2025 summary
The 2025 season continued with the Arapahoe County Master Gardeners maintaining 3 large plots and 1 raised bed in this DUG managed garden. The 3 large beds were used to each showcase different gardening plan ideas, and the raised bed was used multiple ways throughout the season.
One plot was our experimental regenerative plot from last year, where in half the plot we used regenerative practices, and left the other half untouched. This experiment was so successful, this year we made the whole plot regenerative. We also grew vegetables from around the world, focusing on plants members of the community who frequent the park the garden is located are from. We called it our “Neighborhood Plot.” We had success from several of the vegetables grown, including Iraqi Eggplant, Yard Long Beans, and Rat Tail Radishes, all of which we are incorporating into our 2026 garden plan.
One plot was designed to show how to grow a basic kitchen garden, incorporating several styles in one plot. We had container gardening, row planting, block planting, and a trellis. We left the soil untouched and did not use shade or hail cloth on this plot, keeping this plot as close to untouched as we could. This kept our plot similar to the plots other gardeners have, so they could see how to handle different gardening issues throughout the season. We also went for aesthetics and added some edible flowers to this plot for some extra color.
In our final plot, we showcased companion planting. The main attraction was a Three Sisters garden that took up 1/3 of the plot. The corn we grew got tall and produced well for us. We also had cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, basil, and others, all growing next to companion plants across the plot. This plot felt like the least successful, but we learned a lot. We are planning to use some of what we learned in this plot in our garden planning for the 2026 season.
Due to the success of our classes from the season before, we held both adult and kids classes at the garden throughout the summer. We had classes on planting, insects, diseases, and more. We also had evenings we would supervise local kids in the garden, having them help with weeding and collecting pests with us from our plots once per week. This is another program we will be carrying forward in the 2026 season. We look forward to finding new ways to interact with our community through gardening this year while maintain the relationships we have already built. We look forward to the 2026 season.
