The height of the summer has snuck by us slyly, and as we move into fall, I am saying goodbye to the learning garden. Working a full time job an hour away from Lacey and trying to find time to make it to Saint Martin's on the weekends was a challenge to balance. In retrospect, I should have foreseen the toll that this balance would take on me, but I was initially ambitious, yet now feel humbled. I hope that someone with a little more balanced work schedule will be able to give the Learning Garden the attention it deserves.
That being said, the garden has done a remarkable job of taking care of itself, thanks in large part to the automated irrigation system, with lots of thriving beds, and some unexpected surprises.
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| One of my favorite surprises of the season: Lilies! |
There were some other not so lovely surprises, like when I arrived at the Learning Garden after a couple weeks of absence to find that the bean trellis had buckled under the weight of its load!
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| The beans growing up the trellis before it fell |
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| The beans on the new trellis, a little beat up after the incident |
Despite this minor catastrophe, the beans continued to grow prolifically, and some of the bean pods are getting close to a foot long! Many of these are dry beans, meaning they are ready to be harvested when they are nice and dry on the stock at the end of summer, but they are certainly on their way to maturity!
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| Bodacious beans! |
Another unhappy (recurring) surprise was that the tomatoes I planted in the garden never took off! I did plant them a little late in the summer, and they were a little shocked from the initial transplant, but none of those factors were the problem. Instead, each time I returned to the garden, there was a little bit more of the plant that was nibbled off! I assume deer, as they wander around campus quite regularly, but the unidentified animal droppings that occasionally turn up in the garden suggest that there could be another animal lurking around eating the tomatoes.
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| Nibbled tomatoes on the right, and struggling cauliflower on the left |
Because of the state of some of the beds, with some crops like tomatoes being nibbled on, and other crops like cauliflower, cucumbers and zucchini having passed their prime, I decided to turn over some of the beds, clear the old crops out, and sow new seeds for the last bit of summer. After removing the organic matter from the beds as much as I could, I tossed some compost on the top of the beds from the compost bins, made furrows, planted seeds, then covered them up again and watered them in.
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| There is something satisfying about straight rows |
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| Beet seeds, nestled in the topsoil |
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| The tomatoes and kohlrabi had to go, but the kale stayed |
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| Rainbow chard and kohlrabi are planted |
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| Zucchini and cucumbers, looking sun burnt and sad |
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| The same bed, with cabbage and salad turnips planted |
Turning over beds is at once a bittersweet act, bitter because you have to remove plants that you have developed a somewhat personal relationship with, sweet because there are new vegetables that will soon be coming into your life. With my leaving the position as Garden Manager, there is also a metaphorical turning over of myself that I couldn't help but think about while working on this. Like with the garden beds, I am trying to leave this wonderful position planted with seeds, ready to give potential to the future Garden Manager, and the students and community members who come wandering through. I won't be around to see these seeds sprout, but I hope that others will bear witness to these beautiful plant lives about to be born.
My last contribution to the garden was something that had been on my checklist for a while, but had been put off because of how much time was required to do it right. This task was varnishing the beautiful overhead trellis structure that will eventually provide shade and snacks for passersby. There is one young grape vine that is starting to creep up the trellis, and kiwis will be planted by Irina Gendleman and her students when classes start.
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| The trellis structure, partly varnished |
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| The trellis, fully varnished, subtly toned in the shade |
