Bay Meadows

Meet Elisa Daus, our new resident gardener from Homestead Design Collective!  Elisa is taking over for Mike who was recently promoted to Project Manager with Homestead.  We are thrilled for Mike, as we all know it was a very well deserved promotion and we look forward to seeing him from time to time at our monthly Dig it Classes.  Mike was amazing at getting the garden started at Bay Meadows and we are so thankful for his help over the past three years.  Now, we are equally excited for the next chapter of the garden with Elisa and wanted to formally welcome her to our community!

Elisa may have just recently joined Homestead, but don’t be fooled; she is an expert in the garden and has been exploring nature since she was a little girl.

Elisa is in the garden every other Friday from 9-3pm and every Saturday 9-3pm.  If you have questions, don’t be shy, even with limited gardening experience, Elisa would be happy to help guide you along the way.

Here’s what she had to say when we recently caught up at Persimmon Park.

How long have you been gardening?

I have always been in love with nature, but my parents are the ones to thank for my enjoyment in gardening. One of my chores at home was to weed and prune the yard. To be honest, it never felt like any of the other chores. I ended up studying landscape architecture in college and more recently worked at Hidden Villa, a farm in Los Altos Hills. Now I have merged these two passions of mine, farming, and design, into edible landscaping!

What inspired your love for the garden?

There is nothing like watching a little seed sprout out of the ground and form into a recognizable plant, all it takes is some water and time.

For someone new to the garden, what advice would you give them?

Start small. You have a small space so at first try to plant just a few plants so you can grow and learn organically. It is easy to be overwhelmed, and it can get crowded quickly.

Can you tell us your favorite edibles to grow in the garden and why?

I enjoy harvesting and eating Blue Borage flowers, especially with kids. You have to be very soft and gentle to correctly harvest the edible part of a Borage flower, and kids love its cucumber taste!

Can you use three words to describe Bay Meadows

Community, Growing, and Sharing

Favorite gardening essentials and why?

Don’t forget to use Sluggo or Neem Oil to get rid of pests before there is an issue. Sluggo can be scattered on the soil around a plant that has little holes munched on by slugs. Neem Oil can be diluted and sprayed at the center of new growth to get rid of pesky pests, like the Aphid.

Besides gardening, what else do you enjoy in your spare time?

I really enjoy playing all sports, I find all of them fun to play.  Right now I like throwing a frisbee around or hitting a baseball.

Let’s welcome Elisa to the Bay Meadows community!  If you happen to visit the garden while Elisa is there, please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself and ask her your gardening questions.  Don’t miss our next Dig It class on May 3^rd all about growing Tomatoes.

Conveniently located between San Francisco and Palo Alto in San Mateo, Bay Meadows offers new homes for sale and for rent within walking distance of Caltrain. Ease of transportation is only one of the many amazing aspects of Bay Meadows. Beautiful, new, clean homes sit among 18-acres of parks, a community garden, and within walking distance of Whole Foods, Chipotle, Crunch Fitness and more. Learn more about our ‘hood by following our Facebook page.