Thursday, November 10, 2016

Edible Demonstration Garden: 2016 and Beyond

By Stephanie Rukowicz

The 2016 season was another successful one for the MG Edible Demonstration Garden at the Horticultural Center.  A team effort led by Lois Fischer resulted in the garden winning another award in the PHS Gardening and Greening contest: Garden of Distinction.
The Edible Demonstration Garden earned a
Garden of Distinction award from PHS in 2016.
The current garden space is approximately 1300 square feet. To give you an idea of the variety of fruit, herbs, and vegetables grown during the past season, see below.

Fruit: 2 varieties of blueberries and figs; gooseberry; passion fruit; and rhubarb
One of two varieties of fig tree at the garden.
Fruit cages protect the blueberries from birds and squirrels.

Herbs: 7 varieties of basil; 6 varieties of sage, three varieties of lavender, two varieties of nasturtium, parsley, rosemary, savory and tarragon; chives; cilantro; dill; epazote; fennel; germander; lemon verbena; loveage; mint; oregano; rumex; and stevia

In the foreground of this photo is the herb garden
in early summer. 
Vegetables: 9 varieties of pepper; 5 varieties of tomato; 5 varieties of beans; 4 varieties of eggplant; 2 varieties of arugula, kale, and zucchini; cardoon; carrots; garlic; kohlrabi; okra, onion; radish; spinach; squash; and swiss chard

A close up of the squash, beans, and arugula bed.

More vegetables! Look at that beautiful kale in the center of
the photo.
Exciting plans are in the works for 2017 and beyond. A three-year expansion was kicked off by an end-of-season work day in October. Next season an additional 1000 square feet will be added, nearly doubling the garden space. By the end of year three, the garden should be approximately 4500 square feet, including an additional seating area for visitors (and gardeners!) to rest or linger.


Thanks to those who came out in October to clear this large bed!

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