The Garden:Rambunctous, Red Ribbons, and Phototropism

The heat continues to break records in East Tennessee.  Today will set the record for most 90F+ days in one season.  There has been only sporadic rain and the season total is over 9" below normal.  We have had only small supplemental watering at the garden.  As you can see, the sunflowers and corn have reached new heights.  We have picked over 350 pounds of produce from the garden for the season.  We did have several nice cantaloupes last week.  Took them to the Senior Center for lunch. 

This picture shows the sunflowers reaching for the morning sun, phototropism.  When we were laying out the garden design, we needed a compass to give us the reading for placement of the raised beds.  Even with the dry conditions, the vegetative growth has been impressive.   In fact, the patch has been overrun with the squash, cushaw, melon, and cucumber vines.  The ground cover aspects have been helpful, but we continue to lay cardboard to prevent weed growth between the rows.  

Luxuriant growth in the garden.  The flowers have provided lots of comment and also a reason for the beneficial pollinating insects to visit a otherwise barren area.  

This honey bee is industriously working at the pollen grains in the sweet corn  patch.  With the continued dry weather, clouds of pollen were visible from several vantages.

We are continuing to evaluate the successes and failures of our gardening processes.  The weed controls used  have mixed reviews.  The initial row cover of sand proved to be insufficient.  We only briefly had to resort to chemical weed control. The cardboard and black plastic mulches have been largely successful with the only weed emergence coming in gaps in the cardboard.   The use of the plastic wire has also been less than a success.  It wants to buckle under the weight of the beans and cucumbers.  In addition, the small mesh size has been a problem with the cucumbers becoming entangled in the webbing.   You can see the vigorous growth of the tomatoes and other beds.  The Tomato cages are 4 foot wire and the plants have  significantly overgrown the top of the cages and will have to be cut back to accommodate the height of the cage

A days harvest. 

 You can see the large watermelon, It is headed to the competition for the Appalachian County Fair.  Its continued residence is a testament to the honesty  or lack of participation in the gardening process.  The yellow squash have continued to produce  regularly, however the Zucchinis have succumbed to the combination of stem borers and powdery mildew. 

We have raised several varieties that are unusual and very much local.  One is the
Plum Granny (Dudaim Group)
75 days — Also known as 'Queen Anne’s Pocket Melon', 'Vine Pomegranate' and 'Perfume Melon'.  A very fragrant heirloom.  According to Amy Goldman in her book, "Melons for the Passionate Grower," this variety has been know for at least 1000 years.  Used in the Victorian-era as a perfume to mask body odor by carrying in pockets and purses. The skin of the apple-sized fruit are yellow with deep orange-red stripes and white flesh.  They are edible and some folks like the flavor.  They are kind of like a cucumber without the crunch. One or two melons fill a room with their perfume.  Our stock comes from David Pendergrass, whose grandmother raised these melons for years..  

There was also a most interesting article published in England relating to the benefits of a School Garden.  The overarching aim of the Campaign is to raise the profile of gardens as a natural, sustainable resource that has the capacity to offer curricular, social and emotional benefits to pupils. The findings show that the Campaign can support schools in addressing these issues in a whole-school context.

The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Campaign for School Gardening has been successful in recruiting

11,500 primary schools. Its most noteworthy contributions have been the ways inwhich it has provided a focus and structure for the organisation of (often preexisting)gardens in schools, facilitating progress and recognising and rewarding their efforts. Schools have particularly welcomed the support and training that the

Campaign has made available.  The complete 57 page report is available. 

Outcomes from involving pupils in school gardening were reported as including:

•  Greater scientific knowledge and understanding

•  Enhanced literacy and numeracy, including the use of a wider vocabulary and greater oracy skills.

•  Increased awareness of the seasons and understanding of food production.

•  Increased confidence, resilience and self-esteem.

•  Development of a sense of responsibility.

•  A positive attitude to healthy food choices.

•  Positive behaviour.

•  Improvements in emotional well-being.

It one of the goals of this project to have an educational component to the garden.  This not only involves seniors, but also to spread the awareness of gardening and ecology to students as well.  We hope to have the Local students at the CH middle schools be participants in the gardening process.