Today was our first weed n’ greet meeting. In addition to pulling up unwanted plants around the garden and sprucing up the mulch, gardeners planted some new perennials and annuals into the communal beds around the garden. To help all our members make the most of these communal areas, here is a who’s who of the various communal beds!
Along the fence
The largest communal bed runs along the south fence between the community garden and the field belonging to the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre. This garden bed has multiple fruit trees (apple & cherry) trees as well as black currant bushes, nasturtiums and runner beans. You are welcome to pick from these plants, but please be mindful of sharing with others.
Perennial Herb Garden
The herb beds currently contain chives, garlic chives, sage. We hope to add rosemary, basil and parsley. You can help yourselves to help yourself to whatever you need, but again, please do not strip the plants as this is quite hard on them.
Main Perennial Vegetable Bed
This bed currently contains asparagus, rhubarb and Jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes). Because this is the first year for the asparagus and rhubarb, we ask that you do not pick from them at all. Here are the growing instructions for these plants:
Rhubarb – rhubarb can not be harvested in its first season, and only lightly harvested in its second season. Stems should be pulled out, not cut. You must leave at least three stalks per plant for the plant to survive. Never eat the leaves.
Asparagus – these transplants are going to require lots of water while they get established, so please water them if you see the trenches that they are planted in looking dry. They can not be harvested at all for the first two years. It can take up to 7 years for a plant to get established. After a few years, though, a few stems can be harvested. Like the rhubarb, asparagus needs to have several stalks survive to feed the plant for next year. The committee will announce when it is ok to pick asparagus.
Sunchokes – These plants produce tubers which can be eaten like a potato. The committee will decide when they are ready to be dug up and harvested though email. It may be this fall or the next.
We hope you enjoy all the beautiful additions to the garden. Thank you so much to St. Barnabas and its parisioners for donating money & plants for the garden. Thank you to our community gardeners for all of their hard work in putting in the plants.
