Community Garden Workday for June

This past Saturday,

a few of the Master Gardeners got together

to work in the Community Garden in Denver.

Wow, has it come along in the past month!

These workdays allow us to be productive

while visiting with folks who love all things gardening.

Once a month throughout the year,

care is taken to tidy up, sow, and harvest the veggies grown here.

Some of the crops in these beds are donated to local food banks.

Let's see what's growing here at the end of springtime:

There were abundant green tomatoes to be found.

The full sun exposure to these plants helps them produce prolifically.

The entire perimeter of the garden

houses community beds.

Good to know that all of this scrumptiousness

will find a well-deserved home and be enjoyed by countless diners.

Despite the heat and an issue with irrigation,

these cabbages were flourishing.

Sauerkraut, anyone?

An understory of  gorgeous yellow-orange flowers,

shows the promise of good things to come.

The lettuce was still looking luscious and tender.

Beets await their turn to be harvested

once they have a bit more size to them.

Roma tomatoes will no doubt be canned or used to make sauces.

Just look at this bed, bursting at the seams with goodies!

And this "Jack-and-the-beanstalk" tower of beans

keeps reaching for the sky!

There was a bit of trouble spotted by an astute gardener.

While weeding one of the beds,

she spied these neer-do-wells,

surely ready to start devouring their surroundings.

Not all the visiting critters mean harm.

We've got some busy pollinators out there!

The sweet potato slips were planted in one of the beds.

This is the first time I'd seen these planted.

In Florida, I always grew my own slips,

using organic sweet potatoes purchased from the grocery store.

A half dozen or so were planted into this bed,
making sure to choose the starts with the best root growth.
I can't wait to see how far these come along by next month!

Aren't these hollyhocks stunning?

What a joy to see their graceful stalks climbing up toward the sun.

The heat caught up with us early on,
so we have vowed to start workdays a bit earlier during the summer.
It is a labor of love and
such a blessing to spend time with others who share the same passion
for gardening and giving.