Linking Gardens and Food Banks Terrific Idea

Ample Harvest is the kind of site that makes you say, what a great idea, why didn't anyone think of that before.  Follow the link to find out more about their worthwhile programs. 

We had several work days in March.  There is bed preparation and cleanup, then the first planting.  Onions, peas, lettuce, radish.  March has been very good for rain.  At the end of the month, we are over 3" above our normal rainfall.  The items planted have started to pop through, even though the nights have been cool and sometimes frosty. 

We did plant quite a number of cabbage family transplants. Broccoli, cauliflower and two kinds of cabbage.  To assist in the organic controls, we built a barrier or tent to exclude the cabbage moths.  On warm days, more than a few are already in evidence. 

The material for the "tent" is non-woven fabric.  It is available commercially, but expensive.  Our solution was to reclaim and reuse the fabric from thrift store bed skirts.  The outside ruffle was removed and sent to the quilting seniors.  We clipped the fabric pieces together using a piece of electrical conduit and bamboo stakes for support.  It was secured with old clothes pins.  Our construction was immediately tested with 30+ MPH winds and heavy rain the same day.  It is standing fast and firm two weeks later.  Also shown are the towers constructed for early peas .  We planted both regular and edible podded varieties.  UP NOT OUT. 

This photo shows several of the new raised beds that were constructed by the Scouts.  With the new beds, we have nearly doubled the amount of growing space available from last year.  About 80% of the original plan has now been constructed.  In addition, the third compost bin was built on another March work day.  This brings the number of bins to three.  We now have the flexability to move the compost around between bins for faster decomposition and have additional storage space for composting. 

The weekend edition of the Rogersville Review carried an extensive story about the garden.  Several of our regular volunteers were pictured.  The text featured an appeal for donations to help improve and expand the garden. 

We were contacted by the Church Hill Elementary School.  A group of students from the Kindergarten and first grade classes will be learning about gardening, planting and weeding over the next several weeks.  They will have a dedicated bed to plant and harvest.  Before coming to the garden, the girls are planting sunflower seeds in school and will transplant them in the garden.  We plan to tag each plant with the students name so they can watch the growth  of their seedling over the summer and into the fall. 

The weather continues to be unsettled.  We have had frequent, heavy rains, sometimes with a sprinkling of snow.  This has been mixed in between 70 degree sunny days.  The daffodils are past their peak and redbud trees are in full flower now.