Rosa Parks and Koshland Garden Updates

Garden Update 2020

How are the gardens you ask? They’re still growing with what they have, and appreciate the care they are able to receive. Things have been a little lonely without all the kids running around but that’ll make the eventual return all the more exciting.

Our staff has been working safely, and sweatily, to keep the gardens growing this year. We have been fortunate enough to be able to spend time outside and grow food for the community we love, even if we’re at a reduced capacity. Everything considered, we thought a little update on some of our gardens was due, so this post will run you through what’s happening in the Rosa Parks and Koshland gardens.

Green and Leafy

Currently, there are many herbs, leafy greens, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, fruit trees, and pollinator-attracting flowering plants growing. This includes lavender, rosemary, basil, fennel, sorrel, kale, small red tomatoes, dark purple tomatoes, figs, citrus, apples, marigolds, and more. However the seasons are changing, and we’ll be adding in some hearty more cold-tolerant Brassicaceae’s that are better able to withstand the San Fransisco winter. Our educator B recently planted collards in the Koshland community garden, and our Educator Anna seeded cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbages a few weeks ago to go into the soil soon.

Trimmed Trees

“Arboriculture is science and art in one.” says Mei Ling Hui, the San Francisco Rec and Park’s program manager of community gardens and urban agriculture, who recently took time out of her busy schedule to share her wisdom with the CG staff and guide us in caring for our fruit trees. Together we pruned (to cut off or cut back parts of for better shape or more fruitful growth) fig, apple, persimmon, and citrus trees to ensure that they are being properly cared for and will give us many fruits in the coming seasons. We learned all about tree growth, the various protocols to follow while pruning trees, and how to step back, observe, and safely cut away at tree branches. Pruning is incredibly technical, and although good pruning can bring a myriad of benefits, improper technique has the potential to cause harm to both the tree and the humans that interact with it. To learn more about how to prune your own trees check out this resource from our friends at SF Public Works: http://sfpublicworks.org/sites/default/files/450-PruningYoungTrees.pdf

Harvested Goods

We’ve been getting creative in finding ways to share our produce. So far the food we’ve grown since March has been distributed informally via avenues such as mobile carts, PTA distributions, and produce pickups, but we are hoping that come springtime we will be able to share the abundance in a more accessible and consistent way. All this being said, rest assured that the garden-grown goodies are still being distributed, and we’re giving back to the community when we can.

You can visit the Koshland Community Park and Learning Garden on the corner of Page and Buchanan, San Francisco, CA 94102