One of the great benefits of our moderate climate here in Montgomery County (when we aren't having record storms, that is) is the ability to grow cool weather crops in both the spring and the fall.  And if you're growing your fall crops from seed, NOW is the time to be putting those seeds in the ground!

Actually, it's a little past time for some crops, although the way this summer is going I wouldn't be surprised if our first frost doesn't come until December. (And of course you can always buy transplants at your nurseries to put in as well.)

But there is still plenty of time to plant seeds for kale. broccoli, lettuce, spinach, beets and other cool weather crops.  An excellent and easy-to-read vegetable planting calendar for fall planting is available from the Master Gardeners "Grow It Eat It" program, and can be viewed here.

All such charts are based on averages, so you can probably push it a little bit and  plant crops a little beyond the recommended dates.  (Interestingly, most nurseries in the area don't even received their fall veggie transplants until September, after recommended planting dates.)  So go for it - but just to make sure you have a successful crop, get those seeds (and/or transplants) in the ground as soon as possible!



Nine Community Associations Join Effort to Overturn School Garden Ban

While our discussion with Montgomery County Public School officials over the ban on school vegetable gardens has just begun (as documented in this Gazette article), nonprofit and civic organizations are continuing to sign on to our public letter to Superintendent Jerry Weast, author of the ban. In fact, just last week nine community associations in the Silver Spring area signed on and sent their own letter to Dr. Weast, as well as cc'ing their County Council representative Valerie Ervin and the Board of Education. 

In their letter they noted: "Although our member civic associations typically express great respect for your leadership and support for MCPS programming, in this case we urge that you reconsider and reverse the ban." They added "we believe this is a multifaceted opportunity for excellence in education that we simply cannot afford to refuse... the benefits [of school vegetable gardens] are mighty and many, the arguments against not based on data, and the real questions about summer maintenance easily managed by building into the plans relationships with the surrounding communities."

Bravo - we couldn't have said it better!  And thank you to the President's Council of Silver Spring Civic Associations and the leadership of the following associations who signed on: Indian Spring Civic Association, Linden Civic Association, North Woodside Civic Association, North Hills Civic Association, Park Hills Civic Association's Executive Committee, South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association, Woodside Civic Association, Woodside Forest Civic Association, Woodside Park Civic Association.

Would your community association or non-profit like to sign on next?  Drop us a line at info@montgomeryvictorygardens.org, or call 301-801-3406.



"Garden to Table" Teaches Food Growing to the Disabled

We have long said that food gardening can produce wonderful learning experiences for everyone, not just school kids, and here's another great example.

Community Support Services, which operates 32 group homes for the developmentally disabled in and around Gaithersburg, is currently running a "Garden to Table" program of food gardening for their clients.  "It started two years ago with just a few pepper plants in front of our office," said Adult Recreation Services Director Craig Roberts.  But after the reception those peppers received during their "Salsa Day," Roberts starting thinking - and expanding.

With the help of our friends at Red Wiggler Community Farm, CSS now runs its Garden to Table program (which includes cooking classes) in two group homes, as well as tending two plots in the City of Rockville's Wooton Mill Park Community Garden.  "Our clients love to participate in the garden process from seed to table," said Roberts, and in addition to enjoying the food they grow, "they feel a great sense of accomplishment."

Our congratulations to everyone at CSS for this great program - and good luck starting gardens in even more of your facilities!  (And thanks to MVGer Lyda for pointing out this great program to us!)



What's Eating Your Garden?  Ask the Pest Detective!

Trying to figure out diseases is killing some of your cherished vegetables?  Or perhaps trying to identify a specific bug, and whether it's a friend or enemy of your garden?

If so, we're happy to present you with yet one more resource, the National Gardening Association's"Pest and Disease Detective."  Filled with excellent pictures (like that of the nefarious striped cucumber beetle at right), descriptions and remedies, it's a great way to diagnose and move toward solving your garden problems.

Of course, we still also depend on the Home and Garden Information Center's Plant Diagnostic site, which also has great pictures and descriptions, but no reason not to have multiple resources at hand.  And if the two of them agree, you know you're on the right track!  (Finding experts that agree - kinda the same way I choose good wine....)



Why Are My Tomatoes Cracking?

As we move through the bountiful harvests of July, August and September, one of the prize products of many home gardeners is their tomato crop.  (As the song goes, there are only two things that money can't buy: true love and home grown tomatoes.  You can read the lyrics here.)

However, many of those tomatoes are suffering from significant cracks in their skin.  Why is that?

According to the HGIC Plant Diagnostic Center, "longitudinal and concentric growth cracking, also called 'rain checking,' is a common weather related condition caused by soil moisture fluctuations, persistent rainfall, and heavy dews." Mature fruit skins toughen and become less resilient, and can crack from internal pressure when they take in lots of water all at once.  (Think of the violent thunderstorms we've been having.) Water from dew that collects on the tops of tomato and pepper fruits can also cause skins to split in thin concentric rings.

The remedy? Regular watering, mulching to make sure the soil stays evenly moist, or harvesting before full ripeness.  And here's one more answer - lots of gazpacho and ratatouille.  Remember, part of organic and sustainable food growing is breaking our addiction to "perfect" looking fruit and veggies, and cracked tomatoes still taste great.  So if all else fails just cut out the cracks - and enjoy!



Whole Foods to Grow It's Own Produce

Here's a hot story from Change.org's Sustainble Food page: Whole Foods recently announced it's intention to start growing fruits and vegetables at the site of one of it's Virginia stores.

According to the article, Whole Foods hopes to cut back on the food miles and carbon emissions by growing food on-site.  They will start by serving their grown-on-site produce in the salad bar, and are seeking county approval to sell it directly to consumers.

Is this innovative move good or bad?  If it can decrease the amount of produce Whole Foods imports from other parts of the country (or planet), that's good.  On the other hand, if it puts extra pressure on local farmers, who are already having a hard enough time of it, that's not so good.  As one commenter put it, "local food that is produced and sold by a national chain is not the same--at least economically--as food grown and sold by local producers."

Whole Foods is also talking about renting their land to local farmers, and that could be a big step in the right direction - goodness knows that's what we need here in Montgomery Country, reasonable, long-term property rental for small farmers.

We shall see how this experiment goes.  But in the meantime it is yet one more sign of things to come - and local food is the way to go. (Thanks to MVGer Erica for sending this story our way!)



Agrochemical Producers Give "Environmental Respect" Award

Here's one from the I-don't-know-whether-to-laugh-or-cry department: it turns out that some of the country's largest petrochemical producers and advocates hand out an annual "Environmental Respect" award.

The award, which is the industry's "highest recognition for environmental stewardship among U.S. agricultural retailers," is sponsored by DuPont and CropLife, an agribusiness association most notable for its attack on First Lady Michelle Obama when she had the audacity to plant an organic White House garden, without the (ahem) benefits of their many chemical inputs.

The DuPont representative said they hoped these "environmental leaders" will inspire others who share the company's "passion and desire to elevate environmental stewardship around the world."

In the words of Mark Kastel of The Cornucopia Institute, though, who shared this story with us, "the profiled marketer of agricultural chemicals that won this award might very well be better than the average farm supply retailer, and that's good, but that's a pretty small incremental difference when talking about how we produce our food and treat the Earth.  High production agriculture that depends on genetic engineering and poisons to control pests in mono cropping is a house of cards just waiting to collapse.  Awards for legitimate environmental respect should go to the many farmers who have creatively developed systems to produce food in consort with nature rather than trying to dominate it...."

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That's it for this week, everybody! Please help support Montgomery Victory Gardens - click here to make a 100% tax-deductible contribution online!

And don't forget to send us your feedback and ideas for stories or local food events we can promote, by emailing us at info@montgomeryvictorygardens.org.