With the holiday season upon us, I’ve been searching for ways to bring seasonal produce to the table. With the sweet meatiness of pears, the crispness of apples, and the crunch of pomegranate seeds, this spinach winter salad has it all. And it’s even Christmas colored.
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This week should bring on the first hard frost of the fall, and with it the end of my first year of gardening. Though I’m far from being a master gardener, I’ve learned so much along the way.
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Pico de Gallo, with its bold flavor and vivid red, white, and green colors, is a classic. Today I’m offering a more colorful twist on the original: Rainbow Pico de Gallo!
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Shared gardening space can be an incredible experience for apartment dwellers, but there are a number of common community garden problems. I know first hand. Fortunately, a little patience and ingenuity can make it an enjoyable experience for all.
I’ve never been so sad over a melon
Yesterday I visited my community garden plot, which I’ve lovingly tended since the spring, excited to see what might be ready for harvest. In particular, I was excited to check on two cantaloupes that were very close to being ripe when I had visited earlier in the week. All of my other vine plants – watermelons, honeydew, acorn squash, and delicata squash had succumbed to squash bugs long ago, and I had said goodbye to my long-suffering spaghetti squash plant just a couple of weeks before.
Through it all, my cantaloupe proved hardy. It stayed healthy and strong through inexpert planting, inconsistent watering, unexpected thunderstorms, and those pesky squash bugs, and I was so excited to try my first taste of fresh melon.
But when I arrived today, only one melon, far from ripe, remained. The other two were nowhere to be seen, apparently having been picked by someone else. I have to confess I’m a little heartbroken. That might seem silly, but I was so proud of those beautiful cantaloupe!
At least I brought my first two radishes home.
And yet community gardens are so worth it! Last week I shared all the wonderful reasons to join one, but today I want to share a few common problems you’re likely to run into. None of these are deal breakers, and with the right attitude, you’ll still enjoy your community gardening experience to the fullest.
This is the obvious one, given my experience yesterday. Our garden has a sign urging people not to take the fruits of anyone else’s labor, which I’m sure helps, but it’s an inevitable issue in a garden that doesn’t sit safely behind your own fence. Luckily, this is the first time I know of this happening to me, and given the garden’s location near low-income housing, I’m just going to assume it was someone who needed that food far more than I do.
This might not be such an issue in other gardens, but I’ve had enormous trouble keeping people from planting in my plot. The garden sits on land right next to an apartment of elderly tenants, who frequently get confused about the plot assignment process. You may need to put up a small sign saying your plot is already assigned if you want to avoid this problem (but make sure you’re certain it’s really your spot first!). Planting early and visibly helps too.
In a shared space, some gardeners may be less diligent than others, resulting in weed and insect problems (and those problems can arise even with careful attention). This can be one of the most frustratingly common community garden problems, but when this happens, just care for your own space and do what you can to help in other areas. Other gardeners may be less experienced or less physically able, so it’s worth it to pitch in whenever possible.
Since gardeners sign up year by year in my community garden, we’re all expected to clear everything out by the end of October, and the water isn’t turned on until the beginning of May each spring. That means we miss out on some early and late crops.
For that reason, starting your plants from seed at home can really lengthen the growing season. If your garden will allow it, it might also be worth planting in self-watering containers at home and bringing them out to the garden once the water is on.
This can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on your reaction. Some plants, like mint and strawberries, spread very aggressively and are likely to show up in your plot whether you planted them or not (I recommend only planting them in containers if you’re a community gardener). Others have their seeds dropped by birds and can show up totally by surprise. If you don’t want them there, just pull them out. Or roll with it and enjoy the surprise. I ended up with a lovely marigold this way.
I’ve gotten used to it now, but I initially felt very self-conscious planting in a public space. (Maybe this is less a common community garden problems than it is a Shaina problem). But if you also feel uncomfortable doing something new so publicly, just know that the more you do it, the less you’ll care about working alongside fellow gardeners or being watched by pedestrians as they pass by. Just enjoy the time outside and don’t worry too much about other people’s reactions. And maybe you’ll even make new friends!
So if you’ve ever hesitated to join a community garden, don’t wait any longer. Sure, common community garden problems arise, but these gardens also offer unique benefits. It’s the perfect environment to learn how to garden, so look into joining one today!
And in the meantime, please pray for my remaining cantaloupe.
Buying my condo was both a big achievement and a bit of a disappointment. Of course I was excited to have a place of my own and to start paying off a mortgage instead of paying a stranger rent, but I was also sad to buy a home without a yard. I’d been dreaming of gardening for years, and it seemed like that dream was being put on hold in a major way.
Luckily, a home garden isn’t the only way to grow your own food. …
Welcome back, aspiring container gardeners! In case you missed it, last month I shared about the planning phase of container gardening, so now it’s time to talk about planting. If you’re a perfectionist (ahem, something I know nothing about), putting plants into soil can feel a bit intimidating. But never fear, reader dear! I’m here to guide you through the process….
The food I crave most intensely is fresh tomato salsa. Every once in a while, especially in the summertime, I frantically have to have it – and right away. It’s a need, not a want.
I’m gonna blame it on vitamin deficiencies or something….
Well, hello again. Shaina here. I feel like I need to reintroduce myself, because I seem to be a different person than I was a month and a half ago. Instead of feeling exhausted and perpetually terrified of bedtime (since falling asleep is so often a struggle), I’m starting to actually feel … rested. And happy. And enthusiastic about new projects. And maybe even a little bit energized.
Is this how other people feel all the time?…
The Circadian Code, by Dr. Satchin Panda, is not my favorite book I’ve read about sleep, but it might end up being the most personally transformative. Over the past two weeks, I’ve successfully gone to bed before midnight nearly every day, which is highly unusual for this insomniac, and the principles in this book helped me to do it….
I’ve been dreaming of a cottage style garden filled with flowers and homegrown produce since my teenage years, but during the decade and more that I spent renting, that goal seemed far out of reach. When I finally bought a condo last year and it too was yardless, I felt pretty defeated. I thought I was shelving my homesteading dreams for a few more years.
But I was wrong. This spring I’ve made a major step toward self-sufficiency by growing dozens of plants with only a shady balcony and a sunny concrete slab….