Luscher Farm

 

June 2013  

 

Ribbon

Hi Community Gardeners!

 

I hope you enjoy receiving these monthly newsletters. If you do not want to receive these anymore, please feel free to click "unsubscribe" at the top of this email or on the bottom where it says "Safe Unsubscribe."

 

There is a joy in planting a seed and watching it grow into something for the family table.  Share this with others-bring along the grandchildren, the neighbor's kids or some of the people you share your garden produce with so they see an example of "do it yourself" gardening.  You may get them interested in discovering how much fun it is.

 

Karen Davis

Luscher Farm Coordinator
503-638-0376

 

         Red Pot TomatoRed Pot TomatoRed Pot TomatoRed Pot Tomato

TOMATOES HAVE ARRIVED

 

Red Pot Nursery has given the Lake Oswego Community Garden a generous supply of their popular tomatoes again this year.  The tomatoes have arrived at Luscher Farm and are ready for you to stop by and select three plants for your plot.  After two days you may come back and select another two until they are all gone.  Please handle the plants carefully as you select yours and remember that each red pot container needs to be washed and returned so that we will be given tomatoes again next year.  Pinch off the lower leaf branches being careful not to touch the lower stem.  Give them a handful of your Dr. Earth Organic Fertilizer and plant them quite a bit lower in the soil than they were originally planted.

 

Dave and Midge Garrett have donated tomatoes to us for many years and we appreciate their community spirit and their generosity.

 

 

GARDEN ACTIVITIES

  

 


May and June Work Parties

There is one more Work Party this month on Saturday, May 25.

 

In June we will be back to our regular Work Party schedule of the second Saturday of each month.  

Saturday, June 8    

 

All Work Parties are from 10a-12p              Rain or shine

Volunteers are welcome to join us in maintaining the Community Garden

 

 

Good News - Garden Help Is Available For Hire!!

If you need work done in your plot this year you might consider hiring Luscher Farm's Caretaker, Brice Anderson.  Brice is available to do projects you don't want or aren't able to do yourself. You may contact him directly at 503-313-5478 to discuss details.

 

Interested in having your plot rototilled? 

Working up the soil in a plot that hasn't been worked much  for a few years is back breaking work!  Consider bringing in some new soil and having it tilled .  You may bring your own tiller or call Karen at 503-638-0376.  Our caretaker will till overgrown/ weedy plots for $75 or mostly weed free plots for $50.  

 

 

 

CLASSES AT LUSCHER FARM

 

Decorating Your Entry or Patio

Make your home look like it was decorated by a professional.  Instructor Kathy Whitman's clever ideas, photos and examples will give you lots of inspiration.  Plants from nearby Kordell's  Nursery will show you how to make it happen.  You'll be able to create an outdoor showplace setting.
Saturday, June 8       10-11:30a

To register, click here

 

Make a CSA Share Smoothie
Use your fresh produce to create a healthy drink that aids digestion and adds energy to your life.  One green strong smoothie every day can help you lose weight and feel great. Recipes included. 

Thursday, June 20       6-7:30p 

To register , click here   

 

  

Barnyard Chickens

Start with a chick and end up with eggs over easy.  Learn about raising chicks, city regulations, chicken tractors, the right nutrition and the extra benefits of having poultry in you own yard.

Saturday, June 22        10-11:30a 

To register, click here 

 

 

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To register for other classes, click here 

 

Things to do in June
 
  • Bring your lunch and come sit on the new-to-us glider on the farmhouse porch and watch the world go by.  Gardener Dawn Hart just made us a new bench seat cover.
  • Keep up with the weeds. They suck up water and nutrients meant for your vegetables.  These newly planted annuals are short lived and need plenty of both.
  • Plant flowers such as zinnias, alyssum, marigolds, sunflowers and cosmos to attract beneficial insects.
  • Don't worry about squash and cucumber blossoms dropping off early in the spring.  It's natural.  (It's a birds and bees thing- you can ask me about that.)
  • Thin lettuce, onion, radish, spinach, chard, and use in salads.
  • Watch for blossoms on your strawberries.  Then mark your calendar 45 days into the future to remind yourself when you will have berries for your breakfast.  Pick ripe strawberries regularly to avoid fruit-rotting diseases.
Succession Planting
  
There are many ways to plant vegetables to get the most production out of your garden plot.

 

One method is by carefully researching which veggie can be planted when, and as soon as the plant is harvested you plant something else which is seasonally ready to start growing. You will have early spring, summer and fall plants using the same space. 

 

Another method is to plant one third of your beans, for example, then three weeks later plant more of the same beans, and continue as long as that variety is productive.  Using this method allows you to eat your favorite beans over an extended period and not have all of the beans ready at the same time.

 

An old Native American use of space is called the Three Sister Garden in which three vegetables are planted in the same space.  Corn, beans and squash all sharing the same area. The concept is that the corn will grow upright, the beans will cling to the corn and get their sunlight and the squash will cover the ground and keep the weeds down.

 

Another method is to remember that plants mature at different rates. Planting rows of different varieties is an easy way to extend the harvest of corn and peas. For carrots, radishes, and salad greens, you have the option of mixing the seeds of different varieties together and planting them all in the same row.

 

Another successive planting method is to replant at periodic intervals. Sow radishes and spinach once a week; sow beans, beets, carrots, scallions, and salad greens every two weeks; sow cucumbers sow cucumbers and summer squash once a month. Since you can't tell in advance just how warm or cool the season will be, keep planting until seeds stop sprouting well.

 

Still another method for ensuring a successive harvest is to sow seeds of several different varieties so you will get the greatest variety of salad greens over the longest period of time by both mixing different kinds of lettuce seed together and planting the mix every two weeks. We do the same with radishes. When our weather suddenly turns hot (as it does every year), some varieties will run for cover, while others continue supplying us with fresh salads for a few weeks longer.

 

Continue succession planting as the weather warms, replacing spring crops with summer crops and summer crops with fall veggies. Besides extending the harvest, successive planting has an additional advantage - it keeps the soil productive and thereby discourages weeds.  

 
 
I hope you find these monthly newsletters interesting and informational. They are sent out the fourth Thursday of each month. Please tell me if there are topics you would like me to include in future
newsletters.  If you would like to unsubscribe from receiving these newsletters, please click the link "SafeUnsubscribe" found at the bottom of this email.
If you have any comments  or questions you may reach me at luscherfarm@ci.oswego.or.us or 503-638-0376.  
See you in the garden,
Karen
Know your target audience. Who are your most important customers, clients or prospects, and why? Know what is important to them and address their needs. Include a photo to make your message even more appealing.
 
In This Issue
TOMATOES HAVE ARRIVED
Garden Activities
Things To do In June
Succession Planning
Discover Active Living!

To view the Winter/Spring 2013 Catalog, click here. To register for Parks & Recreation programs, please call the registrar 503-675-2549 or visit www.lakeoswegoparks.org
 
 
 
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Red Pot Nursery

 

Terry Cockrell-Tools

         

Eagle Scout Garrett Riggs's Eagle Project

 

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