New pollinator strip!

Thanks so much to the volunteers who came last week and planted the pollinator strip! This week we are looking for volunteers to help us weed, trellis vining crops, and form beds in the newly tilled areas.

This week we planted a pollinator strip. Some research has shown that pollinator strips increase the diversity of pollinating insects and the population of beneficial insects (insects that eat pests). We hope to provide our pollinator friends with more food and shelter while decreasing our pest load.

In this particular strip, we planted only annual bedding plants, however, we plan to have an additional bed with perennial plants. We chose petunias, portulaca, morning glory (not the weed), nasturtium, and zinnias to grow in the pollinator strip because they all flower profusely, and nasturtium attracts garden pests away from the squash. There are already many pollinators hard at work in the garden, helping us produce as much as possible.

Fresh Food Thursday

This week is Fresh Food Thursday at the student wellness center, starting at 1 pm and going until they run out of food. There is fresh produce for anyone who needs it, no questions asked. The donation from the garden this week will include broccoli, cucumbers, scallop squash, zucchini, carrots, radishes, and possibly some tomatillos.

Tilling the Garden

Preparing the seed bed is an essential part of growing a successful garden. Because of the high percentage of clay in the garden soil, the ground first had to be turned by hand and then tilled using a machine. Stuart Davey and his daughter Christy Houston (a pre-veterinary student a UVU) were so kind to let us use their tiller, a family heirloom passed down from Christy’s great grandparents.

Tilling can help prepare the seed bed, however, tilling will break down the soil structure and volatilize the nutrients in the soil. In the future, the garden will be utilizing a low till system that will help prevent the destruction of soil structure and loss of nutrients, but for this year the ground is hard enough it will not be possible to plant without first tilling.

Coming soon to the garden

The hoop house for the garden is being delivered this week, and we will need a lot of help to set it up. Keep watch on the newsletter for when that is happening.

Spread the word!

Please forward this to anyone you think would be interested in the garden. We can use all the help we can get!

Thanks so much, and have a great week!