Last Days of July

July has come to an end, but it feels like the garden's bounty is just starting. There has been more okra than we know what to do with, and we have been experimenting with grilled okra, curried okra, varieties of gumbo, and freezing the rest for winter stew. In addition to lots of okra, the yellow squash, cucumbers, banana peppers, jalapenos and peperoncini have been going strong.

The eggplants had a slow start, but there are now usually a few ready each week. Bell peppers are coming on, and the first blushing tomatoes were picked this week. Still waiting for melons...

On Monday, August 3, we will meet for a garden pot luck at Kathleen's. For the occasion, we'll pick the first BIG watermelon from the melon patch. It is getting huge!

July Harvests

No tomatoes yet... soon, its gotta be soon. The cukes, squash, hot peppers, and okra are going strong. The cantaloupe was not quite ready, but there are a lot of melons growing on the vines. The first eggplants grew this week (one Thai, one Caspar) and Ellie was thrilled to take one home. Her okra-spotting skills are coming in handy; the plants are growing pods faster than we can pick them.

First Fruits

It's the 3rd of July, and the first fruits were picked this morning. The yield: one cucumber, two yellow squash, a hot pepper, and just enough okra for Ann to grill for her family. There is about to be a lot of okra, judging from how strong the plants look!

The cucumber, squash, tomato, banana pepper, hot pepper, and cantaloupe plants have a few small fruits. A few of the surviving eggplants and all of the tomatoes are flowering. The healthy patch of watermelons is growing strong with lots of little yellow flowers.

The row of beans is flowering, but since they were planted late, we doubt whether they will produce much. The sweet peppers are having mixed results; some plants are looking strong and others do not seem to be thriving. A few basil and lettuce plants are doing well under the shade of the tomato patch. As of next week, we will be picking on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Plants for 2009

In May 2009, we cleared the garden plots of weedy overgrowth, removed stumps and roots, and tilled the soil with the help of the school's Physical Plant. We planted starts in the first week of June.

Plants included:

Cucumbers (1o hills burpless, 2 hills Armenian)
Peppers (20 bell; 6 banana; 12 jalepeno; 4 habanero)
Eggplant (4 Thai; 4 Caspar; 4 Purple)
Bush Beans (seeded rows)
Tomatoes (15 Celebrity; 15 Early Girl; 4 Roma; 3 cherry)
Basil (3 plants; seed underplanting)
Lettuce (seed underplanting)
Melon (12 cantaloupe; 12 watermelon)
Okra (30 Clemson Spineless)

Origins

McCallie School was founded in 1905, when two sons of Thomas Hooke McCallie began a preparatory school on the 40-acre family farm on the west side of Missionary Ridge.




In recent years, members of the faculty have made efforts in community farming. In 2002, a plot of land on the corner of Kyle and Anderson streets was split into family plots for the first try at a community garden. Despite the first season's success, the garden fell into disuse until 2009, when faculty families again organized a community farm. Instead of individual plots, the participants followed the model of community supported agriculture (CSA) where individuals split the costs and the produce.