My first endeavor was to prepare the soil.  This was before I learned about PH measurements and soil testing.  All I knew was that one gardener swore by iguana poop soil, while another said you couldn’t go wrong with Happy Frog.  I wanted to use the iguana soil—it sounded so tropical!  However, for good measure, I combined the two.  My animal, soiled bed looked beautiful and just ripe for planting. 

I grew collards and made a delicious collard soup.  I grew cabbage and made a passable coleslaw.  My brussels sprout plants were beautiful.  But I never saw the sprouts until someone told me to look on the stems.  The lettuce was an absolute success and a delight.  The arugula was to die for.  I grew two strawberries. Yes, just two and they were delicious.  I think my favorite growth was the baby watermelon.  It started growing down the side of the bed, so I had to make a hammock to secure it.  The baby, hammock held, watermelon became the star of the garden.  Even non-gardeners stopped by to see its progress.  

I have loved gardening and having a community of gardeners to teach me the ropes.  The community, however, is much larger than the gardeners.  It is the Old Cloverdale neighborhood that keeps the garden up and running.  It is the neighborhood that shows up for clean-up days. It is the neighborhood that keeps the library and children’s library in business.  It was the neighborhood that had a successful concert and a community day to raise money for improvements.  It is the neighborhood that makes the garden such a success and such a wonderful place to garden.  I think the world would be a kinder place if all neighborhoods had a community garden.

Susan Harris, an intern in the Master Gardener 2022 Master Gardener Class.  For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymag@gmail.com.