Community Garden Pt. 2

We have plants in the ground!

A few weeks ago I wrote about the community garden that took root (pun intended) in my neighborhood. I made no attempt to hide the fact that I’m a gardening newbie, but after one 6-hour work “party,” 25 wheelbarrows (at least) full of soil, multiple trips to the gardening store, and invaluable advice from 2 real-life gardeners – I’ll say it again – we have plants in the ground!

What was once a lonely, empty lot was brought to life by a group of hopeful urban gardeners who turned the rocky, weedy hillside into 30+ plots of burgeoning plant life. Tended by our neighborhood's residents, our plot shares the space with a varied group including a police officer, a software consultant, a retired swimmer and a local pre-school - who held hands and each grabbed a portion of the hose so they could water the garden together (it was the cutest thing ever.)

This will definitely be an experiment. After culling through others’ advice, what was on our “wish list,” as well as what was available at the plant store, our 12 x 4 plot has tomatoes, peppers (jalapenos, serranos, yellow & red), cucumbers, pole beans, herbs (thyme, lavender & basil), artichokes, green onions, strawberries and squash. We even threw in some flowers (marigolds) to entice the bees.

We lined our box with chicken wire to deter the gophers, and bought sticks to create support for the beans and tomatoes as they grow. We water daily. And now we wait!