A Garden on the Bay

A Great Season comes to an End

2013-05-22T22:18:00.000-04:00

Our growing season has come to and end. Thank you every one for all your help and support !

Students from Temple Beth Am Return to Deering Bay

2013-04-25T16:05:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday, April 23rd, Ms. Koller's 4th grade science class returned to Deering Bay Yacht and Country Club for a special harvest meal featuring produce planted back in December. The students got a chance to sample various items grown in the garden including Parsnip, Radishes, Escarole, Orange and Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula, Mint, Carrots, Sorrel, Edible Flowers, Cucumbers, Pineapple and much more. The kids also voted on their favorite veggies and favorite dip. We discussed how long it takes for food to get from farms that are far away versus growing produce right in your backyard. We also discussed health and nutrition. At the end of the meal, the students took a trip to the garden to harvest the remaining items and got to bring home their harvest. A special thank you goes out to all the students and teachers from Beth Am and a special thanks goes out to the various Staff and Members who were involved in the event. Believe it or not, we had just as much fun as the kids did!

healthy tomato plant

2013-03-23T00:20:00.000-04:00

Our season is nearly over, but we have an extraordinarily healthy tomato plant in the garden, The plant is over 7 ft tall and has 10 lbs of yellow pear tomatoes on it . The tomato vines have grown up in to the tree behind the plant and has no signs of slowing down.

Diana Bermudez (an 8 year employee) helps me pick tomatoes for the salad bar

Everyone loves vine ripen tomatoes

2013-02-25T13:41:00.001-05:00

This Season our Garden is producing 4 types of tomatoes, Sun Gold , Black Cherry, Gold Nugget and Yellow Pear. . However After 3 years the Peacocks know where to find them as well and its a challenge to keep them from eating them all . When it comes to finding food birds are very resourceful and clever. Last week I put Christmas Tree Tinsel on the plants and it seems to be working for now. Organic Gardening catalogs sell all types products with all types of claims., But for me the Dollar store Tinsel is working great . The Idea is anything reflective scares the birds .

Peak of the season

2013-01-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

Right now and for the next 3 weeks our Garden is at it's peak ! We are producing 4 types of tomatoes, multi-colored carrots , lettuce , arugula, cabbage, bok-choy, golden beets, edible flowers, 3 types of radish, 4 types of herbs and enough mint for desserts and Mojitos . Check out the salad bar or Make a dinner reservation today !

Our carrots are looking great

Gold nugget, Black cherry, Sun gold and yellow pear varieties of tomatoes

Savoy cabbage

Our new menu includes a garden fresh salad

Bella Raoli is learning about Butterflies and their remarkable life cycle

Bella has also volunteered to work in the garden this season

Bella's duties include , weeding , harvesting , mulching and planting

Great Salads

2013-01-11T23:19:00.001-05:00

This was a great week in the garden , we started harvesting tomatoes , radishes and multi- colored carrots . These fresh veggies make for a colorful and tasty salad !

What Is That Balloon Doing In The Garden?

2013-01-02T22:32:00.001-05:00

I noticed Peacocks were eating the green tomatoes , so I tried a high tech "scarecrow". So far it seems to be working .

I bought this product online at Johnnys seeds .com, its called "terror eyes balloon's" it claims to scare birds away from fruit tree's http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5440-terror-eyes-balloons-3-pack.aspx

Temple Beth Am 4th Graders Visit the Garden for Planting Day

2012-12-17T14:35:00.006-05:00

For the third consecutive year, we were honored to host the Temple Beth Am 4th Graders for a day of planting in the garden. We divided the children into three small groups where they got hands-on experience planting seeds, learning about South Florida’s unique weather from WSVN Chief Meteorologist Phil Ferro, learning about butterfly gardening, and even started a plant propagation project to continue at home. The students will also experience the great taste of fresh food when they return during the harvest season for a special meal featuring produce they have studied and helped grow. On the walk from the Clubhouse to the Garden, the students were fortunate enough to see a rare American Crocodile (from a far distance), a Wood Stork, an Anhinga, a bunch of Peacocks and quite a few Turkey Vultures. Phil did a wonderful job engaging the kids and assisting with the planting of the garden. Enjoy these photos from the event!

First Harvest

2012-11-29T22:33:00.000-05:00

Today was our first harvest of the new season. Diana Bermudez and I picked Freckled Romaine Lettuce, Bok Choy and assorted flowers. This season, look for four types of tomatoes, four types of radishes, arugula, fennel, dill, nappa cabbage, savoy cabbage, golden beets and much more. Stay tuned as we're having our planting event with the Beth Am 4th graders on December 17th!

progress report

2012-11-25T20:45:00.003-05:00

progress report

2012-11-18T08:44:00.000-05:00

Getting involved

2012-11-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

This Monday we planted another large area of the Garden, thanks to one of our members and their kids.

Progress Report

2012-11-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

We are experiencing our first cold front of the season! Weather Forecasters predict low's in the mid 50's tonight . Our Garden loves cool dry weather. Look for garden fresh produce in a few weeks.

We're Back

2012-10-28T05:54:00.004-04:00

The multi-colored carrots and watermelon radishes were such a big hit last year that I couldn't wait to plant them again. I also planted nappa cabbage, lettuce, radicchio, 4 types of flowers, savoy cabbage, endive and 4 types of tomatoes. We should see Garden fresh items on the salad bar in a few weeks!

Progress Report

2012-10-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

Our Greens Keeping Dept. has begun work on our Seasonal Garden. With a little luck we will be able to plant tomatoes, carrots and watermelon radishes next week. This year look for greens and radishes on the salad bar by mid December, and our salad bar should be in full bloom by mid January.

Reasonable Care

2012-07-10T16:32:00.003-04:00

Our "Spray Drift" hedge row is Suriname Cherry, a tall dense bush similar to Ficus .

Deering Bay's Golf Coarse is Beautiful . Robert Wethy and his staff do a great job maintaining it, however in doing so they carefully apply insecticides , fungicides and fertilizers . With our vegetable garden's location near the 17th green I've had members ask about the risk of potential contamination . My answer is ; We use reasonable care to limit the risk of potential contamination . The water used to irrigate the garden is separate from the well that irrigates the golf coarse and last off season I chlorinated the well . Chlorinating a well is recommend by the State of Florida to kill harmful pathogens . Also last season we put in a dense hedge row that is now over 5ft. high , the hedge row will catch accidental "spray drift" from the Greens Keeping Dept. as they maintain our golf coarse . The "Spray Drift" hedge row is a common organic farming practice .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorination

Season Ends

2012-05-31T23:30:00.001-04:00

Another great season comes to an end

Posted near the front entrance to the Club are thank you cards from our student friends from Beth Am

Thank you 4th graders! We had as much fun as you did!

I hope everyone takes a few minutes to read the cards. Until next season...
Tim Rowan

Temple Beth Am Students Learn About Good Nutrition

2012-05-20T08:31:00.000-04:00

Ethan Shapiro welcomes Ms. Koller's 4th grade class to Deering Bay

Membership Coordinator Daniella Tosta sets up our garden fresh tasting for the students

Our Garden Fresh Salad Bar is ready

The students talk about their experience at our November planting event

Ms. Koller encourages the students to try everything

After the tasting, the students cast ballots for their favorite vegetable and favorite dip

Favorite vegetable was Roasted Golden Beets and favorite dip was Guacamole. The pineapple was a huge hit and lemony sorrel was also popular

The weather improved and the students walked up to the Garden, with a slight detour to look at Deering Bay resident American Crocodiles

Ms. Koller's class heads back to school after collecting beneficial insects at the Garden. Thank you kids! We had as much fun as you did!

Looking Back on a Great Season

2012-05-17T23:44:00.000-04:00

Here are a few photos Tim took over the course of this year's season. We're looking forward to hosting the Temple Beth Am Day School 4th Graders on Friday May 18th for their Harvest Celebration!

Enjoy!

End of the Season clean up begins

2012-04-10T23:09:00.007-04:00

At Season's End

2012-03-27T22:54:00.005-04:00

Our Garden season is all but over, in the next few weeks we will only see limited Garden items on the salad bar. We do have plenty of flowers and we will continue to use them in the restaurant. One of our members; a young man named Bruno Luchetti has been helping me 3 days a week picking flowers and tomatoes . Bruno likes learning about Organic Gardening and has been a great asset to our Garden project.

Spring time Flowers

2012-03-20T22:15:00.009-04:00

The Garden flowers are is in full bloom right now. Our South Florida growing season will soon be over for the summer. Take the opportunity to visit our garden and salad bar before the season ends . The South Florida growing season begins in November and ends in mid April.

This seasons MVV's

2012-03-08T23:41:00.009-05:00

This seasons " Most Valuable Vegetables" are; Sun Gold Tomatoes, Multi Colored Carrots, and Watermelon Radishes . Laura Decker, our Director of Membership is a frequent visitor to the garden and loves to pick tomatoes ! Next year we will plant these favorites along with some future "MVV's".

Spring means Butterflies

2012-03-07T22:00:00.006-05:00

This weekend our clocks "Spring Forward" and with the 80 degree temp's it's definitely Spring time. Our Vegetable Garden is showing stress from the hot, dry and humid weather. However Spring also means Butterflies ! Today I noticed 8 Monarch Butterflies a few Painted Lady's and 2 Black Swallowtail's. Also if you look closely you can see Monarch Butterfly caterpillar's all over the Southern Milk weed.

Watermelon Radishes spice up the salad bar

2012-02-21T22:20:00.008-05:00

This week the Watermelon Radishes spiced up the salad .