#53 Master Gardener Focus Garden

Justice. We wondered what we could do – after all, we are only two people. If people stay silent, nothing will be done. So, we add our voices to the call to end social injustice. We hope all our gardening friends will follow suit.

Speaking of gardening friends, after all the time spent in quarantine, we actually had an outing. Last year at this time, we were visiting a Connecticut Bog with a group of other Master Gardeners and we were planning a summer excursion to Yellowstone National Park. But, this year we have not ventured out of the house thanks to the nasty virus. Plants don’t know or care about human problems and diseases. The Middlesex Garden had to be planted if we expected to do some good with it this year. The garden was already in place when we took the Master Gardener Program in 2011.

Introduction to the Garden

On our first day of class, Advanced Master Gardener John Carlson strongly recommended we get involved in the garden. He said it was a good way to accumulate volunteer hours while learning from experienced master gardeners and doing some good for the community. Produce is donated to area soup kitchens and food pantries. We checked it out, liked it, and we stayed with it. That first meeting was amazing. The current members of the group put on quite a feast.

It didn’t take the madman long to figure out that gardeners are the most fantastic cooks. They use fresh ingredients and they love to share. At that time, the group met monthly and there were no restrictions on the types of food participants could bring. Not only was the food good, the ideas discussed and the general knowledge of these experienced master gardeners intimidated these two new master gardener interns. But, their goal was not to intimidate us or scare us away – they welcomed us into the group.

On the way home, the madman said, “We’re going to learn a lot.”

Focus Garden

The Middlesex County Master Gardener Focus Garden was started in 2007. Marsha Dowling, 2003 Master Gardener and 2006 Advanced Master Gardener, envisioned an organic garden that would serve as a model for people wanting to grow their own produce. The garden served three purposes: 1. it educated the general public; 2. it provided service hours for master gardener interns; and 3. it donated an awful lot of produce to those in need.

Over the years the garden has seen some change, from the addition of a deer fence, construction of a 3-bin compost system and revitalization of an herb garden. In the madman’s time we have seen installation of an irrigation system, construction of raised beds and creation of a handicapped accessible gardening area.

Problems Appear

In the beginning, everything was great. The garden produced like crazy. At some point, we noticed a drop in production and we spent countless hours trying to figure out what was going wrong. We thought we were doing everything right. We tested the soil. And we added compost. We mulched. And, we irrigated. Attention turned to a Black Walnut tree standing near the garden.

Black Walnut Trees

As it turns out, Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) can be quite a problem for gardeners. It is known as an allopathic species. It releases a chemical called juglone from its roots that harms other plants, giving it a competitive advantage. This trait was first noted back in the first century when our friend Pliny the Elder noted, “the shadow of walnut trees is poison to all plants within its compass.” The madman has noted that the roots of this darned thing have gone well beyond its shadow. Fortunately juglone doesn’t kill all plants, otherwise we would have nothing but Black Walnut trees and man can’t live on black walnuts alone, especially the madman who is allergic to tree nuts.

Over a few years, focus group meetings have centered on what to do with the Black Walnut tree. Group members have suggested some interesting remedies, such as removing the tree, or at least digging a protective trench around the garden to contain its roots. These suggestions were met by frowns from the authorities at the extension center. They are attached to their tree. As it turns out, these remedies may not have worked anyway. Even after the tree’s death, Black Walnut roots continue to emit juglone into the soil for years.

Finding a Solution

Someone suggested “let’s move the garden.” Again, that was not well received by the extension center authorities. Someone else suggested replacing all the soil in the garden. Then we hit on a compromise – raised beds. We built a raised bed and added new soil. As an experiment, we planted tomatoes in both the raised bed and a regular garden bed. Those in the ground died. Those in the raised bed produced well. We decided we needed more raised beds. Unfortunately the garden does not have unlimited funds and the lumber for raised beds is expensive. Group member Master Gardener Tom Kalal found the cedar we needed for the raised bed boxes. The only glitch, it was still standing – in the form of trees. All we had to was drop the trees, clear the brush and haul the timber to a sawmill to be turned into planks. Easy, right?

Free Wood

We got the call around Christmas of 2019. Shortly before New Year’s a group gathered at the site. Not sure if you remember that winter – the ground was wet and had not yet frozen; mud pie city! After a grueling day of slogging through mud we got the wood to the mill. The madman was thankful for modern conveniences like chain saws and tractors.

Master Gardener Jim Woodworth constructed some new raised beds. Thank goodness for his woodworking skills. We were all excited for the new gardening season and looking forward to a new crop of interns from this year’s Master Gardener Program. Then COVID-19 hit. UConn closed. The Extension Center shut down. We all went into quarantine. The garden sat. Finally Advanced Master Gardener Jamie Burgess said, “If we don’t get going, we won’t have a garden this year.” She had been busy growing seedlings for the focus garden and for her other gardening volunteer projects. She called the madman and said, “Bring down a bunch of your hot pepper plants.” Under UConn’s new rules we could work in the garden with a few stipulations. The center remained closed, no access to indoor facilities. Only 3 gardeners could work at a time while practicing social distancing.

Non-traditional Work Schedule

Instead of a couple of big work days to get the garden ready and plant the seeds and transplants, Jamie set up a work week. People would come for 2-hour shifts, do the work and disappear. The madman was thrilled that one of the new boxes was dedicated to his hot peppers. He even brought labels for them. Row of death lite he calls it. This was our first trip out since early March, and let me tell you, it felt good.

So, now the group has planted the focus garden and we’re ready for a new season of growing and learning. We will continue to donate the vegetables and herbs as they are harvested. And, one of these days, this will all pass and we’ll be able to get together in one big group. Until then, the madman has to be content with wandering through our garden.

And, drinking lemonade. It got warm and our shopper Greg brought us some lemons.