It has been a busy spring in the garden. All but 6 of the raised beds have been replaced with new western red cedar boards (the six were replaced a few years ago). Besides smelling wonderful, especially after a rain, these boards are sturdy and should last for a long time. We will add soil, humus, and manure as needed to the beds as we plant.

Planting started a little early as we were lulled by all the beautiful warm spring weather in Cincinnati in April and early May. The garlic planted last October is doing well and the peas, onions, potatoes, and cabbages are planted and sprouting.  We’ve also planted lettuces, spinach, carrots, and chard.  In the “greenhouse” (better known as the SunSpace in EarthConnection) bell peppers, three varieties of tomatoes, basil, and eggplant are all sprouted and almost ready for transplanting to bigger pots.

We received lots of great help from Service Learning Students from Mount St. Joseph University. They have done everything including ripping out all the old wood from around the beds, taking up the carpet we have used in the pathways, and helping the two builders construct the new beds. In addition, they pulled lots of weeds and helped set up the “greenhouse”, planted the seeds, and began the transplanting of the tomatoes. Some of them have never worked in a garden or with plants or with the construction of raised beds. Their learning curve was pretty high and they rose to the occasion. We are most grateful for their assistance!

The Week of the 6^th was momentous for two reasons. First, Gene Kritsky and his student assistant from MSJU delivered a new hive of honey bees.  The new queen is a hybrid of Italian and Russian ancestry! There were about 3000 bees delivered with the queen.  Secondly, the Garden Ladies first day was May 8th. It was good to be back together and get caught up on our activities over winter. We surveyed the beds, decided what vegetables were going to be grown in which bed, and began the planting. It won’t be long before we are delivering fresh vegetables to the Good Samaritan Free Health Center in Price Hill. Last year we delivered close to 900 pounds of vegetables and we hope to outdo ourselves this year!