Let's get composting

Thanks to Katelin & Andrew Ryan, we now have a compost tumbler for the pocket park community garden!  I tied a chain around its leg and locked it to the fence to make sure it stays put. The bin is located on the inside of the fence at the very back of the lot.

If you're new to composting like me, check out this link to a "how to compost" DIY guide.  There are lots of resources out there.  Anyone from the surrounding neighborhood is welcome to start saving their food scraps and yard waste (take it easy on the yard waste as this bin is relatively small). It might help to start by getting a gallon sized container with an air tight lid.  Whenever it fills up in your kitchen, bring it over to the lot, dump it in the compost bin and give her a few spins.  There is a locking pin that needs to be disengaged in order to spin the tumbler.  Once turned, the pin should be re-engaged.  I think there is a balance to the types of waste that should be added to the tumbler, but for now we just need to get it started with a good mix of browns and greens.

Special thanks to whoever mowed the lot too (above)! Looks like one of the watermelons has already been harvested.  Whoever it was, please let us all know how it tasted in the comments!  The strawberries are looking GREAT as well (below).  I planted some arugula in furrows between the strawberries. Arugula is a peppery leafy green that grows best in cool weather.  It should be ready to harvest in 30 - 45 days.

The black-eyed susans that Karen planted are proliferating and creating a great balance of color with the pink roses (below).  It is so nice to see a tidy garden with such potential.  Thanks for supporting this endeavor!

Summer Progress

Thanks to yesterday's efforts of many Indiana University School of Medicine volunteers, the pocket park is looking better than ever!  THANK YOU IUMS VOLUNTEERS!!!

Not only do we have our first few watermelons (play "Where's Waldo" with the watermelon below), but the generous volunteers led by second year med student, Jose Pena, performed outstanding work to cut beds, mulch, weed and maintain the lot, which was looking pretty raggedy late into the summer.  Here are a few before pictures:

 Half finished bed cutting and planting needed to be tidied up (above), and the beds needed to be weeded a bit before plating a fall garden (great idea, Jack Graves!).  And the transformation continues with enlarged perennial beds (below):

The cantaloupe and watermelon bed (below) looks fantastic for having been planted fairly late in the season.  Behind this is the strawberry bed with a few starts getting their roots on.

Four unused garden beds are clean from weeds and ready to become something great (below).  Fall planting might include arugula, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, and butternut squash.  What a bountiful harvest THAT would become!

The IU volunteer team even built a large sandbox frame for the park area in the back of the lot (above).  We just need to find some sand!  That shouldn't be hard with all the gravel and sand pits on the SW side of town!  And to top off the day, the team mulched our back fence line (below).  This multi-purpose public space is really beginning to shape up!

Thanks again to the IUMS Team from the Neighbors of 1401 Olive.  We look forward to building this relationship moving forward.