96 Square Feet of Happiness

We got a plot in the 62nd Street Community Garden! We've been on the waiting list since October. I'm sooooo excited. It's really an amazing place. When the garden was started last year they added 18 inches of really good top soil and compost over the whole garden, so the whole thing is one giant raised bed. There are wood chipped paths between the plots, and there are tools, water, and wheelbarrows for everyone to use. I love it. 

Our plot is on the southwest corner of the garden, right when you walk in. That means we're the most likely plot to get hit by wildlife, garden thieves, and getting trampled, but that's ok. We'll put up a little wire fence to help keep people out. Being on the corner is a good thing because it gets great sun, has great drainage, and there's a ton of space around it for me to put Lily on the ground while I work. The person who had the plot before us must have had a small forest of cherry tomato plants because there were a ton of them still there. They were dead and woody, but I still had to pull them all out. And the weeds were starting to take ground. 

Here's a before picture of our plot. It's 8 feet wide and 12 feet long. 

And after pulling all the random things out, turning the soil with a pitchfork, and raking it smooth. Note Lily down at the very end for scale. 

My little garden gnome. She kept trying to eat the wood chips. 

Today it's supposed to rain, so tomorrow I'll go put some seeds in. I also have a lavender plant and 2 strawberry plants to put in. This year is going to be a total experiment. My plan is to basically throw some seeds in patches and see what grows. We'll add some tomato plants and peppers once it gets a little warmer. 

I love having a place to go outside with a purpose. I certainly enjoy going to parks and on walks/jogs along the lake, but it's really nice to be able to work on something outside. I spent one summer working on the organic farm at Dartmouth and fell in love with growing food. If Joe had chosen a more rural law school, I would have tried to get a job working on a small farm, no joke. Recently I have been feeling like I really wanted to get "settled" (read: buy a house, not that we could do that right now). A large part of that was just wanting to have a place to grow things. This garden meets that need, and I find myself now not staring longingly at every for sale sign I see. 

So horray for our garden! Expect lots of updates as things progress. I just hope the weather decides to stay warm.