Luscher Farm

 

August  2013  

 

Ribbon

Hi Community Gardeners!

 

I trust you have marveled as I have every year when that huge growth spurt happens late in the spring.  Plants seem to just sit there and suddenly you realize they are three times larger than the last time you checked.  (Weeds too!)  Gardening season is upon us.  Flowers bloom and are gone in a flash and every day things look different, and you're happy that you decided to plant all those new things. Isn't it fun?

 

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

  

Karen Davis

Luscher Farm Coordinator
503-638-0376
 

 

A thought to consider - Boomers could be the last generation to remember a time when it was considered normal and expected for children to play in the woods and the fields. Reconnecting the young to the natural world could be our greatest, most redemptive cause. Richard Louv

 


  

AUGUST GARDEN ACTIVITIES

                                          

WE'RE GETTING READY FOR OUR 3RD ANNUAL LUSCHER FARM OPEN HOUSE

 

Plans are being made for the interesting and fun event to be held on Saturday, September physical.  I am hoping that I will have a number of gardeners offering their help (and a few tomatoes) for the event. Here's a way to get your hours completed without a lot of hard physical work.  I will need volunteers to talk with people who want to know about the Farm and the Community Garden, someone to organize old fashioned games like the Three Legged Race and the Egg and Spoon Race, count the number of people attending the event.  I would love to have some people donate a few tomatoes for samples for our tomato tasting table and a person to give out the samples, etc.  Give me a call and let me know if you can help.  We want others to discover that Luscher is a fun place to spend some time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUGUST WORK PARTY

This is the chance to be your own boss, or become one!  I will be out of town on this day and will leave a list of chores that need attention.  Experienced gardeners can step up and be the "straw boss" for the day.  Sign in when you arrive for hours worked as usual.  We are back to our regular schedule of the second Saturday of each month for the rest of the gardening season (July through October).  Volunteers are welcome to join us in maintaining the Community Garden.

Saturday, August 10th                  Rain or shine

10a-12p

  

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 to or aren't able to do yourself. You may contact him directly at 503-313-5478 to discuss details.

 

 

 

 

CLASSES AT LUSCHER FARM  

Preserving 101

Capture summer in easy jams, pickles, and preserves. Spend an afternoon in the Farmhouse kitchen and take home delicious preserves and recipes to use for homegrown or market fresh vegetables.  Ages 16+
Saturday, August 22    11a-3p
To register, click here
 

 

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To register for other classes, click here 

 

 

 

THINGS TO DO THIS MONTH

 

  • Keep an eye out for yellow jackets and report any nests to the coordinator.
  • Clean and fertilizer strawberry beds.
  • Support tall flowers and vegetables with stakes to protect them against strong winds.
  • Monitor garden irrigation closely so crops don't dry out.
  • When corn silks appear, the corn will be ready to eat in 17 to 20 days
  • Keep picking those beans to encourage more production.
  • Start planning and planting mid-summer peas and fall crops of cabbage,beets, carrots, and Swiss Card, and broccoli.
  • Check out the scarecrows. Look for "Sneaky Pete. You'll know him when you find him!
  • Pinch out "branches" of your tomatoes that are not growing fruit.  It will improve wind circulation through the plant, let in more sunlight and not waste your plants energy growing unneeded foliage.

                                                                                                                                    

 

Planting A Winter Gardening

Reasons why winter gardening is so easy:

Mother Nature takes care of the watering

  • Weeding is usually not a problem
  • There is empty space in your plot
  • There are fewer pests
  • Truly fresh vegetables are not available in the stores.

Use cold tolerant (winter) varieties of plants. They are slow growing, but are much hardier and have more nutrients. Cole crops for example, when exposed to cooler weather will gather sugars in their tissues to act as anti-freeze and give us a very sweet flavor that only cool season growing brings.

Cole crops: Broccoli; Brussels sprouts; Cabbage; Cauliflower; Kale; Kohlrabi

Legumes: Fava beans; Peas

Root Crops: Beets; Carrots; Parsnips; Radishes

Alliums: Overwintering onions; Specialty onions; Topsetting onions; Multiplier onions; Leek; Garlic

Lettuce: Corn Salad; Swiss Chard; Spinach; Pac Choi; Oriental Greens

 

 

 
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 [email protected] or 503-638-0376.  
See you in the garden,
Karen
In This Issue
August Garden Activities
Things To Do This Month
Planting A Winter Garden
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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Luscher Farm Sponsors and Donors

 

Nancy Sergeant and the

Oswego Garden Club for our 2013 Scarecrows 

 

Boy Scouts of America

for Eagle Svout Projects

 

Community Gardner Cheryl White for the beautiful flowers at our garden's entrance