Blog Archives

July Harvest Totals

7/28/2016

JULY TOTAL: 101 POUNDS

WEEK TEN July 26 & 28, 2016

5 1/2 lbs green and yellow beans
5 1/2 lbs cucumbers
10 lbs zucchini
8 lbs chard
7 lbs beets
4 lbs lettuce
7 lbs kale
2 lb peppers (sweet and hot)
1 lb mixed herbs (basil, thyme, cilantro)

50 pounds

WEEK NINE: July 19 & 21, 2016

5 lbs kale
2 lbs beans
2 1/2 lbs chard
6 lbs mixed veggies (zucchini, squash, cukes, peppers)
5 1/2 lbs beets
2 lbs lettuce
1 1/2 lbs mixed herbs (a lot of basil) and garlic scapes

24 pounds

WEEK EIGHT: July 14, 2016

2 lbs Swiss chard
2 lbs kale
3 1/2 lbs mixed vegetables (beans, peas, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers)
4 1/2 lbs beets (!)

13 pounds

WEEK SEVEN: July 7, 2016

7 lbs kale
4 lbs Swiss chard
2 lbs assorted vegetables (zucchini, peas)
Mixed herbs

14 pounds

Counting the pounds at each harvest is fun, but we'd rather pick the squashes and zucchinis when they are small - they just taste better that way.

What's Growing On: Community Garden Update

7/18/2016

This is our second season of growing for the community, and we're pleased to report that thanks to an abundance of great compost, helping hands, and an earlier start, we were able to harvest before Memorial Day, a full month earlier than last season.

We've had a few ups and downs along the way: we had just spread about six yards of locally made 'surf'n'turf" compost, laid down some paths, and planted our early cold crops of spinach, kale, and peas...then oh, no! Snow! A few weeks later, we were celebrating the awesomeness of our spinach and lettuce harvests. What do they say about pride? Just as we were anticipating a second crop of lettuce, a wiley invader snuck in and ate it all up. All of it. Every. Single. Head.

But on the whole things have been good in the garden. There are more herbs, which do a lot to wake up a meal that starts from a box or can. We've added new crops like bok choy, leeks, and garlic - the scapes are fantastically artful as well as tasty. It's now mid-July, and we're at week 9 with a dozen or so harvest days. Cold crops like spinach are giving way to summer treats like basil, peppers, and just-picked-can't-getter-better-than-that green beans. There is joy, too. Lots of joy.

The Garden is Growing for Maine Harvest for Hunger

7/1/2016

Maine Harvest for Hunger is a program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension that encourages gardeners to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to hungry people in Maine. The Scarborough Community Garden weighs our harvests each week and reports the totals to Maine Harvest to Hunger. Did you know: Maine ranks 17th in the nation and 1st in New England in terms of food insecurity (hunger). 24%, or nearly 1 in every 4 children, are food insecure.

To learn more about Harvest for Hunger, click here!

We think Master Gardeners are awesome -- they helped us get our garden ready to plant last year, and this year awarded a seed grant to help us keep growing. Thank you!

Click here to learn more about hunger in Maine, in our communities, and why we grow for the Scarborough Food Pantry. There is a great link to PBS videos, including "Portraits of America's Hungry".