Winter is nearly over, and we had plenty of extra hands to help prep our garden for spring. Students of the "Community Practice" class in UMSL's School of Social Work were kind enough to volunteer their morning at our garden. Joining with our returning gardeners, we got all the beds topped off with a good compost mix. The strawberry beds had settled quite a bit since last year, so a group removed all of the plants, topped off the dirt, and replanted the strawberries. With the extra help, a few of us went to Central Elementary's garden and finished cleaning those beds out too.
Normally we rake the dirt across the beds, but one of our gardeners suggested we use a 2x4 to level the bed, much like concrete. It worked very well, and made the beds look like blank canvases, ready for the upcoming plants as their art. (Thanks for the idea, Ron!)
Even with our wood chips around the beds, there was still a lot of mud to contend with. Pushing a wheelbarrow through the mud is quite a workout, but our guys got it all done. They all deserve a lazy Saturday afternoon for their efforts!
Many hands may make light work, but that "light work" sure helps make big appetites. We joined together to share lunch in the garden, to get to know our new friends better, and to talk about our great community. A heartfelt thank you to each and every volunteer that helped today!
