Tag Archives: Olympic Village

Community Garden Experiment: Unidentified Plants! Help!

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Plants with No Names

I started a lot of seeds at home this spring.  I tried to label everything at first, but when the seeds started sprouting some quickly outgrew the teeny greenhouse and needed more space and light.  In the process, I’ve lost track of their names.

There are times of course, when losing track of a name is no big deal.  I have met many a person I’d rather forget.  But we’re talking innocent and rather lovely plants here people!  I need to know what I am dealing with.  I’m fairly certain these plants are either Squash, Cucumber or Zucchini but until they actually produce fruit, I have no idea if I’ve placed them in the right spot in my garden.  See the fence behind? I intend to strap these babies to it eventually, but without knowing what they are I’m afraid to do anything.

So I thought that maybe you could help me.  

Can you identify these two plants?

What have you got growing in your garden this spring?  Did you start your plants from seed?  

Community Garden Experiment: Photos!

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Things are coming along nicely in my community garden.  I’ve got more radishes, spinach and lettuce than I know what to do with.  Now that I’ve gotten my feet wet with the easy-peasy first crops of the year it’s time to step it up.  I’ve got some space yet in my garden so I’m off to find suitable fare.  In the meantime, here are some photos of what’s going on so far.

I am starting to fill the spaces in now that I feel more confident I can actually grow plants without killing them.  So, I’ve just added broccoli, chocolate mint, lemon balm and carrots!

Kale, cauliflower, swiss chard and other delightful green goodies will be seen soon too.

What have you had success with so far in your garden?  Are you planting something unusual? I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

Community Garden Experiment: My Son the Radish Lover

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It’s So Worth It Already

This experiment of mine is really paying off.  One of the biggest reasons I took this project on was to find ways for my son to learn to like, and maybe even love vegetables.  I want him to learn, with me, how much joy and satisfaction that can be had from growing food that can be eaten right from the garden.

Just this morning I walked over to my plot to water the garden.  It was time to thin out the radishes and so I picked a handful and took them home.  They were teeny tiny, but perfect in every way.  I’m sure it won’t be long before some of them make their way into a fresh garden salad.   When my son spied the small bounty in my hand, he immediately wanted one.  And so I cleaned it off and gave it to him whole, leaves and all.

I can’t express how much joy I felt bubbling up inside when my little guy tasted that radish I had just pulled from the garden.  Not only that, but he carried it around with him like his Soo-soo (baby speak for soother) sucking on it from time to time.  He really seemed to enjoy it.

What a happy little guy I have.  I am so lucky.

Community Garden Experiment: What’s Eating Me Peas?!

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Eating Me Spinach

Our community garden in the Olympic Village on False Creek is really coming along.  Many of the plots are starting to ‘green out’ with lush crops of spinach, lettuce, kale, radishes, carrots and the like.  Some of the gardeners have planted tulips, daffodils and pansies which bring wonderful colour, loveliness, (and bees!) to the space.

My plot is doing pretty good for the most part.  I’ve got a nice showing of spinach and lettuce and the carrots and radishes are growing fast.  I’ve never tasted fresh greens from the garden so it was quite a treat to pick a bit of spinach and pop it into my mouth.  What wonderful texture and crispness! It’s as if it still tastes alive.  I’ll never look at ‘fresh’ produce from the supermarket in quite the same way. But, along with the small success I have had along the way comes a bit of trouble.  And I’m hoping that you can help me.

Me Peas! Me Poor Peas

My pretty little pea plants are being eaten faster than they can grow it seems. I’m wondering if I should just start again…or wait it out to see if they will they pull through.  These pea plants are just babies, barely 10 cm high.  Half of the plants were started from seed in the garden while the other half were lovingly started at home and tended to for a couple weeks under grow lights.  I’ve looked at the other plots that have peas, and none seem to be disappearing at the rate mine are. Maybe it’s the plot location.  It’s located next to  the compost bin which I imagine attracts a lot of pests.  But what do I know really? My thumb is nowhere near green.  So, I’m askin’.  What do I do?