I went back to the garden this afternoon to take an inventory of what is actually growing in there. This sign greets you as you open the gate to enter. It wasn’t kidding!
I spent some quality time with the tomato plants weeding around them and cleaning up the dead leaves. A few of the plants had perky, little yellow blossoms on them! If I wasn’t hallucinating from the heat, there were at least two little green tomatoes hiding behind the leaves as well. Here’s what is on deck for the first harvest (from the front of the garden to the back):
Watermelon, Sweet Corn, Acorn Squash, Tomatoes, Peppers (Bell and Banana), and Carrots. Strawberries and pickling cucumbers are on the perimeter of the North side of the fence, and Cilantro, Basil, Sage, and Thyme sit in pots at the head of the rows of watermelon.
Sweet Corn
I met with my supervisor at the garden and she is hoping to do some weeding along the south perimeter to make room for rocks that are coming in to make a path to walk on. I am going to head back tomorrow morning and get to work on that (hopefully with help from the Vets!). I hope to have some classes about gardening so that they don’t get burned out on weeding. Paths in between rows have already been covered with some straw we just need to carry that through the rest of the garden. The straw should keep people from walking in to the rows and compacting the soil by giving them an idea of where to walk.
More updates to come!
The planted part of the garden, sans watermelons
Strawberry blossoms
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Volunteers work to put up a fence to protect the garden from those pesky pests.
The Agricultural Center of Excellence has recently partnered with the Walla Walla VA Medical Center which began planting a therapy garden for the veterans earlier this year. I am Kristen Whittington, the AmeriCorps Summer VISTA Associate that will be helping with the garden project until mid-August. I will be updating this page with stories and photos about the garden’s progress throughout the summer.Before I started my first day here, at the Ag Center, plants had already been transplanted into the therapy garden and the growing season had begun. Volunteers from Walla Walla Community College constructed a gigantic fence around the perimeter of the garden to keep those pesky deer from snacking on the produce that will soon fill the rows. Not only does this fence serve as a pest repellent, but we will be able to maximize our growing capacity by using the fence as support for climbing plants! The garden got started a little late in the growing season so not many things were planted from seed. Instead, transplants of tomatoes, peppers, corn, strawberries, melons, and cucumbers sit soaking up the sun.
I have only been out to see the garden once so far, but more details and pictures are sure to come! I have been doing a lot of research about different types of gardening, composting, and sustainable practices so that the therapy garden will be as sustainable and productive as possible. If anyone is a gardening guru and has some great gardening gems that they wouldn’t mind sharing I would love to hear them!
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