by Barbara Munkres
There were about ten helpers at the Garden Tuesday, a pleasant day for working….not too hot, cold or windy. Temple Emunah provided most of the workers, with Pilgrim Church providing three.
There was plenty to do: Eli, who is working on a Boy Scout badge in gardening, has been at the Garden frequently this spring. He showed me how to plant the lettuce seedlings Carla provided, both red and green, about 12 inches apart. After planting, he watered them and we sprinkled buckwheat hulls around the base of each plant as a mulch. In the photo below, Teddi Marin and Carla survey the far corner.
You can see rows of onions coming up and beyond that, several rows of spinach of various ages. Later these were watered, but not too much, as rain was expected Tuesday night. Some shallots were planted.
Lettuce Rows
Larry Marin planted zucchini in two hills nearby. The idea was to plant six pairs of seeds in each hill. Later, the weaker seedling of the pairs will be eliminated.
Removing garlic mustard weed
In the photo below, I think we have peas, which needed to be cultivated to remove weeds. Down by the fence, Carla and Eli are discussing how to hill up the onions a bit to prevent soil washing out in the coming rain.
Later, a group of about five workers attacked a big patch of garlic mustard beyond the garden near the woods. They must have been successful because they had four or five large garbage bags full of the prolific weed by the time we finished.
Meanwhile, the elegant scarecrow watched over it all.
Our Elegant Scarecrow
Thanks to Mary Mackie for bringing her camera and taking photos.