In the plot, the 'Cherry Bell' radish seeds are up and the broccoli and turnips are chugging along. The plot to the right of mine (#17) was weed-whacked down to the ground again, which was too bad as there was some slowly swiss chard and other things still going strong, despite the absentee plot owner.The interns and I also stopped by the Ft. Totten community garden run by the Neighborhood Farm Initiative. Photos from our visit are at left here. It is a really nice set-up on National Park Service land right near the Ft. Totten metro.
One precocious young man showed us all around the garden and gave us all hot pink zinnia flowers. He definitely has the gift of gab and made a terrific tour guide and spokesperson for the garden.
The plots are very large -- 25x25. There is a shared tool shed with gas-powered wood chipper and tillers. One plot had an elaborate low-tunnel system set-up. They have a trench compost section (along with regular compost bins) and also running water with drip irrigation to most plots. I am so envious of that last feature!
One thing I definitely did not envy is the tremendous deer pressure this garden experiences. They have a tall deer fence, but the deer still manage to get in occasionally. When I left the garden to walk to the metro, a herd of 12 deer surrounded me and came within a few feet of me and other commuters using the busy path. The next morning I found out one of those deer was killed on the nearby train tracks and caused a major delay during the morning rush hour on the Red line.I hope that the park service acts fast to contain this herd before many more incidents like this happen.How is your edible garden growing this week?
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