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Winter Rains Come to the Garden!
The winter rains have finally arrived! It’s been great waking up to the sound of rain against the window. Despite the colder, wetter weather, there’s still plenty going on in the Community Garden at Persimmon Park. Keep reading to hear about some of the highlights!
Mark Your Calendars! Winter Gardening Q&A – Saturday, December 6th, 1-2PM
Join us this coming Saturday for the next installment in the DIG IT series – a Winter Gardening Q&A with Mike the Gardener and Stefani Bittner, co-owner of Star Apple Edible Gardens. The class is open to both Bay Meadows’ residents and the surrounding community, so feel free to bring all your friends and family! We’ll be focusing on winter gardening, including water issues, harvesting in the winter months, dealing with cold and wet weather pests and diseases, and lots more. And if you have questions about what to look forward to in the spring, of course you can ask those, too! Light refreshments will be provided and the class will be held in Persimmon Park.
How Can Anyone Say Winter Gardening is Boring?
Many people get more excited about the bounty from the summer harvest (think tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and zucchini), but there’s so much to love about winter vegetables! In Persimmon Park, we’ve been harvesting many cooler weather crops, including large heads of purple cabbage, big bundles of rainbow lacinato kale, bags of crisp salad greens and pretty edible flowers, and our African Blue Basil has stretched its season well into these colder, winter months. Especially exciting has been the broccoli that just recently produced large, aphid-free heads. You’ll be amazed by the difference between a store bought head of broccoli and one that’s been freshly picked!
Meet Yarrow: A Tea Plant That Treats What Ails You!
The pretty red flower that you see in the picture above is called yarrow. In addition to being a beautiful plant that brings many beneficial insects to the garden, yarrow has also traditionally been used for many medicinal purposes. Steep the fresh or dried leaves and flowers in a tea to treat a fever, the common cold, or indigestion. Some even say yarrow tea is helpful for hay fever and spring allergies! Yarrow has a strong, bitter taste that isn’t for everyone, so when making a tea try mixing it with honey, chamomile, and stevia. And if you have a toothache, try chewing a few fresh leaves to ease the pain!
We hope to see you at Saturday’s class! Feel free, too, to stop by and say hello to Mike the Gardener on Fridays (9-2:30) and Saturday’s (9-3:30). He’s there rain or shine, so throw on your boots and raincoat and see what’s growing in Persimmon Park!