Elois, Aileen, and I went to the Community Garden this morning. It's located adjacent to our library parking lot, surrounded by a chain-link fence, inside the Bert Harsh Park. And once again, we walked the seven long rows and stared at the five huge black pots. Here's what we found:
Row 1 - spinach and zinnias
Row 2 - yellow squash and eggplant
Row 3 - zucchini and yellow squash
Row 4 - tomatoes
Row 5 - carrots
Row 6 - turnips
Row 7 - beets and beans (the running kind)
Pot 1 - peppers (bell, I think)
Pot 2 - peppers (hot)
Pot 3 - cucumbers
Pot 4 - English peas and basil
Pot 5 - cilantro.
Well, how about that? And people are already coming to the Community Garden and picking the greens and squash. Aileen and Elois are patiently waiting for the beets to be big enough, but I bet they will have to be out there fast to get some.
Everyone is so excited about this corner of the park. If you're driving by, just park on the side of the street and take a look. Or better yet, come inside the fence and take a walk. You'll be amazed at how lush everything looks.
And thank you to all the fellows who tend the garden. You are are taking care of a great show and resource!!!!
Showing posts with label Bert Harsh Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bert Harsh Park. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
CHECKING OUT THE COMMUNITY GARDEN
It seems we just cannot stay away from the outside, what with all kinds of plants and flowers popping up everywhere.
This morning Elois, our reference librarian, and I walked out to the community garden, which is in the Bert Harsh Park adjacent to the library. We decided we'd go peek at the garden and see if we could identify what has been planted. Now, I say "we," but I really meant Elois. I've been told I can't tell an honest flower from a weed. I thought if I took Elois with me, maybe she could tell me what is in the garden.
The community garden is located on the southside of the park with Fifth Street Southeast to the east and Fourth Avenue to the south. It's a plot of ground that holds seven, long, raised beds. At the north end of the raised beds are five, huge, black plastic flower pots. When I looked in the flower pots, I didn't see anything planted, except in one someone had stuck a very large feather. Elois said it might have been from a buzzard. Goodness knows, we have lots of those birds around here!
We decided we'd check each raised bed to see what we (meaning Elois, really) could identify.
We called the beds by number, with number one being the closest to the west fence, and we started checking bed seven first.
That bed had been planted much earlier with collards, and it was obvious that someone had already been through and picked off the lower leaves. We knew it wasn't that Easter bunny that visited us, so we imagined maybe the garden caretakers were involved with harvesting as well as planting.
Bed six was covered with tiny little green leaves, each plant with one leaf on each side of the stem. Elois said she thought that was squash, maybe yellow squash. Down the center of the raised bed we saw, spaced wide apart, taller green plants that Elois said might be eggplant.
Moving to bed five, Elois said that bed looked like it was planted with squash also, but she wasn't sure what kind. Or maybe zuchinni, she said.
Bed four had nothing but long rows dug in the rich, dark dirt. It was obvious there were plenty of nutrients in the soil. Even good enough for lovely, long earthworms. We'll check for them later also.
We didn't see anything planted in bed three either, but we feel something will be there eventually, unless it's hiding way down deep where we couldn't see it.
Elois checked bed two and decided that some little green plants she saw had to be volunteer running butter beans from last year. And she felt they had planted radishes also.
But when we got to bed one, where wide-square fencing wire hangs on rebar poles, Elois was sure the running butter beans were set to grow and climb. And she hoped, really hoped, that she saw the beginnings of beets. Even as we walked away, she said again she sure hoped those were beets.
Our last effort was to look around the sign on the southside of the fence to read what is printed. And I quote: "Community Garden, partnership with Healthy Colquitt Coalition and Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. Built, planted and cared for by Mike Floyd, Jim Milsap, Charles Sims, Bryan Gordon, David Russell, Doug Turner, Terry Leverton, Jacob Russell, and Mark Wise."
As Elois and I walked back to the library, we decided that every two or three weeks we are going to come back to the community garden and see how things are growing. Maybe our puzzle will be solved when tiny little plants are big enough for us to really identify. And we might take a plastic sack each and see what we can harvest. Elois said the carrots she harvested last year were the sweetest carrots she'd ever eaten; she put them in her stew, she said.
I wonder if I'll harvest something this year. Just being able to visit the garden will be the highlight of my day. I bet that's what our little Easter bunny would have said, too.
This morning Elois, our reference librarian, and I walked out to the community garden, which is in the Bert Harsh Park adjacent to the library. We decided we'd go peek at the garden and see if we could identify what has been planted. Now, I say "we," but I really meant Elois. I've been told I can't tell an honest flower from a weed. I thought if I took Elois with me, maybe she could tell me what is in the garden.
The community garden is located on the southside of the park with Fifth Street Southeast to the east and Fourth Avenue to the south. It's a plot of ground that holds seven, long, raised beds. At the north end of the raised beds are five, huge, black plastic flower pots. When I looked in the flower pots, I didn't see anything planted, except in one someone had stuck a very large feather. Elois said it might have been from a buzzard. Goodness knows, we have lots of those birds around here!
We decided we'd check each raised bed to see what we (meaning Elois, really) could identify.
We called the beds by number, with number one being the closest to the west fence, and we started checking bed seven first.
That bed had been planted much earlier with collards, and it was obvious that someone had already been through and picked off the lower leaves. We knew it wasn't that Easter bunny that visited us, so we imagined maybe the garden caretakers were involved with harvesting as well as planting.
Bed six was covered with tiny little green leaves, each plant with one leaf on each side of the stem. Elois said she thought that was squash, maybe yellow squash. Down the center of the raised bed we saw, spaced wide apart, taller green plants that Elois said might be eggplant.
Moving to bed five, Elois said that bed looked like it was planted with squash also, but she wasn't sure what kind. Or maybe zuchinni, she said.
Bed four had nothing but long rows dug in the rich, dark dirt. It was obvious there were plenty of nutrients in the soil. Even good enough for lovely, long earthworms. We'll check for them later also.
We didn't see anything planted in bed three either, but we feel something will be there eventually, unless it's hiding way down deep where we couldn't see it.
Elois checked bed two and decided that some little green plants she saw had to be volunteer running butter beans from last year. And she felt they had planted radishes also.
But when we got to bed one, where wide-square fencing wire hangs on rebar poles, Elois was sure the running butter beans were set to grow and climb. And she hoped, really hoped, that she saw the beginnings of beets. Even as we walked away, she said again she sure hoped those were beets.
Our last effort was to look around the sign on the southside of the fence to read what is printed. And I quote: "Community Garden, partnership with Healthy Colquitt Coalition and Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. Built, planted and cared for by Mike Floyd, Jim Milsap, Charles Sims, Bryan Gordon, David Russell, Doug Turner, Terry Leverton, Jacob Russell, and Mark Wise."
As Elois and I walked back to the library, we decided that every two or three weeks we are going to come back to the community garden and see how things are growing. Maybe our puzzle will be solved when tiny little plants are big enough for us to really identify. And we might take a plastic sack each and see what we can harvest. Elois said the carrots she harvested last year were the sweetest carrots she'd ever eaten; she put them in her stew, she said.
I wonder if I'll harvest something this year. Just being able to visit the garden will be the highlight of my day. I bet that's what our little Easter bunny would have said, too.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
How Many Libraries Have A Park? We Do!
One of the advantages of working here at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library is being able to walk out the door, cross the parking lot, and enter the gate of Bert Harsh Park. I say advantage, because it's a place where we can take our brown bag lunches, or meals from Fuller's Restaurant across the street, and sit in the sunshine while we eat. There are picnic tables, benches, plenty of shade, and lots of grass. And those of us who work here are close enough to it to enjoy it on a daily basis. Not many people are that lucky!
I drove past the park last Friday and noticed two women and a little girl sitting at one of the tables. Five children of various ages were running around in the fence-enclosed park, tossing a Nerf ball and laughing and hollaring. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, and it was just a beautiful day to be in the park. Made me envious!
The park is on the corner of Fifth Street, S.E., and Fourth Avenue. It's not very big, but just big enough for several families, singles, or couples to enjoy. But you know, not many people who come to Bert Harsh Park know about the man it was named for. They also don't know that there are trees in the park named for famous people, such as Jimmy Carter Slash Pine, Julia Gordon Lowe Crepe Myrtle, and Abraham Lincoln oak.
So, let me tell you a little about Bert Harsh. He was a trustee on the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library Board when the new library was built in 1963-64 and served as chairman for two terms from 1978-1984. Then he served a third term when the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogical Library was built in 1988-89.
He was a native of Goshen, IN, but came to Moultrie in 1951, after managing the Pal-Waukee Airport near Chicago, IL. He worked at Spence Field for Hawthorne Aviation in the USAF Pilot Training Program and made Moultrie his home. In 1978, Mr. Harsh was named Moultrie's "Man of the Year" by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce.
The park was named after him because he suggested establishing one outside the library. There wasn't anything on that little corner. When the genealogical library wing was finished, Mr. Harsh helped transform the space into a park, and because of his love for trees, it was decided to turn the park into a historic grove.
Trees were purchased from Famous & Historic Trees of Jacksonville, FL, and local groups and individuals sponsored the trees at a cost of about $40 each. Twenty-two trees, offshoots of those with documented historical significance, were planted in the area. Also, in the park is a cast-iron sundial, which has a time capsule scheduled to be opened on February 27, 2093, one hundred years after the dedication of the park. Everything in the park was donated by friends of the library.
By establishing the grove, Moultrie became the first among 300 designated Tree Cities USA to plant one. During the dedication ceremony in February 1993, someone said: "This is a place of learning. This is a place of history. It is dedicated to the people and children of Moultrie for quiet reflection of the past and future of the community." The park has been called "an oasis of green to push away concrete in a world that often seems determined to cover everything with asphalt."
This is the perfect weather to enjoy the library's park. The next time you come to the library or drive by, take a little stroll over to Bert Harsh Park, sit on a picnic bench, feel the sunshine warm your shoulders, smell the sweet breeze, and listen to the birds chirp. You'll be glad you did.
I drove past the park last Friday and noticed two women and a little girl sitting at one of the tables. Five children of various ages were running around in the fence-enclosed park, tossing a Nerf ball and laughing and hollaring. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, and it was just a beautiful day to be in the park. Made me envious!
The park is on the corner of Fifth Street, S.E., and Fourth Avenue. It's not very big, but just big enough for several families, singles, or couples to enjoy. But you know, not many people who come to Bert Harsh Park know about the man it was named for. They also don't know that there are trees in the park named for famous people, such as Jimmy Carter Slash Pine, Julia Gordon Lowe Crepe Myrtle, and Abraham Lincoln oak.
So, let me tell you a little about Bert Harsh. He was a trustee on the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library Board when the new library was built in 1963-64 and served as chairman for two terms from 1978-1984. Then he served a third term when the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogical Library was built in 1988-89.
He was a native of Goshen, IN, but came to Moultrie in 1951, after managing the Pal-Waukee Airport near Chicago, IL. He worked at Spence Field for Hawthorne Aviation in the USAF Pilot Training Program and made Moultrie his home. In 1978, Mr. Harsh was named Moultrie's "Man of the Year" by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce.
The park was named after him because he suggested establishing one outside the library. There wasn't anything on that little corner. When the genealogical library wing was finished, Mr. Harsh helped transform the space into a park, and because of his love for trees, it was decided to turn the park into a historic grove.
Trees were purchased from Famous & Historic Trees of Jacksonville, FL, and local groups and individuals sponsored the trees at a cost of about $40 each. Twenty-two trees, offshoots of those with documented historical significance, were planted in the area. Also, in the park is a cast-iron sundial, which has a time capsule scheduled to be opened on February 27, 2093, one hundred years after the dedication of the park. Everything in the park was donated by friends of the library.
By establishing the grove, Moultrie became the first among 300 designated Tree Cities USA to plant one. During the dedication ceremony in February 1993, someone said: "This is a place of learning. This is a place of history. It is dedicated to the people and children of Moultrie for quiet reflection of the past and future of the community." The park has been called "an oasis of green to push away concrete in a world that often seems determined to cover everything with asphalt."
This is the perfect weather to enjoy the library's park. The next time you come to the library or drive by, take a little stroll over to Bert Harsh Park, sit on a picnic bench, feel the sunshine warm your shoulders, smell the sweet breeze, and listen to the birds chirp. You'll be glad you did.
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