June 6, 2020

Greetings, fellow gardeners, and welcome to the first newsletter of the Old Tennis Court Farm for this season.

The gardening is well underway, and everyone’s garden is looking great. It was a very slow start this year with all of the cold, wet weather in April and early May, but now things seem to be thriving and growing well! I will periodically be writing this newsletter to share information particular to our garden and general gardening information.

Garden Story

This is our second year as a preserved green space, operating under our umbrella organization, the Neighborhood Garden Trust. We had a lot of success last year with some big projects (tree removal, wall repair) and so far this year we will not need to be financing any large projects. A committee of gardeners did meet over the winter months to craft a new set of Bylaws, & Guidelines, and a seasonal gardening agreement. This project took many hours and Schedules, Rules, Regulations, Responsibilities special thanks and shout outs go to Mark who organized everything and kept us on track, and Mary Ellen, who with her lawyer skills drafted, wrote and rewrote the documents so that they would meet every possible contingency we could think of! Thanks, Mark! Thanks Mary Ellen! Other members of the committee included Bobby and Jenn, Mumina and me, Margaret. We had expected that we would implement the schedules for meetings and work days laid out in our new documents but...covid-19. We will keep you posted as to how we will move forward with expectations as we continue to work within rules for quarantine.

Work to do, work to do

As some of you may remember, we are trying staggered work days as a way to keep up with garden tasks and meet the requirements and guidelines of quarantine. Following this letter, you will receive an announcement about an upcoming work day this Saturday that will include some lighter tasks and some heavy work. As a member of the garden you are required to complete ten hours of community work. If a member of your household is not on the mowing team, work days are a great way to meet your work hours requirement and get to know some of your fellow gardeners. Look for an email with sign up opportunities.

Gardening tips

We’ve noticed that we have a LOT of aphids this year. But fear not! They are easily managed with a simple solution of soap and water. Mix together 1 T of dish soap or castile soap per quart of water in a spray bottle. Spray infested plants early in the morning, paying particular attention to the stems and undersides of leaves where the aphids congregate.

Repeat treatment every 2-3 days until aphids are gone. If they return, repeat!

This is also the time of year where you will see tiny holes in the leaves of your plants.

Eggplants and beets seem to be especially affected. These holes are made by a tiny insect called a flea beetle. They are hard to get rid of, but you can slow them down. The same soap solution you used for aphids works somewhat on flea beetles. You can also sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the plants and on the soil around them. Diatomaceous earth is made of the exoskeletons of fossilized sea animals called diatoms that is ground into a fine powder.

It is abrasive and the tiny sharp particles damage the beetles.

And finally, ...

OTCF is committed to raising vegetables that are donated to the Whosever Gospel Mission and sometimes SHARE. The community plots generate many pounds of vegetables in the summer and require a fair amount of upkeep. If you are interested in being a helper in the community beds on a regular basis, get in touch thru the OTCF email, and I will contact you. Work is especially heavy when we start harvesting regularly. This picture is one week’s delivery from last summer. You can see that there is a lot that needs to be cleaned and tended to before it can be delivered. Additionally, the beds themselves always need maintenance and help with them is definitely appreciated during peak season!

We will call on you directly if you are interested rather than sign-up like a workday, so be sure to include a phone number where you can be reached when you express your interest.

That’s it for now! Feel free to contact us with questions or concerns.

And Happy Gardening!
Margaret for OTCF