The TJMS Community Garden 2023 Season is Under Way.
The TJMS Community Garden has been a Plot Against Hunger participant for over a decade, donating produce to AFAC and other local food pantries. The Jefferson Community Garden is the largest school garden in Arlington, and we are taking our community responsibilities seriously. But more than that, we are working to become a hub for joyful community and learning. Have you ever thought of starting your own garden, but you feel a little overwhelmed? Volunteering with our experienced gardeners is a great way to learn more about starting a garden, managing pests and diseases, and how to plan for seasonal harvests. A sunny Saturday morning in the garden is a great family activity, and it's the perfect place to meet friends to socialize while volunteering and getting a bit of fresh air and exercise.
Bring Friends or Family and Join Us in the Garden:
We would love you to join us in the garden. We have regular garden workdays every week from 10 AM to noon Saturday mornings. Not quite ready to start gardening today? Sign up for our newsletter and we'll send you weekly updates about our workday plans, and pictures of what we're doing in the garden.
Stay tuned to our Facebook page for late-breaking schedule updates and weather cancellations.
Garden videos:
Bees on zinnias!
We had too many squash, zucchini, and tomatoes to ...
Summer morning garden tour
A quick tour of our flowers before today’s r...
Garden workday cancelled Saturday due to weather. ... See MoreSee Less
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Mid-September pollinator garden tour. ... See MoreSee Less
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It was a good day to go to Garden Club!
Image descriptions: a watermelon with “Garden Club 9-14” written on it and the watermelon cut in half, looking deliciously juicy and full of seeds.
Sad you missed your chance? We will be cutting another watermelon tomorrow morning at our workday. See you there. ... See MoreSee Less
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The weather projection is glorious for this weekend— see you Saturday morning 9-11 for the garden workday. ... See MoreSee Less
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No way! We say “haha, we got to sleep in instead of going back to the garden to water new transplants.” It’s a glorious full rain to shore up our sadly underwatered vegetables. Just imagine how big the okra will be by tomorrow. ... See MoreSee Less
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We were thrilled to welcome Tara from Manassas City Public Schools and her granddaughter to our garden workday today. Tara asked us lots of questions about starting a school garden, and her granddaughter helped us by weeding, picking herbs in our sensory herb garden, and making marigold bouquets.
Thinking of visiting the garden? We can accommodate kids as young as 4 with an accompanying adult, and 6th grade and up can come on their own. Join us Saturday mornings from 9-11 until at least Halloween. ... See MoreSee Less
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Very good!
Our first pumpkin of the year is just starting to turn. ... See MoreSee Less
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Early September in the pollinator garden. ... See MoreSee Less
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Great! Very good! I’m a retired science teacher. My g’kids will go there in a few yrs. 👍
Garden Workday
Saturday 9-11AM
See you there! ... See MoreSee Less
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We are thrilled to have both old faithful AND brand new volunteers this morning. We are out here for another hour, so it’s not too late to drop by and get some gardening done in this beautiful weather. ... See MoreSee Less
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Garden Workday Saturday 9-11 ... See MoreSee Less
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Today's donation of 48 pounds brings us to 1,058 pounds, which tops our previous recorded maximum donations, three months early. It's been a banner year, thanks to our dedicated volunteers and garden managers! PS: start thinking now about volunteering this fall and next spring-- this year's volunteers are starting to think about downsizing the garden next year, because this is a little too much to manage with our current volunteer crew. We are thrilled, but tired! ... See MoreSee Less
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A great turnout and productive workday got us up to 1,010 pounds donated. Some of our plants are flagging in the heat, but we are babying them along to get to September. ... See MoreSee Less
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Great!
See you in the garden tomorrow morning! ... See MoreSee Less
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Last Wednesday morning workday of the season.
See you 8:30-9:30
in the school garden! ... See MoreSee Less
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Thanks to Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture for our new trellis arch! Won’t this make a great garden feature next year? ... See MoreSee Less
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We know you will make good use of it! For now, love the sunflowers smiling at their new neighbor.
That’s awesome!
The tomatoes and squash have slowed down, but the beans are making up for it. We got SO MANY bags of green and purple beans this morning. Our most prolific bean this year is still Kentucky Wonder. We are growing Trail of Tears purple beans in rows for the first time this year instead of up cornstalks, and we are harvesting many more of them than previous years.
Image description: our “bean tunnel” made by stringing twine between two rows of beans and letting them grow across the top, with individual beans hanging down from the center. ... See MoreSee Less
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Great! Keep up the great program!
The tomatoes have slowed WAY down this week. When it’s too hot, they don’t set flowers and existing tomatoes don’t ripen. But this morning when we were pruning back yellowing foliage, we found new growth and flowers, so it’s looking promising for a second flush of tomatoes in the fall.
Image description; tiny yellow tomato flowers against deep green leaves. ... See MoreSee Less
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Bees on zinnias! ... See MoreSee Less
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See you in the garden at 8:30AM Wednesday ... See MoreSee Less
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