Man, am I sore!

Yesterday, I worked in the Community Garden from 8:30 am until nearly 5 pm.  It was a very productive day.  I took the black plastic off of my newest plot (I was hoping to kill the grass and warm up the soil).  Kyle, another original plot holder and I rented a tiller.  Even though we will no longer tractor-till the entire garden, it is simply much easier to break through a rhizome-y grass layer.

So he tilled his plot, Lucy and Andrew tilled their plot, and Kyle was nice enough to do mine, too.  I didn’t till my established bed, and hopefully this will be the last time I will have to do any of my beds.  Unfortunately, the tiller then broke, which means Brooke had to do hers by hand.  Yikes–that’s a lot of work.  My husband suggested that she actually use a shovel to cut away the whole grass layer, instead of just turning over the soil.  That seemed to be a good plan–the roots of the grass are deep and ubiquitous.

Eric and I did the same thing where the seven blueberry bushes will be planted.  It is not easy.

So after cutting away the grass for the blueberries, I went to work in my freshly tilled plot to pull out as many grass roots as I possibly could.  Even though I can hardly walk today, it will be worth it in the long run.  Eric rebuilt the base of the Garden’s homely little greenhouse, but it was too windy to put the plastic on it.

Naomi and Arnold and their kids showed up and finished the prepping of the blueberry patch.  Arnold added peat moss and sulfur to the beds, because blueberries like an acidic soil.  We will probably use a pine needle mulch to help keep that corner acidic.

In the meantime, Natalie and Jeff and their kids came to play in the garden for a while.  They raked in some manure, and even dumped a load on my plot for me.

There has been more activity in the Garden this spring than I have ever seen before.  Kids laughing, parents talking and working–and everyone helping each other.  This is what a community garden is supposed to be!

Naomi and I, per usual, discussed all the items on our to-do list.  The Center for Restorative Youth Justice kids are coming to work on Wednesday, and they will dig up the areas where raspberries and strawberries will be planted, so that is one item off the list.

1. We need to get the table out of the shed and get it set up as a washing station.
2. The shed itself needs organizing.  
3. We need to finish marking out the plots with landscaping fabric.  
4. We need to plant potatoes.
5. The herb garden needs planting (in a few weeks).
6. The greenhouse needs plastic.
7. Strawberries and raspberry canes will need to be planted.  
8. Irrigation for the community beds needs to be laid out.

I told Naomi that I have to constantly remind myself that it doesn’t all have to happen this year.  We are just so excited that everything is finally coming together, and we want it to match the vision we have in our heads.  I can tell this group of plot holders is going to be amazing.  The spirit of community has already sprouted (ha!  gardening analogy).  It makes us giggly!

As for my plot, I went back today to work on it.  I raked out the manure, and created mounds for future planting.  I think I will try straw as a mulch on the walkways this year.  I erected my pea trellis, and planted sugar and snap pea seeds.  It may be too early, but if so, I will just try again.  In my raised pallet bed, I seeded 2 rows of radishes, 2 rows of spinach, a row of romaine, another of a lettuce blend, and a row of green onions.

We shall see how this works–it is supposed to rain tomorrow and the garden needs it.  We won’t turn the water on for another two weeks or so, until the danger of a hard freeze has passed.  A record-breaking hard freeze is forecasted for Tuesday night, so I will cover my onions with Reemay.  My seeds will be fine.  Hopefully my pea trellis will survive the wind event we are also forecasted to have on Monday.

So much to think about.

Related articles

• Growing Your Own Strawberry Garden (proflowers.com)
• Columbia Falls Community Garden (frommichigantomontana.com)
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