Welcome back to the Garden

9/13/2021 10:32 am

Welcome back to the Old Bonhomme Community Garden! While we've been resting our minds and bodies, swimming, traveling and just enjoying our break from school, the garden has been busy working overtime.

Before we find out what's growing out there, we need to give a BIG thank you to all the OB families who helped keep our garden green and happy during the hottest summer months. If you tended the garden, you know who you are... and all the delicious beans, cabbage, lettuces, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and flowers you enjoyed bringing home.

And the garden isn't finished yet either. St. Louis is lucky enough to be in zone 5b which means we get some nice cool weather in the spring and fall to help our greenies grow–things like lettuce, kale, spinach, cabbage, broccoli. But we also get long, hot summers, too. That heat keeps our tomato vines packed full of plump, juicy tomatoes (big and small!), our beans and cucumbers falling off the vines, watermelons growing bigger in the sunshine and cantaloupe melons crawling all over the ground.

If you haven't been out to the garden yet, you're in for a treat. Despite some construction setbacks out there, our beds are jam packed. Our watermelons (named Biggie and Biggie Smalls) are just about ready to get cut. We'll try to have a tasting outside of the school at pickup so keep your eyes open for that. Our cut flower garden is brimming with zinnias and Mexican sunflowers which keep our pollinators happy and our teachers happy. Come cut a handful to take home because our flowers bloom more often when they're cut!

Another exciting piece of news is that our garden was awarded a $3,000 grant from the Whole Kids Foundation this summer! As soon as the construction project wraps up around the front of the school, we can begin remodeling and adding so many great features to our already wonderful garden. 

Sign up for the garden volunteer committee (scroll down to the Garden section) to be in the know out about exciting projects and share your ideas for the OB Community Garden's future.

Stay green and see you in the garden!