Demo Garden Planted!

The Demo garden has transformed from a grassy patch of grass in the veterans memorial area of the park to a growing garden! The Banana Split Festival marked the kick off of the J.W. Williams Memorial Park Demonstration garden.

The garden is split into four 6’ x 6’ blocks to allow for easy rotation in the future. In bed 1 we have planted an assortment of beans, with a few melons, nasturtiums, cucumbers and squash thrown in.

Bed 2 holds garlic, turnips, radishes, carrots, salsify, kohlrabi, onions, and a variety of herbs.

Bed 3 awaits planting until the seed arrives, but will be sown in Buckwheat for the purpose of being plowed back into the soil as a green manure.

Bed 4 contains a variety of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant, as well as some sunflowers, nasturtiums, and marigolds that will provide even more beauty to our plot in the weeks to come. Maybe the marigolds and nasturtiums will also help deter some pests, as has been described in previous posts…

The raised bed (bed 2) has been planted using the square foot gardening technique. I was pretty amazed to see how many plants could fit into the bed when using the square foot technique! I cannot wait to see how they do as the summer progresses. I have almost always grown vegetables in straight rows, but the demonstration garden’s mix of square foot design, rows, and free form arrangements reminded me that plants don’t mind not growing in rows. Gardening is quite a creative endeavor.

Now that the garden is planted and starting to really take off, my mind is turning from garden logistics to wondering how this garden can be used as a demonstration. We are hoping that this blog will help us get the word out about the garden, and the banner hanging on the garden fence will hopefully attract the attention of people passing by.

ECC will also be forming educational programs about gardening, food, and nutrition throughout the summer. While these programs will be aimed at the younger generation, we welcome kids of all ages to participate.

If you are interested contact me at mashmore@energizecc.com.