James and Margaret's plot is RIGHT NEXT to ours so I have no idea why their kale and chard is so superior to ours. They have kale, chard, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, flowers, more, and a damn nice walkway
0 Comments
10ft x 10ft is a lot of feet! Getting a plot here is a lot easier than you think! Show up to a monthly meeting to put your name on the list, then you need to be at the meeting when a plot becomes available and your name is next. There's pretty high turnover here and every meeting I've been to it seems 2 or 3 plots are given out. annual fees include $20 for the plot and $5 for water. Obligations include attending one meeting in the first 6 months of the year, and another meeting the second half. Also need to attend one or two clean-up days, but if the scheduled days don't fit with your schedule, you can make special arrangements to do volunteer work on your own time. Not too unreasonable! Wyatt's depiction of the scene of The Crime I think Diamond Head Community Gardens is more in demand than Manoa. A plot there would be more convenient location wise but I'll take the bickering and drama that goes on in Manoa over convenience any day! I love the passion for the place and the cause that I see at these meetings, but it can reach pretty comical levels. The woman waving The Handbook in the air, decrying the officers for their leniency on those whose plots are seriously neglected. The man whose wife is so traumatized that she can no longer garden as a result of a rogue gardener singling out THEIR plot to rob. It's so democratic and beautiful how seriously the officers take every complaint. Broccoli- This was a Big Deal for me when these babies popped up. Our first food that is a step above herbs and leafy greens I feel. It's so sweet and soft... "Once it hits your lips... it's so good..!". Broccoli is one of the veggies that you get more enzymes from if you cook it, rather than eat it raw (?? so I heard... I don't know what I'm talking about) but I can't help but rip these little crowns off and devour them as soon as I see their sweet little baby faces blooming
Becky helped build this modest trellis that is submerged in spinach and houses underneath it tomatoes, bell pepper, and eggplant Spinach- Another one better eaten cooked than raw? Michelle, Health Bar coworker and Engineer Masters Student Extraordinare by day and my unofficial Super Running Coach by really really early day (4:30am!!!), says this is a really good source of energy, when cooked. It just smothered this trellis pretty quickly. Pretty low maintenance plant. Tomatoes- Haven't worked out great for us. The fruit hangs so close to the ground that the bugs seem to get to them before they even ripen and I think the plants may need something to climb on. They tend to get long and gangly, like King Triton when Ursula turns him into seaweed (it's the leaves of the plant, they look like his mustache!). Out here, the manure we got from Momona Farms that has been sitting out decomposing for about 5 years or so really worked wonders. We do everything organically here so we need to infuse some more manure goodness into the soil every once and awhile. We're overdue. . Arugula- Easily grown in a pot like this or in the ground. It doesn't seem to spread out much and it seems to grow quickly. Eaten fresh from the ground and early it has a spicier taste then arugula I've had in salad mixes from the grocery store. I'm obsessed. Even though we have multiple plants we don't have enough to grab for a whole salad so I like to pick it to throw in tacos and sandwiches. BEST pizza topping. Mostly though I grab a handful as I'm leaving the house and put it straight in my mouth like a rabbit. Sometimes I get carried away and that's how I learned that even if the plant is ready to be eaten, you can't eat it all at once, or there's no more plant. Leaving just one or two leaves is just as bad.
Collards- Probably the one plant I don't eat raw on the regular but when I'm hungry and foraging, it's been done. Our collards have grown into beasts quickly with little effort on our part. We chop it up and eat it with pasta, soups, and stir frys. Lacinato Kale and Curly Kale- Another one that is easily obliterated by my over-enthusiasm. Often eaten as I am walking back and forth from the washing machine in the backyard, also good for salads, tacos, sandwiches, soups, anything, everything. These have been easy to start but none of ours has grown into some of the beasts I've seen in neighbors yards. Maybe not enough sunlight? The bugs nibble on this a lot when it's really small and first going into the ground but that doesn't last long Manoa Lettuce- So great to have around. Has become a little overgrown and tastes a little more bitter as a result (I think?) Basil- Easiest herb to grow. Always throwing in with pasta and sandwiches and tacos and everything. Beet- A hundred year old man that is somehow related to our landlord took advantage of Dave being under the influence of American Spirits and Sierra Nevada by convincing him to give over that beet when it got big and beautiful!!! Sneaky man!! Compost bin- No worms or black soldier larva flies, just a bin of our food scraps and green waste. |
... To Grow and Cook Your Own Food!Libre Farm, LLC is Dave and I's effort to be the food revolution we want to see in the world! Categories
All
Archives
December 2014
|