The temperature is 90 plus degrees

                                          (E. 111 St. garden)

                                          (Closer view)

                                          (Even closer view)

                                          (Another view)

                                          (12 ft. sunflowers)

                                          (View from the other side of the garden)

                                          (6 ft. and 12 ft. sunflowers)

                                          (Mostly greens and corn patch)

This week the temperatures have been over 90 degrees which is both good and bad for the gardens. Good, there is a lot of sunlight for the plants. Bad, we spend a day a week at 3 different sites and the soil dries out quickly so the plants need to be watered frequently. Either way both Morris Ave. and E. 111 St. are producing large quantities of produce weekly and we are working on a new site at E. 116 St. It is smaller than both gardens but when finished it will serve its purpose. We continue to plant and harvest. We have planted pumpkin, peanuts, Thai basil, French tarragon, cilantro, thyme and marjoram. We have harvested kale, collards, Swiss chard, basil, eggplant, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, cucumbers, beets, wax beans and pineapple sage. We water each day at work and on off days. Our 2 peach trees are growing peaches and our fig tree is slowly growing.  One day for lunch we sauteed a 2 1/2 ft. zucchini that we harvested, onions, garlic and spices and we baked kale chips marinaded in olive oil. They tasted very good. At the E. 116 St. site we have been cutting down large tree branches to let in more sunlight. John C. delivered 10 bags of peat moss and 10 bags of compost. We may get 1 more delivery. Finally, this week John C. delivered lattice and lumber so we began making frames and the lattice for the fence. Peace.

                                                                - Rabbi Stacey Van Rossum

Mid July pics

                                          (Days harvest of cucumbers)

                                          (Seedlings bought at the Farmer's market)

                                          (View from the top tier down)

                                          (Tomatoes)

                                          (Growing eggplant)

                                          (Growing bell peppers)

                                          (Rose bush)

                                          (Part of a corn stalk)

                                          (Row of sunflowers)

                                          (Black eye susans)

Mid July pics

                                          (New site on E. 116 St.)

                                          (The first cucumber of the season)

                                          (Swiss chard)

                                          (Mint)

                                          (Bed of lettuce)

                                          (Bed of collard greens)

                                         (View from the second tier)

                                          (Rabbi Stacey in front of the sunflowers)

                                          (View of the 5 raised beds and more)

June Farm Pics

                                          (Growing corn patch)

                                          (Rose bush in the front yard area)

                                          (Seeds beginning to sprout)

                                          (In between the corn patch)

                                          (A day's harvest of kale)

                                          (A day's harvest of basil)

June Farm Pics

                                          (Growing tomato)

                                          (Growing bell pepper)

                                          (Growing snap pea)

                                          (Grapes are finally growing)

                                          (A day's harvest of snap peas)

                                          (Opening sunflower head)

                                                    (A day's harvest of mustard greens)

                                                    (A day's harvest of collard greens)

The Month of June

Since the last blog entry we have harvested collards, lettuce, radish, spinach, arugula, kale, 3 colors of roses, parsley, mustard greens, swiss chard, snap peas and basil. During this time we planted cucumbers, watermelon, decorative gourds, cantaloupe, tomato, orange bell peppers, green beans, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, cosmos, beans, kale, basil, turnips, poppy, marigold, mustard greens and scallions. Three trellises were built for our cucumbers, squash and snap peas. We continue to weed and water regularly. Work was done at Iyana House to cut back many of the tree branches to give more space and sunlight to the back yard and also a dead butterfly bush was completely removed. Also, shrubs and tree branches were cut back in the front yard at Morris Avenue. Finally, we made horseradish with grated radishes, apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar. We ate this with 2 types of crackers. Good bye.



                                                    - Rabbi Stacey Van Rossum

Roof deck pics

                                          (Bed of sweet peppers and tomatoes)

                                          (Rose bush)

                                          (Growing snap peas)

                                          (Fig leaves on a fig tree)

                                          (Growing moonflower)

                                          (Mostly growing greens at side of building)

                                          (View of E. 111 St. from another angle)

                                          (2 of my 5 parakeets)