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Garden Meeting, March 8 2020, Kerrisdale Community Centre

Garden Work Party, March 8 2020, Kerrisdale Community Garden

Ted’s Clematis

by Stephen:

Ted was until recently a gardener with us. He made many lasting contributions, one of which was persevering with the growing of clematis plants.

Ted made the shelters over the gates and planted the clematis to eventually cover them. This is the first year that they have successfully flowered and so are well-established: finally is the word!

Ted also built the rustic table from scrap wood from old plot sidings.

Borage – The gaudy self-seeding show-off!

by Stephen:

This is borage (borago officinalis) which has just made its usual attention-seeking entrance to our garden. The brilliant blue flowers are edible and make a striking addition when sprinkled onto a salad just before serving. My photo doesn’t do justice to the brightness of this plant.

The leaves can also be added to salads, imparting a cucumber-like taste. They are bit rough and hairy, so be prudent. If you are from Frankfurt, you might have come across borage being used in the local Green Sauce delicacy.

Borage springs up every year and there will be plenty more appearances of this cheerful herb.

 

Kirsten’s Zucchini Muffins

Kirsten has shared a photo and good news about her nascent muffin-making skills. This has truly been a year of the zucchini! Kirsten writes:

My zucchini muffins are no longer theory.  First batch ever.  Just out of the oven, with cranberries.  Yes, I’m bragging like hell.  Next batch will be with turmeric and dill weed.  Never dreamed I would become so domestic in my old age.  Love it.  Now I just have to learn how to plant seeds intelligently….ha ha.

If you are including both walnuts and dried fruit, you will likely have more batter than is needed for 12 muffins. I got about 14 muffins from this batch, and that included filling the muffin cups up as far as they could possibly go (above the surface of the muffin tin).

Ingredients

• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Method

You don’t need a mixer for this recipe.

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter.

2 In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. (Do not over-mix!) Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

3 Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely.

4 Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 20 to 25 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done.

Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

photo: Kirsten Ebsen

Did you know?

By Stephen

Some of us will soon have little gaps in our plots as earlier plantings ‘age out’ (as social service providers like to say). Two things that I have recently learned:

1. If your beans are finished, don’t just pull out the whole plant. Cut the stem just above the root. And leave the roots in the soil. Beans are nitrogen fixers, and the nitrogen they have collected is in tiny but visible nodules on the roots. If you leave the roots in your soil, that nitrogen becomes available for next year’s crop. The roots can just rot in the soil. There is a clearly written article about nitrogen fixation here.

2. For the bare spots, consider radishes. They are easy to grow and are usually ready within 25 days or so. That peppery taste is great for spicing up salads.

Potluck Party

By Stephen:

Krysta kindly organized a potluck party for Wednesday 26 July and we had a good time. Beautiful surroundings (cultivated by us), lovely food and warm weather made it an evening of pleasant companionship. This is our garden to use so please don’t hesitate to organize more or events have your own party. That is what Ted`s table is for! Thanks to Kirsten for the photo.

 

Doctor, doctor am I normal?

By Stephen:

Several of us are growing zucchini this year. And why not? They are easy to grow and rather more productive than other vegetables. My (Stephen’s) exuberant zucchini have developed some leaf blotches of late, as shown on the photo.

This is apparently nothing to worry about and just a normal part of the ageing process. The ageing of the zucchini plant, not the gardener!

Newcomer on the block

By Stephen.

The photo show Clematis Armandii, or ‘Apple Blossom’. Our fellow garden member, Ted, bought and planted Apple Blossom earlier this week. He enriched the soil with lime, bone meal, mushroom manure, and sea soil; also sifted the soil, and removed a lot of rocks, which he suspects were preventing the accumulation of moisture and nutrients. He also dug in a pot weighted with rocks and gravel that will help concentrate watering and prevent the newcomer’s roots from drying out.

It was Ted who made the trellises above our gates and of course the rustic table. We are looking forward to the clematis growing quickly and adorning those trellises. Thanks Ted!

Work Party

By Stephen:

Thanks to 23 April Work party…huge accomplishment.

The work party on 23 April got a lot done, so thanks to all those who helped. The central part of the North Garden has been seeded with turnips, beets and Swiss Chard for helping the less fortunate. Some of weaker fruit bushes have been firmly staked out, and Kirsten has eradicated any hint of blackberry bushes.

Jamie and Marcel ruthlessly purged the shed of unwanted bits and pieces, and Brenda planned and sowed our herb garden. Clea has kept the weeds at bay for another week or so! I know that I haven’t mentioned everybody who helped, please forgive me for that.

The photo shows a harvest of our rhubarb which is going today to the kitchen at the Seniors Centre.

Soil Temperature

By Stephen:

Who’s to know what weather to expect? It makes the instructions on seed packets almost useless: ‘plant indoors three weeks before last frost’ etc.  A much better method is to measure the soil temperature. I came across this technique here.

The garden possesses a soil thermometer, which was unearthed during the last shed clear out. It is designed for composting measurements but no reason why regular soil cannot be measured. It looks like one of those tools for checking whether the meat is done, but with a very long spike (is your dinosaur haunch ready?)

The photograph shows Christine M measuring the temperature at her plot, which was 58 F for the record.

The thermometer is currently in a bucket at the back of the shed, behind the left-hand door.