A Progress Report

 This is a fairly uncommon, though by no means rare photo of snow in Church Hill.  This photos were followed by a real treat, a combination rain, freezing rain and ice storm.  Under it all there are still signs of life in the beds.

This is also a rare photograph it shows the slow march of 10 compost bins, FKA tomato cages, to Spring Planting. The composting action was evident in the warmth of the outside boards on the big bin.

The year-end garden evaluation was held December 9th.  After we worked and ate, the conversation was distilled and recorded.  After it was submitted to the Garden Directors and some suggestions incorporated, this is the lump of work that we would like to do in 2011.

Church Hill Senior Center Garden

2011

Goals & Objectives

Goals

1. Increase senior/public participation in planting, harvesting and maintenance of the Garden
2. Find a long term solution to water availability at garden site
3. Develop and prioritize list of projects requiring funding
4. Continue to expand raised bed and compost bin infrastructure
5. Implement effective partnership between garden facilities and Church Hill students
6. Obtain a long term agreement on continued use of garden site
7. Develop short/long term solutions to path weed control
8. Increase production by 10% in 2011 by more effective use of space, earlier planting, additional beds, greater soil fertility, and increased composting.
9. Implement liability waiver policy and establish garden rules for all participants
10. Publish Blurb book by 4/30/2011 about 2010 garden

Objectives

• Meet with Seniors to discuss garden and need for additional member participation
• Continue to publicize the garden through blog, television and press coverage
• Talk with Elementary School leaders and teachers about including garden in curricula
• Build message center for participants at the garden site
• Include garden activities in Senior Center monthly newsletter
• Contact FFA leaders to ask for participation by raising plants and assisting with bed construction labor
• Talk with Boy/Girl/Eagle Scouts about participation
• Continue conversation with 1st Utilities about water at site. If necessary, seek alternative water storage alternatives
• Talk with Carter Valley Elementary leaders/teachers about garden by late January 2011and present logical plan for their participation.  Ask for their assistance in planting, Sunflower project and offer to supplement their lesson plans about seeds, gardening, photosynthesis etc.
• Schedule and conduct at least one public session about raised bed gardening, sustainable or organic practices, and or composting in conjugation with Master Gardeners.
• Form list of prioritized projects requiring funding, develop costs to implement and raise money to complete at least 2 projects designated as “significant”
• Finalize and submit Fiskars grant proposal
• select and implement Waiver of Liability forms and procedures and develop Garden Rules
• Provide for uniform collection of volunteer hours, weighing produce and reporting of production
• Develop recognition system for Donors
• Continue with organic policies

Well there you have it.  Perhaps too broad, and perhaps too  optimistic.  


We have received a positive reply from 1st Utility.  They will rehabilitate an old connection in the garden parking lot and have water available in the Spring.  They have capped the rates and given us a rate similar to the area churches.  This is a significant step forward for the garden and also in our effort to obtain a grant for the garden.

The work on the Blurb Book has shifted into high gear.  The show and ice storms provided a convenient excuse to stay inside and write.  We are using Google Docs to co-author the tome.  At this point we have over 11000 words, and a reasonably bad opinion of Google Docs.  There is going to be some considerable dancing before the thing is ready to hit the presses, but the text is coming along quite well and starting to sound somewhat coherent. The book has helped me focus on some of the issues that need to be completed and changed for next year.  

Work to finish the Fiskar's grant proposal will restart next week.  We are waiting for an answer from Mayor Deal regarding a long term usage arrangement for the garden.  The "last Call" email was received last week and the submissions must be received by year end.  We are not spending the money until received, but the $1500 worth of Fiskar's tools would be wonderful.  

Thanks to all who helped during 2010.  Merry Christmas and Good Growing in 2011.

Season Statistics

This is the point where we compute the statistics and start evaluating the 2010 garden.  There is some Kale and Turnip greens that will survive the typical Tri-Cities winter. So there will be some additional items to add to the production for this year.  But for all real purposes This Is IT!

 Crop                   Pounds or Units                        

Beans	20.25
cantaloupe	7.00
corn	112.00
corn stalks	47.00
cucumbers	113.00
cushaw	229.50
eggplant	1.00
feed corn	21.50
floral arrangements	34.00
kale	1.00
lettuce	1.00
mustard greens	26.50
okra	17.50
peppers	22.50
plum granny	7.50
puff ball	2.00
radish	19.00
spaghetti squash	39.25
sunflower heads	103.00
tomatoes	162.50
turnip greens	6.75
watermelon	21.50
winter squash	11.00
yellow squash	61.75
zucchini	53.00
	1141.00

In addition we have about 250 cubic feet of compost in process.  This is comprised of 14 truck loads of  shredded leaves and horse manure.  The big central compost bin holds 120 cubic feet and the 10 wire tomato cages have a total of 105 cubic feet of material.  There was one bed that was empty, so it was filled with the same material.  This would be another 25 cubic feet of material. 

In the Spring, there should be enough compost to fill all the existing beds to the top.  We limped along with the basic soil fertility( as found) and only had about 50 cubic feet of compost for soil amendment. With enough strong backs next year, we can do an instant replay and fill the big bin again for some compost to use in the fall and to fill any additional beds that are constructed.  We still have a good supply of leaves that will be available and there should be large amounts of horse manure available by Spring.

The Garden Evaluation meeting will be held December 9th.  Many of those invited have responded positively.  We are hoping for a good turnout and a productive session.  A letter has been prepared asking First Utility District to donate a water connection and water to use for the 2011 season.  We shall see.

Last work session

 Brian and Judy are loading one of the Truckloads of horse manure at the secret compost location .  A week earlier, we had loaded leaves and manure.  During the week, additional leaves and manure were transported and placed in the compost stockade. 

 Brian, Judy and Marcia enthused and effused loading the first of an additional two loads of manure. 

 

Only crazy committed gardeners can get excited about shoveling a truck or two of manure and be all smiley in the photos.

The bin is finally full.  There are a total of 9 truckloads of material in the bin.  We had some small amount of material from the garden.  However, the tomato vines corn stalks were taken to the landfill to prevent the spread of powdery mildew, and  southern corn rust.

The compost bin measures 6 feet x 4 feet and is 5 feet high.  Doing the math, it contains 120 cubic feet.  Since the manure was already "hot" we expect the pile to heat quickly.  It has been rained on several times during the loading process.  So we have all the ingredients needed for a treasure trove of Black Gold in the spring.  The leaves are not very compact and the pile will settle to about half the current height.  We are also using the wire tomato cages as mini-composters.  About 1/3rd of the height has been filled with manure.  Additional leaves and manure will fill the height.  We will see how much composting will take place since there is not much volume in the cylinder.  The material can either remain in the cage or be scattered in the bed. 

There are post holes already drilled and enough treated lumber has been purchased to construct a bin like the one already filled.  If the weather cooperates, we may have an additional bin before Spring.

composing and composting

On November 11th, the composting bin received its first large deposit. Two truckloads of partially shredded leaves and horse manure were picked up and placed in the bin by the "usual suspects".  Only gardeners can really get excited about locating a prime deposit of horse apples.  One of the Senior Center members provided the hot tip and we were off.  The manure was at a farm quite close to the garden and was steaming when we loaded the truck.  It was very clean and did not contain the detritus that sometimes accompanies the barn run stuff. Because of the garden's location we needed to be careful of the appearance and odor of compostable materials. 

It is preferable to know the types of trees when you are composting leaves.  Certain trees and their leaves (such as black walnut) contain toxins and can inhibit growth of certain garden plants. The leaves we used were mainly maple, tulip poplar, gum, and pecan.  If grass clippings are included in compost, it is preferable to use clippings from lawns that have not been treated by lawn services. 

Another composting session is scheduled for Nov 18th.  The weather hopefully will cooperate in placing another truckload of leaves and manure.  This will probably be the last gardening session of the year.  We plan to harvest the remaining mustard, radishes, and other greens.  The volunteers are all scattering for the Thanksgiving holidays and we want to gather and distribute as much as possible before a killing frost. 

Billions Perish as Frost Decimates Populations in Church Hill--Species from Arachnids to Zinnias Succumb to Sub Zero Celsius Temperatures

As we changed the time last night, nature also changed the seasons.  At 6:00 AM when the dogs shook the family out of bed, the temperature was 23 F .  I took a few pictures showing the demise of a few old garden friends.

The tough garden geezers brushed it off and are back to growing for another day.

hardfrost and harvest

The weatherman promises that there will be a hard frost tonight with temperatures dropping to the low to mid 20's.  After consulting Marcia, I harvested the Black Seeded Simpson lettuce,  There was one pound after cleaning.  Picked a large bunch of radishes the day before and pretty much cleared out all that were ready to pick.  I wasn't really thinking about harvesting the local wildlife, but came on this large group of wild turkeys on the way to the garden.  Cut the heads off the lettuce, but the turkeys are still roaming, blissfully unaware of a certain holiday later this month.

People ask me every day, "Garden must be done by now??" and are amazed that we are still picking things every week.  We have picked 31.25 pounds since the last posting in October.  The lettuce would not have survived the overnight temperatures, but the mustard, kale and turnip greens will all be fine and continue to produce.

The last of the floral arrangements were distributed on Oct 29th.  There was not many remaining flowers, but some holly, nandina berries, cosmos and herbs from other gardens combined with  snapdragons, okra foliage and some other flowers to make 5 bouquets.  The staff at the health department send a very nice "Thank You" card for the arrangements they received.

The Rogersville Review  printed a very nice article about the garden in their October 20th edition.  It was on page 16, however this is the first page of their Life & Style Section.  It was a full page long with several photographs.  Our thanks go out to Joel Spears,  feature editor, and the Review.

We have located a supply of horse manure and intended to pick a truckload up this week.  The heavy rainfall that morning canceled the loading, but we intend to get a big batch of compost started before the end of this season. The delay will also enable us to incorporate a truckload of partially mulched leaves to the pile.  The wind, rain, sleet and hail of today and the past week have almost ended the leaf peeping season.  The cyclone rake gizmo was ready to pick up, but it was too wet for the operation today. 

The initial work on the Blurb book has started.  We are gathering information from the web and have a draft outline that is being reviewed.  A meeting to evaluate this year's garden and plan for next season is scheduled for later this month.  There is only a little clean-up work left to complete, so this is a good time to start the review and think about improvements for next season.

Fall gardening

 EXTENDING THE YIELD AND THE SEASON

 Our Fall plantings are now ready to be picked.  This is the curly mustard.  It was one of the first Fall greens we planted as we removed the peppers and tomatoes.  Many gardeners are weary of the grind of weeding/planting/preserving by the fall and head for the tiller to put the garden to rest for the remainder of the season.

Doing this makes many miss one of the most rewarding gardening season.  The hot sun is gone and shorter days slow the growth of the weeds.  The cooler weather is the perfect time to plant the greens that would run to seed quickly in the hot summer sun.

We have harvested 5 pounds of radishes this late season.  Another added benefit, the cool weather usually banishes the worms.  We have not had any worm damage to radishes harvested this Fall.  The cool weather and more moisture gives the radishes tender tops.  Yes they can be eaten!!  In late Spring, the tops are often rough, hairy and tough.  Later in the year they are tender and delicious.  Try some in your salad, or add to pot of greens.  There were French Breakfast, long White, and the Sparkler red radishes shown here. We have one other patch planted and starting to mature if the weather cooperates.

 We planted a 12' x 4' bed of turnips and kale.  The kale is a cole family member and is tough enough to survive and grow during a moderate winter.  I have harvested kale from snowbanks in a Wisconsin Winter.  It was frozen solid, but worked remarkably well in winter soups and stews.  There is something very satisfying about harvesting something long after your neighbors are totally dependent on items trucked in from half a world away.

If the kale survives, it is tough enough to start growing in earliest Spring to provide you fresh greens in the New Year.

 This Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce is also happy in the Fall garden.  Both lettuce and Spinach enjoy the cooler weather and hold much longer in the cooler weather.  A light frost will not harm the lettuce or spinach, but they will not survive a heavy frost later in the season.

Both leafy greens are much more tender in the fall and will be a real treat in salads,  I like to add mustard greens to my salad for a peppy flavor.  Add some cooked beets and mandarin oranges to make a colorful and unusual salad combination.

We did plant beets in one of the raised beds.  They are progressing fine.  Even if the beet roots do not develop enough for a big mess, The beet tops are at least as tasty with a splash of vinegar and butter.

Our harvest total for the year is nearly 1100 pounds.  With a couple more pickings of mustard, turnip and kale, we will top that target by the end of next week.

We expect to see Local news coverage of the Senior Center Garden in the next week or two.  We have articles scheduled for publication in "Hawkins Today" and the "Rogersville Review".  Marcia, one of our Master Gardeners, created two collages of pictures for the garden.  We presented one to the Church Hill Senior Center and the Community Clothes Closet.  Robert Simmons, one of our dedicated photographers also got a copy this morning.  They were a beautiful reminder of the successful season and a small thank you for all their hard work and support during the season.  We have indeed gone from dirt to dinner.

Half Ton Plus!!

Beyond all of our expectations.  We have harvested over 1000 pounds of items from the garden.  The growing season is not finished.  There are greens planted and growing, tomatoes, okra, and peppers continue to ripen.  There are also some additional floral arrangements that can be produced.  So we ain't done yet.

The corn stalks have been partially cut and used to decorate the sign at the garden.  The remaining fodder will go to the Church Hill Library to help decorate the front of the building for Fall.  There are some Cushaw Squash that will be used for decorations as well.  

But let's look at what we have done.

                                                       POUNDS
     Beans                                              20.25
     Cantaloupe                                        7.00
     Corn                                              112.00
     Corn Stalks for decoration                   47.00
     Cucumbers                                      113.00
     Cushaw Squash                                229.50
     Feed Corn                                         21.50
     Flower Arrangements                          15.00
     Puffball  Fungus                                   2.00
     Okra                                                16.00
     Peppers                                             9.50
     Plum Granny's                                     7.50
     Spaghetti Squash                              39.50
     Sunflower Heads                              103.00
     Tomatoes                                       123.25
     Watermelon                                      21.50
     Winter Squash                                  11.00
     Yellow Squash                                  61.75
     Zucchini                                          53.00

TOTAL                                                   1013.25#

Looking back at the posts, There was a brief, insane moment when we thought we might get to 500 pounds of produce. We did get a late start.  The beds had to be constructed and prepared before anything could be planted.  We did suffer from very dry conditions throughout the growing season.  We needed, and continue to need additional support from the Seniors.  But this is an absolutely Fantastic Result!!

There should be some mustard to harvest this week.  The weather has turned colder and we are to have rain today and tomorrow.  This should encourage growth of the Fall Garden. Tomatoes, Okra, and Peppers will continue to be productive until the frost.  Conceivably we may harvest an additional 50 pounds before the season is over.  The Senior and Community Clothes Closet have each received roughly half of the items produced.  We are proud and pleased to have attained these results on behalf of our chosen recipients.

Harvesting and Fall Gardening

Since the last post, we have been busy harvesting and also planting Fall crops.  Most of the original plantings have completed their growth cycle and been harvested and cleaned up.  There are still some tomatoes, okra and flowers that are contributing to our harvest totals.  The amount harvested to date is 988.75 pounds.  The total is, frankly, far beyond my most optimistic wild dreams.  This is the "before" picture.  We have harvested the sunflowers and the remaining corn.  Beans have been taken out as have the cushaw and spaghetti squash.  There a couple of pumpkins that are developing, but perhaps not fast enough to beat the frost.   

Total weight of the sunflower heads picked was 103 pounds.  Some of the heads went to our intrepid work crew,  some to the Community Clothes Closet for sale and the remaining went to the Senior Center.  The sunflowers were one of the must do crops for the garden.  They were an attention getter, and have a high perceived value.  Next year, in addition to the mammoth variety, we hope to plant some of the more decorative varieties. 

As most of the vegetables have been harvested, we have created some flower arrangements that were distributed to the clothes closet, the mayor's office, library and the senior center.  It is a nice touch as people generally like flowers, and it does spread goodwill and recognition for the garden.

To help arrange the flowers, a plastic soda bottle was sawed with about 4 inches of the top and neck remaining,  The flowers were picked, arranged, and pushed through neck of the bottle.  This keeps the flowers in place and makes it easy for recipients to place in a vase.  For some of the smaller arrangements we used the bottom portion of the soda bottle as a vase. We will continue with the arrangements until the frost. 

We have planted Fall crops to extend the garden season.  Fortunately we received rain after each planting.  The weather is still unseasonable warm, but the day length is getting shorter, with the first day of a Fall next week.  We planted mustard, kale, turnips, radish, and lettuce.  All are now up.  With the first frost date about a month away, we hope to have a good Fall garden harvest. 

One thing we noticed at the garden was an almost total absence of birds.  There was one persistent Robin, but very little else.  This week there were adult and young Cardinals and quite a number of Goldfinches.  They perhaps had their eyes on the sunflowers, and we did leave a couple in the garden for our avian friends.   Bad bugs also considerable outnumber the good.  The land had been in pasture for at least 40 years, so there was probably little insect or bird activity for years.  We would like to place a Bluebird house or two around the garden parameter for next year.

In the next week or two, we will exceed the thousand pound level and I'll total all the harvest categories and post.  It is also time to start evaluating the successes and failures of this year's adventure.  We are talking about whether we should use cover crops, getting the compost pile established and cooking, and creating a more permanent solution for the pathways.  The cardboard and black plastic did the job, but is not a long-term way to go.  The dream is to expand the raised beds to create a true community garden with some plots that would be available for rent to community members.

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.

Feeding the hungry and Bugs

The garden has continued to grow and produce well in spite of the continued drought conditions.  The weed control methods described in the last post are effective with only a few weeds sprouting on the margins of cardboard.  The black plastic mulch also has been effective.  We saw the first deer footprints in the garden on Thursday last week.  The only damage seen was a few tender weed tips eaten near the garden edge.

We have picked several types of bugs.  The Japanese beetles have shown a fondness for the okra but have not seriously stressed the plants.  The worst infestation was the harlequin beetles that devoured the cabbage and other cole plants.

This guy is a larval form of the Mexican Bean Beetle and true to name it is on the bush bean plants.  We have not seen much damage to the lima beans and blackeyed peas located in the same bed.  The controls used for both pests a quick dip in a carton of soapy water.  We may try a bug-juice cocktail if I can find an old blender.  Simply whiz and spray. 

We have also had problems with tomato blossom end rot.  This is caused by a calcium deficiency.  About half the tomatoes picked have this problem.  The soil test from UT did not show a serious lack of calcium, and in fact advised not to add lime at this point.  We have quite a number of varieties of tomatoes and it will be interesting to see if some types are more resistant than others.

Marcia and Judy have provided the many types of herbs and flowers that are growing in the garden.  We placed them in beds near the roadway to provide passersby a brief pleasant view.

The flowers have also encouraged pollinators to visit the garden.   Look carefully at the pink yarrow and the marigold photos. If you double click on the pictures you can get a bigger image..

We planted some additional tomatoes, pumpkins and  Kentucky Wonder Beans.  The beans were planted in the corn rows for needed support.  The zucchini plants have nearly all been pulled up.  They were affected by a sudden rotting of the roots.  This causes the plant to deteriorate rapidly, especially with the hot weather.  The yellow squash have not been as badly affected and continue to produce fruit.  We are working of additional items to plant for the Fall crops.  We have harvested over 200# from the garden so far.  The tomatoes are just hitting their stride and the corn is just beginning to tassel out.  The cucumbers are holding up pretty well though there are a few signs of powdery mildew.  We also planted some additional beans and a fairly large patch of beets.  The combination of kale, mustard, and turnips is a common Southern Fall planting. . 

One of the most productive beds in the garden have been the cushaws pictured above.  We counted over 20 on two plants.  They will get to about 10 pounds each with the attractive green netting shown above. 

Also hidden is the watermelon at the bottom of this picture.  The leaves and vines are so tiny compared to the size of the fruit.  It did receive a few thumps, but the experts opinions were, Not Ready Yet.  There are also several cantaloupe fruits that are now producing the netting and will soon be ready to "slip".

Reaching new heights and harvesting

Until this week, we were experiencing heavy drought conditions at the garden,.  Rainfall was nearly 8" below normal.  The dry conditions created rapid weed growth in the row areas.  The barrier/mulch used in these pictures was about 3 inches of silica sand.  Breakthrough was rapid and difficult to control.  We have used several control strategies.  First we tried conventional weeding.  Because of the drought creating hard pack conditions and fear of additional mixing of the sand and soil, this was abandoned.  We have use a propane flame thrower to fry the weeds.  This produced moderate initial success.  To really kill the weeds would have taken 2 or 3 additional treatments.  The third method we tried was the use of black plastic mulch over a row area.  The combination of high heat and lack of water quickly controlled the weeds in this area. 

The final method tried was to cover the row areas with several layers of newspapers, wet the papers to prevent them from blowing away and finally cover all with flattened corrugated cardboard boxes.  This method also effectively controls weeds, but becomes very slippery if the cardboard is wet. 

This picture shows the vertical nature of the raised beds.  Expanded production is produced by going up, not out.  We used several types  of cages and staking methods.  You can see the wire circles surrounding the tomato plants.

Here are some of the other methods we used.  There is 4' plastic wire stretched between wooden stakes.  We also used recycled tobacco sticks to support one bed of tomato plants. 

We had some tilled ground that we could not incorporate into the raised beds this year.  We did some conventional row planting for some sweet corn, potatoes, sunflowers, and half runner beans.  We are hoeing the rows in this area for weed control.

One of the goals of the garden is educational.  Our Master Gardener is pointing out some of the insects that have also been part of the garden.  We had a heavy infestation of harlequin beetles, some flea beetles, and are now seeing Japanese Beetles.  The harlequin beetles attacked all the cole crops.  The plants were removed from the garden and disposed in the garbage to prevent additional infestation.  Flea beetles were fairly well controlled with soapy water.  They only attacked the eggplants.  The Japanese Beetles were hand picked and dropped in soapy water.

This shows the first products harvested from the garden site.  We have weighed all items harvested using the kitchen scale shown in the picture.  Each daily picking is recorded on a Excel spreadsheet.  We have picked and distributed 109.5 pounds of produce through July 13, 2010.  The items have been equally shared by the Community Clothes Closet and the Church Hill Senior Citizens Center.  With the rain we have had in the last two days, we should continue to harvest items for at least two more months.  We have planted some items for Fall harvest.  Could we reach the 500 pound level by the end of the growing season??  Stay tuned.

Planting the beds

We have received many donations of plants and have begun planting them in be beds.  A primary goal of raised bed gardening is to maxamize production by planting items close together and going UP instead of out.  Brian and Marcia are constructing a tower for cucumber plants.  Note the silica sand between the rows.  The sand was leftover from the New Horizons Garden in Kingsport.  This is another major goal of raised beds-- Minimize the weeding chores through mulching.  We used the sand as a way to mulch, but also to reduce costs.  The Community Clothes Closed had approved funding for the addition of manufactured dolomite sand, but we decided that the sand would suffice for the current year.  In a year of difficult times for many in our community, we thought the funds would be better spent addressing other community projects.

 

This is one of the planted boxes.  We used some partially composted leaves as a mulch and have pounded stakes for the plants to begin their upward growth.  We had some donated stakes but also used the treated spacers from the lumber.  They were ripped to managable dimensions and had a point cut at one end for ease in insertion.  We used every scrap.  

The second donation from the Community Closet was used to purchase wire for the tomato cages, and lumber to build a second compost bin.  

We also received a donation of some plastic coated wire that was 4' tall.  This is a garden experiment to see how the material will hold up to the weight of the cucumbers in this tower.  Six cucs were planted around the circumference of the tower. 

Also shown are the Burgundy Okra seeds that have sprouted.  There are also some Clemson Okra next to the Burgundy. 

The Second of our Master Gardener Mentors is Judy Penley.  She is preparing a large bed for planting.  We were limited by the lack of compost this year and have actually trenched some of the boxes to make the soil for inside of the bed.  More on the Sand for Compost Arrangement later.  Judy is one of the major exhibitors at the Appalachian Fair.  Hopefully her expertise in raising the huge, weird, wonderful and Prize Winners will rub off on the garden . 

Here is a excellent example of the UP not out concept of raised bed gardens.  The tomato cages were constructed from a 6' length of the welded garden wire.  One end is cut flush and the other end has the horizontal wires left to complete the circle.  We used reinforcing wire stakes with a small barb.  This was pounded into the ground to provide additional support for the growing tomatoes.  We also cut openings into the wire to facilitate the removal of the soon to appear tomatoes.  We used the wooden stakes and plastic wire to form a support for the yellow summer squash in the same bed. 

Water is becoming an issue of some great importance for the garden.  We have been hauling water for the transplanting.  In the left rear of the photo is the water tank.  Capacity is almost 350 gallons.  It does, however, lack an outside cage for support.  When first filled, it was like a water balloon and oozed off the pallet.  We are reworking the concept by placing the tank inside the compost bin.  Plan B says use nylon ropes to anchor the tank to the structure of the bin.  We purchased a rain gauge for the garden.  It has unfortunately seen very little use.  Since this picture, we did receive about 1/3" of rain.  In the lower left is a former grape arbor top.  It is going to be recycled into a support for climbing beans. 

In a lesson on Compare and Contrast we planted some items in the area of the garden that did not have raised beds.  One of the local farmers came and tilled over the surface to kill some of the sprouting weeds.  We will place cardboard over the rows for weed control.  In the "Flat Lands" we  erected a 12' length of plastic wire as support for a row of half runner beans.  Some recycled bamboo poles were used to form a triangular support for Missouri Pole Beans.  And we planted a row of tall sunflower seeds. 

We decided it was important to include flowers and herbs in the garden.  Marcia and Judy have donated some perennials.  We placed these so they would be closest to the road so it would present a good appearance to passing drivers and walkers. 

Organic Weed and Pest Control

The flea beetles are starting to skeletonize  the eggplants.  Used soapy water to spray.  We also used a spray of straight vinegar to zap some of the emerging Bermuda grass.   A dilute spray of skim milk and water can be used for control of bean bugs.  Works fine, but do not try to save  in the Hot summer weather (remember the baby bottles).  Ditch after use.