Hello Members,

August 7 Work Party: The work party is this Saturday, August 7 from 7:30 – 9:30 AM and the garden will be closed until 9:30 AM for the general membership. Now is a great time to get some hours completed.  4 hours are required by April 30, in order to renew your membership.  As we saw last year, many members ended up having to pay for hours because they left it to the last minute. For everyone’s safety, we will check everyone in at the gate and provide instructions for your assignment in order to keep everyone socially distanced.  Masks are recommended if you are near anyone that is not a direct family member. We have a number of assignments that are important to maintain the infrastructure of the garden – please do your part.

Please let us know if you will be attending by replying to this email so we can plan accordingly.

Further, we do have some permanent assignments available that you could sign up for. These are assignments that take 10 – 30 minutes each week and can simply be added to your regular garden work on your own time. These can be very satisfying endeavors.

We Need Volunteers For These Permanent Assignments:

  • Food Bank deliveries once per week
  • Plumbing repairs as needed
  • Corner maintenance – assigned to a corner for clean up
  • Gazebo flower maintenance

Garden Thefts and Vandalism: We had a long break from reports of theft until yesterday. The blue porta potty was vandalized with feces spread all around inside and it was absolutely disgusting! We went to hose it out and someone had already cleaned it! Several storage boxes were rummaged through and items like packaged gloves, clippers, sprayers, etc. were stolen. This is a reminder to take home any items of value, anything you leave at the garden are at your own risk.

End of Summer / Beginning of Winter Season: By the end of August, gardens will be coming to the end of their Summer seasonal production.  If plants are failing, we strongly recommend removal — even if these areas are vacant for a month.  It is better to remove old rotted crops than to leave them in to increase spread of disease.  In September, consider removing all crops and starting to prep for winter planting.

We hope everyone had a productive summer season — tomatoes are wonderful.  Too bad we could not have our traditional Tomato Tasting at the picnic which had to be cancelled.  Thanks to everyone who donated your 10% to the Food Bank as it was and continues to be greatly needed due to COVID.

For Winter, you should be thinking of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuces, etc.  Look at the Planting Calendar for So California on the lbcg.org website.

Full Garden Membership: The garden is completely full with nearly 30 applicants on the waiting list.  The Membership Chair will be orienting 7 new members to fill recent member resignations.  Clearly, COVID has given people more time as well as concern for available food produce.  Keep in mind that your plots should be kept in good condition as there are others waiting in line to take a plot if yours is found to be poorly maintained.

CMV or Cucumber Mosaic Virus:  Thanks to everyone for following the recommendations to limit the CMV virus.  All of the actions have been very successful.  We will use these recommendations next year in hopes that we as a community can work together towards successful gardening.

Powdery Mildew:  When the fungus begins to take over one of your plants, the mildew that forms is made up of many spores. These spores carry the infection to other plants through the wind. Powdery mildew can slow down the growth of your plant. In some cases, if the infection is severe enough, powdery mildew can kill your plants.

  • Plants infected with powdery mildew look as if they have been dusted with flour.
  • Powdery mildew usually starts off as circular, powdery white spots, which can appear on leaves, stems, and sometimes fruit.
  • Powdery mildew usually covers the upper part of the leaves, but may grow on the undersides as well.
  • Young foliage is most susceptible to damage. Leaves turn yellow and dry out.
  • The fungus might cause some leaves to twist, break, or become disfigured.
  • The leaves, buds, and growing tips will become disfigured as well.

How to Control Powdery Mildew

  • Remove all the infected plant parts and destroy them. Remember, do not compost any infected plant, as the disease can still be spread by the wind and persist in the composted materials.
  • Spray infected plants with fungicides. Effective organic fungicides for treating powdery mildew include sulfur, lime-sulfur, neem oil, potassium bicarbonate and GreenCure – from GreenCoast Hydroponics in Long Beach.

Prevent Powdery Mildew • Choose plants that are resistant or tolerant to powdery mildew. Many mildew-resistant varieties of cucurbits (melons, cucumbers, squash, etc.) have been developed and can be bought from major seed suppliers. • Avoid watering plants from overhead in order to reduce relative humidity. • Selectively prune overcrowded areas to increase air circulation; this also helps to reduce humidity around your plants. • Spray your plants with the fungicides mentioned above according to the directions included with the products. • If you don’t want to use fungicides, try spraying your plants with a bicarbonate solution. • Mix 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 quart of water. Spray plants thoroughly, as the solution will only kill fungus that it comes into contact with.  (Information provided by Fran McFate, 30+ year LBCG gardener)

 

Garden Reviews: All plots will be reviewed on the first Monday of every month with a 2nd review mid month. Please be sure your plot is in compliance and dig out all weeds in the plot and pathways and be sure that there is no overgrowth of plants outside of your plot borders.

Current Plot Issues:

  • Plants growing into pathways
  • Weedy plots and pathways
  • Sunflowers too close to borders
  • Powdery Mildew – remove leaves and see below

 

Girl Scout Tour:  On Sunday June 6, LBCG hosted a tour of our garden, orchard and food bank to Girl Scout Troop #6046. The girls were treated to a lesson on how bananas grow and how to find and pick ripe citrus fruit.  They planted peppers in the food bank while learning how it helps others in the community.  They ended by planting sunflower seeds to take home as a memory of the garden trip.  We got feedback from the troop leader and parents that the event was amazing and more than what they expected.  Thanks to Lonnie Brundage and Barbara Paul for volunteering to do the teaching.  (Submitted by Board Member Elsa Powell)

Happy Gardening!

Kathy and Carol