Fenton Friday: Broccoli Starts

I attended the 2017 Virginia Urban Agriculture Summit yesterday and spoke on "Social Media for Hort Professionals" during the high-speed popcorn session. It was a lot of fun and the afternoon was spent touring local urban ag sites. Three of them were basically community gardens and it was interesting to compare how they do things versus the Fenton Garden where my plot is at. I was envious of the Fort Barnard Community Garden water system -- spigots near every plot!

Also, they had a shed for shared tools and a bulletin board that displayed every plot owner's contact info, the garden history, planting tips, etc. Both of these things have long been in our request list, but have not yet materialized. Ft. Barnard is 40 years old though, so we have a long way to go to be that mature and robust.

The other urban ag locations we visited were inspiring and affirming. It was a pleasure to spend the day with "my people" immersed in growing talk and ways to expand access to garden space in the region. I look forward to building on the connections made at the summit.

I posted several photos from the tours to our Facebook page at:
 https://www.facebook.com/pg/WashingtonGardenerMagazine/

This week in my plot, since the Spinach seeds look like duds at this point, we planted the six-pack of Broccoli 'Artwork' in their spot. The Broccoli have had a rough life so far -- since they were brought to two of my talks as demo plants -- but I think they should recover fine.

How is your edible garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday: 

Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 6th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)