May! Mulberries, new beds, and a great work day
It’s May – almost June – and the garden is starting to overflow with bounty. Lots of wonderful things are ripening in our shared community plots, like radish, peas, and an abundance of herbs. And our mulberry trees are starting to fill with delicious berries – free for the taking! Both trees sit behind our back fence and their large, laden branches hang over into the garden. One is to the left of the shed, and the other is by the forest garden.
Our May workday was another great success. One of our biggest achievements: the raised bed along the fence of the water retention site was completely rebuilt to make it a little narrower, extend it a full 65’ in length, and add wire mesh to block weeds from the bottom and make it rat proof.
In this new bed we planted five raspberry bushes, a few small blueberry bushes, and several native plants that we’ll try to grow into larger plants before we move them into the forest garden. We also intend to put in a row of blackberry bushes that will stay there for the long term.
In other construction news, Mohammad led a team of gardeners building raised beds one foot high along the north edge of the garden. A variety of flowers, perennial herbs, and other plants will be planted there. And Matt took the lead on making several raised bed repairs in the community garden, replacing warped side boards with new ones.
A few gardeners took on the task of weeding in the garden, removing weeds and creating a great growing surface in a few plots that haven’t been planted yet. Weed whacking along our paths also cut down some tall weeds in several places, and another volunteer took on the task of digging out weeds with a shovel along several raised beds. We also removed a lot of rocks and rubble and the overgrown trees from along the west fence.
The forest garden also got some love. We planted several new blueberry bushes to replace some that have died. These have metal stakes to protect them and provide some stability. The trees and shrubs in the forest garden were mulched and watered. For this summer, we will be organizing a volunteer water brigade for the forest garden trees and shrubs, more on that to come.
Last but not least, we turned the compost.
We hope you are enjoying this gorgeous weather and your garden. As the heat increases, watering becomes more important. If you are watering and see a parched plot nearby, give it a soak. Also make use of our
watering swap document.
Parting shot: here is a friend – one of our new tenants perhaps? – appreciating some chive blossoms.
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Bruce Monroe Community Garden
Georgia Ave. at Columbia Rd./Irving St. NW
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