Happy Valentines from the Panhandle

A heavy storm can set back your plans, and the wind and rain storms last Friday and Sunday have meant a lot of clean up time for park workers. It's hard to overstate the amount of leaf, fruit, bark and twigs that fall from the big old trees in the park. And that not to mention the entire trees that were knocked over. The staging area for debris near the basketball courts is almost full!

At the community workday this morning, we lent a hand in the area on both sides of Central Ave, starting in the area where an elm tree fell last week. Fortunately, we didn't need to remove everything offsite, because you can use the leaf and bark to mulch around the big trees. It was still a lot of work for a small crew to move that much stuff. Now that the meadow is cleared of eucalyptus litter, crews during the coming week can spread compost fines in the meadow, replenishing the soil and helping resprout grass.

Then, this afternoon at about 4:45, I came upon another tree that had fallen directly across the bike path. It appears to be a pittosporum. Some picnickers nearby told me that it had just happened about a half hour before and that someone had nearly been hit but escaped without any injury. 

#vscocam @SF311 tree fell over on Panhandle bike path near Cole Street. About 40 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/QiispaBh9j
— Fix Masonic (@Fix_Masonic) February 15, 2015

January workday pictures

Rain was in the forecast yesterday, and so many of us showed up for the community workday in our rubber boots. The rain held off until the afternoon, but the boots were perfect for working in the damp and muddy Panhandle park. A big group of volunteers set to work with the park's gardener, Guillermo. 

Our main task yesterday involved raking up leaves in the area Lyon and Central next to the south path. Many of these were big elm trees, and we also worked through the grove of pittosporum.

Leaving a pile of leaves around the base of the tree creates a nice blanket to protect roots and also suppresses weeds. The leaves of most trees (eucalyptus excepted) will decompose pretty quickly. Each year we've been able to assist the other park workers in bringing this improvement to more parts of the park.   

Another group of volunteers trimmed back burl growth from the redwoods at Baker Street. 

Meanwhile, graffiti was removed from the McKinley Memorial by city workers on Friday. 

Thank you! Today was awesome at the Panhandle

Once again we had sun and fun working at the Panhandle for the Second Saturday. Two truckfuls of compost fines and two truckfuls of wood chip mulch were waiting for us, but first we entered the capital project area for a pre-work group photo:

Earlier this month I had thought we would be ready to begin our planting project this month, but the groundwork (the contractor's work) is just not quite done, so planting will wait for next month. February is still the rainy season and a very good month for planting in San Francisco.

We headed east to the cheesewood forest, between Lyon and Central on the Oak Street side. Thankfully, we had large numbers of fourth graders to aid in the pitchfork, wheelbarrow, rake brigade. The faster we scooped, the more the warm compost steamed in the morning sun.

We got the bulk of the work done by breaktime, and many of our workers were off to basketball games and piano lessons. A core group stayed to finish the last ton or so. We gathered in the dappled sunlight underneath our local tropical forest to pose again.

Thanks, Dad, for the photo

Two trees down near Central

This pittosporum tree, just west of Central  and south of the south path, was horizontal yesterday. It appeared that, in falling, it also pushed over another pittosporum next to it. 

At least I believe they were both pittosporum. The tree that initially fell, had the red flowers (top) of a Karo (pittosporum crassifolium) while the tree that got knocked over (bottom) had closed buds. The Panhandle has a lot of pittosporum trees including the concentrated grove located just east of here, between Central and Lyon.  

Whatever species, they make for quite a lot of tree to remove from the park. Other trees nearby include three nice, if somewhat stunted, hawthornes. There are also several large eucalyptus and, a little farther west, the cluster of olive trees.   

May work day wrap-up

Neighbors worked together with park staff in the Panhandle this morning. In the shade of a group of pittosporum near Oak and Clayton, we spread compost fines to enrich the soil and protect the roots. We also spread soil around two of the redwoods near Fell and Clayton, and in that area we tracked some bumble bees to a nearby hole in the ground. Bumble bees make their nests underground, and we wondered how many bees might be down there. Wikipedia says a mature nest might have 50 bumble bees. 

Meanwhile, Fif and Nancy got to work cutting back the sod encroaching on the cross-over path. By the end of the work, we were amazed at just how much path we had brought back. 

 

When we finished our work and walked back to the playground, we found a bunch of new plants in the ground. The Kevin Collins Children's Garden provided dozens of colorful, decorative plants to fill the new bed at the southeast corner of the playground.   

April workday: Beautiful day in the park

A big group of volunteers enjoyed this morning's workday under sunny skies. After getting an orientation to the day's work and checking out examples of one of the park's weeds, rumex crispus, we organized into two groups. While some folks began a clean up of the children's playground, the bigger part of the group walked east to a worksite near Baker Street. We passed by the pittosporum crassifolium that toppled over during the high winds this week. It was sad to see the end of this old tree, but fortunately there are several other Karos nearby in the park.

We started out by filling wheelbarrows, and then spread them around the young cherry trees near Baker Street.

The soil also went around the big redwoods on the north side of the park. 

Closer to Lyon Street @ Fell, the enormous eucalyptus trees got a layer of mulch. 

Thanks to all of our volunteers, and especially to the seventh grade (and some other students) from SFDS! 

Tree improvements near Bierman Glade

I noticed recent tree pruning that has dramatically improved the appearance and feeling around the Sue Bierman glade, west end of the Panhandle. The pruned trees were pittosporum, one of the most common trees in the park.

Know a cheesewood when you see one

Our work in the Panhandle yesterday centered on a thicket of trees, and with the help of McClintock's book, I identify them as pittosporum, a.k.a. cheesewoods. These trees aren't instantly all that impressive, but on closer inspection, their flowers are unique and beautiful. And they are one of the more common trees in the Panhandle - I spotted them all over today once I knew what to look for.

Different species of cheesewood produce different color flowers. Here are two of the different flowers in bloom today. Watch for thicker blooms on the cheesewoods in the Panhandle this spring and summer. And search Flickr for Cheesewood or Pittosporum for better pictures, including shots of the gooey seeds that erupt from pittosporum fruits in the summer.