Community Garden at Work - 2016

12/22/2016: 

Of course, the best way to conserve, is to pickle. On the left, the mason jar (the brine is darker since we left the skin on) has the artichoke. On the right, two new members joined the collection.

11/26/2016: 

We had a few frosts during the past week or so, therefore the growing season is over. We decided to have a family harvest during the Thanksgiving weekend. Here is what we get. They seem to be not as big as I anticipated, but tasted exactly as I remembered. During the digging, I found the garden bed only had a thin layer of top soil on top of hard gravel/concrete/.. So next year we will put more top soil.

I sorted the bigger chunks (in the plastic bag) to be cleaned for eating. I berried the smaller ones in the garden, and hopefully use them to grow more next year.

7/27/2016: 

The two tomato plants (on the far right) are healthily producing. The 4 Jerusalem Artichoke plants came out above the weeds. It needs to bloom before producing, so there is time to go.

5/10/2016:

5/03/2016:

Still nothing. The weed is even stronger.

4/28/2016:

Nothing obvious is coming out yet. The weed is thriving.

4/25/2016:

The 4 chunks from eBay arrived during the weekend, in a bubble mailer, and wrapped in some plastic film to keep the moisture. I thought the plastic is not breathable, so I replaced with wet paper napkin. This afternoon, I planted in the garden, unceremonially.

Start

At work, I was lucky enough to get a plot at the community garden. Of course, why do I get another garden plot, while I can barely keep up with the garden at home? Growing up with a peasantry ancestry, you would never pass the opportunity to own land, regardless how you define "own".

First order of business is to decide, "what should I grow"?

• We grow "productive" plants that we can eat. So no flowers. 
• Since my plot is more than partly shady, I need to pick something that can tolerate shade. You can't argue or wish it any other way. 
• So what kind of fruit/vegetable?
• No tomatoes, as we will grow plenty at home garden. No peppers, herbs, etc. They are not bad, but we tend to consume little.
• We really need something special. We can grow some ginger, to can/pickle as people do in Chongqing. After some research, you need USDA 7 or warmer climates, and St. Louis is in 6a. It may still be a reasonable stretch to try in St. Louis, but it would take more effort (such as covering to keep moisture and temperature) than what I can practically put in.
• Then I remembered that one of our neighbor grew “鬼子姜”, which was the uneducated way spoken in northern rural China for Helianthus tuberosus, also known as Jerusalem Artichoke. There are likely different cultivar, but it would be worth a try.

I initially thought of buying from the local nursery if the price is reasonable. After calling around, I found none. So, at $7.99/4-pieces including shipping from ebay, it is on the way.