Changing of the Season in Elliotborough Community Garden
As the record-high temperatures of summer begin to disappear, so too have the summer fruit and vegetable plants and weeds that thrive on them in the beds of the Elliotborough Community Garden. A number of exuberant gardeners enjoyed a beautiful Charleston Saturday morning recently to put the summer behind them and look forward to the fall. However, before our fall favorites could be planted, the weeds and warm-season crops that endured a brutal summer needed to be removed and the beds needed preparation.
After the weeds and summer plants were ripped from the ground and the remaining soil was worked and given a chance to breathe, it was time to apply the mushroom compost that will keep the plants healthy and fertile all season long. All Seasons Mulch Market on John’s Island was generous enough to donate 4 yards of this wonderful stuff to be used by everyone in the community garden. After the mushroom compost was applied and worked in with the existing soil, it was finally time to start planning and planting our fall gardens.
Claire Xidis, Elliotborough Community Garden coordinator, has done a wonderful job organizing events in the Elliotborough community garden. She returned from the American Community Gardening Association conference recently in Atlanta, Ga., with many packets of organic vegetable seeds for everyone to plant in the garden this fall. She also unveiled a beautiful kiosk loaded with gardening information as well as a space to ask questions and share notices specific to the Elliotborough garden.
Learn more about fall vegetable gardening with Jim Martin, seasoned gardener and Park Angel #11, on Sept. 18 from 8-11:30 a.m. Learn more