Attention Edina Yorktown Community Garden Gardeners

So how does your garden grow? It was a nasty start to our growing season. We had too much rain, too quickly, and much cooler temperatures. Normally, I can get into my own garden o/a the first week in April. Not this year. I was at least three weeks behind because of the weather. 

A lack of snow and cold temperatures early in the season, coupled with a very wet cold spring created problems for my garlic and asparagus. I had poor to marginal results from both this year. My English peas and edible pea pods were fair at best. Not so good.  

Now, however, my garden is doing great, thanks to a period of dry weather and some warmer temperatures. For a while there it was getting a tad too hot for some of the plants. My lettuces were bolting as the temperatures got into the high 80s and 90s. I did get a good harvest from my cauliflower, kohlrabi, broccoli raab, broccoli, beets, cucumbers, chards, dandelion, onions, kale, and others before we hit those high temperatures. That was good. 

The first Edina community garden and gardeners suffered from the weather. Really? The Parks & Rec folks had to put off preparing the area for almost a full month because of the weather. Rabbits found a new food source. Just what we needed! The patience of you “pioneers” was severely tested, and often, and for some of you it was easier just to walk away than to deal with the weather and some of the first year issues.  Gardening can be very rewarding. It can be therapeutic. It can also cause frustration. Be glad you are not a commercial farmer! 

I visited the gardens throughout the spring and summer and talked with many of you. I have to say that some of you are troopers! And you created a great garden in spite of all the adversities.  You also met with other community gardeners and shared your growing secrets (and concerns). That is fantastic!

The City has made improvements to the site. They plan to make additional improvements in time for the 2014 season, so get ready for next year’s growing season.

In the meantime, we should still have at least two full months of prime growing weather before the birds fly south. Now is the time to plant your second crop—lettuces, escarole, beets, carrots, peas, chards, dandelion, kohlrabi, turnips, and radishes for example should do well for you. 

Got stories to share? What did you plant? What do you wish you planted more of? What have you learned from this experience? What would you do differently? Are you planning to return to the Yorktown gardens next spring? If you want to share your comments, go to www.speakupedina.org/discussions . Share your stories. See what others are saying. 

Or post your comments on my blog.