Greene Acres

Community Garden, Inc

The Organic Community Garden
in Broadview Heights, Ohio
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August 2020: Fall Planting and Harvesting

August 5, 2020 by Jo Ann Bartsch Leave a Comment

When it comes to harvesting, it seems like a fairly easy task.  “Pick it when it’s ripe!!”  But we seem to have some trouble handling it.  Most of what I see in the garden is neglecting to harvest until it’s too late.  It may have nothing to do with not knowing when to do it, but rather finding the time and making the effort to get out to the Garden.  Remember, the Harvest Group will do it for you if we see that you’re neglecting your harvest. 

If you attended my “Seasons of Gardening” presentation that I gave last year, you know that there’s some math involved in calculating when to plant for successful fall crops.  (If you missed the presentation, or have short term memory loss, along with me, the presentation is on our website at https://www.greeneacres.org/2019/02/the-seasons-of-gardening/.  The Farmer’s Almanac has cleverly done the math for us and created a table based on our first and last frost dates.  You can find it here: https://www.greeneacres.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/almanac.com-Planting-Calendar-for-Broadview-Heights-OH.pdf.   Remember, fall planting is really a big experiment for many of us – we aren’t used to doing fall gardening. However, we’ve had some fairly good, long autumns in the past few years.  Try it!

Here are some harvesting guidelines and tips:

  • Ripeness is indicated by changes in size, color, or softness. 
    • Tomatoes turn from green to red (or yellow) and easily detach from the vine when they mature.
    • The skins of peas, eggplants, squash get glossy as they fully mature
    • Root vegetables tend to push up from ground…watch their shoulders as a clue to tell how big they are underground.
    • Garlic needs to be dug when the bottom five or so leaves begin to dry
  •  Vegetative crops (those grown for their leaves or stems or roots):  Pick while young and tender.
  • Fruit crops: most should be left on the plant until fully ripe.  However, beans, cucumbers, eggplants, summer squash all taste a bit better when they are slightly immature.  Tomatoes can be picked before full maturity especially if you’re in a harvest race with the critters.  They can ripen further on your kitchen window sill.
  • Potatoes or peppers can be harvested either immature or fully ripe and will taste differently depending on which you choose.
  • Some vegetables are forgiving – if you delay harvesting onions, winter squash or potatoes an extra week won’t matter that much.  Summer squash is not forgiving!  Waiting an extra day or two may result in overripeness (not to mention giant fruits!).
  • Some vegetables become sweeter after a frost.  Plan on harvesting brussels sprouts, kale, and parsnips later in the season.
  • Watch the weather with respect to harvesting:  a heavy rainfall can dilute flavor or crack the produce.  Drought can produce bitterness, especially in cucumbers.
  • Remember these harvesting how-to guidelines: 
    • Be gentle.  Any bruises or scrapes will reduce storage life
    • Don’t harvest when plants are wet to avoid disease spread.
    • Use shears or a knife with veggies that have tough or brittle stems
    • Leave tops on root crops (except for garlic)
    • Harvest before noon when sugar content is highest,
    • Cool the produce immediately (except for tomatoes, garlic, onions and basil)
    • Only wash produce right when you’re ready to use it.

I hope some of this helps reinforce how important it is to get to the end of the game:  THE HARVEST.  If you have any questions or need something else for your gardening experiment, please let me know.

Jo Ann

Gardening Library Tagged: Harvesting

Greene Acres featured on Cleveland.com

October 26, 2020 by Greene Acres Web Leave a Comment

Check it out! We were recently visited by Mayor Sam Alai in September and featured in an article on cleveland.com.

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2020/09/community-spirit-grows-with-love-of-gardening-talk-of-the-towns.html

In The News

Amazon Smile Donations

November 1, 2019 by Greene Acres Web Leave a Comment

This year we are rebuilding 20 plots in the front of the garden as part of an ongoing maintenance program.  As our financial resources limited, we are fund raising to accomplish ongoing maintenance goals.

One of the ways you can assist in the fund raising efforts is to use our new Amazon Smile account.  Your prices will be the SAME and Amazon Gives 0.5% of all purchases to Greene Acres.  

What is AmazonSmile?
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. You can choose from over one million organizations to support.  

Can I use my existing Amazon account on AmazonSmile?
Yes, you use the same account on Amazon and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.

How do I select a charitable organization to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?
On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. It will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at AmazonSmile will result in a donation.

Directions:
1. Go into your browser and go smile.amazon.com
2. Sign into your Amazon Account
3. Click on the search button and type in Greene Acres.
4. When it comes up, click the START Shopping On your Amazon Bar – it will now say “Amazon Smile”. At the top of your Amazon it will say:  Supporting: Greene Acres Community Garden, Inc.
Every time you shop, you should check that it says: “Supporting:  Greene Acres Community Garden, Inc.”  

Thank you for your support of Greene Acres.
Twila Goshorn


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Upcoming Important Dates

Meetings and Work Days are currently canceled / postponed due to COVID-19 :(. We hope to see you all soon! The garden itself is still open though!

Registration Info

2021 Registration Packet (PDF)

Work Groups Information (PDF)

Plot Holder Information

If you're interested in a plot, please send an email to us by using the contact form on this website. Yearly fee for a plot is $30.00, Plots are 4ft x 10 ft.

Plot holders (current and future) must be either:
- A resident of Broadview Heights
- An employee of a business in Broadview Heights
- A member of the Chippewa Garden Club

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Recent Posts

  • Greene Acres featured on Cleveland.com
  • August 2020: Fall Planting and Harvesting
  • Amazon Smile Donations
  • The Seasons of Gardening
  • Spring “thyme” is just around the corner.

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