A peek into our first season together:

Past harvests: Broccoli, mustard greens, snap peas, Red Russian Kale, rhubarb, herbs.

Presently growing: Corn, red, white and blue potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, herbs, sunflowers.

Goals for next year: MUCH better fencing. While our regular garden sentry border collie/basset hound Otis naps under my bed in the summer heat, two does and four bambis regularly sidle up to our goods in the mornings and the evenings. We did small, micro-filament fencing (fishing line at three levels around bamboo stakes) around our individual plots. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

Things I have learned from my fellow gardeners: 1) Grass clippings are insanely effective mulch covers in vegetable gardening; 2) I like broccoli and green beans much better when they are fresh from the garden (crops I took for granted or ignored in the past); 3) And, I am, indeed, a social gardener. Last month, several of us had an evening picnic with cocktails down in the garden. Our little girls ran around while we caught up. It is definitely something I want to do more often. Also, seeing the beautiful spaces the other gardeners create inspires me and gets me out to tend my own section of the garden. And because it is now a shared space, I don’t feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of the garden.

Funny aside: My husband is terribly busy and doesn’t have much time for our gardens. But Willa loves going down to see what is growing – so they will visit in the evenings. When Corey realized that one gardener was cultivating corn (Corn!) he took it upon himself to water it whenever possible.

The kale and the cabbage, however, remain thirsty and neglected. Message received, dear.