Yes, we finally sowed some seeds today in the one raised bed we’ve been working on forever!!! In the spring we planned to plant all kinds of veggies in the fall but we settled on collard greens,white radishes, and either mustard or turnip greens. I’m not savvy enough to tell a plant from seeds yet but I harvested the pods off the plants left to seed in the children’s garden we had in our first year.
We added 3 more wheelbarrow full of topsoil and finished off with 2 bags of mushroom compost. Then we made shallow grooves and started sowing, alternating the seeds. One row of collards, next the mustard or turnip greens, and then radishes. Then since we still has some seeds left we sprinkled it around the bed because I remembered the advice of a fellow gardener…..a more experienced gardener.
He, I’m sorry I never got his name, lives on the east end of Hecker Rd and has the pretty, well organized garden in his yard. If you ever passed by on Jefferson Street you will know this beautiful garden. He stopped by while me and my mom were weeding. It wasn’t a set workday but he saw us out there and pulled up to us in his golf cart with his grandson and asked how things were growing and if we had a good harvest. Of course, he was being polite since all we had were weeds for a full year. He mentioned he had some collard plants he needed to set out and showed me some pictures. He showed me a pic of the first collards he had planted in neat little rows. Then he pointed out all the holes left behind by the bugs. The 2nd picture was just a jumble of collards and radishes and he pointed out that the bugs did not damage any of the plants. This is called companion gardening although he didn’t say so. We will need to study this type of gardening for the future. What little I know is that it’s a pairing of vegetables that will help eachother as far as nutrients and pest control.
As I’m typing this post, it’s raining. The seeds will love it and the humidity. I hope we can share the greens with the community by Thanksgiving. Let’s hope and pray for a good harvest. #HopeGrowsInCentury
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