Hello Members,
With the little bit of rain we’ve had, many gardens are full of weeds. Please make sure to get out all the weeds to make room for new planting which has to be complete by May 1.
Upcoming Work Party — Saturday, May 3rd: We have a lot of maintenance projects so if you are able to attend and complete at least 2 of your required Community Service hours for next year, you will be ahead of the game. Assignments will be given at the gazebo from 7:15 to 7:30am and the work party concludes at 9:30am.
Please let us know if you will be attending by replying to this email so we can plan accordingly.
Our garden year begins on May 1, 2025 and all plots start fresh with 4 hours required by April 30, 2026 and 2 of those hours are required to be completed by Dec. 31. Don’t procrastinate — come Saturday! As a reminder the garden will be closed Saturday morning to the general membership during the work party and will open at 9:30am.
May 1st summer planting deadline: May 1st is the deadline for summer planting, we will be walking the entire garden for compliance. Remember the 4 foot rule, all Corn, Artichokes, Asparagus and Sunflowers must be planted at least 4 feet in from the border boards.
Broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower: Cole crops have exceeded their time in the gardens as they attract aphids and disease. They are required to be removed from all plots by May 1st.
Orchard Work Parties: The Orchard work parties are every Tuesday from 5 to 7pm and are by appointment only by signing up at the Gazebo. Also, individual appointments are available by contacting Alan Coles at: lbcg.orchard@gmail.com. Your help is greatly appreciated and you will get to learn about our orchard.
Pathways: When mulching pathways, please weed pathways first. DON’T just mulch over weeds – you will have a bigger problem in the future and the mulch level in the paths will go over the border boards which is not allowed. Weed barriers under the chips can help long term as well but they need to be dug down 4 inches or you will create a tripping hazard if just under mulch – Please do not use cardboard, it’s a slipping issue. The best is a cloth that you can purchase called weed barrier or weed blocker fabric.
Fertilizer: The choice of fertilizer you use can have a long-lasting impact on your plants. It can take many years to reduce excessive levels of metals like zinc and aluminum. Very high amounts of potassium, an important nutrient, can make it difficult for plants to uptake other nutrients. That is why it is important to only add the nutrients you really need according to soil tests performed by Wallace Labs: compost/manure, gypsum and some nitrogen (blood meal, feather meal, fish emulsion or calcium nitrate are recommended). Avoid compound fertilizers with multiple ingredients such as Miracle Gro. Special “vegetable” or “tomato” fertilizers are marketing ploys to get you to buy something you don’t need. See our full recommendations at: https://lbcg.org/amending-your-garden/. Questions? lbcg.orchard@gmail.com.
Garden Reviews: All plots will be reviewed at the first of the month,.with a recheck after 10 days. Any board member can report a garden any time throughout the month. Reminders and correction notices will be emailed as needed, by the President of the board and Row monitors. Please check your spam folder for their email and mine lbcga.president@gmail.com. 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.
Picnic and BBQ: Save the Date – Saturday July 26, 2025. More details are coming up soon.
Thank You for the Food Bank Contributions: The amount of produce contributed to the Long Beach Mission and other charities . was amazing this year. Those of you who contributed your 10% and more should feel very good about this at a time when so many are struggling.
Happy Gardening!
Greg Marcotte