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Community Gardens Thriving
Colorful and lively small garden plots now line the main drive into Pine Mountain Settlement School. In the first year of the PMSS Community garden, thirteen people have participated in design and cultivation of five 20' by 20' foot garden plots.In addition, PMSS Sustainability staff designed and installed two teaching plots with eight raised beds (using waste lumber from a local sawmill, and manure and straw from local farmers). These teaching plots will become an outdoor classroom for a new PMSS class offering on Sustainable Agriculture and Food. PMSS staff installed a tall fence to keep plant-munching rabbits and deer out of the garden. All of the cultivation in the Community Garden has been without the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, or fertilizer. The community garden includes two compost piles where garden waste is recycled into vibrant soil amendments.
Feel free to browse through the Community Garden during your next visit to the School. There are currently five open plots in the garden. If you are interested in a plot for this Fall, or next year, contact Randal at rpfleger@pinemountainsettlementschool.com.
Please join the Community Gardeners during upcoming events: the 100-Mile Potluck on Friday August 22 and Fair Day on September 13. We will have a display and will offer short walking tours of the garden at both events. Currently we're growing (as of August 1): corn, heirloom tomatoes, heirloom beans, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, okra, broccoli, radishes, brussel sprouts, variety of peppers, beets, carrots, sunflowers, zinnias, nasturtiums, marigolds, basil, sage, rosemary, cilantro, and cover crops including buckwheat, barley, field pea, garbanzo bean, and alfalfa.
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