Portland Community Garden Photos May

Cimmaron Lettuce

This is the Cimmaron variety. Don't worry I have more of it in other areas of the garden. All plants in my community garden were panted from seed so I am way behind the other gardeners who used plant starts. Their lettuce looks like it will be ready to harvest in a few weeks. This variety of lettuce is ready in 65 days. It is a deep red romaine type with a good resistance to bolting. This heirloom variety dates back to the 18th century. Caroline and I are also growing the Black-Seeded Simpson variety.

Oregon Sugar Pod Peas & Cimmaron Lettuce

I think the peas should be further along than they are since they love cooler weather which we have had a ton of. I grew some of the peas to use as a temporary green manure until the summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, melons) can be planted. Since it does not look like the ground will warm up to 60 degrees any time too soon I think I should be able to harvest the peas grown for green manure before I have to pull them up.

Yarrow Herb

I inherited these when I acquired my plot. I would like to get rid of most of the plants. In just a few months of having the garden the herb had multiplied into large clumps that are very hard to dig or pull up. Personally I would consider it invasive here in Portland. Although it is grown for its medicinal purposes it is just not a useful herb to me and is using up too much of my valuable space.

Garden Note

I would like to say at this point that I am not a neat or tidy gardener. Surprise. There are no rows in my garden and most of the beds are oval. Vegetables are interplanted with flowers and herbs and vegetables are interplanted with vegetables. I do have mulched paths, but to tell you the truth I am thinking of getting rid of most of them so I can fit more plants in.