First Group Day

Our goal is to build a vegetable garden to teach the public and possibly share the fruits of our labor with our community.

First group day today.  A lot has gone on behind the scenes though - scoping out sun and shade, researching deer fencing,  deciding what to plant,  what to save,  staking out beds,  planning construction of raised beds, and getting a team of people together to accomplish our goal.

Our team leader,  Bill Conyers  has staked out the future garden.  We will have over 2,000 sq ft to plant.

*          Commercial raised bed                                  4’ x 8’

*          Timber framed raised bed                              4’ x 8’

*          Soiled banked raised bed                               3’ x 10’

*          Asparagus                                                      3’ x 10’

*          Patio area                                                       4’ x 8’

*          Traditional row planting                                  20’ x 60’

*          Special display                                               12’ x 11’

*          Expanded berry area                                     15’ x 38’

      We will show a variety of vegetable beds: raised beds -  timber and soil, container, and manufactured beds with special features.

      There will be vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. The next few weeks will involve a lot of physical labor and a lot of discussion about what and how many seeds to buy and start.  I am sure everyone has their seed catalogs dog eared and marked.

      Of course the day started cold and windy.  9 brave souls showed up and dove right in.  Old branches were removed and taken to a compost facility.  The old wooden beds were torn down, new beds outlined with paint, existing perennials dug up and potted for the plant sale, or heeled into a distant bed for future use.

      Coffee and donuts were dropped off by our Demo Garden Co-Chair, Cyndy  :)

Old raised beds

Removing old beds

   

Beds staked and labeled

Fruit and Berries

Fruit Trees

Berry Patch

We saved a lot of the old perennials for future use

Plant sale!

  

Also in the works is a new Children's Garden

Adjacent Children's Garden

Involved in this project are experienced Master Gardeners, new MGs and interns.  We will all learn from each other and have a great time while we are at it. 

University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener and other programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.