Slow Food Nation--Victory Garden

Slow Food Nation weekend is underway in San Francisco. I plan to be at several events.The Victory Garden has become lush and beautiful, so I wanted to show some pictures. These were taken last Sunday morning, August 23. If you want to know more about Slow Food Nation Events, see their website at www.slowfoodnation.org

The sight of vegetables flourishing in front of San Francisco's City Hall is astonishing and joyful. Since the July 12 plantout the plants have grown dramatically. There is a tower of blooming scarlet runner beans, corn, tomatoes, greens of all kinds and small beds of native flowers.  

There was once a farm here. Italian American farmers worked in several parts of San Francisco in the 1800s, and one farm was on the future site of City Hall.

The garden is in the place where once there was a pond, more recently a stetch of lawn. It will be the site of the Slow Food Nation Marketplace today through Sunday August 31st, and then will remain until September 21. After that? Don't know. I hear rumblings about it being moved to a different location.

Prefer flowers? Several plantings of flowers show some lovely combinations.

And of course there is a compost pile, surrounded with the same rice straw bales as the rest of the garden beds. All in all the garden is a wonderful sight. Hope you get to see it!

Comments

[pampeirce]

Hi Sarah,

I taught last summer (2008), but am taking next summer off after many summers at the podium. In the fall (2009), I will be teaching the first of my three 6 week vegetable and culinary herb classes. They are on Saturday mornings. The other two are in the spring. They have seasonal topics and we work in a big garden. Hope you can come.

Best wishes,

Pam P.

[sarah Davis]

You mention teaching this summer... but i can't find any information on CCSF class scheduale for the classes you teach? Where do i look?

[Nick]

Hi Pam.

Thanks for posting the beautiful pictures. I picked up your "Golden Gate Gardening" back around '93 or so and I still remember the wonderful volunteer cherry tomatoes that ascended from our Mission District (Hampshire St.) backyard into the neighbor's neglected but still strong lemon tree. We moved to Boston in '96 and to Reno, Nevada in 2000 and while both places are rewarding/challenging to the gardener I often miss the peas and year round Swiss Chard I had in SF. And those cherry tomatoes! And nasturtiums growing wild! Your book was a huge inspiration to me and I still use sustainable, climate-sensitive gardening ideas that you championed. Glad to see you're still at it.

A fan,

Nick