Ground-breaking at the New 8th & Gilmer Garden

06/27/23: After 6 months under the weed-killing silage tarps, tillage began on the first 1/3 of the new garden plot at Gilmer & 8th St. Gene staked out the pathways and plots, while our fearless Cooperative Extension Agent, Shawn, created the beds with the rotary plow, and then tilled the surface of the newly created beds. Gene and Rev. Carter followed behind, clearing the numerous rocks and roots.

06/28/23: One Valley hosted a crew of 20 volunteers from the Virginia Beach Tabernacle Church, sponsored by the REACH program, on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. This crew provided further clean-up of the plots, weeded the edges along the sidewalk, and glued the landscape fabric to the sidewalk. They then helped lay landscape fabric over 2 of the longer beds and burned holes for planting butternut squash, while another crew dug up the shorter beds in preparation for planting sweet corn.

We later took the crew from the second day over to the Carver Garden to show them where we are heading with the new garden, along with a few gardening tips from Amazetta.