Garden meeting, July 6th.

Just a reminder that we will meet on Monday evening at 7pm in the garden. With the rain, the beds look great and veggies are growing. This week will consist of lawn clean up, trimming and weeding. Please bring tools to trim the Rose of Sharon, weed around the greenhouses and shovels.

A free donation of compost has become available! It can be picked up on Mondays. We are just in need of a truck and a few volunteers to pick up the compost. Please email the garden at evtgarden@yahoo.com if you would like to help. The goal is to pick it up on Monday, July 13th and unload it that day/night in the garden.

Thanks to our farmers, the three beds have been tilled in the front lawn of Everett. The next step is to add compost, then shape the beds, and fill with fall veggies. These vegetables will be grown with the specific intention to serve to the students at Indianola Alternative School.

June 15th

All of the plants look beautiful and the straw is keeping the weeds at bay. The soil quality is reflected in the plant growth. The sections of the garden beds where green manure was planted over the winter has really beautiful soil; other parts of the garden beds, not so much! The front lawn was tilled then fertilizer was added to prepare the soil for raised beds.

Monday, June 22nd at 5pm compost will be added to the tilled soil. Later that evening the beds will be shaped and ready for veggies! What an amazing process. Needless to say, volunteers are needed to help spread compost. Bring shovels, wheel barrels, and gloves. These beds will be producing a lot of veggies that can be passed on to students in the fall. Students from Indianola Informal School will also have the opportunity to visit the garden and pick their own snacks.

Good Work!

Watered today

I watered a bit this morning before the short rain. The plants around the lawn were really dry but the straw seems to help. When we only receive a small amount of rain the plants on the west side of the lawn under the trees are well protected and do not receive any water. They were thirsty.

June 8th gardening

Nine volunteers met at Everett to work in the garden. It was a beautiful evening and very productive. The rest of the plants from the greenhouses were planted into the existing beds, straw was put under plants for mulch and water retention, all of the tomato plants now have cages.

Next week the raised bed will be plowed into the front lawn right by the greenhouses. These beds will be planted with additional veggies and some summer rye. It is our hope to grow enough food to supply the students with some snacks in the fall.

When working in the garden please bring gloves. The poison ivy has spread and really likes the soil in the garden.

A water schedule was created last night and will be updated on a weekly basis during our Monday evening events. Volunteers will post when they have watered to the blog.

The garden was a beautiful place for babies this week. Three baby bunnies were born behind the sage bushes and two baby cardinals were out on their first walk through the flowers. A few ducks have also decided to use the front lawn as an early morning gathering place.

June 1st

We had a beautiful evening in the garden. Seven volunteers planted most of the veggies in the garden. The plants were grown from seed in the greenhouses(planted by students) along with some plants donated by Wayward Seed Farm.

Next Monday there are sunflowers, sage, marigolds, along with other herbs to be planted. Straw will be used as mulch to keep the soil moist and encourage the worms to start their job of composting.

Hot Weather Veggies

The verdict is in; this summer we will focus on three main veggie types for the garden. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants will be planted on the south side of the Everett School. These beds get hot, hot, hot and these plants love heat. Basil will be companion planted along with the veggies. The garden currently has eight different types of herbs and some beautiful perennials.

There are also two different types of sunflowers ready to be planted along with marigolds.

We will plant these on June 1st at 7pm. Bring your shovel and join the fun!

Thank you to students at Indianola Informal School who constructed the greenhouses and started the seeds. The Community Garden Club at Everett School has also received donations from Wayward Seed farm (thanks for the greenhouses,) and parents and community members in Columbus! Here's to a great growing season.

This and that

This past month has flown by and not much has been published...we have all been in the garden watching the herbs grow, waiting for the soil to warm up and playing games of spud, tag and jackpot. The students have taken advantage of every moment it is not raining.

The camp fire group Beyond the Flowers has adopted a portion of the garden to add more herbs. They are meeting every Monday at 4pm to garden; volunteers are welcome - the more people, the more fun!

In the green houses we have tomatoes, sunflowers, peppers, leeks, basil, broccoli, marigolds, carrots, chard, lettuce and more. The k/1 classes seeded the flats and have been keeping all of the seeds happy. Volunteers have kept all of the plants well watered.

Right now Columbus Public Schools have given us the OK to garden at Everett through the summer. In August the students from Indianola Informal School will be moved to Crestview School on Webber Rd. Everett Community Garden Club will meet throughout the summer on Monday evenings at 7pm beginning June 1st.