Getting Everyone on the Blog

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Pinching off tomato plant suckers



Small suckers on the tomato plant, as seen on Plot #36, should be removed to give the main stem more strength.  These suckers become very long and weedy, sapping energy from the main stem of tomatoes.

 The small branches that grow between the main stem and the leaf branch on a tomato are called suckers.  These can easily be pinched off, giving the main stem more growth energy.  The suckers can be planted in the soil and will develop into a new tomato plant!


Sucker is removed and can be planted to grow into a new plant.

Thanks to Eileen on #36 for being a very helpful gardening model!

Making Sure Everyone Can Blog!

If you have not received an invitation to the blog, I think I am going to leave a sign-up sheet at the garden tool area in the glass box. By Saturday, I should have it up, and people can sign-in there.

Gardening Ideas

A couple of us were talking about keeping gardening tool necessities in a bucket, basket or bag handy in the car trunk, so it is more convenient to just stop by and dig into your garden. Here are a couple of nice garden "caddies" I saw. While these are pretty spiffy, you can certainly make your own quite simply! I use a basket, and as harvest time approaches, I put a couple of plastic "Publix" bags to use for carrying crops...a bunch of tomatoes can get pretty unwieldy to carry!



Happy
Digging!

Active Saturday Gardeners

The rain this week really gave every one's garden a boost in growth!  A good group of gardeners were out today working their plots.  Pat brought some new plants over, and was busy adding bamboo, turning soil, and doing general maintenance on the last available plots.  A couple of the ladies helped spread the bags of leaves in the pathways that Pat brought over.  As the leaves settle, they should help keep the weeds down as Spring progresses into Summer.  If you notice weeds popping up in the pathway around your garden, please pull them or dig them out, as they WILL encroach on the all the gardens before you can say "Summer is here"!
So, start pulling little weeds now, before they cover your plot.

In a week or so, those that planted romain or other lettuce leaf plants can start taking the outer leaves for your salad!  Be sure to leave the center clump of leaves so the plant can continue to have surface area for photosynthesis!  Outer spinach leaves can also be pinched off for eating.  The plants will continue to grow.




Windchimes on Plot 27 will be
enjoyed by everyone!

 


Hoping her blessings will
find their way to my garden, also!

 Plots 26 and 27 added some nice touches to their trellises and plot 19 has a delightful Guardian Angel for their plot.

Gardens are Planted

Pat Gill helps one of the gardeners.

Yesterday the Port Orange Community Gardens were planted!  There was a great turn-out, and most people got their gardens underway thanks to all the hard work Pat and Pearl contributed by readying the plots and plants over the last few months.  This was the 3rd Annual Planting Day, and with a blessing from Pastor Gary, everyone went to work digging and hoeing.  For some, this was their first year, others were seasoned gardeners with plenty of information and hints on how to get bumper crops from the garden plots.  Pat had hundreds of plants he started in his greenhouses in January, which were free to those that signed up.  Thanks to his superb effort, there were plenty of plants to go around.  There are a couple of plots left, so if you live in the area and would like to plant a garden please email Pat.

Today, everyone's garden looks pretty good.  All the little seedings seem to be beckoning the possible rain today, standing tall and sturdy.