Squash Garden

The squase plants are really startgin to produce squash. There are several squash forming as well as a ton of flowers. The bees don't seem to mind and are all over it.

I'm planning on haveing a lot of squash soup and other dishes soon.

Arlington Community Gardens - Arbor Construction

The Rotary Club came out to the gardens this last Saturday. It took several hours of measuring, cutting and a couple misplaced boards but the result was fantastic. I had to leave before the table was put back in place but even so it was a great project. You could feel the cool from the shade instantly.
Plenty of water was provided to keep the workers hydrated and working. Fortunately the heat stayed at bay making the work much more pleasant.
From the garden the view of the arbor was great. Hopefully this will attract more visitors to see the nice planter beds.

Community GArden Update

I went out to the plot I have at the community garden last night and it looked like someone had taken over the plot and planted who knows what. It was dark and hard to tell from a distance.
Fortunately that hadn't happened at all. What had happened is that my neighbors are really nice and keep the plot watered. The squash plant had doubled back on itself and was growing like crazy. I pulled some of the vines back off of the path which it seems to have done numerous times now and checked for produce. Nothing yet but the zucchini plant did have about a six inch fruit on it. I'll probably let that one go to the food bank and see what else comes up. Nice to finally be producing.
Come fall I should have plenty of produce since the plants are nice and big. The stem on the squash plant is thicker than my thumb, and this in 100+ weather for some time.

Arlington Community Garden Progress

Last Tuesday I went out to the garden, just on the West side of the UTA campus, to check on the plot. The squash plant was doing pretty well, growing by leaps it seemed. I didn't know how many leaps so I decided to figure it out.
I put a stick in the ground by the end of the longest runner for a marker. That evening I went out and checked on it. In only six hours it had grown two inches. so it's probably growing at a rate of nearly six inches a day. No wonder it's traveled half way across the sixteen foot plot.
It's wreaking a little havoc as it goes, using it's tendrils to grab other plants that are trying to grow themselves. This is the one plant that I really want to grow though and don't mind a little havoc in the process.

Community Garden Update

The planting of the plot out at the community garden didn't go as badly as feared. I went out yesterday just before dark and I could actually see rows of plants. Some of the children must have listened to instructions and put the seeds in the rows I made.
The heirloom squash has also come up and is looking very healthy. At least 4 out of 5 of them did.
Our neighbors of course have much prettier and bigger plants but we'll catch up soon and then no one will be able to tell the difference.
Among the plants I could identify were beans, peas, basil, carrots, cucumber, squash and carrot.

Community Garden Planted

We finally got the plot out at the community garden planted. It was a group effort. Me, my wife and a bunch of children we don't know all helped out with the task.
It started out with just me and my wife putting in more dirt and doing a little tilling. Then a few children who live nearby came to look at all of the plots. When thay came by ours and saw there was nothing in it yet but dirt they asked if they could help. Seemed ok since there were only a few children but it soon bloomed into nearly a dozen children all asking to plant seeds.
I tried to make rows and organize it to some degree but with that many children I gave up and let them have fun. I'm positive something will come up, I just don't know what or where.
The garden at the house is still growing well. I keep pulling out weeds in hopes that I can keep up with their growth. So far so good.

Green Herbs in the Garden

I bed everyone has this problem at some time during their growing life where you plant seed after seed of a favorite plant just to have it only produce one plant which seeds so fast you can't use the leaves you planted it for in the first place.

This is exactly what happened when we planted basil last year. It grew just a little and went to seed. This year we at least had seed but we have an unjust shortage of pesto. So this year my wife planted plants and seeds.

This little boxwood basil plant is one of the many plants we now have growing. Among the others are a whole slew of purple basil and regualr basil. She didn't know if they would sprout very well in the pots so there are several pots with little sections in each one. I think they all sprouted as well as some from the seeds we didn't get that have been waiting in the dirt for spring to arrive.

One of our neighbors also brought us these other plants which she didn't know the english name for but said they worked well in fish and other dishes and that they were prolific seeders. She recommended planting them far apart so they don't cross breed.

After just a minute of looking I figured out what it is she brought. Theyare called perilla or chinese basil or mint. I guess it depends on who you ask.

Still need to put these in the ground somewhere but they're doing pretty well so far. I might even bring oue out to the community garden this weekend when we plant it out.

University of Texas at Arlington Community Gardens

Saturday was the dedication event for the community gardens here in Arlington, Texas. It had been tried before without success but with the State and City working together there is now a half acre of land with around 70 raised beds. Granted I didn't count them.
I have turned in my application to grow some food there. This would be in addition to the raised beds at the house and the beds in front of the house and on the side of the house and a little in the study. I think I would go by anyhow and see what's growing even if I can't grow anything there this year. It's always interesting to see how different people grow the exact same plant.
Half of the food is being donated to food banks while the other half goes to the growers.
There is also a master gardener who has decided that even food banks need seasoning and is growing herbs.
Pictures to come, eventually...