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highalttransplant

Community Garden '11

highalttransplant
12 years ago

Finally got everything planted down at the community garden, so took the camera with me when I went to water today. Put down a bale of straw last week to help conserve moisture and help with weed control.

Overview

Row #1 Melons, ground cherries

Row #2 Tomatoes, tomatillos

Row #3 Tomatoes, peppers

Row #4 Tomatoes, lettuces

Row #5 Cauliflower, zucchini, and broccoli

I also have some beans planted in a friend's plot (not shown in picture).

A few close up shots

Cauliflower 'Brocoverde'

Zucchini 'Costata Romanesca'

Tomatillo 'Purple de Milpa'

Ground cherry 'Goldie'

Melon sprouts 'Amish'

Lettuce 'Jericho'

Pepper 'Aji Yellow'

Anyone else have a plot away from home?

Bonnie

Comments (7)

  • digit
    12 years ago

    It looks like you are making excellent use of your opportunity in the community garden, Bonnie.

    I certainly have plots away from home. However, these aren't in community gardens.

    For the most part, they are gardens where the property owners can no longer care for so much space. Some time ago, I was involved in a community garden, however. It is all part of living on a small lot with garden dreams beyond my own boundaries . . .

    This was kind of a funny picture I took the other day. The lettuce was on its way home from the garden. And no, I don't park the dodge ram IN the garden while I'm there . . .

    {{gwi:1210183}}

    Steve

  • austinnhanasmom
    12 years ago

    I tried last year, but rarely made time to water. AND when I did water, I realized I was watering the wrong plot!! DUH.

    I shared two plots with a friend. One was at the north end of the garden, and one at the south. Her husband would complain that I was never watering the south plot. She would defend me and say I was.. :P

    He asked if I had ever seen the rats under our cabbage. I was thinking "Cabbage???". So I'd continue to go water and continually failed to see cabbage....

    Sometimes I'd pick melons and zucchini....

    At the end of the season, I happened to glance to the next plot over and wadda-ya-know? CABBAGE!! And the melons and zucchini that I had planted.

    Never did see those rats - thankfully.

    I hope that whose ever plot I was watering, and picking from, picked from "my" plot...

  • tommysmommy
    12 years ago

    Yup, I've been gardening at my community garden for about 8 or 9 years. I forget now it's been so long. Due to trees and wildlife, gardening at my house isn't practical (actually very disappointing when critters are tromping through it or eating it!). In previous years we had unclaimed plots, but last year and this year all are rented with a waiting list. I have what's called a double plot, about 20x23 and I thought I left lots of room to walk but the vines are starting to vine and oh boy! So what am I growing this year? Here goes: peas, green beans, onions (4 kinds), lettuce (leaf & romaine), swiss chard, kale, beets, broccoli, cabbage, corn, basil, pie pumpkins, butternut squash, green and yellow zucchini, 4 kinds peppers, 3 kinds tomatoes, eggplant, tarragon, mint, oregano, asparagus, zinnias, marigolds, nigella, cilantro. Yes, it all fits into that space!
    Anyway, I love it, we've been eating on it for a couple weeks now, and I started most of it from seed, some inground, some back in February.
    Diane

  • highalttransplant
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Instead of starting a new thread, I thought I'd continue on with the old one.

    The plot was tilled a couple of weeks ago, after I'd ammended it with 10 bags of mushroom compost, so that has been worked in well. Today, I measured and set around 20 T-posts for the peppers and tomatoes. I'll be using the Florida weave technique this year, but not on the tomatoes. I'm going to try it with the peppers.

    The wet area to the left is a row of Walla Walla onions I planted today.

    Here's another angle. The taller T-posts in the front are for the tomatoes. I still have half a dozen more to go, but those will have to wait till another day.

    In the foreground is the bean trellis. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but it's made from CRW that used to be around one of the apple trees here at the house.

    I am wore out, especially my right shoulder from swinging a sledgehammer over and over. It was a lot of work, but I'm sure it will pay off when I'm able to walk between the rows in the middle of summer.

    Bonnie

  • bob_in_colorado
    11 years ago

    How are ground cherries? I received a packet of free seeds this year.

    Are they tasty?

  • highalttransplant
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    The taste is hard to describe, sort of melon, hint of pineapple, texture of a cherry tomato. Three out of five of us in my family like them, so I'd say they are worth growing at least once, to decide for yourself. My kids love hunting around the base of the plants to find the ripe ones on the ground. They just peel the paper husk, and pop them in their mouth. I made jam with them one year, but didn't care for the seeds in it. If I try it again, I'll strain them out. Last year, I made a pie, which I thought was good. It takes a LOT of them to make anything though, so we mainly just eat them fresh. Usually by the end of the season, when the kids have grown tired of them, I'll save up enough to do something with them. They are prolific, and will reseed, so either grow them in a container, or plant them where you won't mind volunteers the next year.

  • tomatoz1
    11 years ago

    Bonnie - my husband knows your pain pounding in all of those posts. So for Christmas, I bought him a POST DRIVER, which cost about $30 at Home Depo*. Beats a ladder and sledgehammer.

    The church has a small community garden, where I grow veggies as the space at home has mostly weeds and flowers. The community garden soil has been amended over and over and probably needs another 10 years of amendments. We love to have 'new' gardeners learn how to garden organically. Just hope the water restrictions aren't too harsh this year.