Hanging Vegetable Arbor

Check out this link on hanging arbors. Not only a good space saver but a beautiful way to disply your crops. http://www.organicauthority.com/organic-gardening/garden-grow-a-hanging-vegetable-arbor-trellis.html

Recycled, Re-used and repurposed gardening...

This link shows a number of great ways for re-purposing lumber/pallets while keeping it out of our landfills. Just a little imagination and time will give you great rewards. This is a great reference for some project ideas
 http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/featured-wilderness-survival-blog-entries/2-cool-recycled-pallet-projects/

Crop Swapper Wins 2011 Best of San Diego for "Best Bounty Buddy"

Thank you to all that voted!

Complete Gardening Kit

This is something that caught my eye. It's a compete garden kit sent right to your front door. It comes complete with soil, seeds, a planting bed and drainage. This would be great for the novice or even the more advanced gardener. Especially those out there with limited space.        
http://www.elanorsgarden.com/index.html

Well, It's been a while since any post has been made here. It's been real busy here with a new addition to the family. We are hoping to have a limited number of swaps this year and we invite you to email us on what you are planning to harvest. You can also contact us on Facebook.

Some have been asking what and when to plant. Here is a good link from the University of California and San Diego Master Gardeners, listing some recommended planting dates in the San Diego area. http://www.mastergardenerssandiego.org/Vegetable%20Planting%20Guide1.pdf

1st Swap at Morley Field

It was a great turnout for our 1st swap of this season. We all enjoyed meeting everyone from SD Food Not Lawns with all of the delicious food for the potluck. With Lo Quats, Swiss Chard, Nasturtiums, Nopales(cactus), Lemons, Fresh Eggs, Peaches, Strawberry/Melon Seedlings, Carrots and many other things everyone brought. It shows the bountiful supply of excess produce, all grown locally.

1st Swap in P.B

The first swap was a lot of fun, with a citrus theme; Grapefruit, Lemons and Lemon Seedlings.

The topic of "pill bugs" aka "Rollee Pollee" was brought up . These little guys love to eat your young veggie plants (I don't care what some of the opinions are out there to the contrary). In my case, the garden was overrun by a vast "pill bug hoard" devouring my young cucumber, cantaloupe, pumpkin and watermelon seedlings.

Population control:

Diatomaceous Earth at the base of the plants was one option.

Another method was to place grapefruit/cantaloupe halves or banana peels to trap them, then scoop them up and dump them in soapy water.

Preventative maintenance:

Pill Bugs are active at night and like moisture. Keep the topsoil relatively dry at night by only watering in the morning.

Keep mulch away from young plants.

P.S.

The cut off beer can w/beer method did not work for me, plus it waisted (both good and bad) beer.

Mobile Garden Containers

I received a link to some cool garden containers that are pretty reasonably priced considering almost no labor is needed to set up. Just another innovative way to enjoy a garden. http://aplusrstore.com/

Raffle Results

We had a great time at the Natural History Museum tonight. We raffled
off our rain-gutter gardens and helped inspire many individuals to
start their own gardens. If you have not signed up for Crop Swapper,
please do it now! We will soon be organizing our groups for the next
growing season. Thanks to all who support Crop Swapper!

Win a rain-gutter planter box!

Rain Gutter Gardens

I received an article of which I think is a great concept for those that have limited space; or just want more consolidation of their greens. I imagine this could assist in controlling a rodent problem as well. 

p.s. Some smaller versions of these will be raffled off by Cropswapper at the San Diego Natural History Museum event - "Ecology of Soil: A Public Health Concern" this January 12th.
 

Hey There CropSwappers,

It's been a while since we have posted, so we wanted to give a quick update on what we are doing. We have been attending the San Diego Natural History Museum events on local food. There has been a great turn out and lots of people are signing up to be a CropSwapper. So far we have been adding about 40 members per event, so we are hoping to have lots of participation for the next season of crops (we will do a crop organization in Jan/Feb). We are also doing a swap at the table during the beginning of the events from 6-6:30pm. Feel free to bring in items for a swap and hope to see you there!

Here is a list of the upcoming SDNHM events we will be attending.

Sustainable Agriculture: A Necessary Transition

Tuesday, December 1; 6:30–8 PM

Ecology of Soil: A Public Health Concern

Tuesday, January 12, 2010; 6:30–8 PM

Eating Greener: The Ecology of Food

Tuesday, February 2, 2010; 6:30–8 PM

Victory Gardens: Join the Garden Revolution

Tuesday, March 2, 2010; 6:30–8 PM

Developing Sustainable Foodsheds: The Next Steps in Eating Local

Tuesday, May 4, 2010; 6:30–8 PM

CropSwapper Continues @ SDNHM

Once again, CropSwapper will have a swap at the San Diego Natural History Museum on October 6 from 6:30-8PM. We had such an interest in our organization, we thought we should be there again. We will be doing our swap there instead of our normal Monday swaps in Del Cerro. Please join us and enjoy the lecture "Growing a Social Movement to Change the Food System". Thank you SDNHM for your support!

CropSwapper News!

Swapper Charlene's Salsa Verde Recipe

This recipe used Tyler's Tomatillos from the swap & made with love by Charlene.

30 min / makes 2 cups 

1 1/2 lb Tomatillos - husked, washed and cut into pieces.

1-2 fresh green serrano or jalapeno chilies, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 large garlic clove chopped

1/4 teaspoon Cumin

1/4 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 cup chicken broth (or non-tomato based vegetable broth)

2-3 fresh large chilies (such as Poblano, Ancho, Anaheim or Hatch) roasted and skins removed

1/2 cup packed cilantro

1/4 cup Lime Juice

Optional: 1 tablespoon yogurt (greek yogurt or heavy cream)

- Briefly saute onion, spices, garlic and jalapeño in oil. Add tomatillos and broth. Bring to a boil and cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until soft. Simmer to thicken sauce. Let cool and transfer to a blender.

- Add the chopped roasted chilies and part of the cilantro and optional cream or yogurt. 

- Cool in fridge to allow flavors to meld. Serve warm or cold on tacos, enchiladas and fish. 

Enjoy!

Nature Connections: Fall Programs 2009

Great events and seminars are always happening in and around San Diego. The San Diego Natural History Museum is hosting a whole lecture series in helping us develop more sustainable local foods. The lectures are only $5.00 each and I think that we should all support these types of events. The lectures begin October 6th and run monthly to May 2010. Check their calendar. Slow Food SD is giving some of the lectures. 

If you look on our right nav bar you will notice we added these organizations to our favorites. Plus, Victory Gardens SD, SD Food not lawns and SD Master Gardeners Association. These are all really great local organizations that need our support. Those listed are but a few in San Diego (and there are many more) so get involved. 

If you don't live in San Diego, look around your local area for similar organizations that you can participate in (or start one if none exists). It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. 

-Tyler

Beneficial Wildlife

I was out gathering some tomatoes when I discovered this little guy. He was just watching me and staying real still trying not to be discovered. Some other helpful insects and animals are bats, bees (pollination), centipedes (eat soil pests), chickens (eat insects and slugs and fertilize soil), birds (depends on crop), ground beetles (eats cutworms, slugs, snails), ladybugs (eats aphids, mealybug and scale), frogs and spiders to name a few. Ants are considered beneficial as well, but I don't like them when they try moving in the house and eat my cupcakes.

Todd

Currant Tomatoes

I was scrolling through the seed section from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange today and I think I found out why the tomatoes that Naomi has been growing are so small. It seems like they are a type of Currant Tomato. From what I remember of what I ate and saw; the descriptions sound right on. 

I googled around a bit and I read that the currant tomato (South America) is an indeterminate plant, and all of the sites I found seemed to echo the same: "a tiny tomato with huge flavor". It cross-pollenates easily with other tomatoes, so make sure not to plant it close to other varieties if you are a seedsaver. 

Sorry for the lack of pictures on these from the swap. I'll do better next time. 

-Tyler

CropSwapper Combines Forces

Well...we tried. However, due to lack of Swappers at the Rancho
Penasquitos CropSwapper, we have decided to join forces in Del
Cerro...at least until we get more people who want to meet there. We
are trying to best meet the needs of all interested groups so let us
know what you think in the comments section below. Thanks in advance
for your understanding and support. See you in Del Cerro!

Sincerely,

Todd

Tomato Time!

Just came back from a quick summer trip and I now have more tomatoes
than I know what to do with. Kaelyn had fun picking them with me and
she kept saying, "whoa!" as she spotted them. I'll bring a bunch to the next swap!

Todd