Blog Post #7

Salutations Poly (culture) Pocket fans and welcome back to another week at the garden!

This week has been bustling with problem-solving as we tackle a few challenges that have arisen since our last update.

First off, we noticed some minor to moderate insect damage on our crops, particularly the corn. Given the diverse critters around the garden, we suspected caterpillars and grasshoppers were the culprits. Thankfully, our plants are still in decent shape, so we’re not overly concerned. Plus, we had some helpful friends like wasps and ladybugs that contribute positively to our ecosystem!

Now, onto a more pressing matter: our tomatoes. They’ve been looking a bit weak and wobbly. To address this, we’ve set up bamboo trellises along the row and secured each plant with string. This should encourage the tomatoes to grow upwards, benefiting both their health and appearance. We hope this trellis system will help protect our precious tomatoes (who are still yet to be seen...) and keep them off the ground. We anticipate needing to adjust the strings as the plants grow, but our team is ready to put in the extra effort!

Additionally, our Three Sisters' crop setup has encountered some challenges. While it’s not widespread, we’ve noticed that the beans are growing too quickly and are beginning to strangle the corn. Our initial plan was for the beans to climb the corn for support, but the current situation is detrimental. We’ll monitor these plants closely to see if this trend continues across the plot

Beyond those few issues, our day contained a lot of planning, building, and weeding! We're optimistic that our changes will allow for more abundant growth. 

Until next time! 

Photo captions (left to right, down to up): 

1. We scouted our garden together and found both beneficial and harmful animals! Some beneficial animals we found were a frog and a wasp. We also found grasshoppers that were taking bites out of our corn. Our parrot friend, Jasper, also came to say hi! We will continue to be on the lookout for animals in our garden!

2. Selfie of Naomi, Kyle, Kensley, Philip, and Daniel hard at work! We were setting up the trellises for our tomatoes. Tomatoes need trellises to be supported, or else they will not grow correctly. We used bamboo and crossed them over each other to provide a supportive structure. We then tied the strings to the bamboo and the tomatoes.

3. Here is a better picture of our trellis. Kensley is using the drill to drill deep holes into the ground for the bamboo sticks. We tied the bamboo using string to make it strong and supportive. Our corn and other plants are growing really well, and we are excited to see them mature! The trellis was a great idea and is highly effective for supporting our tomatoes.