The Great Blueberry Planting!!

On Saturday May 5th, the Filbert St. Garden hosted it's FIRST collective planting.  Planned by the community gardeners, the event featured neighbors, community partners, teachers and students, all working towards a common goal: to transform an empty plot in the community garden into a perennial blueberry farm with enough bushes to have a serious impact on the health of the surrounding community.

Prior to the event, the community gardeners selected the site, amended and adjusted the pH of the soil, mulched paths around the planting area, and planned the location of each of the 30 bushes.

 On the day of the planting, we were joined by enough neighbors to finish the planting in record time!  Each of the bushes had  had a hole dug for it, had it's roots "tickled" to encourage new growth, and was mulched with a top dressing of compost and straw.

 As the sprinkler watered our newest additions to the garden, community members took the time to plant some flowers and weed their beds.  A few students from Curtis Bay Elementary/Middle school planted their own garden of peppers, melons, beets, kale and carrots, while some of their friends accompanied the work with music from the garden concertina (an old toy accordion that manages to work it's way into many of our activities)

Keep your eyes peeled for more!  Next up:  BEN FEST, a community day sponsored by the local high school featuring entertainment and fresh food!