The community garden is in full-on summer mode! We’ve been harvesting crops such as rhubarb, chives, lovage, spinach, and lettuce since May and we’re now looking forward to tomatoes, peppers, and baby potatoes. (And yes, we’re growing the dill to go along with those potatoes!).
We’ve added some perennial edible plants such as sunchokes and walking onions to our garden. Sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes even though they are not artichokes at all) are members of the sunflower family. The flowers look like tiny sunflower blooms, borne on tall thin stalks. The tubers are the edible parts; they are dug out at the end of the season (and a few are left inground so that they can keep multiplying the following year). They have a slightly nutty flavour and are versatile in cooking.
Walking onions produce what are called topsets – a cluster of bulbils at the top of the stalks. When the topsets are heavy enough, the stems will droop and bring the bulbils down to the soil where they will root and start new plants. (This is how they “walk”.) They will also spread from the crown like chives. You can trim off the greens like you harvest chives and eat those, or you can pull the whole onion. They are very small and very spicy hot in flavour.
The garden will be hosting a few events over the summer and early autumn that will be open to the public – check our social media to see what we’ve got “growing” on!
And something else to look forward to: The Somerset Bridlewood Community Association will be holding our 25th anniversary celebration this month! Watch our social media for more details and join us in the festivities!
Until next time – Happy Gardening!
Sheryl Normandeau, Community Garden Director
Click here to the Bridlewood Community News home page for the latest Bridlewood community updates.
Click here to the Somerset Community News home page for the latest Somerset community updates.
