week 16: Salsa and chicken

This week was a solid week. We got tons of rain near the end and we got all of our picking done early. The tomatoes are coming in strong this week and okra is needed picked just about daily. We have planted broccoli and cabbage at 46th st. for the fall crop. The peas from last week are sprouting so I have hope that these will also take. Since we have everything covered in wood chips, we move the chips out of the way then plant the seeds and and compost. The compost is added right next to the seeds instead of on top because the roots would not need to go out far enough to get the nutrients they need and would be stunted.

With all of the tomatoes we are getting, we have decided to make salsa. We made three distinct flavors that we let people try on Thursday. It has been such a hit that we will be selling salsa at our stand on Thursdays for as long as we can. We will still be selling our regular produce and we put the recipes up on our Facebook page for those that wanted to try it. Our stand is not really a money making enterprise since most students do not have money on them or do not want to cook vegetables. It is mostly just a marketing tool to let people know who we are and why we do what we do to generate interest. So if we can get more people to come buy our salsa and tell others about what we do I think that would be the best.

We have added 4 more chickens to our coop! They are all donations from Robert Sharp as he needs to keep his flock from overcrowding. Hopefully they will produce lots of eggs for us! We have separated the new birds from our old two so that they can see each other but not interact. This is because chickens are very social animals and they want to develop a peaking order. New birds can cause lots of fighting with the old birds and we do not want that. So for another week more they will look but not touch.

Other Notes: Our squash bug problem is terrible. The neem spray has stopped everything except for them. If you want to volunteer in our gardens contact us on our Facebook page or see me at our mallway stand. It is never too early to sign up to be an Alliance Garden intern. We are also looking for a Garden Manager so if either sound good again let us know. Zach Arington