Courtyard and Ripe Tomatoes

Although the tomatoes above may not look ripe, they are a yellow variety we got from Terrapin Farms and are perfectly ripe! We picked them today and they were delicious! We also picked another zucchini, and more will be ready next week.

Also today we finished clearing out the grass and weeds from the courtyard beds. Much of it is now empty, but it gives us room to put new plants in. The bed below left has delphinium, mint, chamomile, tulips and forget-me-nots. The bed below right has corn, sunflowers, and lilies. We're glad to be done with the big tasks and so excited about how much the plants are growing!

Potluck and Our First Zucchini!

As our term of service wraps up, we would like to thank everyone who has made this project possible and extend an invitation to our Garden Potluck at the Somers School on Wednesday, August 10, 7-9pm!
Come see how much the garden has grown, eat delicious food and spend time with friends and neighbors. Please bring a dish to share with the group and feel free to bring your family and friends!

Speaking of how much the garden has grown, we picked the first zucchini today (below, right)! Just a week ago it was tiny, but the hot weather gave it a growth spurt. Our potato tower (below, left) has also grown significantly, the potatoes are leafing out on all sides. Our bed of broccoli, cauliflower and onions (below, center) is doing well and hopefully will start producing soon!

Building the Tipi Trellis

Inspired by tipi trellises that Tory built in urban community gardens back in Providence, RI, we decided to put one in the courtyard. The kids will be able to go inside of it and hopefully enjoy some shade provided by peas and climbing beans. We planted the peas we'd been growing in the greenhouse and found that we had some peapods (below). We had help building and planting from some neighborhood kids who stopped by to see what we were doing. They thought the peas tasted great too!

More Pictures From the Workparty!

One of our supervisors and a co-founder of Montana FoodCorps, Crissie McMullan, came to our Workparty and sent us some pictures. Above is a shot of Tory, Robin, and Jean in the garden after a long, successful day of work. Below left, Robin is digging in a bed in the courtyard to make room for the mint and chamomile. Below right, Tory, Jean and a local high school student are planting corn.

Workparty Success!

Our WorkParty was on Saturday and it was a great success! We had 20 people throughout the day and got a lot done. With all the extra hands we got five planters (below, left) filled with peppers, tomatoes, French tarragon, and marigolds (to keep the bugs away). We also used the rototiller and got the raspberries planted (below, right). We cleared space in the courtyard and planted corn, sunflowers, delphinium, mint, chamomile, and more marigolds (far below, left). It felt great to have so many people in the garden and we couldn't believe how fast the work got done with so many extra hands. If you missed the workparty but still want to see the garden, come by any week day, we're usually around 9-5 or leave a comment on the blog!

New Garden Growth

The weather has heated up here in Somers and the plants are starting to perk up. Our squash plants have a ton of blossoms on them (above), we have our first tomato ripening (below right), our first potato is leafing out the side of one of the potato towers (below left), and the lettuce and carrots are growing happily (below center). We are looking forward to our first Work Party this Saturday, July 23, 10 am- 3pm. Come by and see the plants, get your hands dirty and enjoy the beautiful weather! Bring water and garden gloves and a spade if you have one, and invite your family, friends and neighbors. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Fence Is Finally Done!

Today we completed one of the most difficult tasks to date, we completed installing the chain link fence! This involved pounding in metal fence posts and lashing the chain link panels to the posts (no easy feat for just two people, on a slope, with donated materials). Though it was stressful at times, we're glad that it will keep the deer out of the garden. Robin was here to help and took a picture of us "stuck" in the garden as a thunderstorm was threatening.