An early Harvest....

How wonderful it is to gather fresh grown veggies.

 

 

I thank the First Harvest Community Garden for the opportunity to play in the soil and enjoy the bounty, Thank You!

26 Quick and Tasty Zucchini Recipes

Some wonderful recipes for all that Zucchini you harvest from your garden... 

Yummy, Healthy recipes.

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20509747,00.html

The beds are doing great!

Hello everyone!

I harvested some broccoli and lettuce today, all the beds are growing so nicely and the height and size of the Poppies is something else.    Enjoy the photos...

...

Protect Your Bees

Before getting into the dangers of using insecticides, I offer a list of some flowers that attract bees to your garden.  Of course there are many more, but these are common in our environment and can be nurtured:

Aster, Black-eyed Susan, Currant, Elder Flower,  Goldenrod, Huckleberry, Lupine, Oregon Grape, Purple Coneflower, Penstemon,  Rhododendron, Snowberry, Sunflower,  Lilac, Willow.

Most of you have heard that our bees are in danger.  Their numbers are decreasing rapidly in this technological age, and there are many reasons for it.  A good book to read on the subject is Bee Keeper's Lament  by Hannah Nordhaus.  She tracks the life of bees, and one special beekeeper, through the seasons, to try to understand a world that is foreign to most of us. It is thorough and insightful, and describes the many influences on the lives of bees and their keepers.

Reasons for Colony Collapse are varied, and most are covered in this book.  She does not go deeply into the influence of chemicals, but alludes to their role in damaging the immune systems of bees, weakening them against disease, mites and fungus.  These have been problematic for years, but our bee populations have always recovered…until now.

Recently in our own state, tens of thousand of bees dropped dead when Linden trees on commercial property were sprayed with an insecticide which contains a neoicotinoid.  This is a scientific name that describes a large component of  Bayer Insecticide, used on thousands of acres of our corn crops, and used as a systemic in the flowering plants that nurseries sell us.

The following is from Mother Jones Magazine, by Tom Philpot:

Is Your Garden Pesticide Killing Bees?

—By Tom Philpott

| Tue Jan. 17, 2012 10:00 AM PST

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"Protects for up to 8 weeks..." That's bad news for bees.

For a while now, I've been writing about the threat to honeybee populations from Bayer's neonicotinoid pesticides, which are synthetic derivatives of nicotine that attack insects' nervous systems. Here's last week's post on new USDA-funded research that indicts Bayer's product.

Up to this point, I've been focusing on neonicotinoids used for big industrial crops like corn. Virtually the entire US corn crop—which covers more than 90 million acres, far more than any other crop—is grown with seed treated with Bayer's chemical. Neonicotinoids are what's known as "systemic," meaning they suffuse and "express" themselves in the whole plant when it germinates, including nectar and pollen. That's precisely what makes them so effective at attacking pests—and, unfortunately, "nontarget" species like honeybees and other beneficial insects too.

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A reader recently alerted me to the fact that Bayer isn't just marketing its product to industrial-scale farmers. It's also marketing neonics to consumers and landscapers—meaning that they're much more ubiquitous than even I thought.

Walk into the garden section of any Home Depot or Lowe's, and you're likely to find a product called Bayer 2-1 Systemic Rose and Flower Care, which offers broad-spectrum pest control (i.e., it kills a wide range of insects) and synthetic fertilizer in one convenient product. Take a close look at the label (PDF; see page 2), and you'll find that its one active pesticide ingredient is imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid. "Apply granules to soil around base of plant, sprinkling evenlyin the area under branches," the instructions state. How does the product work? Bayer provides a helpful explanation right on the label:

This product is absorbed by roots and moves through the entire plant. Even new growth is fed and protected against insects for up to 8 weeks. Rain or watering cannot wash off this internal protection!

That's great news for your flower garden—and bad news for honeybees and other benign insects that your flowers might be beckoning with pollen and nectar. In a Q&A on its website, Bayer advises users that "for best results, consistently apply Bayer Advanced 2-In-1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care every 6 weeks during the growing season." (Emphasis added.) Yet more bad news for good insects. (The product is also offered in handy spikes for potted plants.)

The company laces several other consumer products with imidacloprid, too, including its 3-in-1 Shrub Plant Starter, its Complete Insect Killer for Soil and Turf, and its Fruit, Citrus, and Vegetable Insect Control. Bayer can turn your entire lawn and garden into a toxic zone for bees!

Even home gardeners who don't use these products may be subjecting bees and other desirable insects to Bayer's poison. That's because commercial greenhouses and nurseries commonly treat potting soil with it, particularly on ornamental plants, and the plants continue "expressing" imidacloprid for weeks after leaving the store.

While the sheer scale of corn production probably makes it the most common way bees are exposed to imidacloprid and other neonics, garden, landscape, and nursery uses can't be discounted as a factor in declining bee health. In fact, according to Vera Krischik, an entomologist at the University of Minnesota, imidacloprid expresses itself in soil-treated plants like garden flowers at a much higher dose than it does for seed-treated plants like corn. In her research, she found that imidacloprid in nectar from seed-treated plants tend to hover at less than 1 part per billion, while soil-treated plants produced nectar that contains as much as 40 parts per billion.

And the casualties aren't just honeybees. Krischik's research shows that beneficial insects (i.e., insects that eat plant-eating insects) like lady bugs and green lacewings are damaged by exposure to imidacloprid-treated plants.

I have an interview with Krischik scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and will report back. I want to learn more about the non-Big Ag uses of Bayer's chemicals and what impact they're having on pollinators and other nonpest insects.

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I found these to be of interest and helpful, thought I would share the information. Happy gardening!

Spring is Here…Where are the Bees?

Grab Your Camera…Bumble Bee Watch is Here!

New web site is launched to help identify and protect bumble bees

 

PORTLAND, Ore---A new web site launched today allows people to be directly involved in protecting bumble bees throughout North America. BumbleBeeWatch.org enables people to connect with experts and other enthusiasts, and help build a comprehensive picture of where bumble bees are thriving and where they need help.

 

Furry, hardworking bumble bees are essential to wildlands, gardens, and farms, helping to deliver food security for both people and wildlife alike. Alarmingly, many recent reports suggest that we may be losing their familiar buzz from our summer landscapes due to habitat loss, insecticide use, disease, and climate change. More information is needed to determine their conservation status, and that process demands a continent-wide collaborative effort.

 

“We have an amazing community of citizen scientists who have helped us follow a handful of bee species,” said Rich Hatfield, the Xerces Society conservation biologist who coordinated creation of Bumble Bee Watch. “Hopefully this new web site will generate greater awareness and allow us to draw more people into this community.”

 

A smartphone or simple digital camera (and a computer) is all that’s needed to start exploring BumbleBeeWatch.org. In addition to uploading photos of bumble bees, individuals can identify the bumble bees, learn about their ecology, and connect with bumble bee experts and other citizen scientists engaged in pollinator conservation.

 

The information gathered will help locate rare or endangered populations, as well as track species whose status is less well known. "Bumble Bee Watch will greatly benefit our at-risk pollinator conservation program," said Sheila Colla, project leader for Wildlife Preservation Canada’s At-Risk Pollinator Project, a partner in Bumble Bee Watch. “By locating rare bumble bee populations and collecting information on their ecological requirements, citizen scientists can help conserve these important insects.”

 

Bumble Bee Watch is a partnership between the Xerces Society, Wildlife Preservation Canada, the University of Ottawa, theMontreal Insectarium, the Natural History Museum in London, and BeeSpotter.

 

“Bumble Bee Watch unites scientists and conservation organizations in Canada and the United States in the study and protection of North America’s bumble bees,” said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society. “We are grateful for the hard work and commitment that our partners have made. This web site will transform the way bumble bees are viewed and protected.”

 

 

###

 

 

For More Information

 

Learn more about BumbleBeeWatch.org:

·         Watch this video to learn how to contribute your photos, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Kp3Awf2MQ

·         Learn how to take helpful photos of bumble bees, www.bumblebeewatch.org/contents/photo-tips/  

·         Meet the Bumble Bee Watch partners, http://bumblebeewatch.org/contents/about/ 

 

Watch the Bumble Bee Watch trailer video on YouTube, http://youtu.be/vTLKMAtXGnA

 

Read more about bumble bees at risk on Xerces’ Project Bumble Bee web page, http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/

 

--

Florence First Harvest Guidelines

Florence First Harvest Community Garden Program 

Policies and Procedures

Registration Information

Garden Managers: 

15th Street Garden: Gayle Sisson, email: gaylesisson1@gmail.com, 541 999-1172

3rd Street Garden: Joanna Henderson, email: joannabh86@yahoo.com, 541 999-2550

New Gardeners

Florence First Harvest sponsors a community garden on land donated by the 

Methodist Church, on Kingwood Street in Florence, originally sponsored and 

supported by Rotary. We also sponsor a new garden on the old Senior Center

site on 15th Street. Both are within City limits. We are now a self-supporting 

entity made up of the garden members of both sites.

Unlike other community gardens there are no expensive user fees. However,

we do have maintenance expenses and yearly water, soil and fertilizer needs. 

We are dependent on the commitment of our gardeners to keep these gardens in operation.

To do this, we suggest a donation of $15.- $20 per box, per year to help with 

these expenses, and encourage those who can't participate financially to commit 

to helping with composting and maintenance.

New box assignments will be given on a “first come, first served” basis. 

Please email your intention to acquire gardening space, along with your questions to
joannabh86@yahoo.com, for the Methodist Church Garden. 

Those who are interested in renewing or signing up for the first time at the 15th Street garden, 
please email Gayle Sisson at gaylesisson1@gmail.com. We will need your contact information: 
name, address, phone number, and email address.

The last day to apply for a new box is February 15th. Gardeners will be notified 

of assignments by telephone or email, and must respond by February 28th. If you 

miss the deadline, the assignment may be given to someone else.

The waiting list is effective for the current year only. Gardeners will not be assigned 

more than two boxes, and the second box only when the waiting list has been satisfied.

Those who have not been assigned a box can reapply the next year, or stay in contact 

with garden managers for vacancies.

If this is your first gardening season, you should expect to commit time and energy

to your box(es) from May to August. Many gardeners continue to plant and harvest 

through fall and winter, depending on the weather and kind of crop. For those who 

don't, we recommend that nitrogen fixing crops such as clover or fava beans be 

planted for natural fertilizer for the coming spring. 

The 3rd street garden is run according to organic guidelines. We ask that in such 

close proximities, gardeners be aware of disease and pest problems which can impact 

all those who garden around you. For example, we discourage the growth of large 

squash plants that spread powdery mildew to other garden boxes.

Help with organic methods of containment are available on-line, on this blog, and from the garden managers. By faithfully maintaining your box, you will protect it and your neighbors.

Returning Gardeners

All current box holders for the Methodist Church garden should contact Joanna Henderson by January 31st to renew box assignments , and make sure she has your current contact information.

All current box holders for the 15th Street site should contact Gayle Sisson by January 31st to renew box assignments. 

Otherwise, call to make arrangements. If a gardener does not respond by this date,

and has not made other arrangements, the box or boxes will be considered vacant 

and may be assigned to a new gardener.

____________________________________________________________________

The Community Garden is a public facility and one gardener’s actions may impact another’s use and enjoyment of the site. In order to effectively manage and protect the community resource and assure that everyone can enjoy the community gardening experience, please regard the following.

Guidelines

In view of the community garden’s size, our emphasis should be placed

on helping each other and respecting each others gardening efforts. Let’s fulfill

the garden’s function as a community project as well as serving individual box holders:

¶ If you bring a dog into the garden, please keep it under control and remove any

dog waste. Please keep males from “marking” boxes.

¶ Please be conscientious about water usage. At the Methodist Church,15th Street gardeners pay the City for water. So please be conscientious and turn all faucets off after use. 

Please roll up hoses. They are a danger for tripping if left out on the ground.

Our climate appears to be changing and it will be difficult to determine water needs

from one season to the next. As a rule, after seeds and sprouts are established, water

deeply two or three times a week during the growing season. Deep watering less

frequently promotes deep rooting and drought tolerance while saving water.

¶ Please respect the rights and privacy of neighbors of the garden and be considerate

when driving or parking in the vicinity.

¶ If you plant sprawling vegetation,  please plant it toward the center of your box.

¶ You are responsible for registering with garden managers each spring for a box assignment or re-assignment. Having contact information on file will ensure that you are notified of box availabilities and important notices in a timely manner.

¶ If you wish to transfer your box to another gardener for any reason, first contact the

garden manager. Gardeners using another gardener’s box for the growing

season may not expect to do so the next season, unless they or the original applicant has

been reassigned to the box. Abandoned boxes will be re-assigned to a registered gardener.

¶ If you have not expressed intent, or initiated gardening activities by May 31, please

notify Joanna Henderson or Gayle Sisson. In an effort to keep all boxes useful, we will 

re-assign any vacant boxes in June.

¶ Because boxes are not always used by the same gardener every year, the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides is prohibited in the 3rd Street garden. Talk to Gayle Sisson about rules in the 15th Street garden. In the spring there is often an opportunity to purchase organic fertilizer at cost, plus gas. Garden managers will assist those who don’t have access to the internet for information on organic remedies. If information becomes available regarding certain pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, the Community Garden program will evaluate it on a case by case basis.

¶ Gardeners may not harvest flowers or produce from another plot without permission.

¶ The original intention of the garden was to provide space for people to grow their own

food, and pass the excess on to those in need and Food Share.

Growing produce or flowers for sale will result in termination of the assignment.

¶ Unless you consistently organically spray your squash plants in the spring, planting them is discouraged. They overflow into walkways and are subject to powdery mildew, a bacillus that migrates to other garden boxes and destroys plants and their fruits. Once in the soil it cannot be removed, and the next gardener will have diseased plants.

If you do have diseased plants, they must be disposed of in a special trash bag, and not be

put into the compost.

¶ Your garden box must be structurally maintained and be kept free of grass and 

weeds.

¶ All trash, and diseased plant material must be removed from the site.

Keep common areas and walkways clear of garden refuse, hoses, weeds, or other

materials. Use compost bins for disposal of non-diseased garden waste. Contact 

garden managers for rules regarding compost management.

¶ You may not expand your garden into an adjacent box or common area without

permission from garden managers.

If you have gardening problems of any kind, please contact one of the

garden managers. See the beginning of this blog for contact information.

If you experience vandalism or theft, please report it to the

non-emergency police line.

By mid-November, your garden should be winterized (or planted).

All dead garden vegetation must be removed from the box and put 

in the compost bin, or turned in for winter composting. Growing cover

crops is preferred if you are not growing winter vegetables. If you

do neither, cover your box with plastic or leaves to discourage weed

growth through the winter. All miscellaneous items must be removed

from the garden by mid-November. After, that, they will be considered

trash and be removed by the Community Garden program.

                                   Good gardening!