Welcome to a celebration of the gardening season at the Washington County Community Garden located in West Bend, Wisconsin at the corner of Water and Indiana Street. This Ozaukee County Master Gardener Volunteer project is in its third year and has gone from 20 plots in 2007, to 49 in 2008, to 70 plots in 2009. We are now officially out of space and have a waiting list for 2010.JULY-AUGUST 2009 . . .Days of celebration
The girls celebrate their first crop of carrots ever!
We celebrate and laugh over garden oddities:
"Where there's a will, there's a way", says this bean, growing through an opening in a metal garden stake.
Hmmm, I KNOW that I didn't plant any genetically modified seeds. . .
and neither did Kim!
On August 23, at the beginning of the first nationally recognized National Community Gardening Week, we celebrate with our second annual potluck.
Kids tried out the "bean house" . . .
One group of gardeners discussed the progress of the hops arbor.
Wonder if we will get enough for a "Community Brew"? . .
Then, it was time to get down to the eating! . . .
After lots of food, conversation, recipe swapping and walks through the garden, it was time to call it a day.
In July, we celebrated our presence on the annual West Bend Beautification Garden Tour. Tour-goers visited our gardens, strolling and visiting with the gardeners, enjoying the beauty of the site.
JUNE-JULY 2009
For some of our gardeners, the season began with the basics, such as how to use a rototiller!
Once the soil was tilled, we had a very slow start to the season due to cool temperatures and a frost warning for June 1. Here is what some plots looked like that evening:
But, soon temperatures warmed up and salads made of tender greens and lively herbs became the norm for dinner.
Root crops, cabbages, broccoli and zucchini are also making appearances on the table.
While parents are busy planting and harvesting, kids are taking advantage of the great new play area which consists of a bean house, sunflowers, a not too scary scarecrow, and a sand box.
When not preparing their own plots, the gardeners have been volunteering to keep the common areas in good shape. Jobs have included delivering straw, mulching paths, pulling weeds, and removing rocks. Each person was asked to donate two hours of time over the growing season, and by mid-July over 175 hours were given back to the community garden. What a great example of one of the ways in which we put "community" in community gardens.
