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iGrow 350 Garden Challenge

Join in planting 350 gardens on the weekend of May 15-16!

The 350 Garden Challenge's goal is to create (or expand)  350 waterwise food gardens in Sonoma County on the weekend of May 15-16.  

Every community in the county will be organizing their area and Transition Sebastopol is taking on the West County. We hope to bring together local food, water conservation, and community and tie it into the 350 movement to cut greenhouse emissions.  We need help in doing outreach and publicity, organizing a couple model, higher profile gardens and coordinating logistics and volunteers. 

The goals of the 350 Garden Challenge are simple:

  • Create a healthy homegrown food supply
  • Save water and cut greenhouse gas emissions
  • Support local businesses
  • Build community and beautify our neighborhoods

 

Daily Acts, iGROW Sonoma, GoLocal & Living Mandala are collborating with the Sonoma County Water Agency and dozens of community groups and companies to create the 350 Garden Challenge.

There are many ways to get involved from starting a garden to helping get the word out.
Learn more about this exciting project at http://igrowsonoma.org/350_garden_challenge.

The iGrow site also features a host of fabulous resources on what plants to grow and how to grow them here. There are some great links for all gardener!

Download the 350 Challenge Overview [PDF].

Ways you can get involved:
 
* Start a garden, be it small or large, a container or a whole lawn.  If you already have a garden this is a challenge for you also, expand your garden, plant a row for the food bank, switch your irrigation to a water efficient drip system or put in grey water system.  We want everyone to be a part of this whether it is the first time you have ever gardened or if you are a seasoned expert. Make sure you sign up on the website so your garden is counted and you will receive coupons for the discounts many businesses are offering.
 
* Help others put in gardens, either work with your neighbors or join one of the projects being organized in your community.  Sign up to volunteer on the website or contact Erin at erin@dailyacts.org if you are available to volunteer on that weekend and want more information! We'll match you with an inspiring community project to get involved in.  Transition Sebastopol is organizing the West County area- contact Sara McCamant  if you want to get involved there-saramc@emeraldearth.org.
  * Join us to celebrate on Sunday May 16th from 5:00-8:00pm at Julliard Park in Santa Rosa with a community potluck (bring a drink or dish to share), live music and a report of the weekend.

Already have a food garden? Check out the growing list of food gardens in Sonoma County and register your own!!

For more information or if you want to get involved contact Sara McCamant: 707 829-5234 or saramc@emeraldearth.org

Follow the 350 Garden Challenge on Facebook!

 

 

 

Look out for our Rainbow Chard seed packets that we'll be sharing at the Apple Blossom Festival on April 24th!

Thank you to Farmer Scott of Laguna Farm (one of our local CSAs) for this wonderful donation! Read on how you can grow your Rainbow Chard seeds!

Why grow chard?? Wondering what to do with chard??
Check out these recipes from the New York Times!

When to Plant

Chard should be directly seeded into the garden in early spring to mid-spring.

Spacing & Depth

Plant seeds 1/2 to 3/4 inches deep (8 to 10 seeds per foot of row) Thin seedlings to 4 to 6 inches apart. An alternative method is to thin the seedlings to 2 to 3 inches apart; then, when they are large enough for greens (6 to 8 inches tall), harvest the excess plants whole, leaving a final spacing of 9 to 12 inches between plants.

Care

Maintain sufficient soil moisture to keep plants growing well.

Harvesting

Cut off the outer leaves 1 1/2 inches above the ground when they are young and tender (about 8-12 inches long). Be careful not to damage the terminal bud, at the center of the bottom of the growing rosette of foliage.

Selection & Storage

Chard goes by many names—Swiss chard, leaf beet, seakettle beet, and spinach beet to name a few. It is a beautiful large-leaf vegetable with wide flat stems resembling celery. The ruby variety is especially charming with its’ vivid red stem with broad dark green leaves. If you like spinach, you will adore chard. The flavor is mild yet earthy and sweet with slightly bitter undertones.

The word "Swiss" was used to distinguish chard from French charde or chardon by nineteenth century seed catalogues publishers and the name stuck. Chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks but the first varieties have been traced back to Sicily. In the US the leaves are valued while European cooks value the stalks to the point of discarding the leaves or feeding them to animals.

Chard can be harvested while the leaves are young and tender or after maturity when larger have slightly tougher stems. Chard is extremely perishable, so keep refrigerator storage time to a minimum. Store unwashed leaves in plastic bags in the crisper for 2 to 3 days. The stalks can be stored longer if separated from the leaves.

[source: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/chard1.html]