TOPS bed #1 now
Tops bed #2 now
As you can see, the addition of nitrogen, in the form of whey, on about a weekly basis has had a dramatic effect on TOPS bed #2. I think the beds are a bit overcrowded, which probably is why bed #1 looks like it is struggling a little bit now. This has been an interesting experiment. Going into fall, we will need to bed down these beds with compost and add more in the spring to keep them fertile.
Everyone is harvesting now. I have added a "Free Produce" bin on the sidewalk. If you have extra produce you can't use, place it in that bin for anyone to take.
The ring found by the shed has been claimed. Thank you all for the detective work which made that possible!
I have taken some pictures of common weeds, which I will post in another post to help you identify what is a weed and what is not. The most common weed in our gardens is the red rooted pigweed. It looks a lot like potato plants, but when you pull it up it has a red root, not potatoes! Technically it is a member of the amaranth family and is edible, but it does steal nutrients from your plants and competes for water and sunlight, so it is best to remove it. If your mulch is getting thin, although it may look messy to you at first, just pull the weeds, shake off the excess dirt and lay them back down to mulch and add nutrients back into your soil. The second most common weed is lamb's quarters, which is also edible. Do the same to it. We also have some smartweed, which sometimes I leave in my garden to trap Japanese beetles.
Lastly, I would like to host a canning class as the tomatoes in the community patch ripen. I have a lot of donated canning jars which I would like to distribute to anyone who wants them. Let me know if you are interested in a canning class by replying to this email. If I only have a few, I will host it at my house. If we have a lot, I will make arrangements to host it at the church (First Baptist of Otsego, across the street from the garden).
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