As October was in its last week, the weather forecasters were talking about heavy rains coming into our part of Texas. It had been hot and dry for so long that this seemed exciting that we would be getting some much needed rain. The pumpkin vines were starting to look very limp so on a drizzly Thursday morning I stopped by and decided it was time to harvest those pumpkins. Earlier in the month it seemed that there might actually be enough pumpkins so that each first grade class could have one. However, there are always changes in a garden and the most noticeable change was that some of the pumpkins had gotten overripe and were no longer usable. About seven pumpkins of various sizes were in good enough condition to be harvested and earn a trip to East Avenue Primary. I left the pumpkins for the school to use in decorating for their Fall Festival to be held the following week. I emailed the principal and assistant principal about the pumpkin delivery and received thank-you notes from both of them.
There were two or three pumpkins that were still green so I had left them in the garden. The rains did come as predicted. When November rolled around, I decided it was time to remove those very sad-looking pumpkin vines. An hour on two different afternoons was all it took for the compost pile to grow a bit larger. I wondered as I worked if Charlie Brown had visited the garden because I never did find those pumpkins that I had left a few weeks earlier!
Only zinnias remain in two beds. The bright cheerful colors of the small blooms have brought smiles to many faces during the last few months. Several MG volunteers have mentioned that they would like to harvest some seeds from those plants as they mature. Two volunteer tomato plants are doing quite well. With the pumpkin vines removed the garden is looking cleaner as it prepares to rest now for a while.
It has been suggested that the raised beds should perhaps be amended soon with mushroom compost and some fertilizer so they will be ready for first graders to plant lettuce, spinach, radishes, and carrots in early February. The GMG membership will be notified by email regarding a workday that will be scheduled for that purpose. At that time the rest of the zinnias will also be removed. Now I just need to prepare my own garden beds for the colder weather!
There were two or three pumpkins that were still green so I had left them in the garden. The rains did come as predicted. When November rolled around, I decided it was time to remove those very sad-looking pumpkin vines. An hour on two different afternoons was all it took for the compost pile to grow a bit larger. I wondered as I worked if Charlie Brown had visited the garden because I never did find those pumpkins that I had left a few weeks earlier!
Only zinnias remain in two beds. The bright cheerful colors of the small blooms have brought smiles to many faces during the last few months. Several MG volunteers have mentioned that they would like to harvest some seeds from those plants as they mature. Two volunteer tomato plants are doing quite well. With the pumpkin vines removed the garden is looking cleaner as it prepares to rest now for a while.
It has been suggested that the raised beds should perhaps be amended soon with mushroom compost and some fertilizer so they will be ready for first graders to plant lettuce, spinach, radishes, and carrots in early February. The GMG membership will be notified by email regarding a workday that will be scheduled for that purpose. At that time the rest of the zinnias will also be removed. Now I just need to prepare my own garden beds for the colder weather!