And so we begin our eighth semester growing food in the Edible Peace Patch Garden in Lakewood Elementary School. This year I have been honored and blessed to have more volunteers than ever before. Bright and early, 7:00 a.m., everyone rolled up to the back gate ready and raring to go.
The usual crew of Eckerd College students continue to make up the bulk of our semester long workforce, but we also have two student from the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, and a couple ambitious parents from Lakewood Elementary,
We had a tour of the garden (which is still looking a bit shaggy, but will be cleaned up in the week ahead), we checked the volunteer schedule to make sure everyone was assigned to days they could work, and made adjustments accordingly.
And the the volunteers went to work, transplanting starters and some slightly more mature plants that I have been nurturing in my back yard this summer. I taught them how to prepare the soil and put the plants in the beds, and they set right to work.
By 8:00 a.m. as the sun was just creeping onto the garden, we had everything in. Here are four eggplants that should begin producing before the month is out.
These are five sweet pepper plants. There are also several more that have just sprouted, but are difficult to see. We also expect pepper production within a few weeks.
The beds are ready, the grass needs trimming, but we'll get to that regular maintenance starting next Monday.
Everyone is so excited to put the garden in shape (you'll read about it next week) and then to begin sharing this wonderful project with the amazing children of Lakewood Elementary School.
Kip Curtis
Project Director
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