THE PROBLEM: Weeding and pest control are priorities this spring for people working at the Common Ground Community Garden in Crestview. Volunteers tended beds Friday, pulling and spraying for weed control, and adding a second line of defense: plants to draw pollinating insects and deter damaging ones.
THE SOLUTION: Workers, including Okaloosa Master Gardeners and the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Office's Crestview employees, spent several hours Friday working in the Common Ground Community Garden on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., just off Main Street (behind H & R Block). The goal was to clear no longer usable winter-season crops and prepare the beds for spring plants. They weeded the garden, sprayed pesticide to kill weeds — particularly blackberry vines trying to reclaim the once-empty lot — and prepared areas along the edges for planting. By the afternoon, Okaloosa Extension Office employees and Master Gardener Stacey Taylor dug furrows and planted seeds in an attempt to draw beneficial insects. "In one corner are a bunch of herbs for (butterfly) larvae," said Sheila Dunning, extension horticulture agent. "Chives, parsley and coriander will provide a food source." The cosmo and zinnia flower seeds will be used to draw those butterflies. Sorghum seeds are being used as a "trap crop" to draw insects that would otherwise munch the garden's vegetables. "The beneficial ones (can then) eat them," Dunning said. The team also planted rows of sunflowers and buckwheat to draw pollinators and other beneficial insects like native bees, honeybees and midges; and several perennials, coneflowers, blanket flowers, and other daisies. Once the seeds have grown, gardeners will come back and use nets to catch insects and make sure the new plants are functioning as expected.
BACKGROUND: The garden is rotated twice a year: once to clear out winter items, and once for spring items. Right now, organizers are focusing on spring vegetables that can benefit from the warmer weather, such as tomatoes, peppers, melons and squashes and beans.
Here's more information on the Common Ground Community Garden>>
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Follow-up: Volunteers prepare Crestview community garden for spring crops