Work(ing) Garden - 07/18/2014

Our office started a new initiative called Blue Zones to help us to live longer and better. In doing so, we've started a community garden. A group of employees donated seedlings along with some purchased and then one morning planted them in one of the large planters in our roof top atrium.  They plotted out the area in squares and when the seedlings were first planted, they looked in total shock and dying. After a week or so, they started to come alive and it is now thriving. It has been a little over a month and here is what it has become. There are different herbs and hearty vegetable plants. Since I've volunteered to do the watering on Thursday afternoons, I took the opportunity to get some shots w/ my trusty point and shoot. The lighting at 6pm isn't ideal as the sun is still low and bright. Hopefully, they'll have this garden going for a while and maybe as the days start to get shorter again, there'll be better lighting for my update shoot. :-)

The tomato plants seem to be doing the best of all.  These green ones have already turned a nice orange, ready for harvesting.

I've always lived in the city and this is the first time I've seen tomatoes on a vine, not just the ones they sell in the supermarket!

There are different herbs.  The squash plant grows just behind it.  I haven't seen any squash but it sure has grown in the month's time.

I can't believe how large the manoa lettuce has grown.  

Recently my co-worker spotted a couple of egg plants.  I'm not sure what kind it is but it sure is skinny looking.

They even planted a few Kale.  It took up a lot of space and it is getting crowded.

I think this was the Thai Basil I contributed.  When it was first planted it look like a dying sick weed and so was the plant behind it.

Today, I can't believe it is ready to harvest.

I've never seen this variety before and not sure how one would use it for cooking.

These Green onions are also doing very well with daily morning and late afternoon watering by volunteers.

I'm told these grow underground.. I wonder how can you tell it's ready to eat?

Although not part of the community garden, there are strawberry guavas trees that already existed in our roof top atrium.  They grow to be around the size you'd get if you form an 'O' with your index finger and thumb. This year is an extremely good harvest.  I've seen about a hundred of these so far.