Ian Golba – Food and Beverage Editor
On an evening walk through the downtown residential streets, new landscape projects and back yard gardens can be seen popping up all around. With many people working from home and beginning to feel the strain, one of the most constructive activities to start would have to be gardening.
Through these unseen times, the Main Street Community Garden has been chugging along just as they have for over 15 years. Anybody is welcome to join and your $50 buy-in at the beginning of the year entitles you to any of the produce the garden grows. Of course, participation in helping the garden throughout the year is expected.
Matt, a current member who was originally asked to help with irrigation about 12 years ago, explains that the garden has been going through its own struggles in the past few years.
“In the summertime, it’s just so hot. It’s hard for anything to grow” Matt said.
Another struggle that the garden has had in the past has to do with people maintaining membership, “People show up earlier in the year sometimes and their all gung-ho and then you never ever see them again… They don’t realize how hard it is to grow a tomato… that’s the whole idea about gardening, right? Is, to watch a little bitty seed turn into something you can put in a salad or cook with…”
And with the memory of empty shelves still fresh in our minds, this year is perfect for starting your own garden.
Although garden boxes do help to maintain and section healthy, mulched soil from infertile dirt and weeds. A patch of empty earth tilled with mulch or compost can function just as well with a little bit of attention.
Matt says, “They key is having real nice loose soil, then mulching it in really good to keep soil temperatures down.” This can be done by using a rent-able rototiller from a hardware store or simply with a shovel, making sure to break up the earth at least six to eight inches deep
Next, choose what to plant! Matt expressed that the last freeze of the year is likely past us, so fresh salad items will go great with the growing evenings.
| Veggie/Fruit | From seed to Harvest | Spacing | Watering Needs |
| Radish | 1 Month | 1/2″ deep, 1″ apart 12″ between rows | Seedlings should remain moist, water 2 times a week |
| Tomato | Plant:40-50 Days Seed:6-8 Weeks | 18″ apart 2-3′ between rows | Water heavy 3-4 times a week |
| Zucchini | 40-50 Days | 28″ apart 36″ between rows | Water 2-3 times a week |
| Leaf Lettuce | 40-50 Days Romaine(80 days) | 8″ apart 8″ between rows | Water 2 times a week |
| Cucumbers | 50-70 Days | 24″ apart 30″ between rows | Water heavy 2 times a week |
As we transition into summer, these plants do much better in the heat while still providing fresh produce perfect for bar-b-queing or snacking on a hot Grand Valley day.
| Veggie/Fruit | From seed to Harvest | Spacing | Watering Needs |
| Jalapenos | 70-80 Days | 15″ apart 24″ between rows | Once a week |
| Carrots | 70-80 Days | 2″ apart 3″ between rows | Water heavy 2 times a week |
| Onions | 20-30 Days | 4-5″ apart 15″ between rows | Water 1-2 times a week |
| Snap Peas | 6-8 Weeks | 2″ apart 6″ between rows | Keep soil moist 2″ deep |
| Eggplant | 65-80 Days | 24″ apart 35″ between rows | Soak 6″ deep once a week |
Pick a few of these out this year, see how it goes. You might discover your green thumb, or at very least have the best tomatoes you’ve ever had!
April 30, 2020
blockpartygj.net 