Ready-To-Grow Gardens

Thursday, May 10, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Coral Gables Congregational Church
3010 De Soto Boulevard
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
(located across from the Biltmore Hotel)

Next Thursday Will Allen, one of the top urban farmers in the world will be giving a talk. If urban agriculture is something that interests you I strongly recommend going.

“Pioneering urban farmer and MacArthur “Genius Award” winner Will Allen had no intention of ever becoming a farmer. But after years in professional basketball and as an executive for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Procter & Gamble, Allen cashed in his retirement fund for a two-acre plot a half mile away from Milwaukee’s largest public housing project. The area was a food desert with only convenience stores and fast-food restaurants to serve the needs of local residents. In the face of financial challenges and daunting odds, Allen built the country’s preeminent urban farm – a food and educational center that now produces enough vegetables and fish year-round to feed thousands of people. Employing young people from the neighboring housing project and community, Growing Power has sought to prove that local food systems can help troubled youths, dismantle racism, create jobs, bring urban and rural communities closer together, and improve public health. Today, Allen’s organization helps develop community food systems across the country. An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution (Gotham, $26) is the story of Will’s personal journey, the lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats. Presented in collaboration with Slow Food Miami.”

With the rainy season just around the corner, we are entering the best time of the year for planting tropical fruit trees.  Fruit trees grow much better with the heat and regular rain in the summer, so if you want to plant any this year, our recommendation is to plant them soon.

For a complete listing of our available fruit trees, visit our plant selection page here.

As many of you with gardens are beginning to do considerable harvesting, it is very likely that there will be more room made in your gardens.  To get the most out of your garden, it is wise to continually plant new plants (or seeds) as plants are removed, or trimmed back.  This is particularly relevant to short season crops like lettuce, bush beans and radishes.  For those of you that have your garden under control, but need some plants to fill in the gaps, or for those of you that would like a full-on replanting, we wanted to let you know that we have an excellent selection of veggie and herb starts that we grow organically from seed or cutting.  Here they are:

Herbs:

• Borage
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Comfrey
• Cuban Oregano
• Dill
• Egyptian Mint
• Epazote
• Lavender
• Lemon Balm
• Lemon Grass
• Mint
• Nasturtium
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Sage

Veggies:

• Arugula
• Bak Choy
• Bean
• Boniato (tropical sweet potato)
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Chicory
• Chinese Cabbage
• Collards
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Endive
• Escarole
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Mizuna
• Mustard Greens
• Pepper (Hot and Sweet varieties)
• Radish
• Sorrel
• Spinach
• Shungiku
• Sweet Potato
• Swiss Chard
• Tomato (Around 20 varieties, mostly heirloom)

Many gardeners are too busy to give their gardens the attention it needs to reach its full potential, and some are beginners and need expert advice and assistance in getting their garden to flourish.  We wanted to remind you that Ready-to-Grow Gardens can provide regular garden visits.

In our garden visits we do the following:

1. Help harvest and prune existing plants
2. Train and stake vining plants (like tomatoes)
3. Add compost and mulch as needed
4. Add organic fertilizer
5. Use organic pest control
6. Coach, and give advice on how to maintain and enjoy your garden correctly

Visits are typically once a month, but can also twice a month, or once every 2 months.  Prices are based on frequency of visit and size of garden.