The Last Day. . . . . Already?

      As heartbreaking as this is, I hate to be the one to say that tomorrow is the last day. . . . So many things that I've learned about plants, how to maintain them, how to nurture them, tend them, harvest them, and even eat them. But for the most part I learned about everyone that I've worked with. I've met people I've hardly talked to in school, but now I feel like I've made a certain bond with them. NYA, that's my always attitude, talking smack girl. But the entire process of our working experience, she kept her cool and was learning just like everyone else. I'm proud of her. NIA, that's the girl who always laughed at my wackiness and weird statements.
     The high school graduate, the creative girl who was always the one with the crazy, yet fun ideas. I'm going to miss her. ANTHONYA, that's the busy one, she was always doing the jobs that us four gals didn't want to do. If it was watering and I didn't feel like it , SHE would do it, if it was weeding and I didn't want to do it, SHE would. That's the up coming sophomore, I'm sure I'll hear more about. Positive things that is! KHADIJA, that's my always chilling but does things when she wants to type chick. This whole process, all she ever did was "Crank" and helped us get through our being lazy while working stage. That's my twin, and I love her. I'm going to miss her too, but she'll be on the floor above mine next year!
      Then you have the last but not least TYREE, that's my brother. But this was his deal, every time we were sweating and working outside, he was in summer school.! He would come in the morning and do a couple of things and then he'd roll out, leaving his things for us to carry back in side. But that's my roll dog, and I'm going to miss working with him too. He'll be a senior but I'll see much of him, we're on the same floor. Let's not forget the one's who had helped put this all together, Kali, Andrew, and Kate. There were specific things that I loved about each and everyone of them. For instance, Kali. . . . She calls me her "little honeybee" I smiled and said, Awwww, I Love you too!
      I must say that at first KALI, I didn't really know so well, and I wasn't really fond of her, or what she was capable of. But its like now, I grew a bond with her, that I cant break because she's caring and she really likes working with me, and respects me as a person, and also as a student. I love that she's always knowing what I'm going to say, and making me do things that I don't want to do, but I wind up doing it anyway. She's going to always be there for me, and I know it. I'm glad she's not leaving until AFTER I Graduate.   That's a blessing. Then you have ANDREW. That's also another person who's cool but also hip to the most things that students feel. He's also a good listener. Funny too. He was always being supportive of us and he also cared about what we wanted and things of that nature too.  I'm also blessed that he wont be leaving too.
  Then you have KATE,she was cool too. Always working us until sweat was drenched down our shirts. She was always on top of us about things to do, and the right way of how to do it. I liked working with "Adventure" girl too. The heritage garden was one of our most successful projects this summer. We all as a team worked together and managed to get this project done and it looks beautiful. I'm proud of us as a team, and I am also excited to see what everyone will think about it, when they come in next year, and see it too!

Our Last Farewells

Sorry to say that this is going to be our last day as a team.I’m really going to miss everybody. Even though I was not in the garden most of the time I still made a bond with everybody I worked with: Ms. Kate, Mr. Corcoran, Ms. Boehle-Silva, Khadeejha, Khadija, Nia, Nya, and Anthonya. I am really going to miss Ms. Fried. She was the first teacher that ever taught me in Thurgood Marshall. She was always there when I needed her and for that I thank you. So, so long farewell to you my friend, goodbye for now until we meet again.

The End

The End

Sadly, the summer is coming to a close end. This is a sad week for us SYEP workers at The Great Garden of Anacostia. This is our last week working in the garden that we all have come to love. We have all learned new thing from working in the garden. We learned how to take pride in our work and creations, and to work hard for something that we believe. We have finished the Heritage Garden we have been working so hard this summer to finish. It looks absolutely stunning. We have been painting sign, planting and weeding this whole program to create something. From personal experience I have learned that something beautiful can come from a simple thought, and that is one idea that I will be carrying for the rest of my life. THANK YOU THURGOOD FOR GIVING ME THIS GREAT OPPUTUNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It All Has Come to an End :(

Sad to say, this is our last week in the garden. This has been a fun and interesting experience. One that I wish could continue but I am leaving for college next month. I would have never thought that gardening would be so interesting to me.

We got a lot accomplished and learned a lot along the way. We accomplished the start of our heritage garden and a number of signs. We learned how to effectively use the vegetables in the garden. We learned about different herbs. We learned how to harvest. We learned how to prune. We learned how to manage compost and the importance of compost. We learned about different soils and what they’re made of. We have learned so much but not just about gardening.

We grew as a whole. Yes we had our bad days but the good outnumbered the bad. Being a garden intern over the past 5 weeks has really given me a new outlook on food. I feel that we still have so much more to learn and that’s why I’m sad it’s over :(

mike blog

Today working in the garden was hard because it was very hot outside. It was only 87 degrees when we were outside while doing garden work but it felt like 100 degrees. Watering the plants today put me in the sun because I watered the whole garden and sun was shining on me. When it’s hot out I get tired quick and start to get very thirsty. The plants also get really thirsty in the heat so I gave them lots of water so they won’t go bad and die of thirst out in the sun.

It's All About The Soil

It’s all about the Soil

Yesterday at the Great Garden of Anacostia we summer youth workers learned a very important lesson on dirt. Yes, you heard me right, dirt. We had a lesson on soil and what is in it. There are three things that make up soil: clay, silt and sand. We discovered that the soil that we have in the garden is mostly clay, and that we have a ph. level of 6.5 to 7 which is very good, because it is right in the middle. That means that it does not have too much acids in it or to much bases.  Learning about our soil helps us maintain the way it is, or helps us find ways to make better. I had a nice time learning about soil, it helped me to learn that it is more to growing plants that putting seeds in the ground and watering it, you have to make sure your soil is good. Soil is as important as sunlight and air to plants so everyone who is planting and those that want to plant in the future need to ensure that they keep their soil healthy.

The Harvest

      Start by the root, that's the way to do it! But, while you're harvesting, do it with a smile. Its only been week 4 and harvesting has been one of the most funnest things EVER! Although "funnest" may not be a word, it still applies when it comes to harvesting. The best thing to harvest was always the potatoes, but the runner up has to be the squash, and tomatoes. Today, we picked basil from Nia and my garden bed. It broke my heart to see her pluck the basil like that because I'm worried it won't grow back ever again, since its only been about a couple of weeks since we planted it.

I'm proud to say that I love my garden bed. Its growing faster than  everyone else's. Today we picked all kinds of vegetables and herbs for the salad we're supposed to be making today. The only thing  I'm nervous about... is the way its going to taste. I was afraid that when we got down to it, it would taste like outside, with outside dressing. Or in other words it was going to taste like garden. Well here's the joke, we picked the herbs and vegetables from a garden bed, so we'll have a garden salad. Ha! That was humorous because of.. well never mind! But today has been a good day, now I'm looking forward to the taste of that salad!

Out in the Garden!

Today it was difficult to work. It was really hot. Despite the heat we managed to get a lot done. First we did our daily task such watering, pruning, pest management, compost management, and observing the progress of the garden. We also helped to set up a scavenger hunt for a Spanish class to help them get familiar with their school garden. It felt good to see those students so excited about garden. They had so many questions and seemed to be amazed by the “wormy worm bin”. I was happy to see other youth as interested in the garden as me.

            After that we did some harvesting. Actually we did a lot of harvesting. We harvested basil, okra, baby carrots, green tomatoes, kale, arugula, and more. We then had to clean those vegetables. They will be used in our cooking demonstration. Today we are making salads.

The beginning

The Beginning

The image above is a recent picture of our Heritage Garden. It might not look like anything right now, but I can guarantee that by the end of this program it will. The summer youth employment workers, all of who attend or have just graduated from Thurgood Marshall Academy, have been working hard to create a garden specifically with fruits, vegetables, and flowers form Africa. The process of weeding has been tiresome, but we are getting the job done. One of the hardest things that we have done in preparation for finishing the garden is collecting all the shade cloth. Shade cloth has helped us with gathering the weeds, but it is very fragile which makes it hard to pick it up. Hopefully all of our hard work will pay off in the end. I am very excited to see the outcome of our work and how it affects the way people view our school and community. I hope this is only the beginning of the way we are making the community better.