Happy New Year_2015!

Well, the Community Garden is fast asleep, gaining much needed rest and strength to be ready to thrive in the coming months. In late November, a cadre of highly skilled and dedicated gardeners gathered to do some much needed year-end weeding and general tidying up of the garden.  Hoses and tools were secured in the tool shed, irrigation lines drained, and a gigantic pile of plant material began its journey to becoming "magic foo foo dust" (that's compost). The truly fun adventures of the day: WEEDING, BURNING, PAINTING.

Priming the new trellis. Next comes a nice coat of paint....then some climbing, flowering botanical something!

It takes an army to burn those Pesky Weeds!

Pulling weeds is so much fun, I just want to....

...stick my head in this bucket!!

This handsome frog is (a) sitting on a bench and (b) contemplating what to plant in his garden. What are you doing?

Indeed, this is a great time to be scanning those seed catalogs and planning your Spring gardens!

Fall Harvests and Garlic Plantin'

Those community gardeners who toiled away in recent weeks are reaping some wonderful "fall crop" harvests. One of our gardening families recently had help from two precious grand daughters in digging sweet taters. The bounty included the "jumbo" in the accompanying photo. Wow!

A "football" sized sweet tater and two cute farmers.

Also, for those interested in becoming master garlic producers, the UGA recently released some tips on this venture. Now is the time to get those garlic bulbs in the ground so they are big and husky for next year's harvest. Go to this link for the UGA posting:  Garlic Planting Step-by-Step

After cleaning your garden beds, it is recommended that you either plant a cover crop, like clover, OR spread newspaper/landscape fabric over your garden and then cover that with straw/mulch. This will help keep those nasty weeds from taking hold. Plus it looks good!

As a reminder....don't forget to tidy up those garden beds before putting them to sleep for the winter. All vegetation should be removed and placed in the compost pile (no seeds please). All trellises and tomato cages should be removed and stored at your house. There is simply not enough room in the tool shed to accommodate everyone's personal stuff.

Fall Crops_Yep! It's Time.

Many, if not most, of our crops have been brought to their knees by the heat and long summer growing season. While the okra is still standing tall and blooming, it's time for those wilted tomatoes and peppers to be yanked out. The approach of cooler nights and shorter days means it's time to get those FALL CROPS in the ground. Don't forget to throw a little fertilizer around to nourish those newly planted goodies. This is also a great time to do some "catch up" weeding.

While we're tossing out the old....please be careful not to throw "seeds" or diseased plant material into the compost pile. Things like old tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash are full of seeds that will typically survive the composting process---only to sneak into someones garden next year.

Summer Crops_Coming On Strong

Bountiful crops are, well, "cropping up" all over the Community Garden. Luscious tomatoes, tall corn, squash and other veggie delights are filling our baskets. THIS is what Friends Playing in the Dirt is all about!

Workday Fun for All

 Saturday morning  June 21st saw a bushel of gardener-volunteers eagerly "weeding" and building/installing 11 new planting beds. While a beautiful morning, it was around 140-degrees with humidity in the high 99% range. Yuk!! Everyone was really dragging after a short time. Never-the-less the new planting beds were carefully installed. Also, a mountain of nasty weeds were hand-yanked from around the garden. A few brave souls whacked more of the pine saplings that threaten to shade our garden.

 Thanks to ALL who made this such a successful workday.







How much FUN 
weeding can be!

New Bed Construction

"Captain Craig's" Layout  Crew

Eleven New Beds All in Rows

New Trellis_Much Needed Shade

Spring Gardens_Toils in the Soils

These pictures from early May depict just a few of the lush Spring Gardens that have rewarded our toils in soils.

Look! Luscious LETTUCE!

Broccoli Bonanza

English Peas in a Pod

Tiny MATERS_Green and Growing

Hidden TATERS_Deep and Solid

Zucchini Zoo_Really Thriving

 Get Ready for GARLIC Gathering

Even Our Blueberry Hill is Springing Forth

NEW ARRIVALS

 Our Community Garden is now the proud owner of a nice "chipper-shredder" and Snapper rear tine tiller. Yes, they are both red. The chipper shredder will prove valuable in our composting efforts and in turning the small trees (recently removed from our fence line) into useful mulch. The tiller will enable us to deep till our garden beds, including the "Jawja" red clay that forms the base of our garden site. Yea!!!

These are complex machines with "dangers" associated with their operation. Therefore, gardeners are asked to NOT try using either of these tools until they receive PROPER INSTRUCTIONS!!!!