctly identified.
When: July 10 August 7 September 11 October 2 November 6 (11:00 AM - 2:00 PM)
Where: San Mateo Arboretum Kohl Pumphouse, 101 9th Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401
No registration required.
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US Department of Agriculture/National Agriculture Library | |
A Taste for Maize: More than Popcorn & Corn on the Cob!
Where: online - Join here
When: Tuesday, July 26, 2022, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. EDT
This event is free to attend as well as live-streamed and captioned. The recording will be posted here after the event. If you need an accommodation to attend, please contact by phone [301-504-5755] or email five business days in advance.
About the Event
This is the second webinar in a 3-part series hosted by the National Agricultural Library. Celebrate the gastronomic experience and diverse cultural heritage of maize. Join our chefs as they conduct live recipe demonstrations and share their culinary knowledge.
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Gardening Tips from your
UCCE San Francisco Master Gardeners: Adapting Your Garden to Drought
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California continues to suffer from drought conditions and some of our community garden members have been asking about the responsible use of water. The UCCE Master Gardener volunteers for San Mateo and San Francisco Counties have developed a webinar outlining some strategies to reduce the amount of water needed for a bountiful harvest during a drought. Here are a few highlights from that presentation:
- Fill your plot. With more plant coverage you use the same amount of water while increasing water holding capacity. Plants cooperate and do not compete for resources. Keeping the soil covered with plants keeps the soil cooler and allows you to grow more vegetables/flowers/herbs keeping your soil alive and healthy. Summer squashes, pumpkins, melons and cucumbers spread beautifully and can cover a lot of your soil.
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- Mulch! Cover bare ground in your yard or garden plot with 2 - 4 inches of mulch. Straw mulch is great for vegetable planting beds because it doesn't mix in and rob nitrogen from the soil as it decomposes. Wood chip mulch is great for ornamental and pollinator garden spaces. Mulching can reduce your water needs by 50%.
- Rethink your planting times. Grow winter crops that rely on rain water or supplemental water from rain barrels. Plant these in late fall and early spring to take advantage of rain. Plant summer crops a little early (April) during a drought to catch the last of spring rains, but watch for frost. Consider using cover crops in the winter.
- Apply water directly to the soil, not onto the plant. Monitor your soil moisture with a meter or better yet, your finger. Dig down a bit to see how far your water is reaching. If it's dry an inch or two from the top and your plants' roots are deeper, water more. If the soil is wet near the roots, you can wait awhile to water again.
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- Hydrozone. Place thirsty plants in one area, drought tolerant plants in another. This allows you to customize your watering use based on the plants' needs.
- Fluctuate your watering through the plants' lifecycles - water seedlings a lot, cut back for growing plants, increase when setting fruit, decrease after fruit set. New plantings have shallow roots and will need more frequent watering.
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Choose drought tolerant plants for your garden. Check out the San Francisco Plant Finder for ideas: sfplantfinder.org
Watch the entire Master Gardner presentation here: Vegetable Gardening in a Time of Drought - May 7, 2022 - YouTube (Please note that dry farming is not applicable to raised beds.)
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July
- Pick up and dispose of any fallen fruit and vegetables to avoid spreading fungus spores and to prevent invasions of pests.
- Deadhead fading flowers to encourage new blooms.
- Prop up and thin fruit from limbs of heavily-laden fruit trees to prevent broken branches.
- Grow herb seedlings in well-draining soil in a location that gets 4-6 hours of sun each day.
- For tomato plants that produce large slicing tomatoes, thinning fruit will encourage plants to produce larger tomatoes. This will also reduce weight on fragile branches.
- Water mature trees deeply, especially during drought.
- To maximize the numbers of blooms on dahlias, cut back the center stems to encourage more lateral branches.
- Cactus and succulents are drought tolerant but many appreciate some water in very hot weather.
- Mulch garden and vegetable beds to protect them from summer heat, reduce watering needs, and keep weeds down.
- If you have whiteflies, control them with sticky traps and increase air circulation by thinning out dense branches and foliage.
- Keep compost turned and moist, adding greens and browns as needed.
- This is the month to fertilize everything in the landscape that is blooming or budding, especially fuchsias, begonias, and roses. If soil is dry, water well before fertilizing.
August
- Maintain drip irrigation systems for most effective water use; check for leaks and missing or broken emitters.
- Continue sowing seeds for cool-season crops including beets, turnips, cabbage, radishes, broccoli, peas, kale, collard, spinach, arugula, and lettuces.
- Water citrus trees in containers once a week or more often in hot weather.
- Remove runners from strawberries to encourage buds for next year and to strengthen the plant.
- Plan your vegetable garden for crop rotation to avoid replanting the same types of plants - especially Tomato and Pepper in the same area for two consecutive seasons. If you don’t have enough room to rotate, carefully remove any “sick” plants from your garden and consider growing disease resistant plant varieties.
- Prune fruit trees to control height, maintain shape, and eliminate suckers.
- This is the month to plant autumn bulbs such as autumn-flowering crocus (Crocus speciosus), meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale), and spider lilies (Lycoris).
- Fertilize azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, and rhododendrons with an acid type fertilizer. Use a soil health-improving organic fertilizer for all plants in bloom.
- Prune berry vines after fruit is harvested.
September
- Plant bulbs for spring colorful fall flowers (pansies, violas, mums, stock, snapdragons, cyclamen) and cool season vegetables: garlic cloves (2 inches deep and 3 to 6 inches apart).
- Fertilize azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons with organic fertilizer for acid-loving plants.
- Pull up veggie plants that are no longer producing; compost only those that show no sign of disease. Add disease free garden waste, grass clippings, pruning material and leaves to compost.
- Begin planting your winter garden to take advantage of the final longer days of fall to support the plant's early growth period. In November the sun drops lower and growth slows considerably.
- Turn compost to keep it moist. Cover before rains start to retain moisture; cover during rainy weather to avoid the pile becoming waterlogged.
- Check drainage systems. Install downspout diverters to direct runoff to landscape trees and plants. Watch for standing water near tree trunks and the root zone of trees; divert all standing water. Refresh the spring application of mulch to bring it to a depth of 2-3 inches.
- Clean and disinfect pruning shears that contact infected plants. Air dry and oil shears immediately after use to avoid corrosion.
- Organize tool shed and inventory supplies for the upcoming season.
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Manage weeds in the rainy season before they flower, using mechanical (non-chemical) methods such as cultivation, hand weeding, or mowing.
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Take all recommended steps to maintain fire safety. Fire danger remains high during dry, hot months.
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