Activities:
- Harvesting veggies
- Pest Control
- Weeding
- General garden care
It’s official ladies and gentlemen, the Community Teaching Garden program has now reached the halfway point as our students and staff members have completed 11 weeks together in the gardens. The amount of greenery and increasing amount of harvestable crops are certainly proof that hard work, time, teamwork, and of course some gentle loving care can have some truly amazing results in the garden. It’s an indescribable feeling to see the look in our students’ eyes as they pull exceptional veggies out of their plots in utter amazement of their success. As we enter the second-half of the CTG program, most class time has started to be dominated by independent work and general garden upkeep, and our students have started to become so much more comfortable and confident in their work each and every day.
On Monday, the Ethan Allen Homestead class arrived to an exciting harvest day. Exclamations of excitement were heard several times as our students tended to their gardens, and Melanie proudly announced the arrival of a ripe zucchini, the first of the season! The brassicas, which have been carefully cared for and watched as they’ve matured also sported some ripe veggies, including a head of broccoli and Jackie’s impressive head of cabbage. Midst some light-hearted chatter, our gardeners continued weeding, harvesting, and watering until the evenings class came to a close. They are very excited for the ripe surprises that next week may bring!
On Wednesday evening, the Tommy Thompson class got right to work tending their own gardens as well as those of the absent students by adjusting trellises and watering. A giant pile of shelling peas was harvested prior to pulling up a row of wilting pea plants in the communal bed, and two ripe zucchinis were found midst all of the greenery. A quick look at the onions proved that they too will soon be ready as they’ve begun to bulge out of their soil-filled beds. As always, the potato beds were carefully inspected for those pesky Colorado Potato Beetles, which proved to be significantly less in numbers thanks to the determined monitoring of the students and Denise!
A huge thank you is also in order for our wonderful CTG volunteers who have been extremely helpful in sprucing up the garden each week- they’re looking fabulous! Stay tuned for next week as we harvest some more delicious crops and hear from Meghan Giroux from Vermont Edible Landscapes during her talk on forest gardening!
Community Teaching Garden 