Harvest Fest, here we come!

It was a beautiful and sunny day at the Lakewood Peace Patch as Liz, Breege, Olivia, and I rolled up for our maintenance shift at 11:00. Robin greeted us with a few small things to do besides watering, such as sorting out old seed packets from newer ones and weeding some of the beds. It had been 2 weeks since the four of us were last at Lakewood, as we helped chop bamboo down for bed material last week instead of going to our usual shift at the garden. As we walked around, we were surprised at the little changes we noticed hidden throughout the garden. When we stuck our faces into the beautiful crop of corn shooting up in the three sisters bed we were surprised to see some of the beans climbing up the corn stalks. Lakewood is the only school that I have noticed the plants in the three sisters bed actually working together like they are supposed to! It was an incredible sight of commensalism and harmony between plants.

Can you see the bean plant climbing up the corn?

I must have not been paying much attention to the pineapples the last couple weeks, because my breath was literally taken away when I saw the new baby ones sprouting up from the tops of the parent pineapples. You teach the kids all about the time and the energy the plants invest to produce one pineapple fruit, and to see the progress before your own eyes is amazing.

Little babe!

When I look around at all of the vibrant vegetation pouring out of the beds I become more and more excited for the Harvest Festival. I am assigned to be at Lakewood for the half hour period before the festival and I am really looking forward to seeing the kids show the garden off to the parents. Its success is a product of their hard work, curiosity, and passion, and I have been so lucky to be apart of that this semester.

Colby