You have found the Victory Garden.
We call the south side of this area (on the right as you enter) the Victory Garden.
It is named after the movement during World Wars I and II when the government urged the public to transform backyards, schoolyards, and any empty spaces in the city into urban farms to grow food for their families and lessen pressure on the food supply.
Both gardens in this space are roughly the size of a typical San Francisco backyard. Notice the different backyard garden possibilities here, including raised beds, in-ground beds, and small-scale home composting.
🍎 Do you see the uniquely shaped apple trees separating these two spaces?
These trees have been trained to grow flat along the fence – this style of growing trees is called espalier. It allows you to fit trees in a small, narrow space, leaving more sun for other plants to grow.
These trees are also grafted - in fact, each main branch is a different type of apple! These branches were carefully attached to the base trunk when the plant was young and allowed to heal and grow together.
Try to find where each main branch connects to the trunk – each of these branches grows a different kind of apple. These trees grow six different varieties!