As Vegetables Emerge, So Do Community Gardeners

I typically head to the community garden about 7am. The temperature is comfortable, the humidity low, and the sun manageable. But at that hour, I seldom see other gardeners. This past week, I decide to mix it up. One day I visit at 7:30am, another at 9:30am and another at 11am. I meet a dozen new gardeners. As vegetables come out and summer temperatures rise, gardeners come more frequently to pick their harvest and to water their plots. And when community gardeners meet, conversation ensues about tips and techniques, tastings, successes and lessons learned. Exactly the community spirit I want. 

Rosemary stands by her prolific borage and dill 

One morning I introduce myself to Rosemary, who gives me a lesson in bees. Rosemary has gardened at Bible Street community garden since its launch. Her plot is filled with borage and dill, both big and tall. As I stand at Rosemary's garden bed, I see dozens of bees flitting industriously from one leaf or stem to another on the borage and dill. The borage attracts bees, which pollinate the vegetables, herbs and flowers in Rosemary's garden and then move on to other garden beds. (Yay, bees!) 

I am curious about borage, and I am not alone. I find a full report on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, with the author using borage in pesto, chimichurri, soup and stuffed ravioli. As for the tall dill in Rosemary's garden, I ask whether I can clip a few stalks. That night I poach salmon for dinner, cover it with fresh dill and douse it with lemon. Yummy. 

One day I meet Cheryl, who bikes to the community garden from her house 15 miles round trip. Cheryl shares sprigs of oregano with me, and I use them in a tomato salad, a flavor different than the customary basil. Cheryl's community garden plot complements her home garden and help her grow tomatoes, peppers and herbs away from nibbling critters at home. 

I meet my garden neighbors Irene and Lisa for the first time since I planted my garden bed in April. I learn that they water my plot whenever they water their own (thank you, you two). This is their second year of community gardening -- they are experienced gardeners in my newbie eyes -- and their plot is filled with squash, peppers, eggplant, tomato and "volunteer" sunflowers, which are now 10 feet tall. 

Mixing it up is my new mantra, visiting at different times and introducing or reintroducing myself to people I see. It makes the wait for the harvest worth it. 

I close with two comments: 

Your intrepid blogger, watering again
and protected against the sun

• I ask gardeners to walk me through their plots, and I invite them to visit mine. I love the knowledge and advice they offer. Rosemary, for example, urges me to harvest my green peppers and pickle-size cucumbers now. I savor the tasty vegetables that I might otherwise lose to chipmunks.
  
• At least two-thirds of the gardeners I meet at Greenwich Community Gardens are women. Is that normal across community gardens? At the Greenwich Botanical Center, where I volunteer, the proportion leans even more heavily toward women. What are your experiences? Comments? 

Ciao until the next post. Diane Tunick Morello