*I misspoke in the post earlier today when I implied that the orchard hadn't received any attention over the summer. Obviously that wasn't true! I had meant to point out that the focus of the workdays was elsewhere in the gardens. Caring for apple trees is quite a specialized task, and we are fortunate to have volunteers devoted to the Crestwood apple orchard.
Our final (official) summer workday is coming up THIS MONDAY, AUGUST 15 AT 5:30! Bring your family, a picnic dinner, work gloves and definitely bug spray. We have a lot of clean up to do before school starts. Just think how welcomed and inspired students and staff would feel if they arrive to a beautiful, well-kept garden on September 1! That said, the back garden is looking mighty fine indeed. The tomatoes are plump, the basil is thriving, we have a new crop of salad planted for a fall harvest (thanks, Ginny!) and a vigorous pumpkin vine is taking over the parking lot. If you peek under the leaves and between those vines, you'll find many baby pumpkins. The students are going to have a treat finding all the ripe squash this fall. Hello, gorgeous. We certainly have our work cut out for us in the overflow garden and in the front. If you look at the picture below, all you can see, really, is grass and morning glories. Believe it or not, there are beans, tomatoes and a watermelon vine hidden among the weeds. Here are potatoes growing along the brick wall in an orderly fashion. This jungle is the circle garden. The tomatoes growing here are all volunteer, and they are quite healthy! The cattle fencing you see is there to support cucumber vines. It's a little messy, but everything is growing nicely here; we just need to clean out the weeds. Last, but certainly not least, though our orchard hasn't gotten a lot of attention at our summer workdays, it has received a lot of care from Eldon and Peter, who have added new soil, planted white clover and weeded in the tree rows. The white clover serves three purposes: 1) to crowd out weeds over time; 2) restore nitrogen to the soil, and 3) to provide blossoms for bees.* Additionally, Ms. Allen's second grade class planted a variety of flowers and herbs to attract pollinators in May. They appear to be doing the job because I found a small cave in the ground where some busy bees are building a hive. Hooray for beneficial insects! And watch your step...
*I misspoke in the post earlier today when I implied that the orchard hadn't received any attention over the summer. Obviously that wasn't true! I had meant to point out that the focus of the workdays was elsewhere in the gardens. Caring for apple trees is quite a specialized task, and we are fortunate to have volunteers devoted to the Crestwood apple orchard.
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AuthorCrestwood's OE committee is dedicated to outdoor learning for all students. Archives
August 2017
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