Gardeners have been busy planting early crops. Seeds now growing include arugula, chard, kale, pac choi, snow & snap peas, mustard greens, and spinach.
Garlic planted in November 2023 emerges this spring.
Crops planted in previous seasons are coming up too. Several rows of garlic planted in November 2023 are visible, as are the leaves of volunteer elephant garlic that’s even older. Perennials and self-seeders are returning: French sorrel, oregano, sage, thyme, and tomatillos. Two boxes of asparagus are just getting started and don’t produce much, but we can each have a taste when the time comes.
Down in the four Compostville boxes, there’s overflow garlic and happily growing horseradish, rhubarb, and these Egyptian walking onions (yummy and usable like chives and scallions).
This gardener is standing under the garden’s new cattle panel. We’ll grow snap and/or snow peas on it.
Here’s how that cattle panel came to us.
A lovely neighbor who lived across the street from the garden moved to Maine. Last week she saw my Front Porch Forum post seeking donations of garden tools and supplies, and she bought the garden some tools and that cattle panel!
Our former neighbor grew up across the street from the garden. She loves to support gardening and local food. At her new place, she spends her days volunteering at a nonprofit that provides people with food and other necessities, just as she did here in Montpelier.
When she contacted me to make these generous donations, I learned something else: When she was little, her mother contracted polio and lost the use of her legs. Her grandmother came from France to take care of everyone. Her grand-mère planted and tended flowers and shrubs all over the property. She spent time in the garden every day that was gardenable. Eventually, Rosanne’s mother regained the use of her legs!
We dedicate this growing space and its crops in honor of these three generations of caring women in Montpelier.
