Sarah's Garden: Rain
I don't have that many new pictures because it's been raining so much and I am loathe to go out in the rain just to take some blurry pictures of tomato plants. But rest assured they are growing fast and are enjoying the rain. So let's take a look at all the other plants that I tend to neglect in favor of vegetables in the summer.
Above is lavender and what I assumed was Lamb's Ear until these bright magenta flower showed up. Turns out it's rose campion and I'm not entirely sure where it came from! On the left side of the picture is a blackberry (or possibly raspberry) from Bartram's Garden. I get it last summer and it's starting to flower so maybe I will get some berries? We'll see.
The excitement of this week was when I harvested some beans...11 of them, to be exact. They seem a little small but the pods were turning yellow so I looked in one and hey! beans. I'm letting these dry and hopefully I will get more so I can make something with them. Next year I promise I'll plant more than one bean plant.
Other than that I've been frantically staking my tomato plants to keep up with all this growth. More pictures next week, once things dry up a bit!
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Above is lavender and what I assumed was Lamb's Ear until these bright magenta flower showed up. Turns out it's rose campion and I'm not entirely sure where it came from! On the left side of the picture is a blackberry (or possibly raspberry) from Bartram's Garden. I get it last summer and it's starting to flower so maybe I will get some berries? We'll see.
The excitement of this week was when I harvested some beans...11 of them, to be exact. They seem a little small but the pods were turning yellow so I looked in one and hey! beans. I'm letting these dry and hopefully I will get more so I can make something with them. Next year I promise I'll plant more than one bean plant.
Other than that I've been frantically staking my tomato plants to keep up with all this growth. More pictures next week, once things dry up a bit!
Let's party our way to 600 members!
[caption id="attachment_5384" align="aligncenter" width="400"] House party hosted by the Knapp-Bazis member-owner household.[/caption]
One of the Co-op's most successful member recruitment tools this year has been the house parties and get togethers organized by members who invite small groups of friends who might be interested in joining. During our recent 75in75 campaign, over a half dozen different members hosted this parties which were attended collectively by dozens of prospective members. It's a great way to help recruit new members while showing off your party-hosting skills.
And with summer upon us and the season of backyard barbecues, roof-deck gatherings and small group picnics with pick-up softball games, there are plenty of opportunities to gather a bunch of your friends without worrying about them making a mess in your home!
Here's how it works.
1. Let us know you want to one of these by emailing [email protected].
2. You pick a date, invite a bunch of friends and do all of the other things you'd normally do when organizing a party: putting together a menu, getting your iTunes playlist together, practicing your flip cup and beer pong skills, etc.
3. We will arrange for one of the volunteers in our Speakers Bureau to attend the party prepared with a 5-minute pitch about why joining the Co-op would be such a great idea. You can feel free to chime in - since they're your friends - about why you joined, or just leave the talking to us. The speaker will also have plenty of forms on hand for people to join on the spot.
4. Make sure to take plenty of pictures and let us know how the event went so we can post them to our Facebook page and put on our blog. The more pictures of people eating great food and having a good time, the better!
If you have any questions or if you're new in town and want to know when the next house party is happening, send an email to [email protected] We'll answer your questions or check with the host to see if he or she has room for more guests.
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One of the Co-op's most successful member recruitment tools this year has been the house parties and get togethers organized by members who invite small groups of friends who might be interested in joining. During our recent 75in75 campaign, over a half dozen different members hosted this parties which were attended collectively by dozens of prospective members. It's a great way to help recruit new members while showing off your party-hosting skills.
And with summer upon us and the season of backyard barbecues, roof-deck gatherings and small group picnics with pick-up softball games, there are plenty of opportunities to gather a bunch of your friends without worrying about them making a mess in your home!
Here's how it works.
1. Let us know you want to one of these by emailing [email protected].
2. You pick a date, invite a bunch of friends and do all of the other things you'd normally do when organizing a party: putting together a menu, getting your iTunes playlist together, practicing your flip cup and beer pong skills, etc.
3. We will arrange for one of the volunteers in our Speakers Bureau to attend the party prepared with a 5-minute pitch about why joining the Co-op would be such a great idea. You can feel free to chime in - since they're your friends - about why you joined, or just leave the talking to us. The speaker will also have plenty of forms on hand for people to join on the spot.
4. Make sure to take plenty of pictures and let us know how the event went so we can post them to our Facebook page and put on our blog. The more pictures of people eating great food and having a good time, the better!
If you have any questions or if you're new in town and want to know when the next house party is happening, send an email to [email protected] We'll answer your questions or check with the host to see if he or she has room for more guests.
Pallet Gardening Workshop: June 1, 2013
What better way to spend a sweltering early summer afternoon that keeping cool in the newly designed gardens of South Philadelphia High School? More than 30 people participated in the first Pallet Gardening Workshop, organized and presented by Molly Devinney. Not only is Ms. Devinney a skilled gardener who is ready to impart her green thumb skills to eager urban agrarians, but she is also the coordinator for the student gardening program at South Philadelphia High School.
Judging from our pictures taken by Co-op member Stefania Patrizio, the attendees didn’t mind the heat. In fact, many of them found the program informative and helpful. One participant, Josh Satinoff, shared how this event gave him the opportunity to create a garden for his house and that the event was “awesome”. The Co-op helped to provide pallets and other materials for pallet gardening.
Although this event quickly filled up, the South Philadelphia Food Co-op hopes to host more events that will focus on creating more green space in South Philadelphia. Whether it is creating your own verdant oasis with a pallet garden or touring the various community gardens of South Philadelphia in September, the Co-op is ready to provide more opportunities for residents of South Philadelphia to explore how urban gardening can enhance our community’s aesthetics and bonds. Interestingly enough, South Philadelphia High School’s parking lot, which served as the site for Saturday’s workshop, will also serve as the hub for this fall’s Community Garden Tour. The Co-op is on the lookout for gardens in South Philadelphia to feature for the Community Garden Tour. If you have a garden that you want to show off, or if you just want more information about the Garden Tour this fall, you can go here.
[caption id="attachment_5375" align="alignnone" width="225"] Event organizer and workshop leader Molly Devinney helps participants transform their pallets into gardens.
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Judging from our pictures taken by Co-op member Stefania Patrizio, the attendees didn’t mind the heat. In fact, many of them found the program informative and helpful. One participant, Josh Satinoff, shared how this event gave him the opportunity to create a garden for his house and that the event was “awesome”. The Co-op helped to provide pallets and other materials for pallet gardening.
Although this event quickly filled up, the South Philadelphia Food Co-op hopes to host more events that will focus on creating more green space in South Philadelphia. Whether it is creating your own verdant oasis with a pallet garden or touring the various community gardens of South Philadelphia in September, the Co-op is ready to provide more opportunities for residents of South Philadelphia to explore how urban gardening can enhance our community’s aesthetics and bonds. Interestingly enough, South Philadelphia High School’s parking lot, which served as the site for Saturday’s workshop, will also serve as the hub for this fall’s Community Garden Tour. The Co-op is on the lookout for gardens in South Philadelphia to feature for the Community Garden Tour. If you have a garden that you want to show off, or if you just want more information about the Garden Tour this fall, you can go here.
[caption id="attachment_5375" align="alignnone" width="225"] Event organizer and workshop leader Molly Devinney helps participants transform their pallets into gardens.
- Participants Josh Satinoff and Ari Packer show off their handiwork at the Pallet Gardening Workshop.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_5377" align="alignnone" width="225"] Other participants enjoyed working with their gardens. Attendees described the workshop as really helpful and "Awesome".[/caption]
Sarah's Garden: Growth
Hello! My plants have now been outside for a month and besides some cold nights about a week ago it's been smooth sailing. Let's look back and see how much these cuties have grown.
Here they are on May 2nd after having survived the first night outside:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] pitiful[/caption]
Here's the next day...looking quite bedraggled from all the sun (note to self: next year don't worry about hardening off but do give them a few days of partial sun before going all in):
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] poor things[/caption]
But then things started looking up. Here they are on May 7th, growing well:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] hi friends[/caption]
Here's the whole bed on May 8th, still looking pretty sparse:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375"] lots of dirt[/caption]
Here are some baby beets on May 10th:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] beets[/caption]
Here's the whole bed on May 16th, getting a little greener. I actually had too much room and had to go out and buy some more veggies (starts cause I was too late for seeds) from Greensgrow. I got an eggplant (still trying to get just one eggplant, maybe the third time's the charm?), Green Zebra tomato, yellow pear tomato, some lemon cucumbers and zucchini:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] now with irrigation![/caption]
May 20th:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] are we getting sick of the same picture yet??[/caption]
May 22nd:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] hey, slightly different angle![/caption]
Which brings us to today, the last day of May:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] lots of growth thanks to all that rain![/caption]
Almost all of the tomatoes are staked (or, uh, should be...) and last night I made myself a very little salad of arugula, beet greens and baby chard. Pretty good! My father came down and helped me with those trellises, which are just from the South Philly Lowe's painted with leftover paint from the trim of my house. I think I may paint the raised bed that color, too. The wall is my neighbor's garage and he graciously told me to do whatever I wanted with it, including drilling things into it. Thanks, Matt!
So here's what it all looks like now that the back is cleared:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] little yard[/caption]
That back patch of dirt will hopefully be grass soon and next year I'd like to get some of the concrete out of there, but for now the concrete is integral in keeping the weeds away. And I think my plants are loving the raised bed! They should, there are like 40 gallons of Bennett Compost in there.
And now it's June (almost) and the real growing will begin. And the real test of the irrigation system. But one month in the raised bed is looking good!
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Here they are on May 2nd after having survived the first night outside:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] pitiful[/caption]
Here's the next day...looking quite bedraggled from all the sun (note to self: next year don't worry about hardening off but do give them a few days of partial sun before going all in):
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] poor things[/caption]
But then things started looking up. Here they are on May 7th, growing well:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] hi friends[/caption]
Here's the whole bed on May 8th, still looking pretty sparse:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375"] lots of dirt[/caption]
Here are some baby beets on May 10th:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] beets[/caption]
Here's the whole bed on May 16th, getting a little greener. I actually had too much room and had to go out and buy some more veggies (starts cause I was too late for seeds) from Greensgrow. I got an eggplant (still trying to get just one eggplant, maybe the third time's the charm?), Green Zebra tomato, yellow pear tomato, some lemon cucumbers and zucchini:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] now with irrigation![/caption]
May 20th:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] are we getting sick of the same picture yet??[/caption]
May 22nd:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] hey, slightly different angle![/caption]
Which brings us to today, the last day of May:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] lots of growth thanks to all that rain![/caption]
Almost all of the tomatoes are staked (or, uh, should be...) and last night I made myself a very little salad of arugula, beet greens and baby chard. Pretty good! My father came down and helped me with those trellises, which are just from the South Philly Lowe's painted with leftover paint from the trim of my house. I think I may paint the raised bed that color, too. The wall is my neighbor's garage and he graciously told me to do whatever I wanted with it, including drilling things into it. Thanks, Matt!
So here's what it all looks like now that the back is cleared:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] little yard[/caption]
That back patch of dirt will hopefully be grass soon and next year I'd like to get some of the concrete out of there, but for now the concrete is integral in keeping the weeds away. And I think my plants are loving the raised bed! They should, there are like 40 gallons of Bennett Compost in there.
And now it's June (almost) and the real growing will begin. And the real test of the irrigation system. But one month in the raised bed is looking good!
Show off your garden on the South Philly Garden Tour!
Hello South Philadelphia gardeners!
You've been working hard this spring, digging in the dirt of your planters, pots, raised beds, community garden plots...Now it's time to show off all the fruits (and vegetables, and herbs, and flowers, and...) of your labors!
For the third year in a row, the South Philly Food Co-op invites you to exhibit your garden! The Co-op is organizing its Third Annual South Philadelphia Garden Tour and we would love to have your participation. Due to growing turn-out and garden participation, we've decided to focus on the south Broad Street corridor, showcasing home gardens from Washington to Snyder, 11th-17th street for this year's tour. Check out photos of last year's tour here.
For those who are not familiar with the Co-op, our mission is to open a member-owned cooperative grocery store that makes good food available at a fair price to all residents of South Philadelphia, while empowering the local community through sustainable practices, food-centric education, outreach, and community building. We are 470 members strong, and the Garden Tour is our biggest fundraiser of the year to help us raise the funds for opening our grocery store (we're looking for locations now!).
The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, featuring private home gardens throughout South Philadelphia. The tour date is set for Saturday, September 7th with gardens open from 1pm to 5pm and has a rain date of Sunday September 8th.
If you'd like to participate and show off all the beauty that the hard working and loving green thumbs of you and neighbors have created please submit the following information to [email protected] by July 1, 2013:
1. a brief description of your garden (as you would like it to be published in the pamphlet). Please limit the description to 50-75 words.
2. an interesting fact about your garden (i.e. how it all started, a unique plant you are growing, an interesting technique you are using to grow, etc.)
3. a photo or two- be proud!
We'll be hosting a voluntary pre-tour meet-up on Tuesday August 20th at 7pm to answer any questions, distribute information, discuss day-of details, and get you connected with fellow home garden enthusiasts!
To learn more about the South Philly Food Co-op, please visit our website and Facebook page.
Thank you in advance! We really look forward to your participation.
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Take a look "behind the scenes" at the Co-op
As we've been doing for a few months now, we want to share our monthly committee reports with our membership and those who are thinking of becoming members. We have several active committees staffed by dedicated, hard-working volunteers whose one goal is get this Co-op built. As you can see from the reports below, we've all been pretty busy trying to accomplish that goal.
But we need help. If you're a member who wants to make a HUGE difference in how fast we can get to the ribbon cutting for the Co-op, please consider volunteering to serve on one of these committees. The report below - which was available in hard copy at our Spring General Membership Meeting - will help you determine which activities fit with your skill set or are among skills that you're hoping to learn. (You can also download the report here.)
May 2013 Committee Updates
Submitted to the general membership on 5/17/13
Treasury (Jay Tarlecki)
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- Statement of Activities and Statement of Financial Position and bank reconciliation submitted to the board on a monthly basis.
- Still awaiting final CPA approval of FY13 final numbers
- Reviewed outstanding member equity numbers as briefly discussed in April board meeting. Pledged but not received for all calendar years = $26,647. Of that total, $5,050 is currently past due.
Upcoming:
- Develop new bank deposit form, in progress
- Treasurer playbook
- Looking for CPA to handle taxes moving forward, no luck finding one that handles co-op so far
- Move from member records in excel to QuickBooks for accounting and tracking needs
- Begin using QuickBooks at start of FY14 - Not implemented
- Begin transition of past FYs to QuickBooks on 6/1/13 after FY13 is officially closed out- Soliciting quotes for support in implementing QB
- Provide reliable and accurate financial stewardship to people who have trusted us with their money records are reconciled
- Written policy and procedure manual for member tracking, CRM entry, and bookkeeping practices. DEADLINE TBD based on CRM selection Pending
- Monthly reconciliation for banking Records reconciled as of 5/16. Current active member count is 466 (members in good standing = 411 and equity past-due = 55). Cash on hand = $67,602. (excluding $1,750 transferred to Fair Food account). Non-equity cash = $1,270.
- CRM database and QuickBooks to be updated twice a month. Done
- Membership cards and welcome letters to be mailed once a month mailed at least once every calendar month
- Assist with development and conversion to the Co-op’s CRM system. Pending
- Distribute membership certificate shares at each general meeting list provided for 5/19 meeting
- volunteer management (you can do this all by email)
- neighborhood outreach (we’ll provide the training!)
- hosting Eat and Greet Potluck dinners or other creative events for your neighborhood/friend network
Happy Hour at Underdogs -- Plus, a Contest
Thursday June 13th, 2013, 5:30-8:30p
Underdogs, 1205 S. 9th Street
Join the Co-op for happy hour and amazing hot dogs at Underdogs! A special garden-themed hot dog--named in honor of the Co-op--will be a featured special. Plus, free beer, thanks to Victory Brewing Company! It is BYOHD (Buy Your Own Hot Dog), though.
Help us out by coming up with a great name for our garden-themed dog. We'll be accepting submissions via Facebook starting June 1 and closing June 8. The top 5 names, as chosen by the same supercomputer that powers the Hubble Telescope, will be announced on Facebook on June 10. We'll count "likes" to crown the winner. Contest will close on June 11.
After all that you'll need a beer and a hot dog!
The winning name will be given to the hot dog at the Happy Hour on June 13. And the person that named the winning dog will receive free hot dogs for themselves and their friends at the Happy Hour, June 13 from 5:3-8:30pm (Limit $25 value of hot dogs)
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The results are in: Board Elections
At last night's meeting of the South Philly Food Co-op Board of Directors, the directors who were elected at the Spring General Membership meeting on May 19, 2013 began their two-year term which will end at the Spring General Membership Meeting in 2015. The following members were elected to serve in that position:
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- Maria Sourbeer (née Camoratto)
- Mary Beth Hertz
- Joseph Marino
- Cassie Plummer
- John Raezer
Sarah's Garden: Exciting News!
Well, I've finally done it. I went and spent $30 on this "snip and drip" irrigation system:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] black hose is the soaker hose[/caption]
Wow!! I've never done this before because I've never uh had a working hose outside. That's right, for 2+ years I watered all my plants with two watering cans filled up at my kitchen sink multiple times a day (except for that short period when I thought the outside water line in our old house was working but then it turned out it was cracked and flooding our neighbors' basements. Sorry!) Just having a hose was already pretty sweet, but then my annual freak out about not being able to water my plants while I'm at work - "If they're drying out during the day in early May what's going to happen in July and August??" - I realized that I could just order one of these do-it-yourself irrigation kits. So I did!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] raspberries are going to be so happy[/caption]
I'm not going to say too much about it because if you Google "snip and drip irrigation" you'll get tons of reviews of various products that are essentially just a length of black soaker hose and green regular hose that you connect via little black clips. There's another black clip for the end and you attach it to your hose with yet another black clip, and that was the only tricky part until I realized I was trying to connect them backwards. But there are lots of online videos to help you with that one. And then you turn on the water and watch the soaker hose soak the dirt around it - avoiding all the foliage!! - and breathe a big sigh of relief. Finally!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] raised bed with irrigation[/caption]
So here's the obvious problem: it's ugly. I figure in about a month the plants will be so big that they'll completely cover the soaker hose and probably even the regular hose connector sections. But what to do until then?? Well, I've been thinking about drilling holes into the raised bed so that you don't see the hose sticking out on either end. I also need to get some of those metal clips that hold hoses down in the dirt because I think that will make them less visible too. Ultimately, though, this is still kind of a trial run: I'm not going to drill any holes until I'm totally satisfied that the plants are getting enough water. The good thing about this system is that it comes with 50' of soaker hose and 25' of regular hose and you just cut them to whatever length you need. You can also get a timer so that everything gets watered automatically! But I'm not ready for that level of sophistication quite yet.
I'm mostly excited about the fact that I can water my plants without getting water on the leaves. When you water at night, getting water on the leaves is no problem because it has all night to evaporate. But when you water in the morning a lot of times droplets of water are still on the plant leaves when the sun hits them and that leads to scorching, like in this picture:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] see the white on some of the leaves in the background - that's from the sun burning off water that was on the leaves[/caption]
The leaf scorching isn't really a big deal - as long as it's only a few leaves on each plant the plant's going to be fine and it doesn't affect the fruit at all. But it is kind of ugly and watering this raised bed with the hose it was impossible not to get water on everything: dirt, leaves, the wall behind it, me, my cat... you get the picture.
But really, the best thing about this is that my plants will get a steady stream of water which is best for vegetables. It's so hard to keep pots watered in the middle of the summer - I've been known to run home on my lunch break to water - and uneven watering leads to cracking and other vegetable problems. So now with my raised bed and irrigation system I'm all ready for summer! Let's go, veggies.
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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] black hose is the soaker hose[/caption]
Wow!! I've never done this before because I've never uh had a working hose outside. That's right, for 2+ years I watered all my plants with two watering cans filled up at my kitchen sink multiple times a day (except for that short period when I thought the outside water line in our old house was working but then it turned out it was cracked and flooding our neighbors' basements. Sorry!) Just having a hose was already pretty sweet, but then my annual freak out about not being able to water my plants while I'm at work - "If they're drying out during the day in early May what's going to happen in July and August??" - I realized that I could just order one of these do-it-yourself irrigation kits. So I did!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] raspberries are going to be so happy[/caption]
I'm not going to say too much about it because if you Google "snip and drip irrigation" you'll get tons of reviews of various products that are essentially just a length of black soaker hose and green regular hose that you connect via little black clips. There's another black clip for the end and you attach it to your hose with yet another black clip, and that was the only tricky part until I realized I was trying to connect them backwards. But there are lots of online videos to help you with that one. And then you turn on the water and watch the soaker hose soak the dirt around it - avoiding all the foliage!! - and breathe a big sigh of relief. Finally!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] raised bed with irrigation[/caption]
So here's the obvious problem: it's ugly. I figure in about a month the plants will be so big that they'll completely cover the soaker hose and probably even the regular hose connector sections. But what to do until then?? Well, I've been thinking about drilling holes into the raised bed so that you don't see the hose sticking out on either end. I also need to get some of those metal clips that hold hoses down in the dirt because I think that will make them less visible too. Ultimately, though, this is still kind of a trial run: I'm not going to drill any holes until I'm totally satisfied that the plants are getting enough water. The good thing about this system is that it comes with 50' of soaker hose and 25' of regular hose and you just cut them to whatever length you need. You can also get a timer so that everything gets watered automatically! But I'm not ready for that level of sophistication quite yet.
I'm mostly excited about the fact that I can water my plants without getting water on the leaves. When you water at night, getting water on the leaves is no problem because it has all night to evaporate. But when you water in the morning a lot of times droplets of water are still on the plant leaves when the sun hits them and that leads to scorching, like in this picture:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] see the white on some of the leaves in the background - that's from the sun burning off water that was on the leaves[/caption]
The leaf scorching isn't really a big deal - as long as it's only a few leaves on each plant the plant's going to be fine and it doesn't affect the fruit at all. But it is kind of ugly and watering this raised bed with the hose it was impossible not to get water on everything: dirt, leaves, the wall behind it, me, my cat... you get the picture.
But really, the best thing about this is that my plants will get a steady stream of water which is best for vegetables. It's so hard to keep pots watered in the middle of the summer - I've been known to run home on my lunch break to water - and uneven watering leads to cracking and other vegetable problems. So now with my raised bed and irrigation system I'm all ready for summer! Let's go, veggies.
Sarah's Garden: Exciting News!
Well, I've finally done it. I went and spent $30 on this "snip and drip" irrigation system:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
black hose is the soaker hose[/caption]
Wow!! I've never done this before because I've never uh had a working hose outside. That's right, for 2+ years I watered all my plants with two watering cans filled up at my kitchen sink multiple times a day (except for that short period when I thought the outside water line in our old house was working but then it turned out it was cracked and flooding our neighbors' basements. Sorry!) Just having a hose was already pretty sweet, but then my annual freak out about not being able to water my plants while I'm at work - "If they're drying out during the day in early May what's going to happen in July and August??" - I realized that I could just order one of these do-it-yourself irrigation kits. So I did!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
raspberries are going to be so happy[/caption]
I'm not going to say too much about it because if you Google "snip and drip irrigation" you'll get tons of reviews of various products that are essentially just a length of black soaker hose and green regular hose that you connect via little black clips. There's another black clip for the end and you attach it to your hose with yet another black clip, and that was the only tricky part until I realized I was trying to connect them backwards. But there are lots of online videos to help you with that one. And then you turn on the water and watch the soaker hose soak the dirt around it - avoiding all the foliage!! - and breathe a big sigh of relief. Finally!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
raised bed with irrigation[/caption]
So here's the obvious problem: it's ugly. I figure in about a month the plants will be so big that they'll completely cover the soaker hose and probably even the regular hose connector sections. But what to do until then?? Well, I've been thinking about drilling holes into the raised bed so that you don't see the hose sticking out on either end. I also need to get some of those metal clips that hold hoses down in the dirt because I think that will make them less visible too. Ultimately, though, this is still kind of a trial run: I'm not going to drill any holes until I'm totally satisfied that the plants are getting enough water. The good thing about this system is that it comes with 50' of soaker hose and 25' of regular hose and you just cut them to whatever length you need. You can also get a timer so that everything gets watered automatically! But I'm not ready for that level of sophistication quite yet.
I'm mostly excited about the fact that I can water my plants without getting water on the leaves. When you water at night, getting water on the leaves is no problem because it has all night to evaporate. But when you water in the morning a lot of times droplets of water are still on the plant leaves when the sun hits them and that leads to scorching, like in this picture:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]
see the white on some of the leaves in the background - that's from the sun burning off water that was on the leaves[/caption]
The leaf scorching isn't really a big deal - as long as it's only a few leaves on each plant the plant's going to be fine and it doesn't affect the fruit at all. But it is kind of ugly and watering this raised bed with the hose it was impossible not to get water on everything: dirt, leaves, the wall behind it, me, my cat... you get the picture.
But really, the best thing about this is that my plants will get a steady stream of water which is best for vegetables. It's so hard to keep pots watered in the middle of the summer - I've been known to run home on my lunch break to water - and uneven watering leads to cracking and other vegetable problems. So now with my raised bed and irrigation system I'm all ready for summer! Let's go, veggies.
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