Day 5
I went to the garden this morning prepared for some hard core weeding. I started at nine and didn't leave the garden until 12:45 when I had to go because I wanted to help with the cherry gleaning. The veterans were supposed to come out for an hour but none of them did. Maybe on Monday. Instead, my supervisor came out and helped me weed the South side of the fence so that river rocks could be dumped there later. I think once the rocks are added, the garden will start to look a little more put together. Benches are going to be put in as well for those who would rather simply take in the splendor of the garden. It was a blast getting to know my supervisor a little more. She is very open and excited about the garden. She doesn't have much experience either so She is looking to me for information. When I asked her what her thoughts about an industrial approach to gardening rather than a sustainable one she didn't seem to say which she really preferred but told me that the garden was as much mine as it was hers. I'm hoping that means I can really go where I would like to with it and do my best to keep it a self sustaining garden.
My ideal garden would have a productive compost bin so that when new plants were added compost wouldn't need to be purchased. Either use square-foot gardening techniques or wide-row gardening so that space was used as efficiently as possible, and be productive throughout the entire year without depleting the soil. The veterans would be involved in projects like making the compost bin and taking care of the compost so that they would have a greater connection to the garden and what happens in it and want to spend more time there. I would have little classes about planning the next seasons crops, taking care of seedlings, how to go from seedlings to transplants, compost, maybe even canning or cooking classes. I would love to promote healthy lifestyles by modeling a healthy garden that is sustainable. Very little would go to waste.
Most things for the garden were donated. Money was spent on the fence and that is about it. So, the budget is somewhat non-existent. I just don't know who donated what and how you get in contact with people who want to donate! What I want most for the garden right now is some mulch to keep the soil as moist and cool as possible and keep weeds down. Maybe there is a way you can make your own mulch?
I spent a while weeding a row of carrot seedlings. Sometimes while I'm weeding I picture myself as a giant tearing up the innocent garden civilian's trees. Anyway, four rows of carrot seeds were planted and then weeds just exploded around them so it was time to yank those puppies out while making sure I wasn't uprooting any tender carrots. I won't lie, I accidentally pulled out a few. But, the carrots are going to need to be thinned anyway so really I was just doing some forward thinking. Time seems to just slip away when you are busy dodging spiders and tidying up the rows! I told myself I would leave at noon which turned into 12:30 which turned into 12:45 when I really HAD to leave.
I drove to El Sombrero where the cherry glean was supposed to be held. I thought it was strange that we were going to a Mexican food restaurant to get cherries...but maybe that was a convenient place to meet? It turned out that El Sombrero had four cherry trees in it's parking lot drooping with beautiful bulbous cherries. The deep red fruit glinted in the sun peaked shyly around bright green leaves. I had never seen a cherry tree before and it was a wonderful first! We started on the lower branches and then moved up to ladders. Cherry picking was slower moving than onion sorting but something about it seemed soothing. At first, we were using scissors to cut the stems because if you pick the cherries wrong you will harm the tree and it won't be able to produce the next season. I abandoned the scissors when I heard one of the other volunteers say that the proper way to pick was to twist the stems. I felt up the stem and found the notch where it met with the tree, pinched it and twisted. Perfect! It looked just like you would expect a cherry to. We spent about 2 hours picking cherries and ended up with a little over 165 pounds! In case anyone is wondering the cheapest Cherries I have seen are about two dollars. The most expensive: four dollars! That's a range of $330 to $660!! If each family got about a pound of cherries, that's 165 with fresh, local cherries! Amazing! I love it!
Fun fact I learned about myself today: With most things I feel much more comfortable using my bare hands than having them covered or a tool. I don't use gloves when I pull weeds because I can't get the same feel for where the plant stops and using my hands instead of the scissors was so much easier and I could be much more precise.
I am stoked for the upcoming week spent in the garden and pitching ideas to my bosses! I hope everyone enjoys the weekend and if you have any questions don't hesitate to post a comment!
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