Our new Garden Angel!
Volunteers from: Hancock, Follen, Islamic Center and others off our general volunteer list
Weather: Couldn’t be any nicer!
The garden welcomed all that recent rain. Plants looked so much taller, bushier and greener than when I was last there. And reigning over all was the new “Garden Angel”. Our scarecrow of the last few years needed serious repair. Once Carla started working on it, using clothes contributed by Lauren, it morphed into a far friendlier sentinel…Guardian angel became garden angel, a much more apt name than scarecrow. Let’s hope she is not too welcoming to our smaller, furrier friends!
Almost 11 pounds of produce went to the Pantry this morning, including:
Strawberries, lettuce, bok choy, peas, radishes, rhubarb, swiss chard and the herbs mint, Chives, thyme, parsley, dill and cilantro.
There are many steps before produce is OK’d to go over to the Lexington Food Pantry. Care is given to cleaning the produce, weighing it, and attractively packaging the trays.
Lauren and Isaac cleaning radishes
Elaine and Carla picking peas
Candy and Laura weighing and recording
Mark rinsing lettuce
In the category of what I learned today:
Carla has left some weeds to deliberately act as decoys for the aphids and ants. If lamb’s quarters is left growing close enough to the vegetables, they will attract the aphids and leave the vegetables alone. We saw some very eaten up lamb’s quarters among the peas and beans, acing their job as decoy. There was scant damage to the neighboring plants.
Lastly, it was fun to be reminded of the unique way that garlic ripens. Remember that garlic is planted in the fall, so it takes a long time to mature. But one step along the way is to see the garlic fronds start to cork screw. They curl and then they uncurl. Only after uncurling will they be ready to pick. In the picture, note the characteristic corkscrewing of the garlic fronds.
Garlic Scapes