it’s been almost two months since the last blog update (bad!) and local growers and eaters are seeing and feeling the end of the summer season. for raytown community garden, we’re jotting notes of all we learned in this first year and what we’ll definitely do differently next year. for starters, we’re switching up the format of the garden. instead of being member-based, we’re shifting our emphasis to teaching classes and offering consultations to people who want to start gardens in their own yards. (we’ll have more updates on that later.)
but, as always, it’s the little things that make a difference. here are a few mistakes we made — those who are planning on starting their own gardens, take note!
1. trellis, trellis, trellis!
this year, we had neither the resources nor the foresight to plan trellising for the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash. our squash plants ended up being, well, a little too healthy, and we ended up with a squash jungle, rapidly taking over, weaving its curlicue tentacles onto the vines of our cucumbers, peeking its spiky fingers all the way to the opposite side of the garden. next year we’ll have a very special, very trellised spot reserved for our butternuts and pattypans.
2. find an efficient labeling method.
when starting your own seeds, labeling is important (understatement). we knew this, but we didn’t know that the rain would wash off the plastic labels of almost all our seedlings, leaving us to continually ask, “brussel sprout or broccoli?” while planting. trying to upgrade, we switched to popsicle sticks and permanent marker, but rain, watering, and soil eroded the wood, resulting in the same problem. with your home garden, it may not be such a huge problem — it could even be fun harvesting your mystery plants — but when trying to seed save and sell produce, knowing varieties is pretty crucial.
3. keep up with planting dates.
uh, this one seems pretty obvious. but our mantra of, “we have plenty of time to get those beet seeds in!” quickly caught up with us. make a calendar, and mark definite deadlines of what needs to be in the ground and when. organization!
pattypan & pumpkin
sweet potato plants
corn & squash
grasshopper friend
jungle+weed patch=future food forest
for a few weeks, we attempted to have a small farm stand on-site, but we didn’t have the bountiful produce or the draw to make it worthwhile to keep it up. next spring we’ll be selling produce at a farmer’s market, yet to be determined, so we’ll keep everyone updated on that.
