Creeping Charlie

Under the cover of a light drizzle fading into a gorgeous day we spent Saturday tackling some ornamental planting and house keeping.

After weeks of growing all on its own with no assistance or harvest there was an abundance of unruly, intertwined, rhubarb waiting to be harvested.  2.75 pounds is no small amount, but if we were to bring it to the pantry alone it might look a little lonely on display, so I assumed guardianship and will make some delicious treats for our volunteers next week.

 Our radishes are doing their thing too!  Ginkgo looks good in horizontal stripes.

 At Ginkgo, we're not ones to count our chickens before they hatch, but we certainly have no opposition to measuring the eggs.  Here Dave Snyder measures the corridors of the garden to  estimate how much material would be needed to create a super efficient water management system at the garden.  In the past we have received free water from the city during the warmer months.  Unfortunately, the city is beginning to charge non-profits for water and our free ride is over.  The silver lining is that we have been coming up with all sorts of methods to reduce our water usage and be more efficient.  We are stepping up our rain collection and looking at other solutions.  A drip irrigation system, like the one Dave is measuring for, could be one way to use water more wisely.

 While the rain may have led to a smaller volunteer turn-out than we've had in the last few weeks, it allowed us an opportunity to observe the daisy-chained rain barrels in action and also gave volunteers a chance to show off their rain slickers.

 The Dodecahedron is one of the hardest beds for us to use because it doesn't let people in to the middle easily, but it's fun to say and hoe.  We planted beds with Kale, Chard, Collards and Alyssum among other things.

Not everything can grow though.  In maintaining the public park area in front of the garden we do a lot of weeding, which is hard to manage if people aren't quite sure what is a weed and what is intentionally planted.  So the idea arose, that there would be a "Weed of the Week".  One weed that can be identified by example and then thoroughly targeted and wiped out by eager volunteers.

Meet Creeping Charlie.  Creeping Charlie is like that sort of handsome, not-unfriendly guy you know that would be fine except for the fact that he attracts the worst kind of friends and you just don't want them following him to your house.  That is to say, Creeping Charlie is not an unwelcome weed to us.  It's not invasive.  It's actually a little handsome.  Unfortunately, Charlie creeps into neighbors lawns and the people who own buildings tend to use nasty chemicals to kick Charlie out. Creeping Charlie would be fine if it didn't attract the wrong element.  "Tell your friends that the fridge is totally off limits."