After a few busy weekends of work and family visiting, the community garden had got a bit out of control. We’ve had plenty of rain, so I hadn’t paid it a visit in three weeks. When I did go last Sunday, I was pretty horrified – it was literally choked with weeds. I spent about five hours over two days, and finally got it cleared out. It’s amazing how fast weeds grew in the communtiy garden plot as compared to the raised beds we have at home. I’m not sure if it’s the soil mix I use at home, as compared to native soil, or the fact that the edges aren’t separated from the grass in the community garden, or the fact that there are so many more weed seeds around the community garden. But it was bad.
Underneath the carpet of weeds, lots of plants were actually doing really well. I’ve got a solid six-foot row of cilantro, and I’ll probably let some of it go to seed for corriander.
The artichokes have started to take off – they were relatively clear of weeds all along. They’ve got a lot of growing to do, though, if they’re going to be productive.
The tomatillos I planted in the community garden aren’t staked, but they’ve also grown huge, and these are even starting to bear fruit.
The cabbages getting nice and big, and the cauliflower and broccoli are doing pretty good too. I caught a couple of worms on the cauliflower, but they hadn’t done much damage.
While weeding, I did have a few casualties. A few onions and a zucchini plant got pulled inadvertently last Sunday. But near the compost piles, I found some volunteer watermelon seedlings, so I’m giving those a shot in the empty space.
The community garden should be getting a lot more attention moving forward, because I’m starting a new job on Monday that will require much less travel! Woohoo!
