EDGE Garden Begins

On our first work day, we dug out our long and lean bed. Garden variety will revitalize this space between the dorm and the parking lot quite nicely - much better than flat bermuda. The first step was to break bermuda's choke-hold with a broad fork; then we shook out the soil from between the roots so that an empty plot of promising soil remained. Actually, it was far from empty. Tanya was excited to see earthworms.

The EDGE garden will give UCA students the opportunity to share a gardening community - where we as individuals will share our knowledge as we learn together about gardening,of course, but also topics like international and local food issues, composting, and seed saving. Students will be growing seeds from the CAAH (Conserving Arkansas's Agricultural Heritage) seed bank of the UCA Campus. The goal is that when student's save seed and conserve heirloom varieties, they will experience their Arkansas Heritage and make new memories connected to a particular plants in the garden. These seeds connect with Arkansas agricultural culture, folklore, traditional dishes, and history.

As CAAH says:

One for the cutworm,

one for the crow,

one to share,

and one to grow!

Smooth Black Square

Gone.

Under the pink sky of yesterday's dusk, Tanya planted two oregano seedlings in the Edge garden. The first herbs poked up sweetly green in the new herb bed - we had just laid the rocks. Wayne and I had started these seedlings at the beginning of the new year by putting cuttings from into little Dixie cups. Big Wayne has been watering them for three months. It was a devoted and long effort, but the oregano grew and until it was ready to spread roots in a bigger plot of ground. Early spring winds allowed him to harden the plants outside this past week. Over the weekend, we decided that we could plant- the first oregano bushes-to-be were for UCA and the students at Edge garden. This morning, there was a smooth square of black soil. No naked green. No hole...No dirt flung...no clean scooped hole. NO HOLE!!!!! These plants were plucked. So fast- So gone, gone, gone. The ground is empty when they grew with such effort. they were plucked without being used in a student's spaghetti or pizza. I do not expect to understand tornadoes or hurricanes. I am sad that I have to contemplate pluckers in the first season of a great campus garden.

WHY?

WHY PLUCK?