Bananas & Chapels

What an awesome WORK PARTY we had in the garden yesterday. We even had three guest gardeners from Westside Gardens join us to help with all there is to do! A special thank you goes out to "Farmer" Mark V., Elaine M., & Steve. A big thanks also goes out to Mike, Frank & Jamie, Jan J., Lily, & Audrey, who helped plant holly hocks in the Asparagus patch, harvest many radishes, weed the melons and tomatoes, and finish up the tomato cages! And, to top things off, we got our first Banana Pepper today. Remember, the more you pick, the more you get. Today we also built a Pole Bean Chapel & a Bird House Gourd chapel, and we planted two Sunflower Houses. These Chapels & Houses will be particularly exciting later in the summer when Fall begins to knock at the garden's door. We shall welcome her with open arms.

Radishes

Here they are -- our first miraculous harvest, and I mean miraculous. I just cannot get over that when you plant these tiny little seeds a 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep, cover them with a little bit of dirt and water that in about 28 days, you have food. Real food. Food that actually helps heal our bodies. Seriously, how crazy is that in less than three weeks, we have radishes that have grown from tiny black seeds? And, how crazy is that radishes are actually good for us? The popular red globe radish is low in calories with an abundance of flavor and crunch. A 1/2 cup serving (about 12 medium) of sliced radishes provides a goodly amount of potassium, vitamin C, folate and fiber. Can you believe it?

Garden Givers

Thank you Jay Clark for helping to keep our Companion Garden looking good. The other day, after Jay got of school, he went over to the garden to mow the grass and flatten out the compost piles. Another mysterious Garden Giver tilled up the front perimeter of our garden in preparation for the Zinnia border, and yet another Garden Giver finished making and placing the Tomato Cages that Jan P. & Mark T. had started. The Garden is looking great. Thanks for all your continued efforts.

Keep growing.

"Corns Up" From Mark

Dear Fellow Gardeners,

Corns up!  Along with all the other seeds that we planted – what an inspiring time of year!  It’s one of those WOW! Moments –  to watch this miraculous transformation from little dried seeds into a living green plant that has the potential to feed us – what a wonder.

Take a moment to observe and wonder, but don’t let any dust settle on your tools or your boots.  This is probably the most critical time of year for gardeners.  There are many things that must be done NOW to insure success.  Our success this first year will not only give us an abundant harvest but will, in many ways, determine the future of the Niles Community Garden project.  The community is watching us.  People who might want to get involved next year are watching.  People who might donate land for future sights are watching.  People who might donate money or tools for our needs in the future are watching.  Please don’t let this stress you out.  If we ALL work together, our gardens will not only be productive, but a thing of beauty.  We then can be proud of what we have done and will invite our community to watch and grow with us.


Feel free to call me at any time with gardening questions or to set up a time to critique your plot.  God bless you as you make your small corner of this earth a more beautiful place.

Sincerely,

Mark VanTil

Niles Community Gardens Coordinator

(269) 815-5034

"More Wood Chips, Zoe," Pleads Lily

I am not sure what the conversation was between these two, but, from the look on Zoe's face, Zoe wasn't having much of it. Poor Lily. She was trying so hard to get Zoe to shovel wood chips into the wheelbarrow, and she just didn't understand that Zoe is her own woman, whose schedule and pace is largely all her own. Lily and Zoe did have fun working and playing together, dividing their time between helping to make paths, jamming to music in the truck (safe from the rain!), and drawing rainbows on the sidewalk using chalk. Thanks to Jan J.'s prayer and Audrey's "Amen," it rained and rained on our freshly and finally planted Corn, Asparagus, & Strawberries.

Asparagus & Radishes

Last night, Jan P., Jan J., Lily, Nancy, Audrey & I met at the garden and it was a delicious 70 degrees and breezy. Mark V. met us to help show us how to plant Asparagus & Strawberries, which are evidently very finicky about their placement. The Roma Tomatoes got a good weeding and every Tomato Plant got a mulching of chemical free grass clippings. Jan P. continues to work on weeding the radishes and planting another circle around the Eggplants for some successive plantings. Nancy is still treating the Eggplants for a few remaining Flea Beetles and she is checking out what may be a little bit of fungus on the lower leaves our Tomatoes. Everything else looks good: our Basil, Lima Beans, and Peppers are all up and showing promise of producing! Watch this space!