REST AND RESTORATION IN THE
COMMUNITY GARDEN
Millie Kim for the Kitchen Creek Community Garden

Visitors to the Kitchen Creek Garden are asking, "What are those large green plants that are taking up so much space? " They are FAVA BEANS, and yes, they are edible. In fact, they are delicious! The beans were planted in the old tomato bed. Tomatoes had been grown in that area for the last 10 years and the soil needed rest and restoration through crop rotation. Research conducted by KCCG showed that simply adding soil enhancers would not work to replenish the soil. Nitrogen-fixing plants were preferable. Fava beans are a legume, and legumes put nitrogen back into the soil. Next year when tomatoes are planted again in this spot, they should produce bigger, more beautiful tomatoes!

This project required finding a new location for the tomato plants this year. Spaces were plotted out with string and assigned to individual gardeners. The tomatoes are thriving in their new location. The fava bean seeds were planted in rows and are now 3-foot high bushy plants. Their flowers are white with a black center spot and have begun turning into bean pods, starting from the bottom of the plant on up. At the end of the season, the bean plants and their roots will be rototilled back into the soil to further reconstruct soil health.

This has been a major project for the KCCG garden group, involving much planning and weeding. Please come visit the garden, which is looking very clean and well-maintained these days. On garden work days, the first Saturday of each month, members weed the common areas and do other cleaning chores. Additional volunteers are always welcome!

Do remember that only garden members may pick the flowers, fruits and veggies growing there. One or two tomato plots and garden beds are still available for anyone who's interested—KCCG membership is required. Please contact Mary Jane Tonge if you are interested. You need not have any gardening experience.
Rotating the crops to replenish the soil has a parallel in our own lives. We sometimes need to make changes to replenish ourselves. In this way, the Community Garden is one of the best teachers we have at Mountain Meadows.
 

"THE BEANS ARE UP, THE BEANS ARE UP!"
By the Kitchen Creek Garden Steering Committee

Newly planted Fava Beans are poking up in the Mountain Meadows Community garden where tomatoes used to grow, and the beans will soon have the company of squash and zucchini. The Garden Committee has planned this major shift in the longstanding tomato beds to give the depleted soil a rest and to provide some revitalization with this crop rotation. The tomatoes will be planted in last years squash beds. An experimental "cooperative" tomato bed will also be tried out this year, where volunteer garden members will collectively decide on what types of tomatoes to plant, absorb the cost of purchasing planting material, and be responsible for maintenance and harvest.

Also for the first time, additional wire compost bins will be set up outside the fence line at the back of the garden to receive kitchen waste from the Mountain Meadows Dining room under the direction of Chef Bryan Zenner and Hawk Starkey. This will add to the garden compost supply and augment the present compost bin located at the center of the fenced garden area. This new partnership will aid in recycling kitchen waste as well as ensure a long-term supply of compost for garden use. Composting is an important part of the garden's "green" philosophy, and members are reminded NOT to put meat or bones into the garden compost bins, PLEASE!! Pay attention to the list of permissible and non-permissible compost items—it's posted by the main compost bin in the center of the garden.

Thank you to the 22+ members who showed up for the first workday of the year. Every first Saturday of the month is Garden Work Day and everyone is invited. Chef Bryan will also be using some of herbs from the Garden Community Herb bed in the dining room, and garden spigot water will be turned on sometime after April 1. The community garden is a positive enhancement to the Mountain Meadows property and lifestyle, and it looks like another great season. We give a special welcome to the many new resident gardeners this year!!