More August farm pictures

                                         (Fennel)

                                         (View from the top tier down)

                                         (Sunflowers)

(Celery)

                                      
                                          (Butternut squash)

                                                   (Yellow crook necked squash)

More August farm pictures

                                          (Backyard at Iyana house )

                                         (Japanese eggplant)

                                                   (Spicy mustard)

                                         (?Wasp or hornet? eating spearmint)

                                         (2 bees eating a sunflower)

                                         (Melon)

                                                   (Cucumber)

                                                   (Another melon)

                                         (Cubanelle pepper)

                                         (Butterfly on a sunflower)

August farm pictures

                                         (E. 111 St. garden)

                                                    (Kohlrabi)

                                          (Rose)

                                         (Black-eyed Susan)

                                         (Eggplant)

                                         (Johnny in front of the fig tree)

                                                   (Inside the rotating compost bin)

                                         (A swiss chard leaf)

                                         (Corn)

                                                   (Inside another compost bin)

July

We continue to harvest and to plant new seeds. This month we harvested collards, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula, chard, purple bush beans, turnips, basil, kale, zucchini, yellow squash, beefsteak tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, mustard greens, beets, cubanelle peppers, carrots, plum tomatoes, spicy mustard and lettuce. We planted Congo watermelons, yellow squash, cucumbers, flaco bush beans, birds nest gourd, soybeans, Turkish orange eggplant and holy basil. We finished watering E. 111 St., W. 108 St. and Morris Ave. with the activated E.M. As the tomatoes, squash and cucumbers grow and the fruit/vegetable gets heavier we stake and re-stake them and build trellises to support the weight of the plant and also to prevent the vegetable from lying on the ground. The barley and wheat got damaged so we had to pull them up. We pulled up the cilantro to save the seeds. As we have in previous seasons, we have been weighing and documenting the amount of produce that we harvest each week. On our most productive day so far this season (7/13/12) we harvested:
Arugula: 6 lbs.
Mustard Greens: .75 lbs.
Swiss Chard: 18.25 lbs.
Cucumbers: 12.25 lbs.
Japanese Eggplant: .75 lbs.
Yellow Squash: 4 lbs.
Zucchini: 4.25 lbs.
Beets: 1.25 lbs.
Cherry Tomatoes: 1.5 lbs.
Kale: 10.5 lbs.
Basil: .8 lbs.
Another productive day (7/20/12) we harvested:
Eggplant: 4.5 lbs.
Cucumbers: 11.75 lbs
Zucchini: 5 lbs.
Yellow Squash: 3 lbs.
Cherry Tomatoes: 6 lbs.
Beans: .5 lbs.
Carrots: .75 lbs.
Japanese Eggplant: 4.5 lbs.
Arugula: .5 lbs.
Collards: 3.75 lbs.
Approximately 60 lbs. on 7/13 and approximately 40 lbs. on 7/20. Finally, one day Jan made vegetable pizza with whole wheat crust, tomatoes, basil, arugula, parsley, eggplant and mozzarella cheese. The month of August has just begun so the temperature is hot but we will continue to harvest till the end of the season.



                                                                          - Rabbi Stacey Van Rossum

More July pictures

                                         (Growing eggplant)

                                         (Barley)

                                         (Wheat)

                                         (Fennel)

                                         (The 4 tiers from the top looking down)

                                         (The 2nd tier)

                                         (The bottom tier mostly of squash)

                                         (Another angle of the tiers from the top looking down)

                                         (A days harvest)

                                         (Fig tree)

                                         (Mostly tomatoes)

                                         (Collards)

Gardening in the Summer

The temperatures are now consistently in the 80-90+ degree range now, so the gardens are growing well. This season we are watering the garden with activated E.M. Activated E.M. means that regular E.M. has been mixed with water and molasses. We have been watering W.108 St., E. 111 St. and Morris Ave. from a watering can using 20 parts rain water and 1 part activated E.M. The gardens look good after using this. We continue to harvest and sow seeds. We have harvested sugar snap peas, arugula, collards, mint, chamomile, purple snap bush beans, kale, basil, mustard greens, turnips, kohlrabi, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. We planted some myrtle in the tree pit outside of W. 108 St. We restaked tomatoes and cucumbers to support the weight of the vine and fruit as the plants grow. Finally, a cat had 5 kittens in our tool shed at E. 111 St. We took some pictures.

                                         (Garlic planted last fall)

                                         (Cat and 5 kittens at the E. 111 St. site)

                                         (5 kittens)

                                         (Planter box on the roof deck at W. 108 St.)

                                         (Flower on the roof deck)

                                         (E. 111 St. garden)

                                         (A bed of marigolds)

                                         (A bed of collards)

                                         (Mostly tomatoes at the side of the building)

                                         (Purple snap bush beans)

                                         (Morris Ave.)

                                         (Cherry tomatoes)                                                   


 

                                                              - Rabbi Stacey Van Rossum