In an effort to promote local self reliance, food security and a growing support of food not lawns…
Come out Saturday, September 15 and view a small but verdant selection of edible food gardens in our neighborhood. You can walk or bike the tour.
Each garden will open itself to the public for about an hour between 10AM – 2PM to show what it has to offer, showcasing methods and helpful tips for realizing the most out of our relatively small but infinitely productive urban lots.
Questions? E-mail onest@overlookneighborhood.org
It's a jungle out there.
This is the fourth year of our garden and we’d like to share our work-in-progress. So far our urban homestead includes a greenhouse, rain water storage system, micro drip irrigation, a coop/compost bin/potting bench/tool shed/green roof structure, an ecolawn, permeable paving, a rain garden and lots to eat.
I have to say a fall garden tour doesn’t show things at their very best (well, there are some drought-stricken areas and some wonderfully lush zones) and there is the caveat I have a new baby, constructions zones and have been away part of the summer. But anyway.
Big changes are happening all around the foot of the house as we’ve had renovations underway and had to pot up most of the plantings. They will be replanted in a new design when the rains start.
Some of the highlights of this year’s garden are the many flowers in the ‘annual ghetto’ (aka the raised garden) that I planted to delight the baby and the nine fruit trees that are tucked into the structure of the garden and are finally bearing fruit.
A few of the noteworthy plants that are edible or otherwise useful are the Chinese rice paper plant, persimmon, and a pair of quince trained as arbor. Here are some partial lists of what we grow:
Perennial Edible Plants
Apple -espallier
Asin pear – espallier
Sweet cherry – espallier
Fig
Apricot
Tart cherry
Quince ‘Van Deman’
Persimmon
Grapes
Honeyberry
Seaberry
Evergreen huckleberry
Red and golden raspberry
Blueberry ‘Jersey’ and ‘Bluecrop’
Red currant
Alpine strawberry
Strawberry
Goumi
Oregon grape
Tea
Rosemary
Lavender
Sage
Oregano
Thyme
Chives
Salad burnett
Bay
Rhubarb
English walnut
Asparagus
Cardoon
Blue elderberry
Sorrel
Pineapple guava
Olive ‘Arbequena’
Meyer lemon (potted – in greenhouse during the winter)
Annual Edibles – Summer/Fall
Amaranth
Orach
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplants
Beans
Zucchini
Summer squash
Acorn squash
Carrots
Broccoli
Mouse melons
Cucumbers
Leeks
Potatoes
Cabbage
Basil
Dill
Arugula
Plus lots more.. plants for insects and wildlife, nitrogen fixation and many medicinal herbs, dye and fiber plants and building materials along with plant geekiness.
