October 2019
Editor - Linda Goldser (10.2..5)
Raised Bed Harvest
With colder nights and shorter days, our production is winding down at both gardens. However, we still have some harvest coming in – at least for a few more weeks.
Dry Farming Harvest
North Georgia Candy Roaster Squash – 294 pounds harvested out of the Dry Farming bed at annex on 9/19. 200 pounds went to Stone Soup PDX, a non-profit foodservice training program which provides culinary training and life skills to people who are at risk of homelessness.
Planning for next year
We are so excited to be planning for 2020 at our Demonstration Garden. At the end of this year we will be merging our two garden sites. Beginning in January we will be operating out of the Annex part of our garden which we have been building up for a few years.
We are excited to hand over our original Demonstration Garden to PSU’s Learning Garden Lab who works with Lane Middle School to teach gardening classes to our youth. This garden site will be more convenient for them as it is closer to their school and offers other benefits.
As usual, our 2020 garden planning will include what to plant where and when, but we are also working to include an educational piece that will allow us to spread our gardening expertise to the surrounding community.
We retain the use of the greenhouse on our original site through spring, so we hope that all of our gardeners will join us in February at the greenhouse for seed starting – both seed tape and starting seeds in pots. You will hear more about all of this, but mark your calendars to meet with us on Monday mornings in February from 9am to noon.
Garden Education
Our newly formed Demonstration Garden Education Committee needs you! One of our goals for spring 2020 is to begin to conduct garden education classes at the garden and nearby venues for the community around the Demonstration Garden location.
In order to meet this goal, we need your help in the planning and execution of this idea. We will start with three main sub-committees:
Public Relations - Community outreach & advertising
Coordination of Classes – content, instructors, scheduling
Class Logistics – class location, materials & supplies, physical needs
We welcome any and all Master Gardeners to join us. We need gardeners to step up to lead these three sub-committees and others to help brainstorm and implement ideas to allow success of our goal of holding classes in spring 2020.
Our next meeting is on Thursday 10/17 at 12:30 at the Woodstock Deli. Join us there or if you cannot make that meeting, please express your interest to Linda Goldser at lindaloug@comcast.net
Building a Beneficial Insect Meadow
Multnomah County Master Gardeners: Be part of implementing an urban meadow at the Demonstration Garden. Planting, weeding, monitoring, documenting, and getting the word out—It’s up to you!
Evelyn Simak CCA-SA 2.0
Our Mission—To build an urban meadow that will provide visual appeal and beneficial insect habitat.Design will encourage low water use, minimum maintenance, and a mix of perennial plants and re-seeding annuals.
The Meadow is around 1,000 square feet, runs along a curving gravel path, and could blend into a larger eco-lawn area to the south.
In the spring of 2018: Weeds were cleared and layers of cardboard, mulch/steer manure/and straw were added.
In fall of 2018: Mounds were created to serve as beetle banks and for a naturalistic look. Stones outlined the Meadow along the path to keep soil/mulch in the bed and set back planting, so as not to intrude into the path.
Spring and summer 2019: The mounds decomposed substantially over winter and were built up again with chips and compost available on-site. Weeding was an on-going activity to deplete the seed bank. Paths were established to direct visitors through the area and to make the area accessible for maintenance.
Coming up this fall: In October we will plant several hundred grass plugs to serve as the base of the Meadow. Timing of this activity will be announced. Annual and perennial broadleaf plants, also useful to beneficial insects, will be added in the future.
References:
Meadowscaping (see at wmswcd.org)
Farming for Beneficial Insects (Xerces Society)
Contact: Claudia Groth at claudia.groth.us@gmail.com
Garden Mosaic Art
at the Demonstration Gardens
This was just one of the classes put on by our own Master Gardener mosaic artist Eleanor Burke this past summer. Stay tuned for more to come next year!
Harvest Fest
Upon your arrival you saw flowers, vegetables and smiles in abundance.
We had a bounty of food, drink and joy!
It is definitely not Harvest Fest without hand cranked ice cream!!
YUM!!!!
Kid’s Table
Hosted by Sadie Hyde
Rocks and faces got painted, crafts got made and Mr. Potato Head – the hit of the event got dolled up and ready for the party!
2019 Master Gardener Award Recipients
One activity accomplished at the Harvest Fest this year was the handing out of awards to several deserving individuals.
For her many years of hard work and as a gesture of respect and honor, Jordis Yost was given the Lifetime Membership Award.
OMGA Longevity Awards were given to Jean Edmison and Darlene Meyers for 20 Years of service, to Claudia Growth for 30 Years service and Dorothy Drews for 40 years of service.
Two Master Gardeners of the Year awards were given this year for their tireless work all year – these awards went to Corinne Thomas-Kersting and Rich Becker.
Special Project Awards for Chapter Communications went to Marcia McIntyre, editor of the Metro Area Newsletter; Susanne Cavicchi, editor of the Chapter eNews; Lorna Shilling, editor of the Grapevine and Linda Goldser, editor of the Demo Garden News.
County Behind the Scenes Master Gardener of the Year awards were given to Dave Owen, Nancy Fine, Jennifer Simpson and Marilyn Frankel.
And a special Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to Merrill Ahrens for time spent helping “put us back together” in the form of getting our machines working again.
And of course, we gathered the interns who attended for a group photo, thanked them for their service and they each received a packet of cover crop to help them protect their home gardens for the coming winter.
What to do in the garden in October
There’s still plenty to do out in the garden, this time of the year we must be opportunistic gardeners! When it is raining, hang out inside and cook or bake with your harvested goodies, but when the sun comes out, jump into your clogs and grab those gloves because time spent in the garden now saves work in the spring!
Upcoming events
October 19 – Our Saturday Garden Work Day for October from 9:00 to 12:00 in the Annex garden – note that the Demo garden on 60th is not open this day. Come work with us and gain earn Partner Hours!
November 9 – Fall Recertification is being held at Clackamas Community College from 8:00 to 3:45. This annual event is a daylong continuing education opportunity to earn 6 hours of continuing education / recertification credit. Interns are invited to join us at this event to receive your OSU Master Gardener badge.
Two very yummy recipes from the Harvest Fest Buffet
Chocolate Zucchini Cake (click here for recipe)
Veggie Baked Beans (click here for recipe)
Garden locations,
regular workdays & times
Come join us on our regular Monday and Thursday workdays at either of our gardens from 9:00 to 12:00. No need to sign up, just come on out and get your hands dirty - rain or shine. Also join us for our Saturday workdays which are the 3rd Saturday of the month through October – also from 9-12. Our last Saturday of this season is 10/19. Work at the gardens will earn you Partner Hours.
The Demo Garden is located at 6801 SE 60th Ave, between SE Duke & Flavel Streets, across from Brentwood Park.
Access to the Annex Garden is through the first pedestrian gate located just south of 6630 SE 57th Ave; parking is on the east side of the street; look for the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden banner inside the gate and follow the gravel path through the orchard to the garden.
NOTE: Parking inside the 59th street delivery gate is reserved for gardeners with mobility issues or who have deliveries or heavy loads. Thank you.
A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
This DemoGardenNews publication is a monthly newsletter for our gardens and our gardeners.