On a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon on August 11, 2019, I met up with a group of students who signed up for the Knowledge Common DC’s Edible Gardening workshop. We met up at the Georgia Ave. Metro, and walked around the neighborhood talking about various gardening topics. We encountered everything from cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, peaches, raspberries, zinnias, cleomes, echinacea and more.
- Join the Edible Garden DC Facebook Group to share questions, tips and more.
- Sign up for the September 15 Edible Gardening: Veggies, Herbs & More workshop.
We visited Aaron Waxman’s front yard garden on 4th St. NW. Here are a few of the gardening tips he shared with us. Aaron took out his front lawn and planted an edible landscape.
1. Tips for growing garlic
Plant it around Halloween, and harvest around July 4th. Although due to climate change, you may need to harvest earlier. One workshop participant asked whether they should peel the garlic clove before planting and the answer is No. You can put the whole clove, skin and all into the ground. Mulch heavily with straw, and water as needed.
2. Grow what you like to eat and it’s expensive to buy.
Aaron suggested growing only things you like to eat and cost a lot at the market. For example, he doesn’t grow potatoes because they are not expensive, but he loves to grow Sungold tomatoes and Asian purple eggplant. He enjoys grilling them with some olive oil.
3. Mulch with cardboard, newspaper and leaf mulch.
Aaron suggested getting some leaf compost from Takoma park for mulching your garden. When you put down the cardboard and newspaper, you can hose them down with water, so they don’t blow away.
4. Set up a soaker hose with a timer to water your garden.
This will save you a lot of time, and help keep the plants well watered throughout the growing season.
Aaron was gracious enough to let everyone try the delicious sweet Sungold tomatoes from his garden! I had just been talking about growing garlic and Sungold tomatoes. Great minds definitely think alike!
We all enjoyed checking out neighborhood gardens! Afterwards, we went to get ice cream at Lulabelle’s (Best flavors: Blueberry Jasmine, Cardamon and Graham Cracker…Special thanks to Taharka Brothers in Baltimore for making this delicious ice creams for us!) and gardening supplies at Annie’s Ace Hardware.
Here are some gardening resources I put together for the workshop.
GARDENING FILMS & TV SHOWS
- Symphony of the Soil
- Biggest Little Farm
- Growing a Greener World
- Big Dreams, Small Spaces
- Community of Gardeners
LOCAL GARDENING COMMUNITIES & WORKSHOPS
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- Washington Gardener Magazine & Facebook Group
- DC Urban Gardener (DUG) Email Newsletter & Facebook Group
- DC State Fair
- Future Harvest: Cheseapeake Alliance of Sustainable Agriculture
- Common Good City Farm
- Cultivate the City
- Clagett Farm Workshare
- Wangari Gardens
- Three Part Harmony Farm
- Brookside Gardens
- Community Gardens in DC
- Rooting DC
- U.S. Botanical Gardens
- City Blossoms
- Washington Youth Garden
- Future Harvest
- Rawlings Conservatory
- Forested
SEEDS, PLANTS & TREES