The Planters

The Catholic Worker House on 22nd Street invited the neighborhood youth to participate in the development of a recently vacated lot. They began with a block party and soon there was a garden of six raised beds.

The next few weeks were filled with planning what they wanted to plant in the gardens. They started by learning how certain vegetables benefit our bodies, and then made pizza using these vegetables. They also visited Nickel Plate Mills, Inc. to learn about how to plant the vegetables they were planning on putting in their garden. After listening to all of the gardening advice, they purchased the seeds. Then they planted a garden of corn, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets, watermelon and cucumbers. A donation of kale, squash and hot pepper plants was added.

During the rest of the summer, the neighborhood youth tended to the garden and Master Gardener Theresa taught them what intruders were taking over their garden beds. Soon the harvesting of the crops began: first, the lettuce, and then the radishes. The peppers and tomatoes will arrive mid-September, and they are excited to enjoy the watermelon as summer fades into fall.

And they’ve already started planning for next year with flowers and berries in the design.

A special thank you to those who made our garden and events this year possible:
*Trinity Square Foundation; *GE Elfuns; *E.E. Austin & Son, Inc.; *Erie Weed and Seed; *Country Fair; *McDonald’s