City Square Update

The big news of the week is the purchase of a toolshed and more tools for kids!

We also harvested our first batch of green beans -yum!

Our tomatoes, however, are not faring too well. One theory is irregular watering, an issue which we're working on.

a lovely tranquil spot for the kids to relax

although some tomatoes are not faring well, these were mighty tasty!

one lone calendula escapee from the garden. Giving unexpected brightness in an otherwise gray space.

We look forward to redesigning the garden over the coming months, stay tuned for changes!

Here comes the fruit!

young strawberry

Here on the rooftop our veggies are growing....

cucumber

...and fruit is ripening!

little tomatoes

more tomatoes

Despite worries about our tomato plants (some curled leaves and spots), they are still producing fruit. Hope the sun stays out next week!

-Laura, SPEC Summer Student Intern

ups and downs

Last week, we were able to harvest enough lettuce to share with both the Mount Pleasant and the Little Mountain Neighbourhood Houses!

Teomi and Kiana with Karen from LMNH

and then this week, bad news - the fava beans that we had planted last year and were growing so big and beautifully got infested with APHIDS and unfortunately didn't survive (sniff!). We did manage to salvage a bag full of beans, not insignificant, but definitely anticlimactic! I wish I had my camera that day, but the beans had big black spots on them and were starting to rot...

on the bright side, now we have a big new area to plant in! planting planting planting!

We've had a relatively relaxing few weeks at City Square. Mostly everything is in the ground, and we've planted more lettuce, carrots, and spinach in the few spaces we had. We've harvested parsley and peas, as well as

radishes

lettuce

and

calendula

to make yummy

salad!!!

And as always, weeding and watering

little boy, big (fava) beans

We're looking forward to doing some long-term planning for the garden, if you would like to contribute ideas or just come help in the garden, email bakervicky@shaw.ca

The tomatoes are coming!

The vegetables and flowers are absolutely loving the sunshine and hot weather we have been having here in Vancouver. Sometimes a little too much so. The heat can get a bit extreme on the roof. That reminds me....we should get a thermometer to record what's going on.

Jennifer, Laura and I pruning, staking and securing the tomatoes. The wind blew over a whole bunch the night before.

Laura is our new summer intern. She will be working with SPEC's Food Safety and Security Committee on a number of projects. Welcome aboard Laura!


One of our many varieties of tomatoes.

Marigolds and other flowers have been placed between the rows of tomatoes to attract pollinating insects to the tomatoes.
Our nasturtiums grow like crazy. We had to do a massive trimming because they were growing so much that they were starting to block the solar panels.

I will forever think of my cabbage patch kid - Ken George when I see cabbage plants.

Jennifer and Laura are hanging out with the solar cooker.

The tomato growing upside down (to the left of Jennifer) in the topsy turvy is doing okay. It does not seem as large as the other ones but there are a few small tomatoes coming in.
Time will tell.

These are pictures from Karen's garden on Bowen Island. The pea trellis is made from bamboo that was invading the community garden site.

Hoop house over raised beds.

Container gardening for your boat!