Retiring the Garden for the Summer

School ends this week.  With no one around to tend the raised beds, it's time to retire the plants.

 There was giant lettuce (yes, those stalky things are lettuce run amok)

and an alium looking flower atop what we took to be an onion..... until I remembered that alium are part of the onion family so why wouldn't they share a similar blossom?

As with all good retirements, planning was crucial.  Grandma Suzi thought that 50 pots would take care of all the plants fit to share; she was off by a factor of 4.   There are no 3" or 4" plastic or ceramic pots left in Tucson - unless they cost more than fifty cents a piece.  After three days spent cleaning out all the Dollar Stores within a 10 mile radius,  I can confidently assert that this is true. 

Everyone wanted a plant to take home.  Scholars who had never set food in the garden before were suddenly bound and determined to be farmers over the summer.  Big kids and little kids, they were all interested in a crash course in plant management.

The lesson was simple: Plants are not fish.  They do not live in water.  Do not drown them.

The older scholars heard about soil having its own architecture, and how over-watering would destroy the gentle bridges which allowed air and water to move freely.  

The little scholars were still laughing about their new plants not being able to swim.

There was a wide variety in the pots I found outside the Dollar Stores.  Some were left over from my home garden, some were ordered from Amazon (tiny, because Grandma didn't read the fine print and mistook 3cm for 3", but perfect for seeds),

 and some, by the last day, were some random plastic cups we found in the Garden Bench.

 

And then there was the lizard caught in the anti-bird netting over the strawberry plants.

"Grandma Suzi, there's a lizard stuck in the netting."  

"Yes, I know."  

"Do you have scissors?" 

"No."  

"But, there's a lizard stuck in the netting!!"  

"Yes, I know."  

And so it went until someone found scissors in a backpack and Travon managed to extricate the creature from his prison.  

His tongue is very pink.

No, I did not want to pet him.

There was a lot going on in the garden, and there are still lots of plants to be harvested.  If you're in the neighborhood, bring a container and feel free to dig one or two out for yourself.  There's a trowel in the garden bench and potting soil beside the raised beds.

Have a great time, and remember - Plants are NOT fish.