Chardin Garden

The 2011 season at the gardens

2011-06-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

5 new beds were added this year. They're a little narrower than the older beds. Hopefully they'll be easier to reach across to weed, plant and harvest. By making them 4 ft wide instead of 6 ft, we were able to get an extra one in the space.

Winter gardening

2010-10-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

Its mid- October and time to finish up all the fall gardening chores. If you want to plant crimson clover as a cover crop on our plot for the winter, I still have seed.
Here's a check list created by H.R. for winter gardening:

Tips on Cold Weather Gardening

What to plant
· Brassicas (broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, mustard)
· Long-season carrots and beets
· Lettuce
· Chard
· Leeks, onions, garlic

When to plant
· Plant seeds July-early September
· Plant starts until mid October
· Plant garlic in late October (just after first frost)

Season extension methods
Hoop house style cloches
Floating row cover
Bottles of water placed close to plants help hold heat overnight
Mulch insulates plants to prevent roots from freezing

Thanks, Hailey, for your work and good luck in your new venture!

Chardin Garden Event

2010-09-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the end of the summertime growing season, a prime time to check in with all of you and see how it’s going. This Friday, October 1^st, we’ll be out at the garden from 11:30-1:00 with some cold-hearty vegetable starts for you all and ready with tips on chilly-weather gardening. We hope to see you all there!

Green Tomato Ideas

2010-09-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a very disappointing tomato season. As such, most of us have a profundity of green tomatoes - but do not fear! Making fried green tomatoes happens to be only one of many delicious things to do with your unripe tomatoes:

Sweet Green Tomato Pie

Savory Green Tomato Pie

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Green Tomatoes on Pizza

Compost Tea

2010-09-21T13:40:00.001-07:00

Seattle University has a great composting program, wherein food scraps are collected on campus in cans next to the garbage and recycle cans, and then two dedicated facilities gentlemen turn it into the good stuff. An exciting component of the composting program is the compost tea that is brewed by the Grounds crew and applied to plants on SU Grounds. I have the immense pleasure of brewing that tea with my coworker/mentor JM, and I took some photos last time I brewed to share the experience with folks.

This is the tea-brewin bit of the field house at SU. The 100-gallon brewer is on the left, and the 100-gallon sprayer tank to which we hook up the small tractor and with which we apply the tea is on the right. The shelves in the background have tubs with vermicompost, food compost, tea food, and mycorrhizae in them.

These are the magic additions we make to the tea - humic acid, kelp, and fish hydrolysate (less processed and FAR smellier than fish emulsion fertilizer, if you can even imagine that).

Here are the parts of the brewer, which we clean and dry on this super-organized pegboard. From left to right: cleaning brush for the tank, the filters that hold the compost, the bubblers that push air through the compost filters, the covers for the filters, and the attachment for the smaller bubblers to fit onto the larger bubblers.

Here is the trug in which we mix SU compost, vermicompost, and fish hydrolysate and let it sit for a few days.

This is what it tends to look like after a few days. It's just teeming with microorganisms. Mmmm.

Step one: fill the tank with water. Chlorine will kill the microorganisms, so it's important to use a chlorine filter or bubble the tapwater for 2 hours or so to let it off-gas.

Here's a closer look at the fish hydrolysate, which we add to the water along with kelp and humic acid.

Those things turn the water this color. Pretty nice, eh? The humic acid makes it smell like really good soil, which is what it should end up smelling like if the tea turns out right.

Put the top on the brewer and install the filters, and put that compost into them with some tea food (in the yogurt container on the right - JM sure does love Pavell's).

Here's how it looks with everything installed and the smaller bubblers turned on. It flows over the top when I brew, but not when JM does - I'm clearly an amateur.

...turn the large bubblers on overnight, and this is what you'll find the next morning. Yum! The whole field house smells like fresh earth and it's ready to pump into the sprayer and be applied to whatever lucky plants are chosen.

2010-09-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Tilth Harvest Fair was a great success this past Saturday, with lovely weather after so many days of gray skies. It was so exciting to be in a crowd of folks all celebrating the same thing: urban agriculture! There are some photos on the Seattle Tilth website, if you didn’t get to go but want to see how it went (yes, that IS a man dressed as a giant carrot).

Delicious food, fancy chicken coops, and plant starts were very inspiring to a gardener on the verge of planting a fall or winter garden. If you’re wanting some fall and winter gardening inspiration, we might have a surprise for you soon in the form of cold-hearty veggie starts – stay tuned.

During the past year and a half...

2010-09-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a year and a half since the last posting and the Chardin Garden has undergone a serious facelift. In April, we installed raised beds and reconfigured the gardener situation to make an attempt at stronger commitment.

Here are some photos to give a better idea what's going on now:

The inaugural event happened on Earth Day 2010. Gardeners planted starts from the SU Grounds crew, snacked, and schmoozed.

The garden is looking very late-summer right now, with mature plants and seed heads.

Lettuce gone to seed is a good forage source for birds, plus it looks interesting - lettuce flower stalks can grow as tall as a person.

The tomatoes are beginning to ripen, exciting after such a cool summer.

This person left room for a fall/winter garden planting.

Patty-pan squash are hiding inside of this vine.

An eggplant has managed to mature, despite the cool weather.

This sunflower in the communal perennial bed has a honeybee visitor – you can see it if you look closely.

The communal perennial bed sports currants, herbs, and an unfortunately crispy blueberry bush.

Fennel gone to seed is great forage for birds and other beneficials.

These boxes provide room for hoses and other communal tools. The hose hooks up to a waterline mid-garden but we like to put it away between uses because there’s no water key on the line.

Edible marigolds look beautiful, attract beneficial insects, and are tasty as a garnish.

When radishes go to seed their roots become woody and unappetizing. Fortunately for us, radish pods are delicious in a salad!

That's all for now! Looking good, gardeners - keep it up.

Planting Party on April 19

2009-04-15T14:11:00.001-07:00

The White House has a garden

2009-04-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

Check it out.

Look How Far We've Come

2008-07-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

From This:To this:

New Plot on the Block

2008-07-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

The plot on the end has finally been put to use. I'm excited for the berries.

I Love Beets!

2008-07-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

This is a chioggia beet. As you can see, it has really neat striping. No need to cook it. I recommend slicing it thin and putting it in salads. It adds some fun color and is bound to impress.

Another Garden Update

2008-07-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Things are growing well. I don't know what I'm most excited for. A raw fennel salad? More beets than I'll know what to do with? Or homemade bruschetta from heirloom tomatoes and basil?

Fennel

Pea
Corn
Herbs
Beets, carrots, peas
Flowers
Tomatoes
Pumpkin

WORMS!

2008-07-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Learn how to make a worm bin from a Seattle Times article.

A long overdue update

2008-07-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

Carrots

Corn

Chinese Cabbage

Heirloom tomatoes

Fennel

Pumpkin

Lemon Verbena

Flat Leaf Parsley

Peas

Beets

Mint

Another garden example in Seattle

2008-06-13T10:32:00.001-07:00

Urban Farming in Seattle.

Planting party in Kent

Volunteers are needed to help get thousands of peas, greens and other vegetables into the ground. A caravan will be leaving New Hope Baptist Church, located at 116 21st Ave. in Seattle, at 9 a.m. Saturday. Volunteers are also welcome to meet at the property in Kent, located on 72nd Avenue South, two blocks north of South 212th Street. For more information, call 206-323-4212 or 206-324-3114.

Garden Update

2008-06-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

The radishes are ready. I picked (and ate) these yesterday. Feel free to snack on one if you like. It's been a while, so here are some pictures of the garden. Things are looking good.

Urban Gardens

2008-06-04T11:12:00.001-07:00

There was an interesting article in the PI about urban farming. The picture above is a bit of a pipe dream, but the article gives examples of places in Seattle that are taking advantage of small spaces to plant gardens. It's cool to think about so much potential and how it can be integrated into the landscape. The Chardin Garden is a great example of a space that wasn't being fully utilized before and is now adding food production and an educational opportunity. Next up, where can we put a chicken coop on campus? For a more esoteric discussion of the matter, please refer to this post.

It's been a while since I've been posting. I'll have to add pictures soon. Things are coming up well. I just wish it would stay warmer. Good luck with finals.

First Harvest?

2008-05-26T09:32:00.001-07:00

This morning I did a little bit of weeding and thinned out some of the radishes. This guy happened to come up. I'll consider him the first harvest of the season. He's small, but he tasted great.

A Garden Update

2008-05-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Things are going well in the garden. Much has sprouted and much more is probably happening below the ground. Josh and Michael took out the patch of grass between the plots and the sidewalk and replaced it with mulch. This will hopefully make it easier to take care of as well as reduce the growth of weeds and grass in the garden.

It should be a nice weekend to be outside

2008-05-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

What are you doing?

Here are some radishes coming up to inspire you.

Michael Pollan on Food

2008-05-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

The author of Omnivore's Dilemma speaking about food. This is an hour long, but it's good viewing. He's a favorite author of mine.

Urban Farmers’ Crops Go From Vacant Lot to Market

2008-05-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

A cool article about urban farming in the NYT.

Seattle Tilth Plant Sale

2008-05-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

It ended up being another great weekend for gardening. On Saturday morning I attended the Seattle Tilth plant sale. There was a huge crowd and selection of plants. It was cool to see. I could have easily spent much more time and money there. I ended up with a wide selection of plants. I got tomatoes, fennel, leeks, Brussels sprouts, squash, strawberries, and a hot pepper. I also got a variety of herbs including mint, parsley, thyme, lemon verbena, and basil.

On Sunday, I planted everything. I created a bed for the tomatoes and other vegetables. I made sure to give them lots of space. I also started the herb garden bed. It's also exciting to see a few sprouts pushing through the soil.

A Great Day to Plant

2008-04-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

It was great to have such a crowd come on a beautiful day. I'm very encouraged by everyone and it's great to see it actually happening. We prepped the beds and put in some seeds. Among the planting today were beets, carrots, peas, beans, radishes, joi choi, lettuce, flowers, and a few other things.

More info will be coming on what happens next. If you're interested in going to the Tilth Plant sale next Saturday, let me know.

Planting Party This Saturday

2008-04-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

We're finally going to be planting this Saturday. Meet at 3 pm at the garden. I got the seeds, tools, gloves, etc. Hopefully the weather is kind. Who's excited?

Laying Out the Beds

2008-04-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

On Friday we divided the individual beds in the garden. We also put down mulch in rows between the beds. The garden is taking shape.

Chardin, the man, the garden

2008-03-30T09:22:00.001-07:00

Pierre Tielhard de Chardin was a Jesuit priest, from France and for whom the residence hall is named. He was also a paleontologist and therefore it is somewhat fitting to have this garden in his name. Paleontology is the study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric or geologic times, as represented by the fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms. Gardening, through the soil, is very much a reflection of the lands' history. Soil quality can vary greatly in nutrients, ph level, composition, ground temperature, and bacteria and other organisms. There is a history behind how these things came about through millions of years. They also can change through what is planted in the soil and the nutrients that are put back. With an understanding of how soil works, it helps inform us to what plants work well in the Northwest.

What it looked like before

2008-03-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

The Chardin Garden is located between Logan field and the Chardin parking lot. Here is what it looked like before. The location was chosen because it's a level area with good sun exposure. It wasn't being used for much other than a patch of grass. It's an area that's visible to the public so everyone can see what grows.

Tilling the Soil

2008-03-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

The garden is getting ready. On Tuesday we put down some rich compost and tilled the soil. On Friday, April 4 at 10 am we will be creating the beds for the garden. All are welcome to join.

Welcome to the Chardin Garden Blog

2008-03-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

I love blogs and I love gardens, so I thought it would be fun to experiment with both. It is my hope that this blog with serve as a central source for information about the Chardin Garden as well as a way to document the garden's growth.

The Chardin Garden will be ready for the spring 2008. It is a joint venture between Chardin Hall and SU Grounds. Students can be responsible for a plot of land and learn first hand about food production. It's as much about the process as it is the end result.