Watch My Garden Grow

August 2011

2011-08-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Lots of rain and sunshine equals happy and fast growing plants. Here is the cucumber plant on July 21.

Less than two weeks later the plant is almost in the next box.

Not only did the plant grow rapidly, but produced many lemon cucumbers. Here are some I found this morning.

Plants are getting big

2011-07-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

I was reading the blog and found out that I did not get cucumbers and tomatoes until after July 24. So I patiently wait....
My tomatillos are HUGE. Here is a picture from May 25:

And here they are on July 14:

Zucchini

2011-07-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

This year I did not have room in my box to plant a zucchini because the beets took longer than usual. My boss heard this and said that he had two zucchini plants and he would gladly give me one. So on June 29 Mr Zucchini joined the community garden in the spare box.

Some of his leaves died out, but I watered him everyday and he has sprouted new leaves and a flower. Here is Mr Zucchini on July 7.

I hope to get a zucchini soon----Mr Bee needs to do his work!

July 1 2011

2011-07-01T20:41:00.001-07:00

Welcome July! Where did June go? A week in June was creating the herb garden (that will come at a later blog post). This past week has been warm and sunny days, so the plants have started to grow! Here are two cherry tomatoes I found this morning:

The pepper may be ready any day now:

We finally picked the beets today. A fellow gardener gave me some lettuce. There will be yummy meals this weekend!

the Herb Garden!

2011-06-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering and drawing and talking about an herb garden for about nine months. Part of gardening is patience, trying something, having it fail or change, trying again----and having wonderful support from fellow gardeners.
Here is a picture of the area when I starting pondering about a visual herb garden:

After weeding and waiting for a dry day (that would be May 6!), Steven tilled the area (thank you!!!---I would've hurt myself with the tiller).

May 2011 was a wet and rainy month. And we were all busy with things. This let me: research herbs; learn how to place stepping stones into the ground; shop around, pick stepping stones; and budget. Then one day the person with the money said "let's go shopping!". So three hours later and lots of stuff unpacked, I was ready to implement all this planning.
First I laid out the stones and asked a few people their opinion. Then I started digging!

After digging, I placed the weed cloth over the area and then placed the heavier sand/rock mixture over the weed cloth.

I was able to get some of the stone in the first night, but the second night I was able to finish it by 7:30pm---then ate dinner under the tree.

The next morning fellow gardeners helped plant all the herbs. (I was tired!)

And here is the group with the completed herb garden! I hope that everyone gets to cook with some of the fresh herbs from the garden!

Mid-June Garden 2011

2011-06-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Sun was welcomed on this Monday morning. The garden is looking happy! Peas pods are appearing daily. About eight people were in the garden at noon. It is the happening place!

My plot is a little behind schedule from last year, but everything is finally in and we shall see what happens.

(above picture taken by Clint Gardner)

Future Herb Garden

2011-06-08T21:23:00.001-07:00

The sage is encouragement to keep creating an herb garden. It will be a corner of the herb garden. We have had a cold wet spring, so my goal is to have it created in two weeks!
I also planted a cherry tomato plant and a lemon cucumber plant. Definitely later than last year!

Welcome June 2011

2011-06-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

The garden is slowly growing. We've had lots of rain but not much warmth and sunshine. I did pick all of the spinach last week and ate a salad of spinach and radishes. I still need to plant a bit more ---- but other garden plots are very happy!

Tomatillos

2011-05-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I planted the tomatillos on Friday May 21. Luckily it became sunny on Saturday and then lots of rain again. Today was a sunny day and they look very happy. I look forward to trying some recipes later this summer!

rain....and a duck

2011-05-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

It's been RAINING for four days straight. A rainy day is a good day to be a duck. This morning two ducks walked through the garden.

After watching the ducks pass through, I planted my two tomatillos and one yellow pepper plant. A fellow gardener and I picked some radishes. And here are some beautiful mustard greens from a neighboring planter!

We are hoping for some sunny weather to dry out! The herb garden is on hold.

First radish harvest

2011-05-14T20:41:00.001-07:00

I planted the radishes on March 25. And here is the first harvest! I had two of them with my lunch today ---- yummy! Vegetables taste better when they are home grown. Seven weeks of patience.

Weclome May 2011!

2011-05-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

April showers bring green and happy plants! This is a collage of radishes, peas, tomato, and strawberry plants. May has brought sunny and warm days after a very cold and wet April.

end of April

2011-04-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since we planted. If you look close, you can see baby beets appearing through the soil. A year ago we just placed the soil in the boxes...and now I have my second crop slowly growing.

Seeds are bursting out!

2011-04-19T20:23:00.001-07:00

It is always fun to go to the garden and see what's new. Today another group box (HEE) had the peas popping out!

There are just a few spinach and beets sprouting, but the radishes are growing bigger each day!

Happy radishes!

2011-04-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

The radishes are happy a week later. Two or three spinach plants have also appeared. (The radishes have been in almost three weeks.)

Radishes have sprouted!

2011-04-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

After the beautiful 70 degrees on Friday, snow fell on Sunday and it was still in the garden yesterday.

Today I walked over to the garden to find no snow and tiny radishes appearing!

Welcome April 2011!

2011-04-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

A year ago we barely had the boxes in place in the garden----and now we are checking to see if our first round of plantings sprouted. Our boxes are still without sprouts. It has been in the low 70s the last three days, but this morning I awoke to 5 inches of snow!

Welcoming April is Clint checking out his plot.

Planting!

2011-03-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Today we planted some radishes and spinach. I hope they will be ok....there MIGHT be some snow in the morning!

March happenings

2011-03-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

After tilling many boxes March 4, we awoke to almost a foot of snow (!) on March 8. (photo by Clint)

But by March 11, we were back to tilling and planning.

This past week was spring break, so it was all quiet in the community garden. Two of us did an inventory of the shed. I hope to do some planting next week.

Soil Prep

2011-03-06T12:02:00.001-08:00

We had a beautiful morning for our first garden party. Snow was predicted, but we were blessed with a sunny blue sky instead.

I decided to turn in the oats I planted last fall and amend the soil with bat guano and bone meal. I plan to let the many earth worms do their thing for a few weeks and then start planting.

Welcome March 2011

2011-03-01T20:36:00.000-08:00

March has arrived like a lamb. And some weeds have arrived also.

Spring Tease!

2011-02-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had four days of 50 degree weather. The garden looked like it was getting ready for us to plant.

But then two days later it snowed. And more snow came this morning. March cannot come fast enough!

February

2011-02-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

Is it spring yet?

The Punxsutawney Groundhog (picture is from the official website at http://www.groundhog.org/) thinks spring will be here soon. But some Westerners don't think it will be soon.

In less than a month the community will begin gathering weekly and working the garden. I am yearning for fresh grown veggies!

The Garden in January

2011-01-30T20:41:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the month, the garden was covered with lots of snow and it was about 18 degrees (Jan 10, 2011)

And then 11 days later, the garden is uncovered and in the 40 degree sunshine. (Jan 21, 2011) I even picked two radishes that day.

Last week we had our garden meeting to start planning for March, which includes cleaning the beds and planning some events for March and April. Think spring!

Welcome 2011!

2011-01-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

A year ago the SLCC Community Garden did not even exist, and now I have been blogging about it for six months!

No pictures today.....some updates and some goals.

UPDATES
The basil bush did not like my kitchen. Its leaves gave me a few more leaves for dishes these past two months, but it is no longer in the kitchen :(.

The tomatoes are all gone also. So I am eating the last of 2010's harvest in my pesto I took out of the freezer.

GOALS
1. I hope to create/plant more in the herb garden area.
2. I will plant one new vegetable this year.
3. I want to experience canning. I have never done it. I heard it is hard, but I like to try things at least once.

Only three more months until I can smell the earth and see things sprouting up from the earth!

Under the Snow...

2010-12-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

....there's some spinach!

I planted the fall harvest on September 13. It was December 17 when I decided to dig the spinach out from under the snow and use most of the basil left on the basil bush to make a spinach/basil pasta salad. I like knowing that my lunches this week come from the garden!

I also picked a radish . The last time I tried to pick a radish plant there were just roots and no radish bulb. I will check the radishes again in January.

Winter in the Garden

2010-11-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

The first big snow in the valley. The fall crop is buried.

Fall Planting Update

2010-11-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

On September 13 I planted some radishes, beets and spinach. Before I left on my trip six weeks later, here is what my box and plants looked like:

Things were not quite growing like the first round in May and June. I returned after nine days to see my radishes were bigger and the oats started sprouting.

I pulled a radish plant that looked quite large, but no red radish was attached. I will look again in a few days to see if there is more growth.

Snow!

2010-10-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

I am glad I took the green tomatoes off the vine on Friday! We had our first snow in the garden yesterday morning. Clint took the picture----I was busy at meetings in the morning. The west side received the snow---no snow on my grass yet!

Empty Garden

2010-10-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Frost may be coming this weekend, especially on Monday. I decided to remove the pepper and tomato plants yesterday during my lunch break. The garden looks like the picture I took on May 7 (24 weeks ago!).

It is a sad time....I enjoyed my daily breaks from the computer. A fellow gardener told me it is just the cycle of life. We were blessed with a long warmer autumn. I look forward to the spring after a winter of reading and knitting!

One thing that amazed me is how many tomatoes one plant can give me! Here are all the green tomatoes that were hidden in the tomato bush as I slowly took it apart for the compost area.

The plant gave me a bushel of tomatoes!

I will continue to blog. There is still an autumn crop in the box....and I have a friend who is trying a cold frame this winter. I can always dream about the spring!

The Garden is Smaller

2010-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

The basil bush is in the house, and the cucumber and zucchini plants are in the compost pile. There is only the tomato bush, pepper plants and the fall harvest. I planted some oats two days ago.

Harvest Party

2010-10-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

Scarecrows visited the garden this beautiful fall morning.

Students stopped by to paint pumpkins and see the garden.

I thanked my zucchini plant for all it produced and pulled it out to join the other composting plants. I "sowed some oats" to bring nutrients back to the soil.

Where's the basil??

2010-10-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air....and the garden is beginning to look empty.

I took the basil out about 10 days ago. Here is the basil bush in the garden bed before I took it out.

My friend let me borrow a big planting pot. If anyone was around, they had a good laugh while I struggled to get the basil bush in the pot.

I kept the basil bush outside for a few days before I brought it in. I trimmed and used the basil to make some pesto. Here is the basil bush inside.

I move the basil bush around so that it gets the most sun. It has been in the house for about 5 days. I hope it likes its new home.

Fall Harvest

2010-10-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since I posted! It has been a rainy week----but still no frost. I harvested another 24 red tomatoes and 2 peppers on Friday. No frost in the forecast this week----so I hope to visit the garden more often this week.

Here is a picture of the many colors of peppers, tomatoes, and squash from my garden as well as our local farmer.

Welcome October!

2010-10-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

In other years the garden may have already experienced a frost. But 2010 we have had record highs in late September/early October (high 80s). This week things will drop by 20 degrees...so it will be interesting to see what this looks like in a week. But today I had my biggest harvest of tomatoes---34!! I am glad that we were patient with our tomatoes and their "curly leaf" problem back in July.

Empty Herb Garden

2010-09-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I took a picture of the herb garden. Since then we cleaned out a lot of the older herbs and weeds. I have been in contact with someone who will donate some granite. We've been playing with designs. So this is the empty herb garden.

It will be fun to take photos as the herb garden evolves into something more than just dirt.

Harvest Moon

2010-09-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe the harvest moon has helped my tomatoes turn red! Here is what I harvested this morning.

The weather this week is warm during the day and cool nights. Keep the tomatoes coming!

More surprises!

2010-09-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just two days later, there are more sprouting plants! The seeds were planted 8 days ago. I hope they get to keep growing so I can have some fresh veggies in a few weeks.

Fall Surprise

2010-09-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

In mid-August I tried planting some seeds (beets, radishes and lettuce), and only 2-3 radishes appeared. Last Monday (September 13) I decided to try again with radishes, beets and spinach. It looks like the radishes have appeared in less than a week! Wonder about the spinach and beets......it's been HOT!

Herb Garden

2010-09-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Beautiful plants and vegetables keep growing in the garden. But in one corner is the herb garden.....and we didn't pay attention to it. I am hoping to weed and amend with my fellow gardeners so that next spring we can plant herbs. Maybe next fall we can make herb oils.

Tomatillos

2010-09-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

It is a fun word to say---and it is an interesting tomato. We have some in the garden -- and so does my neighbor. Besides being a fun word, it is also an interesting plant. They are known as the "husk tomato" because the tomato grows in a covering. I can't wait to try some in a tasty dish!

Community Garden

2010-09-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Plants grow and people gather in the community garden. The community and the garden have been very, very good to me. Thank you!

Welcome September!

2010-09-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! September is here....shorter days....beautiful shadows as the sun goes south. Pumpkins are bright orange...zucchini are still arriving in my box; about two a week! I'll be trying more zucchini recipes this weekend.

Zucchini Bread Feast

2010-08-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

We had a big rain yesterday, so the group was able to relax and eat zucchini bread I made----as well as some mini mozzarella, tomato and basil caprese.

(Thank you, Clint, for taking the picture...one day we will have to get a picture of you!)

Four months later....

2010-08-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Maryanne and I planted the spinach and beets on May 7.

Sixteen weeks later, with more planting, watering, weeding, picking and eating, here is the garden.

I am hoping to make it to 5 1/2 months before the first frost.....up to now it's been a fun adventure!

Basil

2010-08-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

The basil bush is still growing! Many branches have been shared with others. The picture I took this morning was inspired by a fellow gardener (thank you Clint). The morning light is amazing.

Lunches this week have been a spinach and basil pasta salad with cheese and pine nuts. Here is a link to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Basil-Pasta-Salad/Detail.aspxAnd here is a picture of my salad this afternoon.

I plan to try more recipes with basil.

Leaning Tower of Tomatoes

2010-08-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

The tomato plants in the community garden have been "weird" this summer. They have had curly leaves ---- and now my huge plant (that has been leaning for over a month) has lots of green tomatoes for the past week. I hope they start turning red soon!

Gardens of My Friends

2010-08-17T21:25:00.001-07:00

My plot in the SLCC community garden has slowed down this week. The tomatoes are all hanging green.....the pepper plant has lots of flowers.....the cucumbers are all small....and the zucchini area starting another round. So here are pictures of my friends' gardens.

Art chose just to plant tomatoes. These are zebra tomatoes. They stay green and are sweet.

Sara has art in her garden.

Teri protects her garden from the deer.

August Planting

2010-08-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

I finally planted small rows of spinach, radishes and lettuce. We will see what happens! These past two months have been a learning experience for me! I will keep you posted if anything grows!

Community Eating

2010-08-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Besides growing all these veggies, it is fun to eat them! I have shared my cold cucumber and beet soup as well as the zucchini salsa with my community garden group. I have made the salsa for the wine tasting group and for a pot luck.

This past weekend I was able to combine some of my garden with a friend's garden pickings. I have LOTS of basil----and my friend only planted tomatoes. So I called him to see if any of the tomatoes were ready---and the answer was yes!

I cut some basil and picked up a baguette and fresh mozzarella cheese. My friend opened the expensive bottle of olive oil from Chef....and below was the creation of all the pieces from our gardens.

The food was delicious....but it was even better sitting on the front porch and sharing it with a friend.

Beauty----and thoughts

2010-08-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Or should I say beautiful thoughts?? Here is a picture of Mother Nature doing her thing!

As for thoughts----I REALLY need to start thinking of my next round of planting. I am getting suggestions from a friend, but I think I will research and make a plan. I will share soon!

Welcome August!

2010-08-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

August has arrived...and so did five more tomatoes and 3 more cucumbers! I think things are starting to really grow!

Maryanne and I picked more beets today.

I made some more yummy cold beet and cucumber soup this evening. I also made a zucchini salsa that the garden group can test tomorrow morning. It is fun trying new recipes with all this fresh produce!

Food for Thought

2010-07-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

Lunch today was a yummy tomato (only the second tomato this season!), mozzarella, and fresh basil. And I had to show off the first cucumber from my vine!

Last night I was looking over my hand written journal of thoughts and drawings on the community garden (I got the awesome journal from the SLCC Writing Center). On one of the first pages of the journal I wrote about why I like gardening (which is different than the post on why I want to be in a community garden).

I like to garden because....

I like the smell of wet dirt
I like the feel of dirt in my hands
I like observing the shapes, colors, and textures of the plants and flowers and vegetables
I like the smell of basil and lavender and sage
I feel connected to the earth
the garden is calm
the garden lets me know that it is ok to fail and try again
in the spring the garden makes me feel awake and alive after winter hibernation

Why do you like to garden?

Squash Haiku (with pictures)

2010-07-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

The flower waited

The bee came by to say hi

(photo by Clint Gardner)

What a big surprise!

(photo by Clint Gardner)

A cucumber has appeared!

2010-07-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

As stated in an earlier post, I have learned a lot of patience with vegetable gardening. I wrote a cucumber haiku about 2 1/2 weeks ago. The little flower was patiently waiting for the bee. The bee finally came to my plot! There is one little cucumber starting to grow. It took a little over 8 weeks for the little cucumber to sprout from the flower. Two months of watering and weeding and talking to the plant. I wonder how many cucumbers will be harvested from this one plant in my plot?

Eating

2010-07-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

The garden is now producing! And now we must eat! I created a cold beet and cucumber soup from my Polish cook book. Yummy! Beets and beet greens from my garden, cucumber from my neighbor's garden, green onion from the local farmer...and I got some radishes and sour cream from the store.....add a little dill and lemon juice...chill in the refrigerator over night....and we had a refreshing treat this morning during the weekly garden gathering. I am serving below. (Thank you, Clint, for taking the picture!)

After eating we harvested some more. Tomorrow is a stir fry at lunch by Ann! Here is what will be part of the stir fry:

Wonder what will be ready in the garden tomorrow??

Leaves

2010-07-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

We always focus on the vegetables... and watering....and weeding. But what about the leaves? Some are big, some are single, some are in threes. Enjoy the leaves of the garden!

Lunch from the garden

2010-07-15T20:44:00.001-07:00

I had to share a picture of my yummy salad. All the parts came from the community garden--lettuce, beet greens, zucchini, green pepper, and beets. The lettuce and pepper came from a fellow gardener (thank you Adam!) and the rest came from my department's 3' X 6' raised garden.

So why are more people participating in community gardens? I think it's more than for the vegetables. It's getting to know people while watering and weeding. It is learning about plants, about when to thin the plants, and about when to pick the vegetables. (Thank you for sharing your knowledge, Clint!) It is about sharing the harvest with others. And it is about eating!!

I am glad that I decided to participate in the SLCC community garden. I like watching my garden grow!

We have beets!

2010-07-13T21:05:00.001-07:00

We picked a few beets yesterday. It has been a little over 9 weeks since the seeds were planted. We will harvest more next week. I plan to make a cold beet and cucumber soup. (If the group thinks it's good I will post the recipe.) I am excited about cooking and eating fresh beets that I watched grow!

It's the little things...

2010-07-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

.....and the joy they bring. (India Arie) Here is a little pepper that my friend found in the garden. (That is my finger holding the pepper.)

Participating in the community garden has let me watch the growth of food I enjoy eating. When I was a child in Chicago, we did have some tomato plants. But I didn't partake in the planting and watering...I think it was something that my parents enjoyed.

Here is the zucchini plant and it's growth over five weeks.

The best is yet to come! Gardening makes us practice patience.

Cucumber Haiku

2010-07-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

The cucumber plant
Waiting for the bees to come
Small yellow flowers

Cucumbers

2010-07-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

There are no cucumbers on the vine yet, but this blog has helped me observe the garden as it grows....so today I am sharing pictures of the cucumber plant growing.

It all started on May 25 when it was planted into the community garden. I did not take a picture of just the plant---this is cropped from the picture I took of the entire department plot.

In two weeks it began to add more leaves. It only had two little ones when it started.

Three and a half weeks later (or five and half from planting) it is starting to spread out and it looks like it is sprouting a few flowers (or maybe it is sprouting more leaves to spread).

I wonder how long it takes to get cucumbers on the vine?

11 Days Later....

2010-06-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

After being away for 11 days, the garden has grown! Tomatoes are as high as the cages...and little vegetables are appearing.

Here is one small tomato----I am looking forward to tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese in August!

Zucchini are beginning to grow---this is a yellow variety (I think).

This is the rest of the spinach harvest. The beets have room to grow.

Three Weeks....

2010-06-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's been over three weeks since I planted the cucumber and zucchini. The cucumber is slowly growing...from two leaves to this:

The zucchini had a big flower on it this morning. I am patiently waiting for more than flowers----though the flowers are quite pretty in the early morning sun.

I am going to be gone for ten days on an adventure with family. I wonder how the plants will change while I am gone.....

Planting

2010-06-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday during our community garden gathering we planted the last empty box. We know it is a bit late, but I am glad that we are trying. It is fun having all the boxes full!

I can't help but keep showing the spinach that I have been eating almost daily! Here is the row of spinach and beets after 5 1/2 weeks.....they were such tiny seeds when we planted them....

First Harvest

2010-06-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Ok ---- It's not a huge harvest, but I got to thin out some of the spinach and enjoy their yummy flavor this weekend after planting them five weeks ago.

It has been a rainy and cool weekend.....wonder how the garden will look this week....

Flowers

2010-06-08T20:50:00.001-07:00

I know this is a vegetable garden...but I love flowers, and this week the flowers that soon will become yummy vegetables have started to bloom. Here is one from a tomato plant.

I think this little white flower is from a pepper plant.

And this one is my favorite....the squash flower.

The Neighbors

2010-06-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

In a community garden we have lots of neighbors. Here are a few of mine.
The Salsa Garden
In a few weeks, these plants will have lots of tomatoes, peppers and other salsa making items. It's great to have neighbors who like to eat good food and have a good time!

Strawberries

Some of the neighbors have strawberries. (yummy!) Here are some getting plump and ripe.

The Pretty Garden
One is always happy to have the neighbors with nice landscaping. This is a beautiful garden.

Happy Garden

2010-06-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

It was raining and in the 60s this morning. I think the garden was very happy! I don't think the garden will be happy when it is 85 degrees. The spinach is exploding (first row from the left).

Spinach at Three Weeks

2010-05-31T09:18:00.001-07:00

It is amazing to watch something grow from seed! Here is what the spinach looks like after three weeks....

Mulching

2010-05-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's snow, we had a sunny morning to work in the garden. We placed recycled newspaper on the ground and shoveled mulched all around the raised beds.

I planted my basil and cucumbers today (along with my token marigold). Oh basil, grow into a bush!

Snow...May 24

2010-05-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

I woke up to BIG flakes coming down. It was accumulating as wet, heavy snow on my roses bushes and flower garden. Luckily, by the time I got to the community garden, there was just a little snow. I wonder what tomorrow brings....

The Beginning

2010-05-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

In March I heard about a group who wanted to start a community garden on the campus. I was interested because I need an excuse to get out of the office in the summer. (The all-terrain boccce breaks are harder to do now that the quad is flat with lots of concrete.)

So I went to a few meetings, exchanged a few emails, and convinced some of my department that we should partake in this creative and community building activity.

In mid-April some boxes appeared on the plot. The next day the facilities and ground crew took out rows of grass.

Then we had to level the boxes. On Earth Day we had a gathering to mix dirt and place dirt in each of the boxes. Joy in the Garden chatted with Globe radio. Fun was had by all!

The weather at the end of April and the beginning of May included snow and frost at night. We finally planted our row of spinach and row of beets on May 7.

Two weeks later the two rows of plants have sprouted! And we added two tomato plants, two pepper plants, and a zucchini plant. More to come next week! We are farmers!