By REESE AMOROSI
‘Community Garden Plot: Before and After’ details the drastic change a little hard work and determination can make in any green space.
I love my kitchen garden at home, but like many rowhome-dwelling growers, I crave more space. After five years on the waiting list, I was thrilled to finally score a plot in my area’s community garden. This before and after collage shows what my plot looked like when I first saw it, and then what it looks like now as a raised bed.
The photos span four months. Shot #1 was taken on April 4, 2016, and shot #6 was taken on August 8, 2016. As you can see in the photos, when I inherited the 8×7 foot plot it was a shallow pit, around 6-8 inches lower than the surrounding ground. It made it prone to flooding during heavy rain. After I weeded the space, I added wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of soil and compost to make it level. More soil was added to raise it another five inches after the frame was built.
In shot #3 you can see I left the purple deadnettle in place for the bees. When it was time to work on the plot, I moved it to my garden at home. In zone 7b, purple deadnettle is one of the first plants to bloom in the spring. I suppose many people consider it a weed, but I look forward to its annual return. It adds color to the end-of-winter landscape, and provides early-season food for pollinators. It’s edible for humans, too, but as always, do your research before putting unfamiliar plants in your mouth.
Shot #6 shows the plot in full swing. I grew four types of heirloom eggplant – Long Purple, Lao Green Stripe, Rosa Bianca and Casper, with lettuce planted between rows. The entire plot border was colorful with zinnias, marigolds, chives and lavender. During winter 2017, this plot contained assorted heirloom radishes, carrots and beets, Lacinato kale, Flamingo chard and Tatsoi. It all thrived despite the bitter cold and occasional snowstorms, and provided many delicious meals.
If you enjoy gardening, you make also like How to Grow Spring Radishes and Winter Radishes.
