Hi Folks!
I wanted to take a minute to illustrate what is not very neighborly at the community garden. When there is evidence like this, it tells me and the rest of the garden that you haven’t been there. While it’s still relatively cool (weather), and before it gets blazing hot, I suggest you figure out a way to get down to the garden to take care of it!
This chickweed spreads its seed all over the place, specifically into your neighbor’s plot. What I have always called Chickweed is noted by its little yellow flowers.
This is a plot full of chickweed, lamb’s quarter and horseweed for a trifecta of plot neglect. Note the chamomile is not a weed, but is having difficulty truly thriving into the tea it wants to be with all these seedy characters nearby.
This plot was truly loved in the spring, but ultimately forgotten about for maybe shinier things? How do I know? Well, first: the aforementioned characters; second, the prolific infestation of crabgrass, and the obvious answer: the bolted lettuce! (Note: bolted means flowered, and it usually happens quickly when it’s hot for cool crops like lettuce, cilantro, etc.).
This plot has all the things, plus dried-up peas, mullein (cowboy toilet paper), milkweed, and what appears to be a volunteer sunflower.
Truly, there’s a lot happening here. I think it’s important to note that it’s not the browned peas leftover from June; people are more than welcome to let things go to seed so they can preserve heirloom seeds for next year, but in tandem with the overall disarray tells the other community members that this community member has just been absent.
This is another apparently-absentee gardener. Why does it matter? Because these seeds, either a crop seed or a weed seed, blow over into the neighboring plots making much more work for everybody. It’s not a neighborly or community-oriented position to take.
Case in point: pathways…
More work for everybody else to clear.
The bare soil is an invitation for weeds, by which some of taken up the offer!
I hope this helps explain why it’s important to tend your plot. It’s not so much about aesthetics, it’s more about the work it makes for the rest of the community gardeners. Please remember that you are required by your contract to tend your plot AND provide 2 hours per month to retain good-standing in the garden.
There’s a huge pile of mulch ready to be spread in freshly-weeded pathways. We try to do one or two wheelbarrows when we tend our plot. Each person should’t have to do a lot, just a little each day. That’s what makes the community garden a community experience!
Some of the board and I walked through in early July; I have notified the most serious offenders. I gave the date of July 15th to take care of it. Since then, I’ve had other gardeners show me their neighbors’ plots. It’s so unfair to these people, you know? It’s about to get really, really hot, and we got a nice bit of rain this last week, so if your plot is in disregard, we will all forgive you if you just get down there and take care of it before it fully explodes this weekend.
Plots with conditions that have not improved will be handed out to the waitlist starting on Monday.