October marks the end of another growing season.  With nothing much going on, I decided to stop at one of Reston’s Community Garden Plots.

I was a little curious to see if anything was still green and growing.

 

Lemon Rinds on Compost Heap View of Garden Through Metal Gate

Sadly, the gate to the plots was securely chained and locked so I could not go in.  The garden plots, for now, are in a rest mode.

However, I was able to peek in at the garden plots and walk around the perimeter of the tall deer fencing.

The Reston Community Garden Plots go back to the 1960’s.  The plots are located on an easement for a natural gas line.  Any Reston Association member can apply for one of the 270 garden plots but I think there is a waiting list.

Locked Gate and Wheelbarrow

So What’s Still Growing in the Garden?

Interestingly, there are quite a few things still growing in the garden plots.  We have not had a hard frost yet, so flowers and vegetables are in good shape.

In this sunny plot, I noticed quite a few flowers–orange and red marigolds, yellow marigolds, zinnias, and a couple of rose bushes.

Red Hot Peppers

For vegetables, I see tomatoes were quite popular.  There are still green tomatoes on the plants.  Green and red pepper plants, catnip and mint were also grown.

Asparagus stalks, present in one plot, now bears bright red berries.

Someone must love rhubarb pie since I see one plant.

There were some green onion stems which looked recently planted.

Pumpkin vines are still flowering but it is too late in the season to hope for any pumpkins.

Many of the individual plots, have wooden raised beds.  Some use bamboo and plastic PVC piping for climbing plants.

A few ambitious gardeners have already prepared their plot soil for planting season in the spring.

There are a few garden chairs scattered throughout the plots.

For apartment dwelling residents who love to dig in the dirt, this is a perfect opportunity.

Pumpkin Plant Toseed on Compost Heap

At the garden plots there are several large wooden compost bins with a variety of soil.  There are wood chips, leaf mulch, and even horse manure from a local stable.

Chained Wheelbarrows

So ends another growing season but the garden plots were so interesting, that I’ll be back in the spring for a FMB update.

A Farmhouse Magic Blog Hello to the United Kingdom and also to Liz.

Large Water Source