Final Garden Design and Room to Grow

With the garden build days just around the corner, it seems like it must be time to share the final garden design with the public!

While there are only a few minor changes from the original garden design, the changes that have been made should facilitate efficient building and easier gardening, for both students and community members.

A few differences you might notice if you were familiar with the original design:

• All community beds are now 4x8 instead of some 8x8 and some 4x8. This is to ensure that gardeners can reach the center of their beds without stepping on (and compacting) their soil.
• Student beds will be built as 4 4x9 beds connected end to end instead of one 4x36 bed. This should make construction simpler.
• We've added a second entrance for community members.
• At the community entrance, some open space remains to act as an area where community members can gather to chat. Maybe someday we can add some benches, planters, and an arbor to make the space more welcoming.
• As you'll see on the image below (click on the image to enlarge it), three water spigots have been added along the fence nearest the school. We originally planned for one spigot to start with and hoped to add more in the future, but thankfully we were able to install all three now. This should ensure that water is readily available for gardeners. (Remember...kids will only be allowed to use watering cans -- we want them to learn to conserve!)

Some elements of the garden will have to be saved for the future.

• Perimeter beds. We don't have enough lumber to construct perimeter beds now. If you know someone who might like to take on this project, we'd love to see it happen! The perimeter beds will be a great place to grow plants for our art and science classes, and they will help the garden look finished and manicured, keeping outside weeds from creeping in.
• Trees and classroom space at the north end of the garden. If you have access to fruit or shade trees, we would love to add them to the north end of our garden. This could be a great space for our students to gather, for our CSD students to take a break, and for experienced gardeners to teach classes to our community during the summers.
• Community entrance beautification. We'd love to see this area spruced up. If that's a project you'd like to take on, let us know!
• Composting and tool storage. This area will not be built until sometime after spring break. If you're handy and would like to take on either the composting area or a tool storage shed or both, we'd love to have your help!

Our garden will be ready for planting by April, but that doesn't mean it will be finished! What can you contribute to growing our garden?