What's Happening in the Garden
We had a resonably successful Spring 2026 season. Our 23 Spring beds were full of colorful lettuce, kale and chard. We tried various cloths and covers yet unfortunately lost some of our greens to pests. Those same beds were planted with a quick growing cover crop and we are excited to see that the beds that are now protected with our new crop protection enclosures are thriving!
A welcome guest! We have had sightings of a gopher snake! Gopher snakes can be a natural way to reduce our population of mice, rats, voles and ground squirrels.
We are very excited to have a new owl box on site! After struggling with rodents for many years, we are trying to attract natural predators to our garden. Our owl box was constructed by Amador Owl Box Co. We thank Austin Ford, the owner's son, for helping us learn about the box and for donating his time to help us put it in place. The box was strategically palced with a Southwestern exposure in hopes of attracting a pair of barn owls or screech owls prior to the spring mating season. What owl wouldn't find this attractive box a perfect place to nest?
Our 22 Summer beds and 10 Year Round beds were recently planted. While we are waiting for our new crop protection enclosures to be built we will once again be trying everything possibe to maximize our 2026 harvest. Last year, we had a group of volunteers pick these beauties early and let them ripen safely on the counter away from hungry pests. Success!