August is one of my favorite months in the garden! Despite the hot weather, working outside is such a delight because of all the crops that are just begging to be harvested. We made salad this week with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes from the garden. Delicious! We are also working on a large […]
Gardening is an activity that can produce numerous health benefits, and for many people, stress relief is a big one. The process of gardening provides great physical activity and brain stimulation as well, but if you are looking for a way to reduce your stress levels, working on a home garden or urban garden may […]
July is a busy month for us in the garden! We transplanted some of our grains into the bed – corn and sorghum – and they are both thriving. We interplanted beans between the corn and sorghum stalks to add nitrogen to the soil while providing ground cover, and the stalks will give the beans a […]
June is a busy month for the summer sustainable garden. Many of our favorite summer crops are heavy feeders and divas when it comes to soil tilthe. So, we double dig their beds- this includes zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, melons, peppers, and the like. This month we’ve planted a number of these crops, and also […]
This month we finally planted our tomatoes (everyone’s favorite!). In one bed we put in Cherry Chadwicks to save for seed to sell as a fund raiser. In the other bed we put in rich tasting full size Brandywines and Cherokee Purples. We will check to see if the pollen of the flowers of these […]
Now is the busiest time for planting our ‘flagship’ veggies- all of the ones we get excited about picking up at the farmers markets, getting in our CSA boxes, or best of all, ripening on the vine in our very own gardens! At Common Ground Garden the grains are maturing and beginning to harden (rye […]
The last two months have been really busy keeping up with our tight early planting schedule. We planted crops with our youth groups: potatoes, favas, peas. With our adult volunteers, we started tons of flats: quinoa, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, basil, and planted cilantro and dill directly into a bed. We transplanted out many early […]
As the New Year begins at CGG, we take valuable time to reflect on both where we have been and where we want to go. Last semester showed a slowdown in our youth garden classes, but this spring they are beginning again with new fervor. We have doubled the number of middle school classes we […]
Over all, January is a time for some rest and recuperation- but, by mid month we are picking up the pace a little. The hardy rutabaga seedlings we started in the green house are ready to be planted out at this Wednesday’s volunteer day. We have also started flats of onions and fava beans. Soon, […]
On Veteran’s Day, a wonderful group of 25 girl scouts, aged between 10-16, came to the garden and helped us to plant around 30 native plants in a new ‘native bed’ at the back of the garden. They donated the funds we used to purchase the plants (from Yerba Buena Nursery in Half Moon Bay). […]