The garden is thriving this Monday after the generous amount of rain we received this weekend, as well as the weeds! This morning Sarah, Jessica and I have been taking time to pull some of the weeds that have poked through the mulch. After clearing out the weeds we are adding an additional layer of mulch on top to prevent more from returning, and to help lock moisture in around the plants we want to grow. I have seen from some of our participants some creative methods of mulching by using what they have around their homes. At Ariel and Johns, two home gardening participants, they have sheep that provide wool for mulch. They place the sheep wool around the garden bed, and then cover it with straw as well. In Ariel’s corn bed, you can see the thick application of wool and straw that is blocking weeds and holding in moisture. Around the base of her corn you can also see toilet tissue rolls that the corn was started in, which protected the corn seedlings from cutworms. Other participants have been using cardboard in their beds, which works wonders on blocking out light to prevent unwanted plants from taking over.
In the last week we have harvested radishes, lettuce, new potatoes, kohlrabi, and onions from our garden here at ASPI. We are anxiously waiting for the peas and Fava beans to be ready to harvest as well. Just sprouting in the garden we have watermelon, muskmelon, okra, as well as beans in our three sister’s bed. While watering the high tunnel this morning, I spotted our first green tomato, so exciting!
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