Saturday Gathering- 200+ Free Tomato and Veggie Starts!

Fellow Bethel Community Gardeners,

Come join us at 1:00pm on Saturday, May 24 to select your free tomato plants, and get them in the ground. 

Joe Aalbue and Dean Sutera have raised about 200 tomato plants, with over 15 varieties ready for your selection.

While you're there planting, please weed the areas around your beds... Let's keep our garden one of the best in the county!

See you on Saturday, May 24 for free tomatoes and a chance to share some gardening time with each other.

Thank You,

Dean Sutera
Garden Coordinator

TOMATOES

HEIRLOOM
Amana Orange: 75-90 days—(I)—large, late, flavorful, low-acid…tall vines need staking

Amish Paste: 85 days—(I)—oblong, ox-heart shape…8oz…solid with outstandingly good, sweet flavor

Black Prince: 70 days—(?)—5oz…round & very uniform…deep blackish-purple …deep, sweet & rich flavor…use fresh or in salsa & sauce…from Irkutsk, Siberia

Black Truffle: 75 days—(I)—6-8oz…pear-shaped…deep burgundy…deep & rich flavor…high in sugar & acid…use fresh or in salsa & sauce…from Siberia

Brandywine: 80 days—(I)—exceptional, rich, succulent flavor…1-1½ lbs…Amish heirloom since 1885

Chalk’s Early Jewel: 70-80 days—(I)—heavy yields of 4-6oz red fruit…good flavor balance…developed by James Chalk in the 1800’s and introduced in 1910

Cherokee Purple: 85 days—(I)—vigorous, produces slightly flattened, 13-14 oz. fruit with purple cast and a good, rich flavor…shoulders remain green when ripe…good producer

Cour di Bue: 70 days—(?)—12oz heart-shaped fruit….sweet taste great fro fresh eating & cooking…large, vigorous vines

Pineapple: 90 days—(I)—huge, meaty (up to 2lb.) red & yellow streaked…full-bodied flavor and strong vines

PASTE
Doucet’s Plum Producer: early—(?)—hard, 4oz with exceptionally high yields… outstanding early paste

Principe Bourghese: 80 days—(D)—small 1” by 2” and prolific and fragrant…can be dried and used in winter sauces and cooking…can be stored well into the fall

Roma: 78 days—(D)—paste, sauces & canning…compact vines…large harvests of 3” long fruit…pear-shaped, thick-walled and solid…good flavor

San Marzano: 90 days—(I)—large, open plants produce enormous, meaty fruit measuring 2½ ” wide & 7” long.  Ruby red tomatoes with green streaked shoulders and very few seeds.

EARLY
Glacier: 58 days—(D)—very flavorful 2-3oz. fruit…sweet and rich

Plainsman: —(?)—6oz…vivid red, globe-shaped fruit…heavy yield…small, compact plant

LATE
Dzruba: 80-85 days—(I)—from Bulgaria…4-6oz…perfectly smooth and round with deep red color…right combination of sweetness and tartness…juicy & blemish free

San Marzano: 90 days—(I)—large, open plants produce enormous, meaty fruit measuring 2½ ” wide & 7” long.  Ruby red tomatoes with green streaked shoulders and very few seeds.

SMALL
Isis Candy: 67 days—(I)—yellow-gold cherry tomatoes with red marbling…sweet, rich & fruity taste…3/4”…very productive throughout  a long season

+San Marzano: 90 days—(I)—large, open plants produce enormous, meaty fruit measuring 2½ ” wide & 7” long.  Ruby red tomatoes with green streaked shoulders and very few seeds.

BLACK
Black Krim: 75-90 days—(I)—dark brown-red…10-12oz…hint of saltiness…seems to set well even in heat…prone to cracking…heavy producer…from Black Sea

+San Marzano: 90 days—(I)—large, open plants produce enormous, meaty fruit measuring 2½ ” wide & 7” long.  Ruby red tomatoes with green streaked shoulders and very few seeds.

BEEFSTEAK
Kraska Pink Bulgarian: mid—(I)—medium to large flat pink beefsteak type

Growing Together- The Wonder of Nature

I took an Orchard class this winter and early spring.  It was time to learn to care for my orchard—old trees and new.  What I learned first of all, was that I didn’t know very much and had made a raft of mistakes in tree selection, planting, training and pruning.
     In the third class, we learned how to graft and were given a root stock and a scion (fruitwood) to graft onto it.  I went through the motions with not much hope that the graft would take.  It was a first time attempt and a rather demanding process.
     But, when I checked the little tree about a month later, it was putting on growth both below and above the graft.  Amazing!  The graft worked…and I did it myself.  I can hardly wait for winter to collect scions and start grafting like crazy next spring.
     But that is not the end of the story.  Yesterday I was showing a friend my herb garden where I had ‘parked’ my little tree.  I looked at it…and looked again!  Above the graft were not only leaves, but also a cluster of blossoms.  What a wonder!
     My little grafted tree is preparing to produce fruit (Akane apples).  I will have to find out if I should pull the blossoms for this year, but still, what a wonder nature is! 
     Nature will overcome our ignorance, ineptitude and indifference, and, if given a chance, return to us a bounty.  That’s why I love gardening…so much to learn and such a forgiving, generous nature! 
     I hope that your hands are sunk deep in the good earth and the bounty is starting. – Joe

Growing Together- On Distance and Community

     Recently I was part of a Board meeting that went on several days.  We meet face-to-face only twice a year.  The rest of the time we conduct business and keep in touch by e-mail (I know, I know—so retro!), but it works for us…sort of.
     I discovered at our latest Board meeting the importance of face-to-face contact.
     One of our members for a number of reasons has missed a couple of Board meetings and as the months went by, I experienced a sort of drifting disconnect.  We still communicated regularly by e-mail, but it really wasn’t enough to stay ‘connected.’  And, when you are not ‘connected,’ you start to feel the distance between you.
     When you feel the distance between you, you can start to imagine all sorts of things that are separating you…or could separate you.  So, the distance between you broadens and deepens, and your negative imagination runs rampant.
     We used Skype this last Board meeting, and, though it is not entirely satisfactory, it did help to bridge this emotional gap.  Communications were improved and connections were strengthened.
     What has this to do with community gardening and specifically Bethel Community Garden?  I don’t know my community gardeners very well (and in some cases, I don’t know them at all).  We are like ships passing in the night—seeds sown here and plants planted there appearing as if my magic.
     Who, for example, is doing such a good job with tomatoes in Bed 18, or what is that kind of squash in Bed 4?  How do I find out?  Whom do I ask?
     Community depends on communication and connection.
     That we will try to address through community garden picnics this coming summer.  We will set a time and date, and invite all of you to come—share of your garden’s bounty—and get to know each other.
     That way distances will be minimized and connections strengthened and community reinforced.  Stay tuned and start thinking about what you can share to enrich us all. – Joe 

“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” 

                                                      ― Robert Louis Stevenson

Growing Together- Just Do It!

     I have been putting off repairing our front porch.  It doesn’t help that it is 100 years old and a bunch of the supporting wood structure is rotten.  It doesn’t help that the mahogany decking we so carefully (and tightly) put down last summer swelled and shifted the support pillars.
     All fall and winter, I stewed—and feared—the necessary work that had to be done.  It was way beyond my ability and competence, but I couldn’t stop.  My friend Jerry came to my rescue.
     Yesterday we bought the wood and began the process.  We jacked up the ceiling of the porch.  (I had had nightmares about that one!)  We put a temporary 4x4 in place and removed the pillar.  It really was quite simple…if you know what you are doing.
     Then we took up the east section of the porch deck and re-laid it with a bit more space between each board.  It was tedious because Jerry wanted each board exactly true.  But we did it!  Then Jerry studied what needed to be done to give a stable footing for the refurbished pillar—but that’s next week’s task.
     What does that have to do with gardening, and specifically community gardening?  At least three things:
Don’t spend (waste) a lot of time stewing about the garden.  Do what you can do.  Plants are amazingly forgiving things!  Plant them and tend them…and find ways to enjoy the process.
You don’t have to know everything.  There are mentors and fellow-gardeners available who are eager to help.  The resources at the library or on-line or at WSU Extension or at the bookstore can help supply whatever knowledge you seek.
We don’t use the porch.  There was a day when porches were centers of neighborhood activity.  People sat on their porches and greeted passers-by.  Today, creating community is much more difficult and must be intentional.  That is why we are going to have some garden picnics this summer—to share the fruits of our labor and to get to know our garden neighbors.
     I hope to see you in the garden up to your elbows in the dirt. – Joe a

Community Garden Beds

Bethel Community Gardeners,

All garden beds, except raised beds numbers 9, 11 and 12 have been tilled, and are ready for planting.  Those three will be completed by Tuesday afternoon.

Please note the following....

.... The water will be turned on by Tuesday afternoon.

.... Please weed the edges and pathways around your bed.

.... More seeds will be available in the shed starting on Tuesday.

.... Someone donated several pairs of garden boots.  They are in the shed; if they fit, they're yours.

.... If you want more compost in you garden bed, please help yourself.

.... Remember that plenty of free tomato plants will be available for everyone sometime in May.

It looks like it's going to be a great gardening season.  We look forward to seeing you in the garden.
Dean Sutera,
Garden Coordinator

PS...  Thank you to everyone who donated  money and clothing to help Debbie Sheldon in her time of need.... your generosity was greatly appreciated.

Workday THIS SATURDAY- Tilling and More Free Seeds

Spring Work Day this Saturday at 10:00 am!

We will be adding compost to all the beds, and then tilling them.

We'll need help cleaning up the beds and pathways after tilling.

The beds will then be ready to plant, so feel free to begin planting early crops.

More FREE SEEDS will be available!