City Hall Garden Yields 50 Pounds of Tomatoes

One could make the argument that growing tomatoes right outside of City Hall is not a good idea, given the fruit's other uses.

This morning, however, volunteers harvested 50 pounds of them from City Hall's Better Together garden (pictured above on Wednesday) for a good cause -- Loaves & Fishes.

Jen Aron, a volunteer from Oregon State University's Master Gardener Program, says she also picked:

5 lbs. squash
5 lbs. of cabbage
10 lbs. of potatoes
1 lb. sweet peppers

And since planting the garden in May, volunteers have harvested a total of:

45 heads of lettuce
3 lbs. spinach
13 pounds of green beans
2 lbs. broccoli
2 lbs. beets
1 lb. of radishes
1.5 lbs. of basil
2.5 lbs. of snow peas
50 lbs. of tomatoes
10 lbs. potatoes
1 lb. sweet peppers
10 lbs. squash
8 lbs. cabbage

"Pretty amazing," Aron says.

There would have been at least a little bit more to pick, but passersby have reportedly helped themselves to the fresh vegetables, too, which is fine with Aron, she says, because the vegetables have been harvested "with respect" and without damage to the remaining plants. "There is no angst about that happening," Aron says.