Saturday was our monthly get together to clean up the garden. We combined the cleanup with a breakfast brunch and posting the official sign on the little free library that was installed in the garden about a month ago. The Little Free Library is a joint project undertaken by Loving Garland Green and the Flamingo Neighbors.
Possibility of a Garden Mural by Local Artists
The possibility of a mural for the side of the shed was discussed. Of course we would need to obtain permission from our parks department for this undertaking. The theme of the mural would feature people of all ages, color shapes and sizes planting and working together in a garden. Realistically this project could begin in July. It would be led by local Garland artists and also would involve Garland students as well. We’ll see where this idea goes. That wall of the shed is a great space for a mural. The shed itself would be a great space to turn into an indoor/outdoor learning center for gardening classes and other garden events.
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We Have Another Number Now: 53746
This number on our charter sign signifies the Little Free Library located at the Garland Community Garden is the 53,746th Little Free Library in the world. Soon we will be added to the world map of little free libraries. https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap
Maddi, Kyle and Ana Maria DeYoung at the latest Little Free Library – Garland Community Garden. Kyle is the artist who painted the logos on the library and Ana Maria DeYoung, President of Flamingo Neighbors, is the official steward of the library.
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Update on Loving Garland Green Projects and Garden Features
1. CORN PROJECT
The Bantam, Aztec Black and Oaxacan Green corn are all about four feet tall, deep green healthy and beautiful. The Teosinte (original ancestor of corn) is now about six inches tall and looking better than it has. I found out from my friend Susan Metz the teosinte takes 120 days to germinate! Other corn generally takes about 90 days. We are not going to get to cross pollinate the Teosinte with the other corn but we can still cross some of the older varieties (Aztec and Oaxacan) with the Bantam. When the teosinte matures we will grind some of it into cornmeal for making tortillas. We will save and dry some of the corn from the other three varieties and grind that too into cornmeal for making tortillas. Perhaps at our second Monday of the month meeting in September we will have a taste test.
2. BEANS BEANS BEANS PROJECT
In addition to the “official” bean patch we have bean poles erected all over the garden with pole beans at various stages of development. By the end of June we will have beans “coming out our ears.” In addition to the beans at the garden, we also installed eight 27-gallon pots at the Garland Good Samaritans and a few poles in one of their flowerbeds. Pole beans are ideal for urban spaces because they are grown vertically and take up little space. This healthy vegetable is also easy to grow, looks great in your yard and is good to eat.
3. CHARLIE’S OKRA
What a guy! Being from Iowa, Charlie has never acquired a taste for okra, yet here he is in charge of what promises to be our largest okra patch ever. He has now about 25 okra plants up and growing. By the end of June there should be lots of okra.
4. EXTENSION OF POLLINATOR HEAVEN
This second bed, parallel to the original plot is coming along but it is still in the tiny seedling stage for the most part. I hope this rain we are getting today will help it along. By the end of June there should be a large splash of color visible from the road.
5.TIPI TRELLIS
Like the new section Pollinator Heaven, this area is also mostly still in the seedling stage with a variety of plants—pole beans, tomatoes, milkweed and lemongrass.
6. BLACKBERRIES
They are coming into their own down at the garden. I have several in pots at my home that I need to bring down and plant. Blackberries and pole beans are two great edibles to grow in Garland. Both require little care.
7. LOOFAH TUNNEL
At last the loofah vines are climbing. It looks like once again this popular feature of the garden will be thriving with blooms and thick vines by mid-June.
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THE GREAT SWEET POTATO PROJECTS
We already have two going/growing at the Garden: 1) four pots planted by 69 first graders from Beaver MST. 2) one pot at the North Garland High School Environmental Club’s experimental garden.
Now we are adding one more sweet potato project. In the coming week we are erecting a large wooden trellis that was given to us by one of the many anonymous donors that leave presents at the garden. We are making cloth pots and will plant sweet potatoes in these pots on either side of the trellis. By the end of June people can harvest leaves from the vines for salads (as long as no more than one-third are cut every week). Unlike the white potato, the sweet potato leaves are edible and good in salads or stir-fried.
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UPCOMING IN THE GARDEN
Monday, May 29, 2017 the North Garland High School Environmental Club is having a potluck down at the garden. They will be passing the stewardship of their experimental garden plot over to members of Loving Garland Green (LGG)for June to mid-September. We will be recording information regarding production and care of the garden over these three months. In November, after harvesting sweet potatoes, LGG and the environmental club will create a report on the results of growing a 125 square foot garden in Garland from March to November.
VIRTUAL GARLAND COMMUNITY GARDEN TOUR