Where did the lovely, balmy spring go? Did it even make an appearance?

Florida weather is back with a vengeance and it is taking a toll on the garden. The beating rays of the sun have prompted us to amp up our watering routine. The night time humidity/dew has spurred the growth of fungus on the leaves of the zucchini and squash, hopefully this will not affect the harvest. We have also discovered holes in the lovely unripe tomatoes; slugs are most likely the culprit. Enough bad news though, there are so many tasty things to look forward to in the upcoming week! We harvested six massive cucumbers for the festival next week and there are tons more to come.

With the exception of mystery bed 5, the majority of the garden inhabitants are thriving. We'll even have some sunflowers blooming in a few days. During the early afternoon shift we watered and weeded with Ms. Burke's enthusiastic class. We had a weed pulling contest that helped to snuff out the sedge population growing on the west side of the garden, their help was much appreciated.

We are nearing the end of the line for the garden this year and I am turning into a squishy sentimental slug! Today was oppressively hot and humid, but I couldn't have been happier to be pulling weeds in the Edible Peace Patch. For two spring semesters I have participated in this fledgling project and I am sad to see my time come to end. Through this endeavor I have developed a love for teaching and gardening that will last for many years. I am so thankful to the Lakewood administration, Professor Curtis, Peggy McCabe, and all the Eckerd folk for making this an incredibly fun and worthwhile experience. Enough mush though, let's get psyched to eat some veggies!