Paintin' Scrapin' & Buildin'

This week we've been doing a bit more work around the landscape, which are jobs that Professor John Rosales asked us to do.  This includes scraping and repainting the garage and resurrecting a sculpture.  

Below is a photo of the garage where we keep many of the tools and where the cold frames are currently being stored.  To the left (out of the photo) is the shed with the rooftop garden that I've been working on.

Front of the garage with a fresh coat of paint

The other day I finally settled on some plants for the rooftop garden.  Hesitant at first because I was unsure which would best take root, I chose to go with a succulent called "hen and chicks."  I bought them from the farmers market from a gentlemen named Guy Drake who is quite knowledgeable with plants and is always at the Canton market with his variety.

The shed (equipped with the new door)

The hen and chicks will test out what can survive in the rooftop beds

 

The sculpture that I mentioned before was first built by a SLU 2012 graduate as a senior project and was knocked down by a storm.  It is supposed to look like a door made out of various stones, but as you can see the grasses have overtaken the fallen rocks and no one has had the time to fix it.

The beginnings of our cement work to rebuild it

It worked like a puzzle, finding where each stone should fit

About halfway done!

So... we ended up running out of cement after the halfway point and had to go buy more.  We will continue the project today and post a photo of the finished product!

Garlic Update!

Laura, a GardenShare employee with some of the ESL garlic

Even though there was initially an overwhelming amount of garlic, people have quickly claimed the bulbs:
 -Laura is running a "food box program" that will help teach community members how to cook good food at home, with a focus on those with diabetes and nutritional needs. 
-Campus kitchens will use them in upcoming meals
-Another local farm has asked for some of our elephant garlic bulbs so they can grow their own!

It's great to see how the garden and our work here is becoming intertwined with the community members and organizations. Sean and I look forward to seeing these connections grow.  Only one week left now, what an experience it's been!

-Sheila