Our peer-learning activity shared information about on growing vegetables with a focus on the Ramsey County Poor Farm, affectionaately called "The Barn" by RCMG volunteers
7/11/2024
The June monthly meeting was held via Zoom from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Our peer-learning activity had to change suddenly from an outdoor event in the Barn Gardens to a online presentation to avoid massive thunderstorms that rolled in; thanks to everyone for being flexible! We are lucky to be able to change our formats so quickly this way.
Watching the recording of this meeting can be counted as 2 hours of Continuing Education. (Find the recording in the Archives of the Monthly Meeting page.)
THANK YOU!
Many thanks to the RCMG volunteers involved with the March Meeting:
Education Committee: Simba Blood & Gene Ranieri
Journalist: Diana Rankin
Presenters: Jamie Aussendorf, Nancy Berry, Jeane Buck & Becky Rude, Sharon O'Connor, Joe Baltrukonis & Jennifer Porwit
Set-Up: Steve Senty, Rosemary Brady-Cook, Christopher Skelly, Jean Kohs & Judie Ritchie
Coffee Courier: Judy Johnson
Greeters: Sarah Hilger & Katie Robinson
AV Team: Keni Vargas, Alanna Kennedy
Time Keeper: Jessie Luévano
Clean Up: Jan Fransen, Shanna Hoffman, Helen Weber
RCMG Board Announcements (6:30-6:40) – Julie Bechtold, RCMG chair
The meeting was scheduled to be held in person at the Barn, but because of predicted rain and storms was moved to Zoom. Thank you to the presenters for pivoting and thank you to the A-V team for last minute work on making this meeting possible.
Plant sale
Thank you to all the volunteers for a huge success. The new Aldrich Arena location worked well.
Strategic planning
The Board has begun the strategic planning process. On July 15th, project leaders and committee chairs are invited to participate in a session. Members will be updated monthly
The Board is looking for paper and/or digital documents from past board meetings. Please contact Julie Bechtold if you have past board documents.
Darren Lochner's Coordinator Updates (6:40pm-6:50pm)
Thank you to those who have volunteered at the compost sites this spring.
Reminder that June 17-23 is Pollinator Week.
There are free items available at the Barn underneath the silo.
Guest Lecture - RCMG Peer-to-Peer Education: Vegetables at the Barn (7:00-8pm)
Simba Blood, Education Chair, thanked the speakers for pivoting and presenting their topics virtually rather than in-person at the Barn. Members are encouraged to type their questions into the chat.
Guest Speakers: Jamie Aussendorf, Nancy Berry, Jeane Buck & Becky Rude, Sharon O'Connor, Joe Baltrukonis & Jennifer Porwit, Ramsey County Master Gardener volunteers
The Poor Farm (Barn) History (Jamie Aussendorf)
The Barn is the home of the Ramsey County Extension Service and other county offices. In 1850 leaders of what is now Ramsey County began planning for how they would care for the poor. In 1885 the Ramsey County Home, i.e. “Poor Farm,” moved from the current State Fair location to Maplewood. The Barn was built in 1918 and in 1977 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
To learn more, read “A Roof Over Their Heads” from the Ramsey County Historical Society..
A self-guided trail just north of the Barn near the horseshoe pits leads to the County Home’s cemetery. A brochure is also available and copies are in the Resource Center.
Gardens at the Barn (Nancy Berry & Carol Mollner, Barn Gardens Co-Chairs)
All of the produce grown in all of the vegetable gardens is donated to the Keystone Community Food Shelf. In 2023, this totaled 1,800 pounds.
The focus is on growing basic veggies and herbs recognized and used by people of different backgrounds.
The big vegetable garden -- substantial permanent fencing keeps critters out. Challenges with watering and timely harvesting.
Square Foot garden – 4x6 grid in a metal raised bed 3’ tall. Cukes and bush beans are difficult to manage.
Jumping worm possible sighting. All areas around raised beds have been solarized. Regimen for cleaning tools and shoes.
Seed trials – Jeanne Buck and Becky Rude manage this project in 16 raised beds located north of the large vegetable garden. Results will be shared with the UMN Extension Master Gardener Program. Information on the seed trials is at https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/mgweb/community-engagement/seed-trials and https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/master-gardener-seed-trials.
Outreach has begun now that the garden is ready for teaching opportunities. On-site signage is being discussed.
Growing Vegetables in Containers (Sharon O’Connor)
Requirements for growing veggies in containers include:
Sun
Regular watering
Well-draining soil
Containers of any size, with drainage holes
Protection from critters
Plant varieties appropriate for container growing.
Maximizing Your Tomato Production (Joe Baltrukonis and Jennifer Porwit)
General comments
Know the variety’s genetics; read the description on the seed packet or plant tag.
Require a minimum of 8 hours of direct sunlight.
Need well-draining soil with compost; get a soil test.
Use fertilizer with less nitrogen – for example 5.10.5. Apply small amount when it reaches 2-3 feet tall and then again when it starts to fruit.
Requires 1.5 inches of water a week, preferably applied in 1 good watering. Infrequent watering leads to blossom-end rot.
Mulch to preserve water, keep weeds down, cool the soil, and prevent water from splashing on the leaves.
Pinch off the bottom leaves as the plant grows.
When growing plants from seed, start about the last week of March. When buying plants select a stocky plant 8-10 inches tall with stems the width of a pencil. Check the roots. Remove any flowers or fruits to stimulate root production.
Plant when the ground warms up. Space 18-36 inches apart. Loosen root, plant deep (roots will form along the stem). If the plant is leggy, bend the stem and lay the plant on its side in the planting hole.
Growth patterns
Indeterminate – 12’-25’ tall; produces suckers
Determinate – 2.5’-4’; big initial growth.
Semi-determinate – 4.5’-5’ tall
Dwarf indeterminate – thick stems, rough rugose leaves; determinate stature; produces all season
Micro – 6”-24”; determinate in size and production
Tomatoes are self-pollinated by wind.
Support structures include trellises, tomato cages, and concrete reinforcing wire cages.
Prune suckers; there will be less but larger fruit.
Practice IPM
Use mulch to prevent weeds. Tomatoes have shallow roots; it is best to pull rather than hoe weeds.
Insects – hand pick tomato hornworms.
Diseases – prevent or reduce with adequate air movement, selecting disease resistant varieties, watering at the base of the plant, not working if the foliage is wet, removing lower leaves away from the soil
Don’t compost diseased plants.
Switch to container gardening
Grow grafted plants – the rootstock is disease resistant
Harvest
Remove top 4 inches of the foliage 1 month before the first frost
Never put tomatoes in the refrigerator.
Current favorite tomato – Tommy Toe
Where to get seeds – any seed catalog
TomatoFest, Bounty Hunter Seeds, Johnny’s, Super Seeds (Pine Tree), Totally Tomatoes
Variety selection for maximum days to harvest -- Joe’s rule is 90 days; Jennifer’s, never more than 80.
Recap provided by Diana Rankin
RCMG Volunteer