My upstairs neighbor
was an avid gardener. Every year or so she would see me tending my
tomato plants and talk about how much she enjoyed having a plot at the
Willowgate Garden. The second or third time she mentioned it I got my
name on the waiting list for one. I felt like I was waiting for five
years to get one, but it was probably closer to four years. Every year
they would send me a postcard with a handwritten number indicating my
spot in line. I remember being 47th one year, and 23rd another. I was
waiting to find out my number this year when Sueli called. She said
"Congratulations, you're number one. We have two plots for you to pick
from, want to come down to the garden and choose one?" There was more,
bring ID and check writing ability to pay for the key deposit. To make
a long story short, I picked plot #62.
I picked it because it had some
perennial crops that are already established. The lazy man in me likes
that.
The green lines indicate the borders of
the plot.
The first thing that grabbed my eye was
the grape vines. I'm looking forward to finding out what I think of
their flavor. They have been trimmed many times by other owners of the
plot, so they must have something going for them. I went to the library
and read up on how to trim them, and then came back and did it.
Carrying the wood trimmings to the dumpster, I realized that a garden
plot generates a lot more carbon sequestration than a tomato plant on
the porch. That was a heavy load!
The first thing I did was plant a six
pack of snow peas. At this point it's still not clear that they will do
well.
That artichoke plant came with the
plot. I'm looking forward to harvesting something from it when the
season comes around.
On the left is a short rose bush and a
bunch of weeds. I'll get around to pulling them out soon.
In the center is most of the other
stuff I've freshly planted. A six pack of celery plants that seem to be
doing well, and a six pack of broccoli that's also doing well.
I have no idea what that other plant
above is. I don't think it's a random weed though.
That rose bush is strong and still has
a few flowers on it.
I also planted those lettuce plants.
I'm planning to harvest a few leaves at a time, once they mature enough
to take it.
The previous owner of the plot, Laurel,
was a big fan of the strawberries. I think she gave away a lot of the
plants, but I'm hoping to enjoy some from the rest of them next summer.
The mint is doing well. I'm not sure I
really like this mint, but we'll see.
Not shown is the horseradish infestation. I harvested a bit to use as a
spice, and it's delicious. Laurel said "the plot has a horseradish
infestation at this point in time." I'm just going to harvest as I need
it and not worry about the stuff beyond that.
The only problem with the place is that
in the mid afternoon it gets a bit of shade from that redwood tree. I'm
really sure that despite that, it gets a lot more sun than my porch.
