A miracle garden is borne out of a compost heap on Liebig Avenue

Joan McKiernan’s plastic compost box was bursting at the seams in her Liebig Avenue backyard last year. She wasn’t sure what to do. So, she asked her gardener for some advice.

At first, she thought it made sense to just spread the contents over the backyard to provide nourishment for the trees. The gardener had a different idea.

“I asked the gardener to put it out in the back yard,” McKiernan said. “He said to put it in the front yard.”

To her surprise, that suggestion turned into what she calls the “sidewalk garden” since it is in the small patch of grass that abuts the street and the sidewalk of Liebig Avenue. It is literally only about three or four feet long and two feet wide.

“It has all sorts of squash,” McKiernan said. “Last year, it was spaghetti squash. One turned out to be a pumpkin that we picked and grew in the house.”

The garden grew so fast and big she had to put up sticks to hold up the squash and other vegetables. She believes the garden produced so much was that there must have been seeds in the compost heap she maintained. It has also produced tomatoes, although they haven’t come in yet.

“It’s really more of a miracle garden,” she said.

Within a short period of time, her neighbors noticed the sidewalk garden and became the recipients of McKiernan’s good fortune.

“I have told the neighbors to reach and take some,” she said. “One of my neighbors saw someone cutting a squash out of the garden.”

But the joke was on that perpetrator since it was taken before it had time to ripen and be edible.

‘Hike-toberfest’ at Van Cortlandt Park set for Oct. 21

The Van Cortlandt Park Alliance has issued a save the date for its “Hike-toberfest 2023” for Saturday, Oct. 21.

The annual event includes a hike around the spacious park as well as an Octoberfest complete with beer, food and live music.

The alliance also seeks sponsorships and individual donations to support staffing the event.

There are four different levels of sponsorship geared toward local companies.

The highest is $5,000 and the lowest is $500. The sponsorship package also includes signage, corporate tables and complimentary tickets.

For more information, contact the alliance at (718) 601-1460, or vist VanCortlandt.org