My Dirt

Harvest Monday and vegetable update

2010-05-17T20:44:00.008-04:00

Thinned out lettuce continues to be my Harvest Monday story. On Saturday midday, I checked in on my Minton Stable Garden plot as I waited to receive a walking tour that a BNAN volunteer was leading. We were one of the final stops of the handful of featured Jamaica Plain community gardens, and by that point, only a few people had stuck with it (my theory: the tour shrank as it passed Doyle's), but they were impressed with the attention many people have been giving to their plots. After hearing me ramble on about the history of the garden and showing them the John Carroll memorial and wildflower area, they were interested in what I was growing. So I showed them the lettuces, snap peas (some about 8 inches high), the Chinese cabbage and broccoli raab I had planted from seed about a week ago that were germinating, the strawberries (with small white fruits budding), and the mound of black-eyed Susans (now the circumference of a large hula hoop and in sore need of thinning). As you can probably guess, I was without my camera, so you'll need to rely on older photos and your imagination.Lunch was calling, so before I left, I thinned out the Summertime Iceberg and Forellenschluss Romaine lettuces. To understand why they need to be grown in the sun, one needs only to compare this harvest (above) to the thinner, wimpier leaves picked earlier this evening (below) from the shady backyard garden my daughter and I planted. The MSG crops seem to have more bones to them, and if we continue to enjoy daytime temperature ranges in the 50s-70s, I'll be posting photos of full, crunchy heads by the beginning of June. If you want to compare these lettuces to others across the country and beyond, visit the Harvest Monday posts listed at Daphne's Dandelions.But I don't want to jinx the situation. Anything can go wrong; today I encountered a familiar-looking scourge on my Tyee spinach. Already. I'm beginning to wonder that the only way to avoid leaf miners is to grow spinach in the fall.At home, I've been hardening off my tomato and brassica seedlings. Last week I transplanted my Black Prince and Rose de Berne tomatoes into larger containers and practiced more vigilance in giving them some time on the sunny front porch, and my efforts are paying off. They are catching up to where they probably should be at this time, and I may be able to plant them out this weekend.I can't seem to achieve the same momentum for my broccoli and cauliflower. One year ago today, my Fiesta organic broccoli was not only twice the size as this year's, but already in the ground. This year, I'll be lucky if I can plant out all six of these: two Charming Snow cauliflower, three Fiesta organic broccoli, and the most advanced, the Piricicaba broccoli. I had started four times as many seeds; if I had had more time I would have moved more into larger pots, but I doubt the results would have been different. Now I'm wondering if I can still plant them out this weekend or if I need to wait for them to fatten up a little more. That, along with the arrival of the community garden compost delivery from BNAN and the purchase of a new camera (I've narrowed it down to a particular Canon model) will hopefully happen soon.

There. A harvest.

2010-05-03T17:47:00.004-04:00

Finally, my long absence from Harvest Monday has ended. A week or so ago, I commented to Daphne that I would return soon, even with a yield of thinned-out lettuce plants. And here we have them, mainly the Summertime Iceberg my daughter sowed behind our garage sometime in March, the first seeds of our 2010 gardens. I waved hello to my Minton Stable Community Garden plot yesterday as I rode home from a conference that had kept me indoors most of the weekend. My Iceberg and Romaine lettuces as well as my spinach were not as far along, as they were planted a few weeks later, but because they receive more sunlight the leaves were firmer and healthier. Those seedlings will outpace whatever my daughter and I plant in our increasingly shady backyard. Still, we manage to reap enough greens to make the backyard efforts worthwhile. A few years ago, my husband built some boxes along a retaining wall at the edge of our driveway that gets more sun, so I may try some Chinese cabbage and Quarantina Raab, although I probably should have planted them yesterday.

Since I wrote that first paragraph, the lettuce leaves, shown above, were combined with store-bought Romaine, rinsed with boiled water, and consumed in a salad. I'm looking forward to my locally-grown lettuce and other greens making up a larger percentage of our vegetable intake.

For more (and probably better) harvest news, visit the other blogs listed at Daphne's Dandelions that are participating in Harvest Monday.

Now in bloom at home

2010-04-24T11:45:00.007-04:00

I don't know which has been worse: keeping up with the blog or keeping up with the gardens. Work, trips away, and other obligations have prevented me from checking in on the Minton Stable Garden, but using the same varieties of lettuce, spinach, and snap peas growing at home as a guide, I believe that the plot will survive a few more days of neglect. A brief shower on Thursday is better than no water at all. I'm just hoping that the peas are attaching themselves to the supports I fashioned for them and not the strawberries growing nearby.In moments of spare time and dry weather I've been clearing out the perennial beds at home, and it looks like there will be several hours of thinning and digging to do between now and the Perennial Divide, which takes place in a few weeks at the City Natives Nursery in Mattapan. First, I need to scale back the bee balm, seen in the top photo behind my tulips, as it is really starting to take over the front garden, and overcrowding plants may lead to another case of powdery mildew. Until the bee balm come into bloom during the summer, I can get my fix of red from the coral bells.In the shady backyard, the vinca is flowering and spreading, slowly making up for some neglect a few years back (maple seedlings and other unwanted invaders took over).The lamium is spreading outside the raised bed and onto the grass, but it sure is pretty.These last few years I haven't found much for free at the Perennial Divide that I don't already have growing, so I have picked up a native or two from the nursery. This foam flower (tiarella cordifolia) is looking quite at home.

Some of the other perennials in bloom include pulmonaria, lemon balm, and pachysandra, and the hostas, ferns, and lily of the valley are poking out of the ground and starting to unfurl their leaves. After all of the dreary weather and flooding of the early spring, it's nice to see them return. It's too early to tell which diseases or pests will surface from this disruption from the norm, though I've heard we may be visited by an overabundance of winter moths.

Update on my plot

2010-04-08T16:30:00.008-04:00

As the temperatures in Boston yesterday escalated toward the 90s, I biked over to my Minton Stable Garden plot in the early afternoon to see if any seedlings were poking through the soil. At first glance, nothing. Then I crouched down for a closer inspection and there, in between the small rocks and stray blades of salt hay and leaves I found them--My lettuce (above) and spinach (below) I had planted on March 28. I photographed them with the same camera I haven't gotten around to replacing (I have been making good use of the crop feature in my photo application to hide the fuzzy left side of my images).And there were the plants that had decided to sow themselves. I had always wanted to grow raspberries, so I kept a few of the volunteers that blew into my plot last year. And those have multiplied tenfold and spread across my plot. Almost as pesky as bindweed, though not as threatening. I'd love to keep them, but they have entered my perennial section and also taking the space reserved for my pole beans. Anyone want to start their own raspberry beds? I have plenty here just for the digging.

Minton Stable Garden Annual Meeting

2010-03-31T22:28:00.005-04:00

Despite the rain and the unintentional conflict with the first night of Passover, about 30 Minton Stable Community Gardeners attended the annual meeting, which took place on Monday night down the street in the English High School library. At least one of the lucky former waitlisters was there to pay her $30 dues and sign her contract stating that she will follow the ever-increasing list of rules; new additions for 2010 include a protocol for dealing with people who are at risk of losing their plot (due to not completing hours or other violations), the procedure for those wanting to use the property for their own gatherings, and the opportunity to donate extra work hours into a bank so others who may have some physical limitations or other emergency can have them applied to meet their own requirement (still 4 hours per season). With a few families and individuals having left the neighborhood since last season, a few more plots are being allocated to those at the top of the waitlist (of now over 40 wannabe gardeners).Thanks to Allan for sending me photos; I posted this one because it features almost everyone in attendance. If you click on photo to enlarge it you can make out the Steering Committee members in the back facing the crowd--I'm wearing yellow, Todd is left of me, John is right of me in a white shirt, Asa (in a black jacket with white stripes) is discussing the rules, Terry is right of her (in a maroon sweater). Roxane is sitting on the left side of the table, wearing a light blue shirt and taking notes on her laptop. Jennifer, who usually takes notes and chairs meetings, was taking a well-deserved vacation in Guatemala.

We managed to finish ahead of schedule so I could (as treasurer) process the dues payments of everyone who had brought them. In past years different issues extended the meeting; at least once there were disagreements between dog owners and gardeners over where dogs could roam and do their business, and the year the shed was built there was much discussion about how to carry out that project. But this year dogs were hardly mentioned. Bees were, though, as Joe (one of the gardeners) presented some information in advance of a possible proposal to keep some at the garden, a project in such an early stage that it has not sparked any controversy. One item that members did want to discuss was how to better turn our weeds and plant waste into compost. Right now we don't have the capability and there are sanitation issues as well, but there seems to be enough interest and energy to investigate and implement a plan to change that.

If you are a member reading this post, I would like to remind you that there will be four Steering Committee seats to be filled in the election this May. Asa, Roxane, and I will stay on for the second year of our two-year term, but the four whose terms are ending have decided not to run again. Sure, there is work involved, and decisions to be made, but we only meet for two hours a month. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have (there's a link on my profile page if you want to email me), or you can contact the committee at mintonstablegarden@yahoo.com.

Observing some traditions, forsaking others

2010-03-28T19:02:00.013-04:00

Armed with my dysfunctional digital camera, I set out on this last sunny March weekend day to keep up with my growing traditions as well as experience how others respond to plant life. In the late morning I headed over to my plot at the Minton Stable Garden and turned over some of the soil for the first time in 2010. With a few breaks to chat with others passing through, I managed to dig up about a third of the plot, exhume the skeletons of last fall's broccoli, and sow the following: Forellenshluss Romaine Lettuce (a success from last year that I hope to repeat), Summertime Iceberg (for the younger taste buds), and Tyee Spinach (which Fedco sent as a substitute for the Space I had ordered). I repeated the same planting later in the afternoon in my backyard raised bed.Around 2:00 I was back in JP, to pick up my friend Kim and head down to to Mobius, an experimental arts organization in Boston's South End, for an event that had intrigued us, the Alternative Experimental Flower Show. We had attended the traditional flower show on and off for years, but despite the change in venue (Boston's World Trade Center) and main sponsor (formerly Massachusetts Horticultural Society, now Paragon Group), we could already envision the types of exhibits we'd encounter for the $20 we'd end up spending (although I do regret missing a display that Asa, a fellow Steering Committee member, had some involvement in assembling). We were looking forward to spending only $5 to support a great non-profit and not knowing what to expect.

Outside the entrance, we encountered the bouquets of flowers that we assumed that people had brought the past few nights as part of the admission fee to the dances and other live performances. Inside, Kim took advantage of a rare opportunity--she became a plant, potted by one of the artists, Cathy Nolan Vincevic. She removed her shoes, stepped into a pot, then Cathy added some potting soil and greenery. Feet buried in the dirt, Kim sensed what it was like to have a strong root system. She asked how she should behave, a little surprising given her extensive knowledge as a gardener, and her friend Marlo and I suggested that she face the sun. Other works in the exhibit included bananas and banana peels arranged like flowers (by Ursula Ziegler) and Bill Evertson's "Thorns in the Garden," where the visitor watches a looping video of various scenes of environmental destruction through a telescope and has the opportunity to buy fake seed packets with colorful images of mushroom clouds over fields of flowers and maps of chemical weapons storage sites. Deborah Bohnert, who has been giving away much of her art over the course of her career, made sure we didn't leave without one of her elegant pyramid-shaped potpourri pieces.

The installations provided a much-needed contrast to the traditional flower show exhibits. Instead of cordoning plant life off from human contact, we were encouraged to mingle with it in some cases, witness how it must hold up in the face of other forces, whether they be environmental or cultural (such as how they are portrayed in origami and other mediums), and see floral features in other objects.Later at home, as the skies began to cloud foreshadowing a soggy week ahead, I decided to be proactive and start some snap peas indoors. Reading a post from Dan's blog last week, I was reminded how the seeds that had germinated under the grow lights last season fared much better than those that I had sown directly into my backyard garden. I did plant some last weekend but it's still too early to tell how they'll do. I brought my peat pots indoors and added them to the other occupants under the grow lights, including my Black Prince tomatoes (above) and Piricicaba broccoli (below). So far, I feel I should have taken my delphinium seed money and bought a nice cup of coffee instead, but at least most my vegetables are progressing normally.

Don't just garden, advocate

2010-03-21T18:29:00.006-04:00

It may have been a gorgeous spring day yesterday, but the 35th annual Gardeners Gathering drew its regular crowd at Northeastern University, with many workshops filled and standing-room-only attendance at the noontime plenary session. I wish I could provide you with sharper photos of the event, but if you have been reading earlier posts, you are aware that I've been having problems with the focus and range finder of my digital camera. My search for repairs has taken me out of state, with a quote of about half the price of the camera itself. So I'll be shopping for a replacement, and hopefully finding a way to recycle this camera without adding to all of the other appliances in our landfills.The organization behind the Gardeners Gathering is the Boston Natural Areas Network. In her address, BNAN president Valerie Burns informed members of its Boston community gardens that compost delivery will be delayed 3-4 weeks; the compost comes from the city's collected yard waste and won't be released until tests reveal that it meets lead-level and other requirements. With that and some other business taken care of, she dedicated the remainder of her speech to the important issue of advocacy, explaining that many of our elected officials aren't aware of the community gardens within their districts. Gardens beautify our neighborhoods, make them safer, and bring people together, but it's simply not enough for us to grow and maintain our plots. With citywide budgetary constraints, it's the silent that are most likely to end up on the chopping block. So speak up at neighborhood meetings about the benefits of community gardens, and write letters to city councilors and other elected officials. According to Burns, for every one letter they get from a constituent, it is assumed that there are about a hundred others who feel the same way.

A gardener in the crowd brought our attention to a bill that was introduced last summer, H.R. 3225, The Community Gardens Act of 2009, which would provide funding for community gardens. Obviously, the Congress is tied up with the health care bill and other matters, but she urged us to contact our representatives to urge them to support it.Later I attended a few of the workshops, including Fresh Tastes from the Garden & Cooking with Seasonal Vegetables, put on by several graduates of BNAN's Master Urban Gardener program. After tasting Patricia's swiss chard with cannelloni and some kale seasoned with garlic and other spices, I am now trying to figure out where I can make room for these vegetables in my garden. Florence showed us different ways to use every part of the cassava plant, a major staple for many in African countries, and Phoebe had us taste-testing various salad dressings made from yogurt, orange juice, and herbs.

At the end, everyone reunited in the plenary room to hear Mayor Menino's annual remarks. In addition to urging everyone to invite him to their gardens at harvest time (which he does every year), he touted an initiative as a testament to his dedication to community gardening. For this year, he described the garden on Long Island (one of the Boston Harbor Islands), where residents of the homeless shelter help grow, harvest, and sell produce at a farmers market. The farm recently acquired 100 chickens, so he kidded the math-challenged by explaining that if each chicken laid an egg a day, there would be 700 after a week. After his speech, he stuck around to bestow awards and raffle prizes. The honored included the Hall of Fame inductee, the Southwest Corridor Parkland (11 gardens along the Southwest Corridor between the Back Bay and Jamaica Plain, including some I passed on my bike on the way home), and the Most Valuable Gardener, CiCi Kwan(sp?) of the Berkeley Street Community Garden. That she has never missed a garden cleanup in twenty-five years would put any work-hour slacker to shame.

Did the season start without me?

2010-03-12T16:40:00.006-05:00

Everyone has a different determinant for the beginning of the gardening season. For some, it's as soon as the ground can be worked, which for us in New England is a week or two away (given the temperatures in the 40s and 50s this past week it might be able to be worked now, but I haven't checked). For others, it's around the time of the Blooms! flower show (formally the New England Flower Show), starting on March 24; they need to see some advanced display to get in the mood. For Minton Stable Gardeners, the season might start when they attend the annual meeting, where they sign their rules and pay their dues. But for those of us around here starting seeds, the season should have begun by now.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, I have arrived late to the party. This past Tuesday, I started five varieties from my Fedco order: Black Prince and Rose de Berne organic tomatoes, Fiesta organic and Piracicaba broccoli, and Charming Snow Cauliflower. According to the Almanac's chart I should have had them under the grow light by February 23. Oh well...At least the cauliflower has decided to help me catch up.Are you on schedule?

Greenway Gardens visit

2010-03-04T16:45:00.006-05:00

I am a day late for Wordless Wednesday, but I like the idea of taking it easy and letting the photos do the blogging. Unfortunately, my camera seems to have some impediment, adjusting its focus in the wrong direction at times, blurring the sides or all of my images, regardless of whether I use automatic settings or not. It may be my fault; since I received it two Christmases ago I have been mainly keeping it in the pouch of whatever bag I've been using, leaving it in the dirt, and letting it end up in little hands. I need to find a good repair place in Boston. In the meantime, I'll post a few of the better shots of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Gardens, which I visited after work on Tuesday before catching a train home.Some daffodils already? Seems a little early, but the way the weather has been, not surprising.These signs were all around, and refer to the Conservancy's commissioned study highlighting the effects of poor drainage in the gardens. This photo below shows the worst conditions I've seen during my visit. I don't know how bad it gets during a rainstorm, but I think most parks and backyard gardens have a hard time escaping this problem.Save the Greenway Gardens reported on a meeting on February 24 in which the Conservancy unveiled some proposals for the Greenway. For the gardens (the area also known as the Fort Point Channel Parks), benches and chairs were proposed, but no vendor carts. Save the Greenway Gardens did not publish an opinion (as far as I can see), but to me these additions seem reasonable. It was a little disappointing to not find a bench to sit on when I first visited last summer. I hope this means the gardens will stay.

Waiting...

2010-02-28T13:35:00.006-05:00

As you can see, I have been a bit of a slacker when it comes to updating the blog. The main reason for this has been a fortunate one--I have been moving forward in my fledgling career as a freelance writer. After spending a good chunk of my day facing a screen, on those projects and commitments as well as my fiction, it has been difficult to bring myself to do even more writing. Another reason is common among many garden bloggers: this is still the off-season. One can't simply upload a few photos and say, "Look, my organic Canton Dwarf bok choy is germinating!" Some folks can garden all year round; I don't seem to be one of them (see #7 below). Engaging topics can be as scarce as available plots in the Minton Stable Garden (the waiting list is now up to 40).

So I have decided to employ a strategy to help break my writer's block: lists. Make a list of something, anything, and maybe an idea will come from it. For example, in the northeast this is the time of year for waiting. Many gardeners are waiting for their seeds to arrive. Mine did yesterday, but now I have to wait for the right time to plant them. Here are some other things I'm waiting for, not necessarily impatiently, but waiting nonetheless.

1. Spring, obviously. Unlike the rest of the country and even other parts of Massachusetts we are just having a dull, wet winter. The rain has washed away the snow from this untouched garden path I photographed earlier this month.2. The Minton Stable Community Garden annual meeting, which will take place on March 29. Looking forward to catching up with some members I haven't seen since the fall, though a little nervous about co-running a large gathering. Right now I'm committed to giving a treasurer's report and collecting and recording many dues checks in a short period. And then there are the other questions: will we get through the agenda on time? What will spark controversy? Could be...
3...an anticipated proposal to keep bees in the community garden. One of the gardeners along with an experienced bee keeper would like to establish a few hives on the property. The Steering Committee likes the idea and there are already a handful of interested volunteers, but the membership must approve it, a plan to fund it needs to be in place, and there has to be an agreement on its location. Stay tuned...
4. What will happen with the Rose Kennedy Greenway Gardens. I had learned back in January that the Greenway Conservancy, which has been granted control over the development of the parcels where the gardens are located, was considering removing them. Now, it seems that the Conservancy wants some gardens as well, but has reported on issues related to poor drainage and other problems with the existing gardens (which had been planted two years ago by volunteer master gardeners), and is trying to justify making significant changes that include building a pavilion. Save the Greenway Gardens and others are keeping an eye on these developments; for their reaction to the Conservancy's findings and information about upcoming community meetings check out their site.
5. Boston Natural Areas Network's Gardener's Gathering, which will take place March 20 at Northeastern University. Workshops, prizes, other freebies, and an opportunity to fill the room when the Mayor makes his annual appearance (so green spaces and community gardens stay on his radar).
6. My Olympia spinach and State Fair Mix zinnia seeds, on backorder from Fedco. I'm not too concerned about the zinnias but the spinach needs to be sown in late March.
7. My indoor herbs to thrive. Right now I'm down to one spindly coriander and and four starter pots of stunted basil seedlings. I think I can keep the basil but I'm not sure whether I should transplant them, change the distance of the grow lights, add fertilizer, or just move them to a sunny window.
8. The next installment of Daphne's Get Growing series. She and another blogger have been publishing these thorough how-to posts that cover basics from seed starting to composting. The series has been informative; I'm not sure if Daphne and Robin get paid for writing the posts but they should. They appear the first of each month, so I won't have to wait long for the next one.

This list-making won't prevent me from becoming a weekly (or even monthly) blogger, but the exercise has been useful for generating or reminding myself of some topics for future posts.

Things learned while ordering seeds

2010-02-11T05:09:00.007-05:00

I am finally getting around to ordering seeds, once again, through Fedco. I'm aware of the existence of other reputable companies, but have decided to stick with Fedco because of 1) convenience--this was the only catalog I have received and I have been too busy to explore alternatives, 2) success I've had with most of the varieties I've purchased, and 3) their cool catalog, minimalist in style with its black-and-white newsprint, but full of commentary and interesting factoids. Yesterday, while anticipating the Boston snowstorm that wasn't, I tore out the form and began painstakingly transcribing the correct codes for my upcoming crops. I ended up with a few of last year's successes, a few that have worked well for other gardeners in the area, and other vegetables/herbs and varieties I haven't yet grown. I'm still compiling my list, but for this post I thought I'd share some information, new to me.

Black Prince Tomato: Fedco had not offered this variety for thirteen years because when it was first sold, the company "could not find a market for it." Now Google "black prince tomato" and most of the links up front are from other seed merchants, probably due to the popularity of heirlooms nowadays, and for the variety's rich flavor. According to one online source, this Siberian tomato originated in Irkutsk, Russia, and is known for its health benefits due to its abundance of the antioxidant lypocene. Though other reports indicate that the plant has grown successfully in western and southern regions of the US, I'm going to give the Black Prince a chance here in New England. Since it also grows well in cold climates in Russia, maybe if I try growing it, Murphy's Law will take effect and we'll end up having a warmer summer.Catnip: The fact that our cat (above, one of my daughter's many photos) goes crazy for catnip is enough reason to order it, but the Fedco catalog states that this herb can calm mild stomach disorders, aid sleep, and lower fevers if added to tea. Rats hate it, and crushing and rubbing it on the skin can repel mosquitoes better than DEET (according to an Iowa State University study).

Sugar Ann Snap Pea: I had mixed results growing it last season but it could have been worse. Fedco's crop was blown away by a hurricane. As a result, it's not available in 2010, so I'm ordering Cascadia instead.

Herbs and Greenway update

2010-01-31T15:14:00.004-05:00

With grow lights an inch or two above them, all four of my herb varieties planted on January 10 have germinated. First up were a few of the dill seeds (third group from the left in the photos below), then the 2008 basil (at left). I thought I would have more success with the coriander, but all I have so far is a small finger sticking out of the soil (at right). The most pleasant surprise has been the cilantro; not only were the seeds a few years old, but cilantro (second from left) is fussier than many other herbs when it comes to watering and circulation in the soil. Hopefully I can keep them in enough light and heat so they don't become spindly. The cilantro and dill are looking a little emaciated already.About saving the Greenway Gardens, I've received a little feedback (here and elsewhere) on my previous post ranging from "great writing" to "a little skewed" and even "whining." To the first I say thanks, and regarding the second, it was nice to have a response from someone who lives near the Gardens and who knows a few individuals from the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. Basically, my main purpose of the post was to address the issue of possible plans to remove the gardens, not to accuse the Conservancy of failing to be civic-minded in their goals; they also want people to come together and use the space. A few days after my post, local journalist Karen Cord Taylor explained in more detail the breakdown in communication and collaboration between the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Conservancy. The different perspectives (as well as comments) shed more light on the complexities of these issues. The encouraging development is that the Conservancy's executive director has stated, according to the post, that "these parcels will remain gardens." We'll see.

Greenway Gardens at risk

2010-01-22T14:09:00.006-05:00

These past couple of weeks have been marked by acts of generosity and community activism in the face of disastrous and threatening events. Many of us have opened our wallets to aid victims of Haiti's earthquake or picked by phones or signs in an attempt to sway the results of an uncomfortably close Senate election. These news items had been keeping me occupied when I received a request from a fellow Steering Committee member to become a fan of the newly-formed Facebook page, "Save Boston's Greenway Gardens."

I was a little surprised to learn that the gardens were at risk. After all, they were completed less than two years ago, thanks to a team of volunteer master gardeners, and, according to this LiveJournal entry, $850,000 provided by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The Rose Kennedy Greenway Gardens occupy three parcels of land in downtown Boston that was once shaded over by the elevated Central Artery, before the "Big Dig" rerouted the expressway underground.

Winding paths take pedestrians past an impressive arrangement of annuals and perennials, complete with discreet identification signs staked into the flower beds. The landscape of native perennials serves as a refreshing alternative to the typical public-space mass plantings that feature monotonous rows of petunias, impatiens, or other annuals that get ripped out at the end of a season. And the natives may inspire gardeners to give them a try in their own beds. I have only had a chance to rush down the path on my way to other destinations (hence the embarrassing lack of photos); now I'm concerned I may not get a chance to make a proper visit.

A different group, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, was in alliance with MassHort, but now has other ideas. A non-profit that leases the land from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its plans call for more "active use," with a pavillion, a paved-over area for a farmers market, and even a skating rink.

Ripping out these lovely plantings would be a waste of all of the money and community effort put into this project. The Conservancy argues that the gardens would be expensive to maintain. There are other green spaces in the city that are watered regularly, and plants growing in their native habitat are more adapted to the climate and would presumably require less care. Would maintaining a building or a rink of ice that needs constant temperature control be cheaper? I don't think so.

Do we need these new facilities? There's already a skating rink on the Boston Common, and farmers markets in nearby Dewey Square, Copley Square, and other places. A public toilet somewhere on the Greenway might be nice, since they are scarce anyway, but there is already enough concrete. I think the fountain and seating in the nearby parcels will suffice.

Who knows what will get slipped by us before the gardening season begins. As I write this the Facebook page only has about as many fans as I have friends, with a little overlap, a number that's okay for an individual but not a cause. If you have any investment in this issue become a fan (if you're on Facebook), write to an official, or follow some of the other suggestions on the organization's web site.

More herbs indoors

2010-01-10T18:17:00.006-05:00

Today I followed through on my plan to continue growing herbs indoors. My previous efforts have had mixed results. We have been harvesting the parsley and new sprigs that rise up to replace them; although I've been told by other gardeners that the flavor diminishes with the new growth, I haven't tried it on its own to make a comparison. The German thyme that I had moved indoors has been sorely neglected. Call it preoccupation with the holidays, or a lapse in executive functioning, but in any case, maybe I should harvest it in its already-dried state.With a vacancy under the grow lights until tomatoes are sown in March, I have decided to start a few varieties of herbs in the hopes that I can get them established enough to transfer them to sunny windows and have a nice kitchen garden in the spring. I prepared recycled cell packs with a layer of gravel because herbs like soil with good drainage. If I had some sand handy, I would have added a little to the potting mix, but with vigilance I hope to maintain the right level of moisture.The four varieties include dill and coriander that I snapped up from Daphne's giveaway (seeds she had saved). My friend Kim provided me with leftover cilantro seeds, and I found some sweet basil, not my most recent seeds, so I hope they'll take. And now I need to add alerts to check on and water these young ones, not to mention turn on and off the grow lights. I haven't found much online about folks starting herbs at this time of year; in any case, any insights are welcome.

The year in gardening 2009/Resolutions for 2010

2009-12-31T12:35:00.004-05:00

My plot back in early September

The past year may go down in history as one of the worst years in gardening, at least in the past decade. Above-average rainfall and below-average temperatures during the crucial months of the growing season resulted in a below-average yield, especially with tomatoes. In November, I abandoned my experiment of determining how much I benefited monetarily from planting and harvesting edibles, reporting a negative balance. And on some days, I spent more time clearing out infected fruits and vegetables than harvesting healthy ones.

The Minton Stable Garden in bloom, August

However, I still find gardening to be a satisfying act, providing physical and emotional benefits to those who participate in it. Another year at the Minton Stable Community Garden led to more friendships with gardeners and other Steering Committee members. A community of bloggers provided advice and ideas for improving my garden practices as well. And the rain had some advantages, including a lower water bill for the community garden (only $141.82, down from last year's $203.40). As long as I have my 140 square feet in JP and land at home, and Massachusetts hasn't yet disappeared under rising sea levels, I'll continue gardening. Here is my second annual set of lists, with items not in any particular order.

Top 5 successful plants:
1. Kentucky Wonder pole beans
2. Fiesta organic broccoli
3. Forellenschluss Romaine lettuce (grown in Minton Stable Garden)
4. June-bearing strawberries (before the botrytis set in)
5. Volunteer raspberries--they liked the fall conditions

Top 5 failures:
1. All tomato varieties (except volunteer cherry tomatoes)--due to below-average temps and late blight
2. Anything I tried to grow in my backyard--too shady
3. Spinach after the invasion of leaf miners
4. Irises I tried to transplant to a sunnier location in front yard--maybe they'll bloom next year
5. Zinnias--planted late and not given enough room

Resolutions for 2010:
1. Continue growing the same volume of tomatoes, trying some different varieties, but make a point of pruning them to strengthen plants and ensure that they get more light.
2. Grow more varieties of broccoli, like Piricicaba and broccoli raab, and other plants, including kale and other greens, coriander, parsley, and other herbs, carrots, and cauliflower.
3. Reduce the size of the strawberry bed to make room for the raspberries.
4. Keep trying to achieve that fall crop of greens, perhaps by planting better varieties sooner, starting some indoors in August so they can grow out back under row covers, or by some other means.
5. Be more aggressive in thinning out perennials, to avoid diseases like powdery mildew or to keep them from taking over my MSG plot. Black-eyed susans, anyone?
6. Take better photos, including sharper close-ups and documentation of the garden over time.

Happy New Year! I'd be curious to read the resolutions of other gardeners.

Christmas day in the garden

2009-12-25T22:04:00.011-05:00

At a gathering of family and friends that I had on Christmas Eve I was asked if I'd be posting photos of the Minton Stable Garden on Christmas day. After all of the holiday preparations, including buying gifts and getting ready for the party, I was overdue for a visit. We never host anything on Christmas Day, so it's a time to exhale, enjoy the quiet morning, and take our time making our way over to my in-laws'. I stopped by on this white Christmas, which has been statistically demonstrated to be a rarity, and took a few photos. I found few footprints past the garden gate, and though it was likely due to the cold that I didn't linger for long, I couldn't help but also feel that I had invaded a bedroom of sleepers who should not be disturbed.

My broccoli in the snow

The garden may be in hibernation, but in future posts I hope to outline the past year's successes and failures, provide updates on the possibility of keeping bees in the garden, and after the new season begins put up a few videos from 2010 garden events.

The John Carroll Memorial in the snow

One of the wildflower gardens in the snow

Still harvesting

2009-12-14T16:51:00.007-05:00

"Why are you always taking pictures of broccoli?" my daughter asked me today. Anyone who has followed my Monday harvest updates (as well as the links at the mother lode, Daphne's Dandelions) knows by now that's all that remains in my Minton Stable Garden plot. I visited the garden last Thursday, the day after our snow/rain event, expecting to pull up the plants entirely, but the sideshoots are still loving this weather. We'll see how long that lasts as nighttime temps start dipping into the twenties. For tonight at home, I'll roast this week's harvest along with a chicken, potatoes, and whatever else in the fridge I can throw in the pan.The community garden is now in winter mode. Brassicas are mostly what remain. Mainly kale. The topic of many of the emails going back and forth among Steering Committee members has shifted from who hasn't completed their work hours to who has signed up for snow shoveling; we won't even convene again until late January. There will be many gardeners I won't see again until around April, when we have our general meeting. In some ways I feel a little sad about this, but I've gotten used to it. Spring will be here in no time.

Gifts you may or may not want

2009-12-10T16:43:00.007-05:00

For the past week I've been chipping away at the holiday gift-buying expectations, and I must admit that up to this point, nothing I've purchased has had anything to do with gardening. Perhaps this is because the gardeners in my life are outfitted with everything they need--all the tools, grow lights, and references on their bookshelves to supplement their already-expansive working knowledge. Not to mention that my daughter and most of my eight(!) nieces and nephews are at that awkward age between curiosity about nature and mature reconnection with it, a period that can sometimes last more than ten years (okay, that might be a cynical exaggeration). And if someone mysteriously leaves you a garden gnome working on a laptop, which really happened to my parents right before Thanksgiving (they found it on a stone wall near their garden, but my father took it inside tonight to take this photo), then what else could top that?Having read an article in today's Boston Globe about the best and worst holiday plants, I got to thinking about what I might or could give that special gardener if the opportunity arose. Here is a very random selection of ideas. But first, I want to make it clear that there is no possibility at this time that I would need to disclose that I'm getting paid in any form by any of the vendors or manufacturers offering these items described below--not that anyone would suspect I'd be getting a kickback for my humble musings.

Winter is the time for planning next season's garden. A novice might need a hand in determining what to plant and when to plant it. For those with an iPhone or iPod touch, and if you are extremely cheap, you might want to check out the Garden Guide application; only 99 cents puts information about plants and their growing conditions at a gardener's fingertips. For the Luddite grower, there is the Clyde Planting Chart and its sliding adjuster, no computer required. Or better yet, pick up one of my favorite books, The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch, which I often consult first for basic, straightforward advice.

Got a depressed gardener on your list? Maybe a Full Sun Grow Lamp is the answer. Not only does it offer a full spectrum of light, but could be used to prevent the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder. It's a little small for starting lots of seeds but if you place it on your bedside table, it will be near enough that you can roll over and stick your head under it on those mornings you are so despondent that you can't get out of bed. And when a foam pad or folding stool just won't do, there's the Tractor Scoot. For $89.95, you can pull a swiveling seat around like a wagon. I predict a motor in the next version.

It's amazing what new accessories are available these days. I often find that what I grow is beautiful enough on its own. However, we have recently acquired a loved one who is deserving of a gift, and have found just the thing for him. Because everyone could benefit from a garden.

Another unhealthy tradition

2009-12-01T09:24:00.004-05:00

Let's face it; every year there is some new revelation about the dangers of the holiday season. For a while, we were told to buy artificial trees to save our forests, only to learn later about some issues around their manufacture. In addition, stopping the flow of catalogs can require more effort than merely recycling them. This season, environmental officials in Massachusetts have issued a new warning: a couple of our most festive-looking plants are invasive and should not be used for decorating.

I remember taking the advice of a friend during my early lean years of living in Jamaica Plain: the bittersweet that grew freely on the fence of a nearby tennis court could be cut and made into a wreath or stuffed in a vase for some instant color. It was the perfect time of the year, as the red berries had popped out from their tannish-yellow casing, a nice two-toned effect. Well, in the process of using cuttings, those berries can drop, and spread across fields, forests, and yards, choking out other plants.I should know this by now. Although I haven't decorated with bittersweet since moving into our current home, we have been battling this nasty knot of it that has been clinging to the roof and side of our garage and along the driveway fence on and off for years. The problem is compounded by the difficulty in reaching some of it. Those branches hang over our neighbor's yard, and because our driveway is about 8 feet higher and the fence unstable, anyone trying to cut it down risks falling a dangerous distance. We tried to stay on top of it when our neighbors grew tomatoes in that part of their yard, but when they moved away and rented their house to non-gardeners we let things go.

I know now that simply cutting it back won't suffice, as the berries will fall and spread. Carol Stocker has recommended applying an herbicide known as Brush-B-Gon on cut stems, and as much as I have avoided using chemicals, I may have no other choice. Time to stop procrastinating and get up on that ladder.

Harvest Monday and reflecting on the broccoli crop

2009-11-23T09:11:00.004-05:00

It's harvest Monday, and two weeks since I reported on mine and linked with the others at Daphne's blog. Late November is officially here and I'm pleased that there is still a broccoli harvest to report. Here is what I picked last Thursday, though the side shoots are getting smaller and smaller. I filled a 9-ounce cup, and for dinner later I stirred some into some leftover chicken soup. Just reheating the soup for a few minutes cooked the broccoli to the right texture. I haven't been to the Minton Stable Garden since then; I hope to make it today. I need to cut back the raspberries, which are done producing desirable fruit, and may be able to pinch off a few more sideshoots, though some are starting to produce yellow flowers, a signal that the end is near.Along with the pole beans and romaine lettuce, the Fiesta organic broccoli seeds (from Fedco) I had sown back in March have grown into my most successful crop of the season. This was likely due to several factors: 1) the sunny location in the Minton Stable Garden (the ones in my back yard failed to produce), 2) the well-drained soil with added compost, and 3) the cooler-than-average conditions prevented the plants from bolting sooner. Starting and planting them out at the right time, and using a potting medium with fertilizer also played a role, of course.

This morning I poked around online to determine what I could do next year to improve my broccoli growing practices. Some sites, including this one, stressed that crops should be rotated every few years to avoid diseases, and instructed me to cut stems at an angle when harvesting. I had done the quickest thing by snapping off sideshoots with my bare hand, which probably wasn't such a big deal, but had I cut off the initial heads at an angle I may have been able to avoid this. Leaving a flat stump allowed rainwater to pool up and cause rot, though it didn't harm the whole plant and I was still able to harvest side shoots. Broccoli roots tend to be shallow, so mounding soil around the base of the plant may help. One of my plants became uprooted and died, but I didn't bother to check for clubroot, which could have also been a culprit.

I'll definitely grow it again next year, and perhaps try some Romanesco or Broccoli Raab for more variety. I may also save the seeds of what I have grown, also highly recommended. I'd be curious to find out what other gardeners took away from their growing experience this season.

Last work day

2009-11-15T16:44:00.007-05:00

What a wild weather weekend as usual...another work day postponed as 1-2 inches of rain soaked the Boston area yesterday. Certainly not ideal conditions for hauling compost. Today's temperatures in the 60s made up for it, that is, if one doesn't worry about whether or not the neighborhood will be underwater in a few years from all these possible effects of global warming.Having finished up my work requirement earlier in the season and experiencing some back problems, I chose not to participate, but I stopped over at the Minton Stable Garden to harvest more broccoli sideshoots (see above) and see how the work was progressing. John, who along with Todd from the Steering Committee was running the work day, filled me in on who managed to show up to finish up their hours. They had finished loading this truck, but because Apple D'Or Tree, the composting business and destination for our yard waste, is closed on Sunday, it will spend the night here. Hopefully the tires won't sink deeper in the mud overnight. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to compost all our waste on site because it doesn't get hot enough in our receptacles for it to break down. Although Apple D'Or is nearby and not expensive, what to do about our composting still remains an issue; a few people on the Steering Committee are interested in developing a workable on-site system.After I picked the broccoli I also noticed that the garlic I planted a few weeks ago is coming up.As I lingered to take photos of the garden Ralph and Karla showed up to begin the next phase of their work contribution: fitting the shed with hooks and other fixtures so our tools and supplies can be stored efficiently. Ralph is a woodworker and Karla designs cabinetry configurations (the Steering Committee was duly impressed with her blueprints), so the project is in good hands. There had been a bit of complaining among us about tools being left around the garden and difficulty maneuvering around the shed to retrieve needed items. These improvements will give items their proper place and free up some more space for storage.

Harvest update; the indoor season begins

2009-11-10T16:19:00.005-05:00

First, a harvest update; better late than never, I suppose. These last few days we've been enjoying sunshine and temperatures in the sixties. Not only has the weather extended the harvest, but has coaxed my first season raspberry plants to continue producing new berries. Only one of my four plants has quit, leaving pea-sized dried-up remains. Fortunately for me, the other fruits have retained their sweet flavor, which is not always guaranteed to happen this late in the season (the berries in the communal patch at the Minton Stable Garden taste bland and are lacking in juiciness in comparison).Now for some not-so-scientific estimates of the value of my harvest (for more impressive numbers and other gardeners' harvest updates visit Daphne's blog). Based on all of the nearly identical photos I've taken since my last tally, I've yielded the following:

Previous benefits total: $143.18
1/2 pound (estimated) organic broccoli at $2.50/lb.: $1.25
1 package (estimated) raspberries at $3.59: $3.59
New benefits total: $148.02

Current cost total: $171.57
New balance: -$23.55
I have this nifty grow light that has put me in the red this season, so I may as well keep using it. Under a layer of leaves in containers out back, I was pleasantly surprised to find a few German thyme plants still thriving and new parsley rising up over the stumps of what my husband had picked and used in pesto. I potted them in containers I could bring indoors, and plan to keep them alive for as long as I can under the grow light. I placed another thyme plant under a kitchen window; we'll see which fares better. I would like to start some rosemary from seed, maybe some other herbs, as well as lettuce. In a comment she made earlier to my blog Emily mentioned that she was going to sow an indoor garden, and since I still have soil, light, and lettuce seeds, why not?

Brief harvest Monday and plot update

2009-11-02T21:42:00.006-05:00

It's been two weeks since I posted a harvest update. To my surprise, there continues to be a yield about which to report, and the list of Harvest Monday participants over at Daphne's Dandelions is growing again. Thanks to an amendment to the Minton Stable Garden rule that states that plots must be winterized by November 1, plants that are still producing can stay in the ground. In my case, it's still the broccoli sending out sideshoots (a nice addition to last night's stir fry) and a few more raspberries. I think by the end of next week I'll have enough raspberries to fill a package and add that information to my tally. After I filled my tiny baggie with the goodies I snapped a few photos to show off the compliance of most MSG gardeners. Luckily nasturtiums count as edibles and add some color.Tomorrow's a busy day, and I have to squeeze voting in there somewhere. We'll see which man--Menino or Flaherty (with Yoon)--will be at the podium at next year's Gardener's Gathering. Whoever it is, I hope he keeps the free compost coming.

Winterization bearing down

2009-10-29T22:13:00.009-04:00

The deadline at the Minton Stable Garden for winterizing one's plot is November 1. By this date gardeners are expected to cut back perennials, clear out annuals, and remove all of the fencing, tools, supports, bags of soil, and other items. The water has been shut off for the season, and only one more work day has been scheduled for the unfortunate few still needing to fulfill their four-hour requirement (or else their plot will be given to one of the thirty people on the waiting list).However, my raspberries and broccoli haven't received the memo. The rainy fall conditions have prolonged the growing season for both, with new berries for the former and the continued production of sideshoots for the latter. Otherwise, most everything else is ready to go. I had forgotten (or have been too embarrassed) to take a photo of my bean supports that fell over weeks ago. The tomatoes and peas are gone, and the perennials have been deadheaded but ready to be trimmed back completely. In about another week, material to be composted offsite will probably overflow on this tarp.One of my post ideas for earlier this summer was to showcase the elaborate supports built by my fellow gardeners. Some have been taken down already while others have the skeletal remains of whatever they supported clinging to them. Grotesquely bulging and overripe beans. Blighted tomato stems rotting against metal rings. If not slimy to the touch then crinkling from dryness. It's a shame I never got around to executing this idea, but there's always next season.

Here are a few photos of what's still up. A lean-to that the creator had intended for cucumbers (notice the nice brussel sprouts next to it).One substantial setup that once had peas climbing up strings, and still supporting the highest cosmos I've ever seen.One of several pea trellises made from pipes, broomsticks, and chicken wire.And one of my favorites: the arch connecting two raised beds designed for the handicapped. As in previous years, that will stay up throughout the winter, poking out from the snowbanks.

Super Colossal gin-soaked garlic

2009-10-20T21:23:00.006-04:00

Many of us gardeners are just not ready for our plots to go to bed. We know it's October, but we want to stay up a little longer. I'm no exception, and a post in Dark Creek Chronicles reminded me that October is the perfect time to start garlic. So I put "plant garlic" on my to-do list for the following week, and not long after, a post in Daphne's Dandelions explained how to prepare garlic cloves for planting. I was intrigued by this approach because a) of the mixed results my husband had in the past with growing garlic and b) she had success with this in the past.

The beauty of garlic is that you don't need to order bulbs, though some gardeners do to grow particular varieties. I just headed over to my local supermarket and bought a couple of bulbs. "Super Colossal Garlic" was written on the sign. I bought two for a total of 69 cents, took them home and googled "super colossal garlic," but didn't find much. One site described it as "the whimpy cousin of the California garlic in flavor if not in size." Ouch. But it also added that it was a "nice addition to soups, salads or to a roast." "Super colossal" is also a name used for types of olives and shrimp.Yesterday I soaked cloves from 1 1/2 bulbs in a baking soda/water solution as Daphne did, and today I peeled the cloves and soaked them some more. Daphne had used vodka, but I didn't have any, though I did have some really old gin left over from my wedding reception over 12 years ago, so I used that for a quick soak. I also found some information from Garlic Central about planting the bulbs. Because it contains the antifungal compound allicin, there can be benefits from planting it near some other crops, such as lettuce where it can help keep aphids away. However, it doesn't do well near peas, potatoes, or legumes.I planted my cloves in four different places. At home I'm short on sunlight and at the Minton Stable Garden I'm short on space. I planted around 14 cloves, 6 at the MSG (above), 6 in a backyard plot where I can usually get in a spring crop of lettuce and peas before the leaves shade things out, in a box along a fence behind my house near a spot where basil grew successfully, and in a couple of pots on the front upstairs porch. We'll see if by next August if there will be any garlic ready to add to that first batch of salsa.

Monday harvest tally and frost casualties

2009-10-19T13:00:00.007-04:00

In past years, no matter what else was going on, I had always kept up with the forecast, ready to grab the last pine nuts at the Harvest Coop and fire up the salad spinner and Cuisinart to get the pesto factory going. It was a family project that kept us up late, and the sharp aroma from bags of uprooted basil plants waiting to be "deleafed" would take over the kitchen.

Didn't someone mention frost last week? Maybe I read it in some other blog post or even wrote about it myself. In any case, the concept seemed far off in the future. Then on Wednesday morning I had to scrape ice from my windshield. Oops. Later that day in the Minton Stable Garden my fears were confirmed when I discovered what had happened to my basil (see below). Karen, another gardener, thought that I could still dry it and grind it up, so I pulled up and bagged the plants. I left the bag on the kitchen counter at home and got busy with other stuff, and the bag disappeared...That was the bad news. Luckily, there were no herb casualties on the home front, which was fortunate considering that the six basil plants in containers had grown taller and greener than their MSG cousins. Four had come up from seed while two had been purchased at the farmers market. For most of the summer I had thought that the German thyme I had sown next to the basil was a failure, until I realized that what looked similar to the low, scraggly thin-stemmed weeds taking over in my shady perennial beds was the thyme itself.The damage to these herbs was minimal to non-existent, probably because the trees, house, and garage near and around them provided some protection. I picked them in no time. My husband was in a pesto-making mood, so I left the task to him and I curled up under the covers with a book. After all, I was the one who had grown the main ingredients. However, I fell asleep before capturing a photo finish. The container of the green stuff is now in the freezer hanging out with the leftover containers from last year's more bountiful season.At the farmers market I noted that a bunch of basil that looked similar in size to our healthy harvest cost $2. I couldn't find any fresh thyme, but found a package with about the same amount at the supermarket for $2.49. Not enough to close the earnings gap, but anyway:

Previous benefits total: $138.69
1 bunch (estimated) basil at $2/bunch: $2.00
1 package (estimated) fresh thyme at $2.49/package: $2.49
New benefits total: $143.18

Current cost total: $171.57
New balance: -$28.39

Sometimes I wonder: if I had decided against investing in a grow light and bought flats of tomatoes and broccoli instead, would I have reported a profit? Probably, but the point of gardening for me has not been to save money on food--it has been to enjoy and face the challenge of growing better food, get exercise and fresh air, and be part of the gardening community. Besides, I still have a grow light. I don't want it to keep gathering dust until February. Any ideas (aside from cleaning it)?

And don't forget to check out the other harvest posts linked to Daphne's blog, if you'd like.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - October

2009-10-15T13:03:00.015-04:00

I love these traditions in which I could be lazy on words and let the photos do the talking. It's the 15th of the month, time for the GBBD post, started by May Dream Gardens. To check out the floral treasures from other bloggers, click on their links at the bottom of the MDG post.

Despite a frost two nights ago that nearly killed half my basil, there is still color to be found, not just from the turning leaves. The zinnias at left, growing in my Minton Stable Garden plot, sustained a few battle scars but continue to persevere, but most of my blooms can be found in my gardens at home. One lone daisy remains, as well as a few cosmos that are growing along the sidewalk.
Most of the action can be found at one end of my front yard, where the maiden grass has sprouted red tassels,and these Lady in Black asters, which required extra watering and TLC last season, seem to thrive under the cooler, rainier conditions. The profusion of colorful blossoms is as intense as a fireworks display.Meanwhile, along the side of the house, the other deliberately-planted asters are preparing to call it quits for the season.However, the weed asters are taking over in a few areas, but that's okay. If kept at bay, those along with smartweed are among the most attractive invasives around.In the backyard, a few morning glories remain, but the highlight is the sedum; I am assuming the name of this variety is Autumn Joy because it resembles the one at the end of Daphne's post.More about herbs in the next post, out by Harvest Monday if not sooner.

A slightly more scientific Monday harvest tally

2009-10-12T21:43:00.007-04:00

Here we are again on Harvest Monday, and here are my photos of the usual suspects. Had I really thought through this harvest reporting business, I would have raided my friends' seed supplies (to save money) and grown a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. If you finding this bounty rather limited or just simply interested in seeing how other gardeners are doing, you can visit Daphne's post and the participating links. However, there are two new developments in my tally update. First, after weighing and buying more broccoli to supplement my dwindling yield, I reviewed the last several weeks of photos in an effort to make a reasonable estimate, which is a pound. More or less. Also, enough raspberries to fill one of those small containers you get at the supermarket.I had forgotten we had a scale until the other night, when I wanted to weigh some chicken bones to determine how much stock I could make. My husband uses one for his work (trust me, it's all legal), so yesterday I tried to weigh the few green beans I picked. Since the scale is designed for heavier items, the numbers didn't budge. However, two Rose de Berne tomatoes that had reached redness (yet still in a state of punyness) tipped the scale to a whopping .2 pounds. And no signs of blight! Considering the other times I weighed tomatoes at the farmers' market, this seemed about right. So with a little more accuracy I can update my tally as follows:Previous benefits total: $132.00
1 pound (estimated) organic broccoli at $2.50/lb.: $2.50
1 package (estimated) raspberries at $3.59/pkg.: $3.59
.2 pounds of organically grown tomatoes at $3/lb.: $0.60
New benefits total: $138.69

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$32.88

I don't know if I'll have enough basil to close the gap, or, given tonight's falling temperatures, any at all.

The silver lining

2009-10-09T13:50:00.006-04:00

Rain again. This has been the weather word, the takeaway from this growing season. A few years from now we'll be saying to each other, "Remember that awful summer of 2009?" Hopefully, we won't be saying, "Remember when it all started to go downhill?"

The awful effects of the rainy, cold summer, which seems to have transitioned to a rainy fall, have been numerous. Below-average harvests. Late blight, botrytis, powdery mildew, and other infestations. Plants failing to thrive. A breeding climate for mosquitoes. Lingering seasonal affective disorder. Ruined plans, and the list goes on. As a heavy downpour kept me indoors on Tuesday morning, I decided I had enough doom and gloom, so I considered the positive and started this list, easier now that most of my problems have been cleared away. And today I took some pretty photos of rain on some of my plants outside. I know many of you out there may find this a cruel joke, but there are reasons to like the rain:

1. The rain extended my lettuce harvest. What has been in past seasons a 2-week spell of round-the-clock salads and giveaways lasted about twice as long. I was able to keep some of it in the ground and harvest it as needed, and when it was all over, only a few heads had bolted.
2. Fewer weeds. No invasions of pigweed to slave away over. Not that the gardens were invasive-free--they just didn't take over as much.
3. I wasn't inundated with too many tomatoes that I had to foist upon my friends and family, who would in turn foist theirs upon me.
4. Less sun meant that a slowdown of my skin's aging process. Also money saved on sunscreen and beach parking.
5. With few weeds to pull and vegetables to haul, I had fewer back problems, thus spending less on ibuprofen and reducing my risk of needing physical therapy.
6. How could I almost forget this one? Lower water bills! Not to mention fewer times driving over to the Minton Stable Garden to water, so I reduced my carbon footprint.
7. A chance to see if the waterproof camping equipment lived up to its promise. For the most part, it did.Feel free to add to this list or throw a few blighted tomatoes at me for even suggesting it.

Monday harvest/plot update - The cleanup continues

2009-10-05T16:57:00.009-04:00

As expected, my harvest is dwindling in a few areas, particularly my stunted snap peas and my Kentucky Wonder pole beans. The latter aren't crazy about the advance of fall and nighttime temperatures in the 40s; the only beans that didn't turn limp in protest were buried under the plants' leaves. My raspberry plants are still new and few, and that was reflected in the amount of fruit I picked. The amount of broccoli side shoots remains constant, and although I pick only a few every few days, the combination of those and the pole beans have been a sufficient contribution to my small family's balanced diet. To see how other garden bloggers are doing with their harvests, check out the list at the bottom of Daphne's post.

I spent an hour and half at my Minton Stable Garden plot today, primarily pulling out my blighted and finished tomato plants (as you can see in the before and after photos below). Although I've read and heard reports that spores of diseased plants can travel through the air and infect other plants, the plant matter can be composted. Only blighted potato tubers should be disposed of separately, and since I'm not growing any potatoes in the MSG, I'm not concerned. Nevertheless, I bagged up the plants and weeds I pulled today to put out with yard waste at home, since the MSG bins are over capacity and won't be cleared and taken away for several weeks. Other chores I completed included weeding, harvesting, cutting back more of my spent perennials, tying up my raspberry plants to keep them upright and safe from being choked by my pole beans, and clearing strawberry runners from my raspberry patch and other areas of the garden.I still need to figure out how much broccoli I have harvested since my last tally, so I'll just add in the beans:

Previous benefits total: $131.80
1/5 pound (estimated) pole beans: $0.20
New benefits total: $132.00

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$39.57

Short on time this evening. More totals to come in a future post.

Monday harvest post - last tomatoes

2009-09-28T21:51:00.007-04:00

It's Monday again, time for another report about the past week's harvest. You can also check out the yields of other garden bloggers who have added their links to the bottom of Daphne's post. It seems that as I write this, there are only a few of us diehards participating this week. Hopefully, for the sake of the other gardeners, it's because they are simply too busy and not because they have nothing to report.In my case, I think I'll be counting the number of upcoming harvest posts on one hand. On Saturday, I picked what I believe to be my last standard-size tomato, from one of my front-porch containers. As you can see by the photo below, calling it standard in size is a bit of a stretch. The others, in the first photo, came out of my Minton Stable Garden plot, and as usual, I'm showing their unblighted sides. You may also notice that I'm getting a few snap peas from my fall plants that have only grown about 8 inches high. I probably have a few more but I have been so unimpressed that when I visited the MSG today, I had forgotten to check.The best news of the past week is the arrival of more raspberries on my new plants; I may actually accumulate enough to fill one of those small containers. I'll do another not-so-scientific estimate of their value after I pick a few more. I found out that organic broccoli was going for $2 a pound at the farmer's market, and since I don't have any idea how much I have picked in weight since I last included them in my tally, I'll postpone my estimate another week until I weigh and buy some and use that information to make another estimate. No science fair awards for me!So, just tomatoes and pole beans in my tally this week:

Previous benefits total: $127.05
1/4 pound (estimated) of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.25
1 1/2 pounds (estimated) of organically grown tomatoes at $3/lb.: $4.50
New benefits total: $131.80

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$39.77

As I have said before, I am tallying my harvest out of curiosity and do not pursue gardening to save money on food expenses. But I can still look on the bright side: I haven't spent any money on the vegetable garden in weeks.

Wildflowers in the rain

2009-09-27T20:58:00.007-04:00

Today I fulfilled one of my duties as a Minton Stable Garden Steering Committee member by supervising a work day. I don't know if the term "supervise" accurately described my role. It was more like I was Queen Elizabeth, Terry (or Allan or Kim) was the prime minister and the other 8 workers trying to get their hours in were a very effective House of Parliament. The objective today: advance work on the wildflower/habitat area that was begun last month on the MSG grounds.Terry and Asa, who are also on the Steering Committee, are the coordinators of this project. Prior to today, they had convened a planning meeting and held a work day a week ago to break ground of the two roundish plots. One had been completely dug up while the other was covered in newspaper and compost to kill off the grass and prevent weeds from returning. Today, Allan and Kim provided most of the native perennials and could identify them and recommend optimal places for them to be planted.Shortly before work began, around noon, I met with Terry to review what needed to be done and put out the signup sheet. After a morning of checking the weather forecast (100% chance of rain!) and trying to determine whether or not to continue plans for the work day, we stood on the grass with a light rain falling, figuring if no one appeared, we'd postpone it a week. But there was no guarantee that next Saturday's weather would be more conducive to planting, and there were a few gardeners out there who really needed their work hours (4 each season is the requirement). Sure enough, a few minutes later, they came, gloves in hand, ready to work. And this is really the best time of year to divide and plant perennials, and the people who were passionate about this project were eager to get them in.The variety of natives included milkweed, beebalm, lobelia, aster, purple coneflower, and even blueberries. Anyone in the area interested in more detail could stop by and read the little markers that a worker diligently provided for each. Asa stopped by later in the session and was quite impressed; given the weather and projections of low turnout, she thought there'd be about a half dozen plants in the ground. But we had the plots pretty much covered, leaving one small area open for new inspiration.

Monday harvest post - vegetable medley for one

2009-09-21T21:09:00.010-04:00

This is going to be one of the shortest harvest posts of the season. We are dealing with illness at home and I'm ready to pass out from fatigue. But everything will turn out okay. Plus, I still have a harvest to report, with a new addition--one of the raspberry plants that had self-seeded from one of Asa's in the next plot is now bearing fruit. Just a few berries, but it's a start.The first thing I did upon arrival at my MSG plot last Tuesday was dispose of around ten blighted tomatoes, including these two that had degenerated into ooze when I handled them with some old newspaper. One of the other gardeners had read somewhere that a cold winter would kill off any remaining blighted plant matter, but I'd like to investigate that more.I felt like I had hit the jackpot when I discovered two blight-free tomatoes, including one that had fallen to the ground. And I continue to harvest a few pole beans, broccoli side shoots, and cherry tomatoes, though only enough for a vegetable medley for one. The term "vegetable medley" reminds me of airline meals; my serving wasn't much larger.Back in the garden on Thursday, I had a similar yield. One of my broccoli plants is growing a new head, though it will probably be a third of the size of the original. Using a camera to document, I plan to hold off on estimating the value of my broccoli and raspberries until I get some more. But I will continue with tomatoes and beans, using the same prices from my last tally.Previous benefits total: $123.72
1/3 pound (estimated) of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.33
1 pound of organically grown tomatoes at $3/lb.: $3.00
New benefits total: $127.05

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: - $44.52

It's been hard to believe given the last week or so of really pleasant, seasonable weather that I wouldn't have a tomato harvest that would put me in the black. Sigh...

Barbecue and blogging milestone

2009-09-14T16:40:00.008-04:00

The skies cleared up enough yesterday that the MSG/SNA barbecue could go on as scheduled. The event was attended not only by gardeners but members of the Stonybrook Neighborhood Association; many people were affiliated with both. When my daughter and I arrived at 6:00 my priority was nourishment. Until my plate was filled with corn, potato, and pasta salads along with a burger off the grill I could not go about the business with catching up with some of my fellow gardeners, including a few I hadn't seen since the barbecue we had in June because many of us have such different schedules. We all had different reports about our vacations, the start of school, and creative projects, but when it came to gardening everyone complained about their tomatoes.As usual, I forgot to take photos until dark, which seemed to arrive too early. As I took out my camera drops from a brief light shower fell on my display, so it went back into my pocket until the main performance by Brian, who had been providing nice background music the whole time, and Joe, who added special lyrics to "The Garden Song." Some of his parody described the realities of gardening, from slugs eating the harvest and emergency runs to the A&P, but I was particularly amused by his lines about being a Steering Committee member that were inspired by his partner's complaints, I mean reports of her activities. Unfortunately, I don't have a decent photo that includes Curtis, who performed the essential task of holding up the sheet of lyrics.

My daughter's best friend in the garden was unavailable and it was too dark to read, so she amused herself with my camera. Her candids of people having a good time came out much better than mine, although the flash was blinding.

And so I've come to the end of this, my 100th post. After all of my dismal reports of rotted tomatoes and rained-out weekends, I found it a happy coincidence to have something positive to cover. I know that a few of my readers have passed this milestone already, given the length and frequency of their blogging, but I'm feeling rather pleased with this accomplishment. There were times in the past fifteen months that I wanted to quit, due to lack of topics, lack of comments, lack of desire to write about lackluster results, and lack of gardening activity in the off-season. But then I look back on how the act of blogging has forced me to get off my butt to really notice the progress of my gardens and learn more about improving my practices and it all seems worthwhile. I don't know if I have another 100 posts in my future, but I appreciate the attention, the comments, and the camaraderie among other gardening bloggers. Thanks for visiting.

Early/Late Benefits of Gardening update

2009-09-12T16:21:00.004-04:00

Another rainy Saturday in Boston. The potluck barbecue that the Minton Stable Garden and Stonybrook Neighborhood Association were planning to hold today has been postponed until tomorrow. The JP World's Fair, which was supposed to happen rain or shine, ended up being canceled. So here I am at home hosting a playdate indoors, seems like a good time to get caught up on the blog. Since Monday's post will probably cover the barbecue, I'll break from tradition and tally my harvest today, so this post in one way is early. However, since I had no update last Monday of money saved this post is late.

My harvest seems to be winding down. The cooler temperatures of fall are already here, yet my vegetables still need summer to progress. As a result, many of my pole beans seem to be stuck in an infant state, tomatoes are ripening more slowly, and broccoli side-shoot production is down from last week. My fall snap peas are around 8 inches high and already flowering (actually, that may be due to the warmer temperatures of late August/early September). Temps should be returning to the 70s starting tomorrow, so I haven't lost hope.Earlier this past week one of the neighbors had spotted and reported a garden thief who was helping herself to whatever produce she could grab. When I visited the garden the next day, I couldn't find any tomatoes in my plot ripe enough to harvest, but I doubt the thief was attracted to my plot as there are many redder and more reachable fruits in other plots. On Friday, I found one of these tomatoes in the above photo (excuse the silliness) on the ground, and the other had some rot on the other side. Because the plants had been healthy for most of the summer, I had ruled out late blight, but now I'm starting to notice that the rotted sections on the fruit that look more and more like this fungus. Since I haven't had this problem in other years and the epidemic is so widespread, I now suspect that tomatoes have fallen victim to it as well.

As for tallying the value of last week's and this week's harvest, I took a blighted tomato out of the equation, and the amount of broccoli and cherry tomatoes is negligible. The price of organically-grown tomatoes has come down a little, but green beans remain constant at 99 cents a pound, though in one place they were $1.59.

Previous benefits total: $110.73
1 pound (estimated) of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.99
4 pounds (estimated) of tomatoes at $3/lb.: $12.00
New benefits total: $123.72

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$47.85

With less harvesting to do, I have more time to deadhead, as you see below. Fewer flowers hanging over the path, and a little space for the zinnias, which are finally blooming.

Plot update and Monday harvest tally

2009-09-07T22:33:00.012-04:00

I'm tired; it's been a busy day and I spent part of it here. Also, rode over to the MSG on my bike to harvest and post flyers for our upcoming potluck barbecue. I have just imported dozens of photos from the past week's events and and will pick out the ones that document the yield of the past week.There is not much new to report. Over at the MSG, gardeners have heeded our call to check in on their plots and weed the adjacent paths, so things look much neater. I had finally amassed enough tomatoes to whip up my first batch of salsa. And the green beans keep coming, and I keep steaming them, oven-roasting them, and donating them to the food pantry. As you can see above, I harvested my first Cosmonaut Volkov tomato last Wednesday and I'm still picking a few Cherokee purples.

On Friday, I took some plot photos, including the one at top featuring mostly perennials, and picked more tomatoes, though with my labeled sticks hard to find, I'm not sure if they are Cosmonaut Volkov or Rose de Berne; though the color is similar I think the former is rounder and plumper. In this photo of the vegetable side, you can see that my fall peas are starting to climb, though today I noticed them already flowering so I'm a little concerned.In another plot across the path, a few bees were keeping busy.I couldn't make it over to the plot Saturday, but harvested a tomato growing in one of the containers at home, and today, I returned to the MSG to find a few broccoli sideshoots in addition to the usual.I have my harvest documented now, but I'm unclear about the cost of the tomatoes, so I'm going to poop out and prepare the estimated value for a future post. But first, something odd (at least to me)--a three-headed daisy.

The rebuilding of a garden

2009-09-06T15:54:00.003-04:00

Is it a condo development? A new playground? No, it's our garden, being rebuilt from the soil up, captured on film in 2004 by Terry McAweeney. She posted the slideshow on YouTube a few days ago and revised it today with a short summary. Having moved out of Jamaica Plain a few years before and unable to garden on the property, I had stayed away for most of reconstruction, so many of these images are almost as new to me as they are to anyone who has moved into the Stonybrook neighborhood during the past five years. With the exception of the few workers who posed, I recognize most of the faces, which include former and present Steering Committee members and neighbors. As you can see in the slideshow, the community was involved even at that stage, digging up concrete from the driveway and foundation of the old Minton Stable, and spreading wood chips for the first paths of the new design. Looking at all the green today, it's hard to imagine the work that was put into laying down the foundation.

The benefits of gardening: Monday harvest tally

2009-08-31T16:59:00.008-04:00

The encouraging news of the past week is that two of my tomato varieties, Cosmonaut Volkov and Rose de Berne, have grown with little or no rot or other issues. Some of the fruits are now the size of tennis balls; given the challenges presented by the rainy and unseasonable weather that's no small feat. However, they are still a shade of light green that would be perfectly appropriate if I were growing Granny Smith apples instead.Now to my Cherokee Purples: As you can see from the above photo of Saturday's soggy harvest I had decided not to wait until they reddened some more. I am showing you the more flattering side of these tomatoes. Turn them around or over and you would find soft rot, holes that may have been bored by some unidentified pest, or cracks. Actually, once I cut into one of them I discovered that the damage was not as extensive as I had thought. Hopefully these will stay fresh for another day or two and I can pick a few others to make salsa.

This past Wednesday I harvested the broccoli side shoots that are pictured below. At the farmer's market on Saturday, an organic grower was charging $2.50 for one of those square cardboard containers often used to package cherry tomatoes or berries. I estimate that my yield could fill half of one of those boxes.The pole beans keep coming, more than I had expected. They are still fetching 99 cents a pound, which is about the sum of the two harvests from the past week. As for the price of organically grown tomatoes, I have seen $4.50 a pound and $3 a pound marked down from $5, but I have decided to use the price of $4 reported to me last week by Daphne. Based on the weight of a tomato I purchased on Saturday, I estimate that two of my tomatoes weigh a pound, minus the blighted bits. So, this week's totals are as follows:

Previous benefits total: $100.49
2 pounds of tomatoes (4), at $4/lb.: $8.00
1/2 box of broccoli at $2.50/box: $1.25
1 pound of green beans at $0.99/lb.: $0.99
New benefits total: $110.73

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$60.84

I hope the the Cosmonauts will land by next Monday so I can enjoy them and add them to the tally. Looking ahead, some of my basil, planted late, is now about 6 inches high, and my fall peas appear to have potential.

Sounds of the Garden 2009

2009-08-28T12:51:00.005-04:00

I'm on the second year of new tradition: missing the annual Sounds of the Garden concert at the Minton Stable Garden, this time because of a vacation conflict. The original show, scheduled for July, had been canceled due to the forecast; luckily the weather cooperated for the rain date, which was Wednesday night, August 19. To honor my new tradition I'll post photos taken by Allan, gardener and former Steering Committee member who acted as host for the event, and provide a very brief, better-late-than-never report.

This year's performers were Deborah and Giovanni Rocha, a husband-and-wife duo whose repertoire included not only original work written by Deborah, the guitarist, but samba and bossa nova standards. The Boston Natural Areas Network supplied free hot dogs and hamburgers, and gardeners and neighbors spread out blankets and pulled up chairs to enjoy the mellow sounds and appreciate the acoustics, which I keep hearing about but have yet to experience at this grand of a scale. As Allan put it, "The reverb from the houses made it sound like you were in a nice hall." Thanks to Allan for providing the photos, including this great aerial view, taken from a Williams Street porch. You can see how much space we have to play with here at the MSG and the potential for hosting more performance events such as this one.

Monday harvest tally--a mixed bag

2009-08-24T21:04:00.007-04:00

I wonder how many gardeners have asked themselves this: Why do our vegetables reach their peak ripeness while we're away? Right before I departed on a weeklong vacation to the land of kudzu and wild rhododendrons, I picked a little over a half pound of perfect pole beans, and since I knew I wouldn't be cooking for at least a few days (or for the entire trip, as it turned out) I left them in the food pantry donation cooler. Having not grown them for a few years, I had forgotten how quickly the harvest progresses once it begins and how one needs to stay on top of it. When I returned this morning with plastic baggies, my eager anticipation turned to disappointment when I parted the leaves and found so many overripe beans, tough pods lumpy with overgrown seeds. I picked them all anyway, though I knew that I'd only be cooking half of them. I added some to an earlier batch I picked about ten days earlier and oven-roasted them with some fingerling potatoes, in olive oil and minced garlic, and will probably stir-fry the remainder using sesame oil. The second method worked well with my bitter-tasting broccoli.Speaking of broccoli, I discovered a few new side shoots of my Fiesta organic variety. I left them on the plants but will definitely harvest them in the next day or so and include them in my next week's harvest tally.Even more distressing than the past-peak pole beans was the discovery of some rot on my Cherokee purple tomatoes, which I had thought were going to pull through with only a little catfacing on the bottoms. I picked these two and placed them on my kitchen windowsill in the hopes that they will finish ripening away from pests and that there may be some salvageable meat in the middle. Most of my other tomatoes are still green and I'm starting to wonder if many of them will stay that way. My volunteer cherries are as hardy as ever, and as you can see in the first photo with the beans, are beginning to turn red, though at this point I have too few to include in my total.

Today in the Harvest Coop I noted that green beans are selling for $0.99 a pound. My question is: if some of my harvest gets composted because it's overripe, can I count it in my total? Many of my strawberries ended up in the bin, so I guess I will include it. Using a not-so-scientific method of weighing a quarter pound of beans in the store and estimating that a sandwich bag full is around a half pound, I figure that I have picked about a pound and a half of pole beans so far.

Previous benefits total: $99.00
1 1/2 pounds of beans at $0.99/lb.: $1.49
New benefits total: $100.49

Current costs total: $171.57
New balance: -$71.08

Okay, if you find this too depressing, keep in mind that the negative number includes a major purchase, and that there's more to come--broccoli, tomatoes I hope, maybe a few more beans, basil, and, quite possibly, a fall crop of snap peas. But if you want to read about some gardens in the black, visit Daphne's Dandelions and check out the other blogs participating in the Monday harvest tally.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

2009-08-15T08:31:00.010-04:00

Welcome to my first time participating in the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, which takes place on the 15th of each month. I have been aware of this ritual, started in the May Dreams Gardens blog, since earlier in the season but it had slipped my mind for one reason or another. This morning I will add my blog to the Mr. Linky widgit and weigh in. Due to limited time today, I won't make it over to the Minton Stable Garden, but that plot consists mostly of vegetables, and I have shown my perennials in recent posts. So I'll feature what has been growing at home.Yesterday marked our eleventh anniversary of home ownership, so I'll begin with what had already been in the ground before our closing. My first stop is at the Rose of Sharon. The plant itself has doubled in size but the amount of shade we have has limited the number of blooms. In front of the house we have a hydrangea growing in our acidic soil (as one can tell by the blue color). A magnolia has been shading it out; as a result we see fewer blooms each year.We have planted hostas here and there all over our property; at any time during the summer we can find one in bloom. The most spectacular at the moment is growing near our Rose of Sharon. Most of our backyard flowering plants are perennials but I usually throw in a few impatiens to add some extra color.With more sun hitting the west side of our house, I was able to grow a sunflower which had originally been a volunteer in my MSG plot, but I had decided to move to make room for more vegetables. The blooming period for the beach rose you see behind it and to the left has past.On the other side of the front yard, I have turned over the soil and started a perennial bed. The echinacea, daisies, and black-eyed susans were all divided from my mother's garden.I have not planted a single cosmos seed here. Almost every summer we have been in the house, seeds have blown over from other gardens in the neighborhood. Before I started the perennial bed, we had let them grow on both sides of the walk. They used to completely take over and attack anyone who approached the front porch, but perhaps due to the weather this year, they are much more limited in height and scope.The GBBD has given me an opportunity to take a closer look at what has been growing in my other gardens. Because the focus of this blog has been the Minton Stable Garden, and also due to the mosquito problem we have in our backyard, I have not gotten out enough to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I should put on my long pants and bug spray and get out there more often.

Around the Minton Stable Garden

2009-08-11T20:03:00.009-04:00

It's been a while since I zoomed out of my own plot, so I spent a little time yesterday focusing on developments in other parts of the community garden. Most members have managed to keep out weeds and stay on top of their harvests. Echinacea, beebalm, phlox, and other perennials provide a variety of colors among all the green, and marigolds stand guard on the edges of many vegetable beds. A few tomatoes have reddened, while zucchini and squash are concealed under their leaves. The vines of pole beans have outgrown their trellises and in some cases begun to latch onto any nearby plants. The skeletal remains of spring peas still hang in some places, but all in all, plants are benefitting from the seasonal conditions that have often seemed the exception more than the rule.At times gardeners find that their yield is much larger than they can enjoy themselves, and if they can't give away the excess, some of it goes to waste. In response to this as well as the needs of many others in our community, the Boston Gardeners' Council has begun a food donation initiative. Once a week, participating gardens collect any unwanted produce, which gets picked up and delivered to the Roxbury Food Pantry. Our system at the MSG involves leaving a cooler out the day before, locking it in the shed overnight and bringing it back out for pickup the next morning. At first the Steering Committee thought that at this point in the season we would not collect enough to warrant a pickup but have found the cooler to be full or near-full of zuchhini, swiss chard, and other goodies that we hope have reached those who would benefit from them.The efforts from previous work days are now evident on the edges of the property. Sunflowers planted by the Dungarven Road fence conceal the chain link from anyone looking out from inside the garden, though as you can see in the above photo, they have lots of company. Meanwhile, along the back near the barbecue area, the raspberries divided and donated by a few members are on their way to a fruitful yield.But some of the most interesting developments lie ahead. At the last Steering Committee meeting, we approved taking steps to restore and redesign a wildflower area over where the Minton Stable barn had once stood, in the southeastern corner of the property. The "Habitat Paddock" would contain wildflowers and native plants that attract butterflies and birds that may also populate neighboring Franklin Park. Although this zone appears to be somewhat established already, with echinacea and flowering weeds that have been spared by the lawn mower, what it really needs is a healthy layer of compost, carefully chosen plantings, and landscaping that works for both the wildlife and the people who would like to safely enjoy and learn from it. A subcommittee and future work days devoted to this project are just the beginning.

An absence of red

2009-08-08T16:41:00.009-04:00

One of the growers I encountered this morning at the Roslindale Farmers Market had prepared an informative display about late blight in an effort to explain why there would be no tomatoes or potatoes for sale this year. Perhaps they were getting tired of being asked about the absence of red at their vegetable stand. Although there were some tomatoes available from at least one of the 4-5 growers on hand, most of the vegetables on offer were mainly green, with some white, purple, and orange. The effects of our mostly rainy, dreary summer continue to plague us.Though relieved to have escaped late blight, after a week away, I approached my tomato plants with much trepidation. First I checked what I had growing in containers at home. At the first glance of the green fruit all seems normal. I have come to expect them to be leggier and more behind because of the lack of full sun. I could put the planters on wheels and move them around all day and they would still not benefit from as much light as the ones I have planted in the Minton Stable Garden. But the real test was yet to come.

Like many gardeners, I would feel the bottom of the fruit hoping for a smooth surface, but this year I have had to lower my expectations. In almost every case my fingers would catch something rough or soft, or a hole of some sort. My heart would sink a little as I bent my knees and craned my neck to get a visual assessment, dreading the common condition of blossom end rot. I had never thought I would be relieved to discover a case of catfacing; at least I can cut that part away and enjoy the rest of the tomato. That is, if it ever turns red.My MSG tomatoes are a bit larger, including this Cherokee purple at about four inches across. Normally at this time of year, I'd be harvesting red fruit already and bringing them on a mid-August vacation somewhere, while begging someone to pick whatever becomes ripe while I'm away. Not this season. I'll be lucky if I can make a batch of salsa.Not anticipating any harvest today, I left my bags and containers at home. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a few beans already, and even more broccoli, about a half pound, though it was on the verge of flowering. Unfortunately, there seems to be some rot on the stumps of where I had previously cut off crowns on the other plants. I haven't checked the plants more closely to figure out if it is being caused by mold or some pests; I'll be back tomorrow to have another look. Hopefully it doesn't affect the chances of edible side shoots.I'll end by returning to my not-so-scientific tally of how much I've been earning on my harvest. I won't include the two pole beans until I get more, but all of the broccoli I harvested. At the Farmers Market organic broccoli was selling for $2.50 a pound. Also, I'll have to add to my expenses by including the basil plants my husband picked up to make up for our lack of a fresh supply.

Previous benefits total: $92.75
2 1/2 lbs. of broccoli at $2.50/lb.: $6.25
New benefits total: $99.00

Previous costs total: $167.07
2 basil plants purchased at Farmers Market: $4.50
New costs total: $171.57
Current balance: -$72.57

I'm looking forward to enough pole beans for a side dish and to close the gap a little more. After I finish this post I'll check out some of the other blogs and experience some tomato envy.

Plot update: Better Late Than Never edition

2009-07-29T17:57:00.009-04:00

First, a news blast that, by the time I publish this, will be old news, but I have just learned that the Sounds of the Garden concert scheduled to take place in the Minton Stable Garden at 6:30 tonight has been canceled due to the weather forecast. It has been rescheduled; once the date is confirmed I'll post it here and, of course, it will appear on the MSG website. It's a shame that the show won't happen tonight; I had missed Lloyd Thayer's performance last year so I was happy to learn that he was scheduled for this season's show and that tonight worked for me. I'm not sure if the new date will.

So, instead I'll blog about the usual. Life in my plot has been moving forward. The black-eyed susans are dominating as they did last year, the echinacea volunteers I inherited last season are proving themselves as an excellent cut flower. My Kentucky wonder pole beans are reaching the top of my trellis (see the rear of the above photo) and a few flowers have already appeared.

But the most encouraging news of my Monday photo shoot was about some plants that are behind schedule, due to the spring weather extending into summer and late sowing. They seem to be coming along nicely and I have decided to remain optimistic about the long-term.First, a few of my tomatoes are now bearing fruit. I have six plants in my MSG plot (I had planted out five, but when I cleared away my spent peas, I discovered another that had self-seeded--based on previous years I suspect cherry tomatoes). Only my two Cherokee Purples have reached this stage, but given the weather we've had and other gardeners' reports of blossom end rot, I have decided to look at the glass as half full.

Next, the sweet basil I planted a month late out of despair because the seeds I planted at home were not thriving are coming up. Unless we get a ridiculously early first frost, I am confident that they will amount to something harvest-worthy.

Finally, it appears that I'll have a small patch of zinnias after all. I should probably clear away some of the invasive California poppies and black-eyed susans and give them some more sunlight and growing room.I spent a little time on Monday weeding, a process made easier because of the effectiveness of the salt hay I had spread around earlier. The strawberries continue to spread into the other areas so I have to remain vigilant. I cleared out some more of them to make way for my new raspberry patch. It's not clear if I'll see any berries this season but based on the fact that the plants that Asa put in last year bore fruit, I wouldn't rule it out.

Minton Stable Garden has a new website

2009-07-23T19:40:00.003-04:00

Earlier today a notice was sent out to the gardeners: the official Minton Stable Garden website is now up and running. Thanks to the efforts of Roxane, another new Steering Committee member, we can now access an events calendar, plot map, photos submitted by gardeners, general information, a list of relevant links (including one to this blog), and a more thorough history (thanks to documents sent along by a former Steering Committee member). Whether you are a member of the garden or not, it's worth checking out to get a broader perspective of how significant this piece of property has been to the community.

Bitter broccoli, besieged beebalm

2009-07-20T21:41:00.006-04:00

In my previous post, I was beaming with pride over my broccoli crowns, then expressed my intention to harvest at least my largest this past weekend. Well...once again, there was too much happening, so it wasn't until today that I made it over to the Minton Stable Garden, to find nearly all of it a little past-peak. Not to mention that there was more of it than we'd be able to eat this week. Starting this Sunday, gardeners will have an opportunity to leave surplus veggies in a cooler that will be picked up by a local food pantry the next morning. I think it might be a little too late for my broccoli to participate. I picked most of it today and left one crown still growing, though I think I'll need to harvest that one in the next day or two.

My daughter wanted to try a little of the broccoli. Like she does with all of her veggies, she ate it raw, but she couldn't finish one little floret, because she found it "sour," then later declared it "really bad." I tried it raw, too, and yes, it had a very bitter, strong taste. I felt rather discouraged and regretted that I hadn't picked it sooner. However, I later stir-fried it with some chicken and snowpeas and it tasted alright. Sesame oil to the rescue.

Since we do not have a kitchen scale, we weighed our yield by the not-so-scientific method of having my daughter hold the bag of broccoli while standing on the bathroom scale and subtracting the weight, and then putting it on the scale by itself. Our estimate is that we had about 2 pounds, but since I haven't checked the price of organic broccoli lately, I'll have to postpone my harvest tally.On a different matter, a few days ago I noticed white spots on the leaves of the beebalm in the perennial bed in front of the house. It is most likely a case of powdery mildew, which may have been caused by 1) not quite enough sunlight--they really prefer full sun and these flowers spend their mornings in the shade, 2) too many plants crowded together, and 3) too much moisture from all of the rain. On tomorrow's to-do list: pull out the affected plants and thin out the bed (I did manage to trim back the yew since I took this photo). This video recommends some fungicides, but I'll wait and see if the problem worsens.

Update on my plot

2009-07-15T19:44:00.007-04:00

As much as I liked being away, I was eager to check in on my plot in the Minton Stable Garden upon my return, especially now that summer has decided to grace us with its presence. I had been concerned that the tomatoes that I had nurtured from seed (for a change) would fall victim to this year's scourge, late blight. Last week, Kathy, another Boston-based blogger, published a photo of how her tomatoes were affected, and since then has reported that her potatoes are also showing signs of damage. Fortunately, I haven't seen any brown spots or rotted stems on my plants in my MSG plot, though there are a few brown spots on a few leaves of one of my plants growing in containers on my front porch. My most advanced is this Cherokee Purple shown here, which has started to flower but can probably use some pruning.My pride and joy of the week is this broccoli which is forming a head, currently four inches in diameter. Actually, all five plants are at a similar stage but this head is the largest. The tomato stems you see in this photo are courtesy of my next door plot neighbor (Not Asa, but the other abutter, whom I still haven't met). Like last year, we are once again on top of each other in some places, though another gardener and I were speculating that her tomato plant shading out my broccoli may be beneficial in this summer heat. I am not used to having such success with broccoli so I'm a little unsure of when to harvest. I'll probably not be eating at home the next two nights, so no later than this weekend, I think.In other vegetable news, my pole beans have started making their ascent, and I have harvested another half pint of peas, though they are pretty much done producing. To no surprise, my remaining two heads of Romaine lettuce have bolted. The sweet basil I planted from seed a month ago in some boxes along a wall behind my house are failing to germinate, so today I planted a row of seeds in my MSG plot where some my lettuce had grown. Better late than never, I suppose. Despite a freezer at home still clogged with pesto from last year's harvest, a year without basil is unthinkable. I may also buy a flat or two to transplant in some containers at home.

My yield has died down a bit since the strawberry-and-lettuce rush, but I still have a little to report since my last tally two weeks ago. Half of my snap peas developed into snow peas, which were selling for $2.99 a pound at the Harvest Coop this week, less than the $4.59 that the snap peas fetched before my Canada trip. So even though my methods for reporting are not so scientific, I'll try to make some adjustments to preserve some amount of accuracy and integrity.

Previous benefits total: $87.07
3/4 lb. snap peas at $4.59/lb.: $3.44
3/4 lb. snow peas at $2.99/lb.: $2.24

New benefits total: $92.75

Total costs so far: $167.07

Current balance: -$74.32

We'll see what the future brings as far as harvested broccoli, pole beans, and tomatoes. The other gardeners I've run into this week are bracing themselves for blossom end rot and more blight. Why do we put all of this effort into our tomatoes (especially heirloom) when the risks of problems are so high? Anyone who has compared a store-bought tomato to one grown at home or even locally knows the answer.

Missing my garden

2009-07-09T20:48:00.006-04:00

I've been away most of the time since last Friday, first to New York City and Norwalk, Connecticut, and now eastern Ontario, to be with relatives and for other reasons. I did squeeze in a brief visit back to the Minton Stable Garden on Monday, where I picked about a pound of peas and another head of lettuce. There has been some communication among Steering Committee members about some of the disorder in the garden, including toys blocking the paths, as well as garbage and other items strewn about. The gravel paths were established when the garden was redesigned around 2004, but these past couple of seasons it seems that the weeds have taken over. I spent most of my hour at the MSG jabbing at the crab grass, dandelions, pigweed, clover and other weeds that have come up between the pebbles with my cultivator, but in many cases I had difficulty pulling out the roots, so I'll be back soon to finish. The committee sent out an email to all the gardeners about keeping the place tidy and reminding them about weeding the sections of path abutting their plots. It's the community gardening equivalent to shoveling the sidewalk in front of one's house after a snowstorm.

I was too busy to take any photos of the MSG, so I'll share a few from the gardens I have encountered in my travels. In the Chelsea section of Manhattan, I had a chance to walk along the High Line, a old elevated freight railway that has been redesigned as a park. An interesting feature is that some of the plants that had been sprouting up on the abandoned rail bed have been incorporated into the new landscaping. It was a little surprising to find intentional plantings of various species of crab grass and something that looked a lot like purple loosestrife, which has been known to wreak havoc on river habitats.Today at Upper Canada Village, an attraction consisting of historic buildings and actors portraying life in the mid-1800s, I envied a few large vegetable gardens, including this very tidy one that could feed a small town.As nice as the weather has been, I'm a little anxious about how my plants in Boston are doing. Allan, one of the MSG gardeners, sent us a link to some information about a tomato blight that has caused some devastation, so I'm eager to check my plants for brown spots on stems or some other signs. However, it appears to have been harming plants bought from big-box stores, so perhaps the heirlooms and other varieties we've started from seed won't be affected.

See how they've grown

2009-07-01T19:57:00.003-04:00

My visit Wednesday to the Minton Stable Garden in the rain turned out to bring more relief than I had expected. We have had another week of weather that varied only in the intensity of the precipitation--rain falling in gentle drops, as a fine mist that rendered umbrellas useless, and steady waves of thunderstorms that seemed like they would never end. If the conditions left humans irritable and depressed, how were the plants responding?I had thought I'd seen the end of the strawberries, but still came away with a handful that were in their prime; a few were even the 2008 size. My tomatoes had also shown signs of growth and my pole beans (above), which I thought I had planted a bit late, were about 6 inches high and undisturbed. Also, my echinacea had begun to bloom.
Of course, I didn't need to be concerned for the plants known to endure day upon day of temperatures that often don't make it past 70 degrees F. As you can see in the photo of the vegetable end of my plot, the remaining heads of lettuce had not bolted, and the broccoli had grown a great deal. Despite the tangled mess my snap peas are in, I still harvested about a half pound.A few days ago at the Harvest Coop I noticed that snap peas were priced at $4.59 a pound (which seemed kind of high, so I wondered if the weather was negatively impacting the overall harvest). In total, from my yard and MSG plot, I have picked about one pound total, so now I'll calculate the value of my harvest for the past week:

Previous benefits total: $75.50
1 pound of snap peas at $4.59/lb.: $4.59
1/2 pint of strawberries at $3.99/pt.: $2.00
2 heads of Romaine lettuce at $2.49/each: $4.98

New benefits total: $87.07

Total costs so far: $167.07

Current balance: $-80.00

The garden has grown so much that it's difficult to see across to the plots on the opposite end. Compare this shot with the beginning of the season in late March, and even these photos from early May.And to end, here's my latest garden envy photo: someone already has raspberries!

Not what I ordered

2009-06-23T21:38:00.007-04:00

Once in a while, you don't get what you asked for. Like all these extra rainy days. "That's not what I ordered," you say. "I think that was for the other table over there, the one with the drought."The strawberries have definitely had their fill of precipitation as well as temperatures around 60 degrees F. The number of soft and rotted fruits have caught up with the number of healthy ones. As you can see in this photo, taken about a week ago, many of the berries in the shovel appear to have some sort of blight, possibly botrytis, a fungus disease that favors the current weather conditions. I've been doing my best to stay on top of this problem and dispose of the diseased berries, though I'm overdue for a visit to my plot.

Another less serious but notable item that I had not ordered was what appears to be snow peas in my sugar snap pea crop. Another MSG member had mentioned the same situation in her plot. I don't think it's fair to implicate Fedco, since I experienced the same phenomenon with a different brand of snap pea seeds last year. It's not such a big deal anyway, since only a few plants out of the whole crop produce the different variety, and the pods are healthy and fine. But it's a little unnerving to leave a pod on the vine with the expectation that it will puff out into a sugar snap, only to have it become overripe.
What causes this variation? I'm no geneticist, but I wonder if it has anything to do with what I read in this source: "The modern sugar snap pea is the progeny of a cross between a snow pea and an ususual pea that was tightly podded with thick walls." Some kind of cross-pollination issue, perhaps. I'll try to remember to post a photo of some plants in my garden, if it ever stops raining. I've only harvested a few, so far, so I'll keep them out of my latest benefits of gardening statistics.

Previous total (benefits): $29.13
5 heads Romaine at $2.49 each: $12.45
8 1/2 pints strawberries at $3.99 each: $33.92

New benefits total: $75.50

Total costs so far: $167.07

Current balance: $-91.57

I think we're near the end of the strawberries, however. I wondering if I'll be able to fill a pint container with healthy fruit when I visit the plot tomorrow.

Gardener, blogger, and now...

2009-06-21T20:35:00.008-04:00

Since Friday afternoon, there had been much speculation over whether or not the early summer Minton Stable Garden potluck barbecue should take place on Saturday as scheduled. Early yesterday afternoon, the gardeners were notified by a single email that the event was on. They were probably unaware of what I experienced as a newly-elected member of the Steering Committee--an inbox flooded with messages assessing the weather as well as confirming the date of our next meeting.

It really did appear that the weather could go either way, but the sun began to make longer cameo appearances and the National Weather Service pushed back the estimated arrival of more rain to after midnight. We made the right call; despite the ever-present dark clouds the conditions remained dry, although a little chilly for the weekend of the summer solstice. Though the turnout was smaller most people lingered for several hours, eating, drinking, and conversing, and a couple of gardeners took turns providing some acoustic guitar music.
As you may be able to see in this photo of John and Todd, we were identified by name tags that Jennifer had written up ahead of time. Someone joked that it would make us easier targets for complaints, but what I received instead was a few thank yous from other gardeners for making the two-year commitment. In addition to the monthly meetings, members take turns supervising work days, and take on tasks in other areas such as treasury, communications, and record-keeping of work hours, just to name a few. They also work together to make decisions about how to develop the common areas and determine by-laws. On Wednesday Roxane, Asa (whose name I am getting closer to spelling correctly, as soon as I learn the HTML for that circular mark above the first letter), and I will join current members John, Todd, Jennifer, and Terry and get a fuller picture, as we try fill the enormous shoes of the outgoing members Allan, Julianna, and Nancie, whom I'd like to thank for all of their hard work and dedication.

The responsibilities seem so great that I almost considered not running. But, as I explained to the other gardeners in my bio, I've been blogging about how wonderful the place is and that relatively speaking, at this point in my life, I can put in my time for helping ensure that it stays that way. I didn't choose to run to serve my blog, and the blog will not be a record of the committee's activities. The committee is dedicated to transparency and open communication with the gardeners and neighbors, which it is hoping to achieve through meetings, emails, and the Yahoo group that was established last year. However, there may be some times that I might share a little of my experience, sometime when I'm not reporting on my harvest, fussing over my tomatoes that don't seem to be growing as quickly as everyone else's, or harassing my fellow gardeners to let me write about them. We'll see.

Back to harvests in my next post. As you can see, many plants have taken off, and there are peas dangling all over the place.

Strawberry Test Kitchen

2009-06-17T09:35:00.006-04:00

The berries are ripening faster than we can pick them. A couple of pints on Sunday, but no one was able to visit the plot on Monday. So on Tuesday, it meant spending the time I had allocated for weeding and a project at home on harvesting even more strawberries, about 3 1/2 pints. For about every five ripe or slightly overripe berries there was a rotted one to dispose of, and since I am out of town at the moment and unable to get back until tomorrow, I anticipate there will be even more.

At this point, my plans are for the berries to appear in some form at three potlucks later this week. One recipe I hope to try is a Strawberry Chiffon Pie; if I can't pull it off for the event at my daughter's school on Thursday, I might have it down in time for my friend's fundraiser on Friday night. Without reliable refrigeration at the MSG barbecue this Saturday, it might make more sense to bring strawberry shortcake (either making a simple shortcake or buying one), and hope that the kids don't have mischievous plans for the whipped cream.

The reason for the title "Strawberry Test Kitchen" is that I like to think of my first attempt at any recipe as an experiment. That way, if I screw it up I'll feel less disappointed. Also, there's always some ingredient that I have to either omit or substitute, so it's a test to determine how badly the recipe needed it. That was the case Monday night when my daughter and I made a half-batch of Strawberry Italian Ice (no, I'm not getting any kickbacks from Better Homes and Gardens!). We didn't have an orange handy for the grated orange peel, but after tasting the results yesterday morning, I think we managed just fine without it. The boiled sugar and other ingredients gave the ice the right amount of sweetness and enhanced the flavor of the strawberries.

So many strawberries, so little time. What would you do?

The benefits and costs of gardening update

2009-06-10T21:20:00.005-04:00

We've been having yo-yo temperatures these past few weeks--a day or two near 80 (as in the picture above) and then back down to the 60s. Luckily the nighttime lows haven't dipped to frost levels so we need not worry much about the welfare of our tomatoes. However, those plants do seem to have gone on strike, refusing to grow. Like the Boston Globe writers who rejected a pay cut, they're unhappy with the conditions.

One bright spot in the overcast weather is that it might help delay my lettuce from bolting, which is good news considering how much there still is. I've picked the equivalent of another Olivia's container of leaves and four small heads of Romaine for potluck and home salads. My not-so-scientific estimate is that two heads is the equivalent of one from the supermarket. At Whole Foods market today, a head of organically-grown Romaine cost $2.49 a head.

The strawberries in my Minton Stable Garden plot have not been deterred by our little cold spell. At this point, my family and I have picked about 3 1/2 pints. I suppose I should find a good recipe for a torte in order to keep up; so far the only ways we have been enjoying the strawberries have been 1) straight up, 2) on top of a Junior's cheesecake my husband brought home from Brooklyn last week, and 3) in a fruit cake my daughter baked from a recipe that was part simple cake instructions found on the Internet and part improvisation of what we had in the fridge. I looked for organically-grown strawberries at Whole Foods, but found only the conventionally-grown Driscoll's at $3.99 a pint, so I'll go with that.

Today was not all gain, however. I had to pick up a roll of gardening twine to finish making a trellis for my pole beans to climb; that set me back $2.40, including tax.

So, the up-to-date benefits tally is:
Previous total: $3.59
Container of salad greens: $3.59
2 heads of Romaine equivalent $4.98
3 1/2 pints of strawberries $13.97

Total benefits: $29.13

And the costs:
Previous total: $164.67
Gardening twine: $2.40

Total costs: $167.07

So the total balance taking benefits and cost into account is -$137.94.

If this sort of analysis interests you, then you should also check out Daphne's blog. On the right side she is keeping her tally. She is using a more scientific approach of measuring her yield by the pound; I had thought of doing the same but I don't have a scale and didn't want to add to my expenses. Daphne is also operating in the red, but given the variety and scope of her garden I think she has a better chance than I do of ending the season in the black. I'm looking forward to seeing if she does.

Update on my plot

2009-06-07T11:57:00.009-04:00

The advantage of the medium of blogging is the ability to bypass the editorial process and post news as it happens. However, today I find myself breaking this important rule to present you with photos taken three days ago (the horror!) and report on Thursday's and Saturday's MSG visits. Imagine if the Boston Globe waited until today to report an incident that occurred on Friday? Luckily, My Dirt is unhampered by the pressures to keep current or suffer from more financial consequences; when you have no budget, you have no budget to lose.So with this in mind I'll keep to the business of earning through my harvest, which is now picking up, and I'll update you on the estimated value of my yield sometime this week. In the meantime, here's a photo of the first June-bearing strawberries, picked from my plot on Thursday. When I returned yesterday I filled a recycled pint container with more and picked four small heads of Romaine lettuce. I was rushing around on errands yesterday in preparation for company last night, so no time to take out the camera.The leaf miner on my spinach had reappeared on most of the few leaves I had left remaining, so I pulled out all but my two healthiest plants. But my biggest concern was that a few of the lower leaves of my broccoli plants were showing a similar blight. On Thursday, I pulled off those leaves and took this photo of one of my plants out of concern for a few holes in the upper leaves. Luckily, there were no new signs of the blight yesterday, and, surveying the broccoli in other plots, I have come to believe that the holes are not necessarily a sign of danger (alternative interpretations are always welcome!).
In the flower department, I planted zinnia seeds in a new location, because I needed last year's space to start some Kentucky Wonder pole beans. Better late than never, I guess. No worries with the California poppies, however, they self-seed every year, and have been in bloom for the past week or so. One of the coolest features of this annual is the contrast between the papery bright-orange fully-opened flower and the way it looks closed, a delicate light-green cone served on a bubble-gum pink plate. As for my perennials, I can see the white beginnings of buds on my blanket flowers, the plants' eggplant-colored leaves can be seen in the right rear of the poppy photo.

I will finish this post now so I can take advantage of the glorious weather we are having; it would be sacrilegious to squander this opportunity by spending it in front of a screen. I'll leave you with my garden envy photo for this post: some irises from another MSG plot. I had never seen irises of this color, sort of a combination of sepia and pink.

A predecessor to the garden blog

2009-06-02T07:28:00.003-04:00

What do garden bloggers do anyway? Some write to inform their readers about garden-related topics, and perhaps defend a point of view, but in most cases, blogs are like public journals of a garden's progress and the gardener's reflections. It's no wonder that one friend recommended that I attend BNAN's workshop on keeping a garden journal (which, unfortunately, I missed due to a conflict), and another lent me her copy of An Island Garden Daybook by the late poet Celia Thaxter.

Over a hundred years ago, Thaxter returned to the place where she spent part of her childhood, on one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire, and created and tended a spectacular garden featuring fifty varieties of flowers, including hollyhocks, sunflowers, lupines, poppies--many that can be found in the Minton Stable Garden today. While modern-day bloggers rely on their digital cameras for visual documentation, Thaxter benefitted from the talents of her painting instructor, Childe Hassam. His paintings of flowers, birds, and garden landscapes provided the illustrations for her book The Island Garden.

The 1990 reissue by the Houghton Mifflin Company features excerpts from Thaxter's text and Hassam's artwork alongside blank spaces for each date of any given year, but whose documentary scribble can compete with poetic observations such as this?

The snowdrops by the door
Lift upward, sweet and pure,
Their delicate bells; and soon,
In the calm blaze of noon,
By lowly window-sills
Will laugh the daffodils!

Even if the book wasn't on loan, I would probably just as well leave the expression of the joys and trials of gardening on these pages up to Thaxter. We are both New England gardeners, after all, operating in similar climates on similar schedules. About late May, Thaxter writes: "Pulling up and throwing away...superfluous plants is a very difficult thing for me to do...but it must be done...The welfare of the garden depends on it." I can certainly relate, on the painful experience of digging out a volunteer sunflower, denying its majestic future in my plot to ensure adequate sun on my tomatoes and broccoli, and yanking out strawberry runners invading my perennials despite the potential for even more sweet fruit.

Celia Thaxter is one of many writers whose gardening experience most likely enhanced not only her writing but her ability to keenly observe her surroundings. As I've worked on my own documentation over the past year, I find myself taking more notes, and looking for details that I had recently taken for granted, including the size of a plant, the contrast of colors, the level of ease or difficulty involved in pulling a weed...just as a garden remains a work in progress, so is the writing.

Now I'm looking forward to this moment in late June when, as Thaxter states: "...I can begin to take a breath and rest a little from these difficult yet pleasant labors; an interval when I may take time to consider, a morning when I may seek the hammock in the shady piazza, and, looking across my happy flower beds, let the sweet day sink into my heart."

The benefits of gardening and other updates

2009-05-27T16:47:00.005-04:00

Some of you may recall that I started my 2009 gardening season with an experiment recording my gardening expenses and comparing them to the estimated costs of the vegetables and fruits that my gardens would yield. My not-so-scientific process began with a general question: Does gardening save money on food costs, and if so, by how much? However, I plowed right into my research with no hypothesis, and three months into the procedure, I am still on the fence, partly due to the amount I have spent so far on a new grow light, salt hay, plot dues, and other expenses.

Since then, a few weeks have passed without a cent going directly into my gardening costs. But now, I can begin estimating my yield. In recent posts I've reported that my family and I have already started enjoying some of the lettuce and spinach. What we began eating every few days has now become what rice is to many other cultures. Now salads must be consumed every day, and no sandwich is permitted to be made without a layer of green. Anyone who walks in the door of our home will not be allowed out without a recycled takeout container of the most recent harvest.

But before I continue on this subject, I'd like to ask: What has happened to some of my spinach? I returned to the Minton Stable Garden yesterday after a few days away to find an ugly blight. Some of the leaves appeared bleached out, while others displayed what looked like bird droppings. I doubt that a flock of birds would hover over a row of spinach and leave the rest of the garden untouched. My husband's theory based on his past experience (although he's away for work and unable to see the problem, let alone meet his salad quota) is that it may be a fungus. From a search through my books and the Internet I learned that too much moisture lingering on spinach leaves can lead to diseases such as Anthracnose (which comes closest to resembling what mine have) and the more threatening-looking blue mold. The rainy, chilly weather of the past few days may be to blame. I bagged up the affected leaves and discarded them. End of story, I hope.

Now, back to the healthy greens harvested--how much are they worth? Since I've been picking leaves and not whole heads or bunches, I'll base my estimation on my experience buying a similar organic product. At this point my daughter and I have picked the equivalent of one container of Olivia's Organics salad mix, perhaps a combination of their Romaine and Spinach products, or another mix. I believe that the last time I saw it at the Harvest Coop in JP it was priced at $3.59 a container, so I'll make the not-so-scientific assumption that I have saved that much in my food budget. So my total monetary benefit of my vegetable and fruit gardening is so far:

1 container* of salad greens $3.59**

*According to the web site, the size is 6/5 ounces.
**In Massachusetts, food from the grocery is not taxed.

I have never been good at making quick decisions, but I had promised myself that by the end of the post I would be able to jump off the fence in one direction or the other. Will the value of my harvest exceed my expenses? My guess is now...maybe next year.

As I finish this up it has begun to rain again in Boston. You might find me in the MSG tomorrow wiping off my spinach. In the meantime, I'll leave you with an image of what's coming into bloom: lupines and poppies from another gardener's plot.

Torn over tomatoes

2009-05-22T11:00:00.008-04:00

Sometimes it's hard to give all of your children equal time. As I was tending to my broccoli seedlings, lettuce, and spinach, as well as my weeding, my tomatoes were still hanging out under my grow lights, though not complaining too much about it. Earlier this week, though, I started to fret over the quality of my care, and also wondered if they were getting a little too long in the stem and not leafy enough (see photo at right). A little poking around on the Internet and observing other plants in the MSG have put my worries to rest, for now.

One useful resource I have found is the Tomatogardening.com web site. As you can see, I've been bringing the seedlings outside for a few hours each day to harden them off, and according to the site, I should have reduced the amount of water a few days before beginning the process. That's what I had been doing--it's called "neglect." They seem to be in a growth holding pattern at this point, which I had heard or read somewhere is okay, though I am planning to repot a few, particularly the ones that are still sharing a pot. Ultimately, I'll have a few plants growing in my MSG plot and a few more in containers on my upstairs front porch, the only place on my property that may allow them enough light.

I'm not the only one torn over how to transition my tomatoes into the garden. In her blog, Black Eyed Susan expressed her concerns about whether her pre-ordered seedlings would be fine on the porch for a few weeks, and in a comment to my previous post she thought her grow lights would be too hot for them. According to Tomatogardening.com, heat could have an adverse effect on their growth: "If your seedlings are getting tall and spindly, the room temperature may be too high, the light too weak, or you're using too much fertilizer (or a combination of all three)." I think that in retrospect, the grow lights have been essential in getting mine established from seed; they had been much leggier in the past without them. And these lights are not too hot either, though at this point I'm almost finished using them.
A stroll around the MSG this morning revealed that many gardeners have let already let their children outdoors for the summer. Among the seedlings that Allan has planted out, there are some Rose de Berne (above) that are at about the same stage as mine (in forefront of photo at top). I also met Amy, who purchased flats and planted them out a few days ago (see below).
All of the tomatoes I have spotted seem to be doing fine, and I was tempted to bring mine over today, but they still need a few more days of hardening off. As long as I keep an eye on them I shouldn't be too concerned. I remember in her post last month Hanna of This Garden is Illegal explained that while tomato seedlings might run the risk of being scalded, they are basically hardy, though I think I might draw the line at petting them.

April showers bring...

2009-05-17T21:59:00.007-04:00

...Yeah, right. Some flowers, yes, but more work than anything else. May is one of the busiest months for gardening. So much to put in, so much to take out. And a few flowers, too, but in addition to nursing a cold, I've been tackling my to-do list, which has included:
1. Pulling thousands of maple seedlings out of many square feet of garden space in my mostly shady yard--they will grow anywhere.
2. Mowing at the Minton Stable Garden for a few hours. I had signed up to do this last weekend to not only take care of some of my work requirement, but because a friend had also volunteered and there is too much grass for one person to tackle.
3. Taking my broccoli seedlings inside and outside each day for the past week to harden them off.
4. Digging up some of my black-eyed susans, beebalm, and Solomon's seal and bringing them to the Perennial Divide. As you can see in the picture above, BNAN volunteers laid out the donated plants by variety and people who were interested could take one of whatever variety they wanted. I did not find anything that I needed or had the space for, but I purchased a few native perennials from the City Natives nursery.5. Weeding my MSG plot and thinning/harvesting more lettuce and spinach. I like putting bleu cheese and candied walnuts in a salad and making a meal of that.6. Spreading some salt marsh hay on the plot to keep the weeds down. Also, weeding the strawberries and noticing how they are coming along.
7. Planting out some of my broccoli seedlings (my babies!) at the MSG.
8. Keeping my tomato seedlings (still indoors) watered.

And I'm not finished! More weeding, and figuring out when, where, and how to plant the tomatoes. Then it will be time to sow some more seeds: basil, green beans, zinnias, etc. This is the way it is this time of year. When I was working 9+ hours a day in my old job, I couldn't break free until July, and by then it was too late and hot to plant perennials, or to start much of anything from seed. So I am rather fortunate to be able to put in 1-2 hours a day now so I can escape the July heat and reap more benefits later on.

Ignorance about gardening

2009-05-12T22:08:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I transplanted some snap pea seedlings into my Minton Stable Garden plot. I had started them indoors out of panic because the seeds I had sown in my backyard seemed to be taking too long to come up. I had no structure in place for them to climb, so I grabbed a tomato ring and some string and fashioned one. But not only did I fail to consider that it would not be tall enough for the plants to climb, but that the plants would need more supports to get them climbing. They have been flopping over in the wind and attaching themselves to each other.

There was a time back in my earlier community gardening days when I would have been mortally embarrassed by this sort of development. Despite the advantage of the opportunity to garden in such close contact with others who could provide me with tips and insights, there existed the disadvantage of those others witnessing my acts of gardening ignorance. What were some of the examples of my amateurism? I don't recall all of them that well, but they usually involved a) not staking up the tomatoes very well, b) transplanting at the wrong time, or c) planting seeds or seedlings too close together.

I'll occasionally hear newer gardeners doubt their own proficiency. "I don't know what I'm doing," they'll say, or "How did you get your basil to grow like that?" Perhaps, like me, they thought that while growing up they were too cool for their parents' hobby but found themselves in adulthood hoping that something genetic would take hold.

But if my experience is any indication, a few years later they'll feel much less self-conscious. Maybe they too will realize that they don't give a damn what others think about their tomato plants that keep falling over, and that no one is really noticing anyway. In fact, they will likely be experiencing lots more success--some of it from observation or from trial and error--without much thought about it.

And maybe, like one former Minton Stable gardener who shall remain nameless, they can share a funny story about gardening ignorance without burning up in shame over it. Like the time they thought they were being so pro-active by deadheading the flowers off their tomato plants.

Green vegetable update

2009-05-07T21:53:00.011-04:00

After a few days of intermittent rain and gray skies, a clear afternoon presented a window of opportunity for me to get over to the Minton Stable Garden for the primary purpose of thinning out my lettuce and spinach some more. I only had a half hour--it's been a very busy week in other areas of my life--which was really more than enough time for that simple task but whenever I visit the MSG I have to factor in the social time. And when I arrived I encountered Terry, Joe, Jonathan, Ralph, Allan...but since I work from home in isolation, I welcomed it.
As far as thinning goes, I find it difficult to pull up plants that I had just recently nurtured. Apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. I take the "playoffs" approach, returning to the garden several times throughout the growing period for elimination rounds when I feel that they are too crowded in. At this point, I thinned the lettuce (Forellenschluss Romaine) and spinach (Space), both started from Fedco seeds in late March, to the point where the plants are about two inches apart. I collected the small seedlings that I pulled and incorporated them into a salad I had with dinner last night. I should thin the plants growing in my backyard, which include the same varieties as well as Buttercrunch Lettuce, but I've been too busy to even look at the raised bed behind my garage.

Today I focused on the Fiesta broccoli seedlings that have been growing under lights since mid-March. The time to start hardening them off is now, really, but out of the fifteen plants I have, only about half of them are ready for it.
The rest of them, as you can see below, have issues. The seedlings on the left have become little Bonsai broccoli, not more than about three inches tall. I had started them in the organic growing medium, but these were not among the plants I had transplanted to larger pots with the non-organic growing medium containing fertilizer. I am in the process of making those changes now; we'll see what happens. As for the plants on the right, they started out just fine, but like pretty much all of the seedlings, the new stem growth became thinner and more spindly, and as a result the plants are not staying upright. I tried to find out why. Perhaps the fertilizer was too nitrogen-rich, which could lead to hollow stems. Or maybe it was the fact that from moving plants back and forth to the sink to soak them I had accidently disrupted the circuit of my grow lights, so only one out of the two lights was functioning. I noticed the problem and fixed it yesterday. The soil in some of the pots was low so I added some more to protect some of the roots that were starting to peek through.
I hope to plant out the stronger broccoli plants in my MSG plot in another week. Until then I'll put them outdoors on the porch for a few hours each day, increasing their exposure to natural light and elements.

Bonding over bindweed

2009-05-03T17:46:00.010-04:00

Yesterday was the first Minton Stable Garden work day for the 2009 season. After I signed in, Terry, the Steering Committee member in charge, gave me two options. I could help with the weeding of the grassy near the fence along Dungarven Road, where lots of burdock and even a few rhubarb plants (which we have decided to keep) had sprouted up. Or, I could grab a shovel or hoe and help dig bindweed out of one the the heavily infested plots. The first option was pretty well covered, so I decided to join a few others for what one gardener had referred to as "bonding over bindweed," and put in my first work hour battling our horticultural equivalent of the swine flu.
Native to Europe and western Asia, bindweed is thought to have made its way to the US as early as the 1700s as a seed contaminant. Highly adaptable and proficient in finding light, bindweed will aggressively rob other plants of soil nutrients and space to grow. According a link I found about how to control it, bindweed is often referred to as wild morning glory or creeping jenny, and it is so widespread that there are words for bindweed in 29 different languages. Although I was short on time yesterday, I managed to take a few photos, including the one above of a few plants in the plot that was next to the one that four of us (including the plot-holder) dug up.What we tried our best to do was dig around the bindweed and pull it up, roots and all. Yet sometimes, despite our best efforts, we'd feel the snap of the plant breaking apart, and we'd have to dig further. We were doing that anyway, since the goal was to extract every possible piece of root, from the thick white arteries that you can see in the bag, to the smaller thread-like offshoots. We also pulled some of the bindweed from neighboring plots, though the infestation had not yet risen to the same point of severity. In any case, the gardener in the above plot, who will have to start over, and his neighbors will have to remain extra vigilant, checking for new growth weekly for the rest of the season.
What was the origin of the MSG infestation of bindweed? Could it have arrived with a load of free compost, or with some strawberries that were transplanted from an outside garden? Regarding the latter, if you look around the MSG you will find many strawberry patches, often the result of plants spreading in from neighboring plots. Some gardeners like myself had kept them as an experiment, and after a successful harvest considered them a mainstay.

This plot holder also had a strawberry patch, yet despite the possible risks of more bindweed, he has decided that in addition to tomatoes, he will keep growing strawberries. They seem to do well here, as opposed to in my backyard, where they had been eaten so often by some critters that I had to give up on growing them there, so I really can't blame him.

So, in the end, enough about the plants we don't want. With tulips in bloom everywhere, let me end this post on a brighter note.

Garden poems for your pocket

2009-04-29T21:33:00.004-04:00

I'm a sucker for Days. Record Store Day, ESL Awareness Day, and Teacher Appreciation Day are just a few that I have recently observed, though I admit that a few of those are self-serving. Last year, while I was teaching a unit on poetry (to prove my previous sentence), I became aware of the Poem in Your Pocket Day, on April 30. The idea behind this observance, a final bow to National Poetry Month, is that in order to appreciate this literary medium, one copies (or writes) a meaningful poem and carries it around in his or her pocket, to pull out and read to friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else with the courtesy to listen.

The hardest aspect of this day, at least for me, is to choose one poem to have the honor to share space with my keys, spare change, and lint. This year, with the blog in mind, my choice addresses a gardening theme. I have decided to go with "The Garden Gate" (see below), though a little web research has dug up a few contenders, including:

"Guests" by Celia Thaxter--she captures the sensory essence of gardening, not just through her poetry, but through other written reflections about her own experiences tending an amazing garden on an island off the coast of Maine. More from her in future posts...

"They'll spend the summer" by Joshua Beckman--a sweet little haiku leaving the reader wondering who "they" are. My guess is that they are people like you and me and the garden alleviates our stress.

"The Glory of the Garden" by Rudyard Kipling--a decent garden takes hard work. Though I object to the poet's suggestion that only men carry out these duties, I'll acknowledge just a little that he was a product of his time.

"My Garden" by Emily Dickinson--though vulnerable, the garden will always be a place for birth.

If anyone out there has another notable poem within this theme, please share it. "The Garden Gate," written in February by Joe Bergin and Terry McAweeney, is a thoughtful tribute to the Minton Stable Garden and the people who have made it a special place. Joe has read the poem twice, at the Sounds of the Garden benefit and the Gardeners Gathering, but to our knowledge, it has not had its Internet debut, until now:

The Garden Gate

You get up early in spring in the morning

The riotous birds are mating high handsome and wide

The early light has beamed through your bedroom window

You trip down the steps to the great outside

Crocuses at your foot, the promise of a daffodil

The breeze doesn't bite, and the garden gate defrosted

is in a stone's throw sight

and in your bones you feel the old thrill

You've studied the January seed catalogues

You've sent for the heirloom strains

You've consulted the Farmer's Almanac

You've prayed for a sunny May and a tapering off of April rains

It's a short march to the garden

A shovel and hoe in hand

to turn the soil, put your back into toil

and your time and energy to sweeten the land

On your walk down the radius gravel path

you pause by the 3 granite monuments to the man

and give a thought to old John Carroll

and think to yourself

just how this glorious garden began

It was back in 1993

after they tore down the ancient horse barn

John, who'd seen much death in Vietnam

looked across the overgrown vacant city lot

and in a vision saw a neighborhood flower and vegetable farm

And you know he knew that was the old horse trail

where pleasure riders into Franklin Park would prance

and his mind must've reeled at the sheer infinitude of biomass

of all the equine road apple gifts

that down through the years

became the rich land grant of nitrogen to our plants

Now, onward, you open the wooden and iron ball and chain gate

and proceed to your 10' by 10' plot

The sun is kissing the back of your neck

and you feel sweetly high as if you've just had a large chocolat

Turn the soil, add compost, look for earthworms

Level the land, sow the seeds, hum a song

Thank Mother Earth, say a prayer to your little garden

May miraculous germination

please not take very long

Say, there's your beloved neighbor!

You converse as you're down on all fours

You delight in airy conversation

as they till their soil on their plot down from yours

It's a model for communities everywhere

It makes a hamlet of our corner of Jamaica Plain

Where you work side by side with fellow gardeners

growing crops in the sun and the rain

So it is, come summer, down on Williams Street

Home from work, ask a neighbor how their day has gone

and you can tell it's been a hard one

...but they smile and say

"I'll see you in the garden, later on..."

Community gardener check-in: Daniela

2009-04-24T07:52:00.007-04:00

This season I've been trying to make good on my original mission to highlight the efforts of my fellow gardeners. Like some bloggers, I have been shy about revealing my body of work and even more hesitant to shine the Internet spotlight on others. Yet as I was thinning my lettuce and spinach yesterday and realizing that dull and un-postworthy those activities were, some new material walked through the gate: Daniela and three of her four children, including her newest, born last November and snuggling comfortably in her mother's sling.

Although I run into Daniela from time to time and my daughter and one of her sons once participated in JP Children's Soccer together, this was the first time in about two years I had actually caught her tending her plot. "So are you going to write about me?" she immediately asked after I told her about the blog. She is no stranger to the medium, maintaining her own blog read by family members, including those in her native Switzerland, so she had no issue with being the subject of today's post.

Her main tasks yesterday included thinning out her garlic (shown above), which has been growing in her plot for the past three years, and her strawberries. She also planted carrot seeds and prepared an area for salad greens. The radishes she started two and a half weeks ago (below) are progressing nicely (by the way, if you are curious about what that generally looks like, check this out). When I first glanced at the shape of the leaves, my immediate reaction was: bindweed? Since the warnings about the spread of this unwanted invasive, I've become a little obsessed. With the exception of the radishes and garlic, her plans resemble mine, with zinnias, tomatoes, and broccoli or brussel sprouts on the way.

I have known Daniela since she started gardening at the old stable garden in 2002, and she has always been one of those women about which I wonder, "How does she do it?" Not only has she been able to forge a multilingual existence in a new country, but raise and homeschool her kids. And make it look so easy. I had forgotten to ask if the garden had a role in her curriculum. After seeing Elias, her oldest, pull wayward strawberry runners without being prompted, I wouldn't be surprised if some of her instruction took place here.

Although she misses having a much larger plot in the old garden, Daniela believes that the reconstructed Minton Stable Garden is an improvement, because more gardeners can participate. The location of her plot--it's the one on the corner closest to the shed--is also ideal. Her baby can lie in the grass across the path and her other kids have a safe common area nearby where they can run around.

The costs of gardening and other updates

2009-04-19T08:25:00.007-04:00

Friday afternoon around 4:30, my daughter and I took advantage of the 70-degree heat and headed over to the Minton Stable Garden. The children outnumbered the adults; at one point I counted eight, and those were only the ones that were ex utero. The oldest, my eight-year-old, helped water the plants in our plot. The spinach is now about an inch high, but the lettuce has yet to take off, with a leaf span of not quite a centimeter across.

Also coming up are tulips and a few perennials, including echinacea and black-eyed susans. California poppies, an annual, have self-seeded from last year, their thin, light green tendrils peeking out of the soil. Asa, my plot neighbor, alerted me that her raspberry plants, located about a foot away from the border of my strawberry bed, were starting to send runners underground, and wanted to know if it was okay if she could pull any she found invading my plot. I told her not to worry about it; if she was able to take care of it that was fine, but I didn't mind pulling them out as I handled my regular weeding. The only real issue I had last year with her raspberries involved trying to keep my daughter from eating them.

I took a few photos, including this wide shot above. I try to avoid close-ups of children out of respect for families' privacy. My friend Terry suggested the shot below of this row of plots, starting with mine in the foreground. Next is Asa's and you can see that she has laid down some salt marsh hay to keep down the weeds.

Last year this much was scarce, but nearby Allandale Farm has managed to get a shipment already, so last week we bought a bale of it for the home and community garden plots. This leads me to the latest update of my ongoing calculation of my food growing costs for the season:

Previous total: $120.92

MSG annual plot dues: $28.00

Bale of salt hay w/tax: $15.75

New total: $164.67

It'll take a few months to reap anything to offset these expenses, but it should be worth it.

And they're off...

2009-04-13T13:08:00.007-04:00

Yesterday morning in the Minton Stable Garden I experienced the annual Running of the Kids. For the past four years, two MSG families with six children between them have organized the Easter Egg Hunt, stuffing plastic eggs with jellybeans, M & Ms, and other goodies, and stashing them in around garden plots and common areas behind the garden gate in preparation.

The hunting ground was off-limits until around 9:30 when Hannah, one of the organizers, called all families to the entrance near Dungarven Road to explain the rules, mainly 1) The plot areas are for children under five, while older kids should confine their search to the more challenging wildflower and native plantings area in the corner of the property by Williams Street, and 2) when the hunt is over, everyone should be willing to share their surplus so all end up with the same amount of eggs.

Then the gate was opened, and kids fanned out in all directions, scooping up eggs tucked away in garden plots, hidden next to rocks, and nestled in tree branches and other odd places. The limited flora at this stage of the growing season worked in everyone's favor. Some older kids learned the hard way that the stinging nettles were already claiming the edges of the property, an unintentional consequence. A few who had already amassed a full basket re-hid a few eggs so the younger could gain more satisfaction.

Within about fifteen minutes, all of the 300+ eggs had been found, and Hannah reconvened the crowd to count and share, so each child could leave with a basket of a dozen eggs. Then we adults lingered, drinking coffee, chatting, and meeting new neighbors while our kids went to work maintaining their sugar highs. As we headed out, many of us made sure to track down Allison and Hannah to thank them for taking time from their busy schedules to maintain this community-building tradition.

Meanwhile, indoors...

2009-04-10T10:11:00.007-04:00

Despite a springlike day here and there, a chilling frost or a torrential downpour could throw a wrench into some of the best-laid garden plans. The growth of some of the seeds I started outdoors a few weeks ago seems somewhat delayed. March Temperatures in New England were slightly below normal; this might explain why my snap peas haven't yet germinated. So when Dan from Urban Veggie Garden Blog suggested starting some seeds indoors, I took his advice and planted about a dozen. If they grow successfully I can transplant them in any empty spaces along my pea trellis.

With the help of a grow light, the seeds I have started indoors are coming along, with mixed results. Most notable is the broccoli, which was all planted on March 15. The variable here has been the growing medium; in the photo above the plants on the right were started in an organic potting mix, while I used a more conventional non-organic mix with the plants on the left. It appears that I have had more success with the non-organic medium, though I wonder if the seedlings are a little too leggy. Both mixes are Miracle-Gro (you can compare them--they're the second and third products here), but my not-so-expert theory is that more fertilizer in the regular product has resulted in more growth. The coarser nature of the organic, which is 50-55% composted bark, might inhibit it.

Here are my tomatoes, started on March 23 in the organic medium. I planted three varieties: Cosmonaut Volkov, Cherokee Purple, and Rose de Berne, all from Fedco seeds, but at this point the seedlings are indistinguishable.

In choosing a more limited variety of seeds this year, I'm moving more toward subsistence. I omitted snow peas because I could barely harvest enough at one time for a stir fry. Quantity is not as much of an issue for snap peas, which are often eaten raw and in any amount. In fact, they rarely make it into a bowl or steamer before they are consumed. Most importantly, as in the case of the broccoli, snap peas, lettuce, and spinach, these vegetables will be accepted by even the most finicky eaters in my house (I will not name names...).

One area of growth

2009-04-06T13:53:00.006-04:00

There is nothing like a sunny Sunday in the 60s to treat the seasonal depression brought on by a near week of raw air, spitting rain, and stories of economic gloom and doom. After sleeping in, tackling my shrinking Sunday paper, and running a few errands, I made it over to the Minton Stable Garden to put in a little maintenance and appreciate something that is still growing.

I encountered nearly a dozen people gardening, walking dogs, or just relaxing on the stone benches. Asa, my plot neighbor, was there with her two sons, including her not-so-newborn, whom I met for the first time. When I arrived she was finishing up a task that was on top of my agenda: weeding and thinning the strawberries, and making sure that the patch was free of bindweed. In the presentation at last week's meeting, the Steering Committee warned that this highly invasive weed has a tendency to spread among strawberries; both plants have persistent root systems. Bindweed continues to threaten the MSG. An investigation by the Steering Committee revealed that about four plots are so seriously infested that the soil in them may need to be replaced. Although I saw one plot covered with plastic yesterday, it was not announced which areas were affected.

On a brighter note, my spinach and lettuce are starting to appear. As you can see in this photo, our soil is littered with small rocks, presumably washed or blown in from the footpaths, so the spinach sprouts may be hard to notice. I ran into another gardener who shared my complaint that the peas (which I planted nearly two weeks ago at home) have yet to be seen.

Then we turned the faucets--still no water. When I asked Allan from the Steering Committee about this, he joked that he should just make a pin that says "April 23" and wear it everywhere because of all the times he's been asked. The water won't be turned on for another few weeks. The copper pipes don't benefit from the same warmth as those in our homes so it's best to wait until they are no longer frozen and at risk of bursting. With more showers in the forecast today, we probably won't have to haul too much water to encourage more growth. It is April in Boston, after all.

The season begins

2009-04-03T17:30:00.004-04:00

I'm not a big fan of meetings. I can usually gauge the inefficiency of one by the intensity of my resulting headache. Luckily, the Minton Stable Garden Steering Committee understands this, as there is usually only one meeting of all of the gardeners each year. Aided by a shortage of intense controversies, about an hour was all that was needed to review rules and share other information on the upcoming season.

We gathered this past Monday at the nearby English High School library (thanks to Allan for the photo). The important items of business included signing a contract pledging respectful gardening practices and paying the annual dues of $28. For the past couple of years MSG members have followed through in completing their 4-hour work requirement and honoring deadlines for maintaining their gardens, with few people abandoning their plots or moving out of the city; as a result only four individuals/families have been granted plots, leaving 30 still on the waiting list. Given the high demand to garden, a Steering Committee member explained that with nine work days scheduled and opportunities to mow and shovel, there will be no excuses for falling short this year.

Julianna from the Steering Committee provided a treasury report. With a budget of around $1400 a year, money needs to be raised for any purchase beyond the basics (water, plantings, fuel for mowers, special events, etc.). Two other issues that I would like to explore in future posts are an update on our bindweed situation as well as our inability to produce our own compost.

Nancie, also on the Steering Committee, brought up an idea to keep gardeners informed and give them a voice: a Yahoo group, now in the "beta" phase. Also, members were urged to run for one of the three Steering Committee slots that will be open this year.

I had not seen many of the 30+ people in attendance since last season. I look forward to running into them in the garden soon, if it ever stops raining.

34 years later, still growing

2009-03-30T09:56:00.005-04:00

For the past few years Northeastern University has donated space in its student center to the Boston Natural Areas Network to hold its annual Gardeners Gathering, which features workshops, plenary sessions, and other activities for community and urban gardeners. It seemed rather agonizing to spend a warm spring day indoors, but the few hours I spend every year at this event leave me energized about the start of the season, and this year was no exception.

A lunch date with relatives kept me from attending the entire day, but my timing seemed right when I entered the plenary room a little after noon and saw my friend and fellow Minton Stable Gardener Joe Bergin sharing new lyrics to the David Mallett's "Garden Song." He then read "The Garden Gate," which he had introduced at the Sounds of the Garden benefit last month. This poem, which he and Terry McAweeney had written in memory of John Carroll, is a celebration of the pleasures of community gardening. BNAN plans to publish it soon on its website.

In her welcome address, BNAN President Valerie Burns (above) reminded those of us with community plots how lucky we are. She recently looked at five of the gardens in the BNAN network, containing a total of 370 plots, and discovered that the combined total on their waiting lists had reached 130 (a member of the MSG Steering Committee revealed to me that there were 30 people on ours). Also, BNAN has had trouble ordering the 12,000 seeds they provide annually to their gardens because the companies have been running out. Apparently the recession we're in has increased people's interest in growing their own food. She highlighted the findings from their study of the economic advantages of gardening. She encouraged those of us who have maintained more than one community plot or enjoy access to plentiful space on our own property in addition our plots to consider sharing our space. She also invited wait-listed people to contact BNAN if they were interested in an available plot in one of seven other community gardens that still had them.

Like every year, I regretted not being able to attend all of the workshops available, which this year included "Weed or Wildflower--Kill It or Eat It?" and "Safer Urban Soil." But I did catch a few short movies and the final plenary session, during which the news was released that Boston Urban Gardeners, an organization that was behind the first Gardeners Gathering 34 years ago and had to close its doors recently due to economic difficulties, would be transferring its ownership to BNAN; therefore, its gardens, including the one next to its home base at 57 Lamartine Street in Jamaica Plain would benefit from the same support and resources that we at the MSG receive.

Before the Community Gardening Awards and final raffle, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino made his annual speech to the standing-room-only crowd. He emphasized his two main points more than once: 1) Come harvest time in August, don't forget to invite him to our gardens and 2) The city will continue to provide free compost to the community gardens. Given all of the other cutbacks, that can be regarded as good news. The award recipients were the two Charles River gardens, which were inducted into the Hall of Fame, a lifetime achievement award for Arthur Kane, and for the Rookie Garden, the Harrison Urban Garden (HUG), started on the roof of a parking garage at 700 Harrison Avenue in Boston.

If you are a Minton Stable Gardener, I'll see you tonight at the meeting.

Too early to garden?

2009-03-25T17:41:00.004-04:00

Finally, the first day has come that has felt like spring, since the arrival of...spring. A good day to get things started. After turning over the vegetable bed in my backyard I headed over to the Minton Stable Garden. As you can see from these photos, there is not much color, yet. No one has planted crocuses or snowdrops, but a few gardens had tulips in progress, including mine. With the absence of rain this past week, cracks have appeared in the soil of several plots. And with it being so early in the season, only a few of the gardens bore the darker hue of turned-over soil.

I started three varieties of tomatoes under the grow lights at home on Monday, but I was itching to start a few outdoors. So I planted a row of Forellenschluss lettuce (an organic Romaine) and Space Spinach seeds. I have not planted these vegetables in the Minton Stable Garden for several years, but due to the encroaching shade of a maturing lilac in my backyard, that location was not as successful as I would have hoped last season, though I still plan to sow seeds there. The lilac had been planted by the previous owners and in recent years has taken off. We have been too hesitant to undo the previous owners' efforts, but perhaps in the fall we might have to make an exception.

After I sowed my seeds in the MSG I realized the disadvantage of starting so early. Where was the water? The hoses were not out yet, and the water had not yet been turned on. Since I no longer live a convenient distance from the MSG, I had to borrow watering cans and raid the tap of one of my abutting friends. The first official meeting will be this Monday night; perhaps after that it won't be considered too early and the water will be back on.

Michelle, get dirtier

2009-03-22T23:09:00.005-04:00

I know that this is old news, but I am thrilled that a vegetable garden is being planted at the White House, and that along with Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia, a fifth grade class from a Washington, DC school will be involved in the project. So in my mind, that qualifies as a community garden. Moreover, Mrs. Obama is using the garden to set an example of healthy eating, by growing and consuming a variety of lettuces, spinach, kale, and other vegetables, as well as berries.

Over the weekend there have been stories about the groundbreaking for the garden. Most have featured photos of Michelle Obama in her chosen outfit. As much I hate to jump on the bandwagon of bloggers who provide commentary on the First Lady's fashion choices, I do question the logic behind the attire for this event. The last time I wore boots, leggings, and a long sweater, I was headed to a party, not my plot. But then again, if I knew I'd be greeted by photographers whenever I pushed open the MSG gate, I'd probably feel a little uncomfortable in my ripped jeans and T-shirts.

But now that I've said that, let me get to my point. Apparently most of the maintenance of the White House garden will fall to the grounds crew and kitchen staff. Perhaps it's unrealistic to expect Michelle Obama to take time out of her busy schedule to pitch in on a regular basis. But she does manage to devote time to exercise--three 90-minute workouts a week that include weight lifting, calisthenics, and some cardiovascular activities.

Being the same age as the first lady, I can relate to her desire to stay in shape, and I too go to a gym and participate in some of the same aforementioned activities. But has she considered that gardening is exercise? Digging the garden plot can burn 340 calories an hour, and weeding can burn 306 calories an hour. Digging dirt is similar to weight lifting, yet burns more calories and has the added benefits of fresh air and sunshine.

So hopefully Michelle will spend more time in the dirt. As a role model watched by many, she can get her exercise, reduce stress, and use her influence to make gardening more fashionable.

The costs of gardening and other updates

2009-03-17T11:47:00.006-04:00

Back in January, I wrote a post about a group of activists in Ashland who were organizing to try to establish a community garden. On Saturday, March 14, they held a forum at the public library. I couldn't make the trip out there, but my friend Julie reported that 55 people attended, enough to fill the room and increase support for their efforts. Hopefully town officials will take more notice.

It was a glorious weekend here in Boston, with Sunday's temperature in the 60s. As my daughter turned soil in our backyard vegetable plot, I cleared out the leaves from a few perennial beds. Later I started some broccoli (Fiesta organic) indoors. After having decided to use an organic potting mix, I did happen to find some, though it was only available in a 32-quart bag, more than I think I'll need. If any Minton Stable or other local gardeners need a little extra, they'll know whom to ask. It turns out that the organic soil has an "organic wetting agent;" given what I had read up on before, I thought that expression was an oxymoron. I hadn't gotten around to investigating what that means. Out of curiosity I decided to fill one cell pack with some leftover non-organic potting mix and compare its progress with the other two.

So, to continue my ongoing calculation of the costs of gardening:

Potting soil (w/tax): $9.94

Previous total: $110.98

New total expenses: $120.92

Finally, if you're a local gardener, you might want to check out BNAN's annual Gardeners Gathering next Saturday. It's a great opportunity to meet other gardeners, learn some tips, and pick up a few freebies.

The Flower Show lives on--at the mall

2009-03-13T15:16:00.005-04:00

Last year's news that the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's annual New England Spring Flower Show would not be held at its usual location came as a disappointment to many. Under the massive roof of the Bayside Expo Center thousands of gardening enthusiasts have viewed hundreds of exhibits, visited venders to stock up on plants and supplies, taken a lunch or dinner break, picked up some planting tips, and enjoyed other activities. For many New Englanders, the Flower Show signifies the beginning of spring, but recent financial and management problems threatened to break that 137-year tradition.

Luckily Mass Hort has found a way to continue the tradition on a smaller scale. The result is BLOOMS!, which is taking place in three malls from March 12 to March 22 and three buildings downtown over the weekend. Despite my mission to avoid malls as much as possible, I made an exception yesterday and checked out the exhibits at the Chestnut Hill Mall in Newton (a suburb west of Boston).

I found a dozen exhibits, including this one by CMC Designs. With its hydrangeas, hyacinths, and daffodils, this display earns my unofficial award for the Most Fragrant.

I can't say that I had a favorite exhibit, but they were all appealing in their arrangements, with many containing shade-compatible plants such as ferns, hostas, and astilbe, rhododendrons and other flowering shrubs, bamboo, and small trees. Moss was the most popular groundcover. Every display featured some non-living element such as a bench or statuary, though the cage in the background of this creation by Peter Sadeck housed three not-so-happy-looking birds.The exhibit was free--obviously you can't charge anyone to enter a mall--but I gladly made a donation to help Mass Hort achieve their goal of bringing it all together under a large roof again in 2010. I suspect that anyone heading into the area to check out the exhibits will find more happening downtown; I hope to make it there on Sunday.

As pretty as possible

2009-03-10T21:19:00.005-04:00

Before I became distracted by recent events and the anticipation of spring, I began to post about the history of the Minton Stable Garden. I'll continue where I left off, when the plans for rebuilding a horse stable on the vacated city-owned lot were put on an indefinite hold.

As Allan, one of the early activists, recalled, one of the strategies to gain neighborhood support for using the vacant stable site as a community garden was to "make the place as pretty as we can." To back up, when the old riding rink was removed by the city in 1990, space opened up, with soil already enriched by years of sawdust and manure. Space was now exposed to sunlight, illuminating possibilities unforeseen. Where some neighbors saw free fertilizer, John Carroll had a vision for something different.

Much of what he started on the property in the early 1990s involved large plantings of wildflowers and perennials. As you can see in this photo, taken around late June 1994, they included hollyhocks, which self-seeded and spread to various locations in the garden over the next ten years, as well as daisies, day lilies, pinks, and poppies. Those of us who helped John in these common areas spent much of our time weeding out the mint that competed with these plants for nutrients and rescuing plants from the stranglehold of crown vetch.

The photo was taken from the location of the shed that you see in the background of the more current photo appearing under the blog title. I don't need to provide another photo from the same perspective for you to see how the garden has changed. In 1994, there were probably no more than ten neighbors gardening at the site, in plots located behind and to the right of these flower plantings. Now there are around 45 plots and a waiting list of gardeners hoping to get in on the action. Unfortunately, these flower beds no longer exist, though many of these varieties still live on in some of the gardeners' plots. Now there are more native perennial varieties taking root in an area behind from where this photo was taken. More on those and a continuation of the history of the MSG are forthcoming.

Mixed media

2009-03-07T15:33:00.004-05:00

The definition of the term growing medium, as outlined by the Growing Media Association (I'm not kidding, it exists) is "material used in a container to grow a plant." In other words, potting soil. In the past, I just bought the cheapest bag of whatever at the hardware store. But this year, as I wait impatiently for my seed order to make its way though my mail slot, I thought I'd do a little research to ensure that my organic seeds had a comparable home.

As The National Gardening Company plainly states, "A good seed starting mix holds moisture, drains well, and is fine textured. Fair enough. But what makes a growing medium organic? Some companies sell organic potting mixes, or else you can make your own. The organization ATTRA has published a detailed guide of what is allowed in organic potting soil. These agents include soil, sand, compost, spaghum peat moss or other forms of peat, coir or coir dust (a byproduct of the coconut fiber industry), newspaper, alfalfa, sawdust, clay, kenaf, perlite, vermiculite, limestone, and alternative fertilizers.

What is not considered organic is any mix containing wetting agents. An explanation in the Global Garden online magazine reveals that "soil wetters are essentially the same as detergents." Part of a class of chemicals known as surfectants, these wetting agents cannot be biodegradable to do their job effectively. Nevertheless, some soils are manufactured with them because organic mixes can be hydrophobic. Perhaps you've had this experience before; you pour water on your seedlings but it doesn't get absorbed. Wetting agents can reduce the surface tension of the water to so it is easier for it to enter the pores of the organic matter instead of sliding off of it.

A few commenters to a previous post have suggested soaking the soil before planting the seeds. It was not clear what kind of mix they were using, but if I find a good organic product I'll heed their advice. Even though my MSG plot and my gardens at home are not located near a stream or pond I would prefer to not to use any agent that poses a risk to aquatic organisms or potentially my plants as well. I checked two reliable local gardening centers; one has not opened for the season yet while the other only carried a couple of mixes that contained wetting agents. I was instructed to check back in a few weeks, if I can wait that long.

Prelude to spring

2009-03-01T13:34:00.005-05:00

Winter has returned to Boston. A few inches of snow will coat the ground today and a storm coming through starting around midnight will dump even more. So much for the sign of spring that I spotted in my backyard as I was taking out the compost on Friday.

Despite a strong indecisive wind, the temperature reached a high of 58 degrees Fahrenheit, so finding snowdrops in bloom did not come as a complete surprise. Besides, this perennial, which is native to Europe, can bloom as early as January. The bulbs were given to us about ten years ago by Mitchell, a friend of ours who lives down the street from the MSG, and they have multiplied slowly, benefitting from a sunny south-facing slope. Their drop-shaped blooms are hardy enough to poke out from underneath snow, perhaps even the several more inches that will cover them by tomorrow.

Snow cover as of this posting

Sounds of the Garden benefit

2009-02-25T13:08:00.015-05:00

On Monday, February 23, the Boston Natural Areas Network hosted a benefit concert at the Midway Cafe to support Sounds of the Garden, a series of free concerts held at community gardens around the city (last summer, the Minton Stable Garden was treated to a show by Lloyd Thayer). I was enjoying the eclectic mix of performances too much to take out my notebook and do any actual reporting, but I can at least provide photos and (mostly MySpace) links to the musical and poetry acts.

The room was filled with mainly Minton Stable Gardeners, BNAN staff, a few Midway regulars, and members of the Whitehaus, a Jamaica Plain-based collective of artists behind most of the performances that evening. Some of the Whitehaus folks looked familiar; it was very cool to discover this other side of some of my fellow gardeners. A fundraising raffle was part of the festivities; I was lucky to win a BNAN membership and a book, leading some to joke that the operation was rigged.

The first band I heard, Peal & Lash (above), provided fun thrashing rock, the loudest music of the evening. They were followed by D.A. Boucher, who recited and performed an unforgettable revisionist take on Peter Cottontail, complete with Whitehaus family members posing as vegetables at risk.

Next were The Woodrow Wilsons (below), with their lovely vocal harmonies layered over acoustic guitar and xylophone (not shown).
Joe Bergin read a special poem he wrote about the garden and John Carroll (note to self--get a copy!).

Peace, Loving was up next. This experimental group left most of their chains and bowls at home, leaning toward more of an acoustic folk sound, including some powerful poetry provided by the member at the far left in the photo below. Another Whitehaus member, Lindsay Clark, performed a stunning solo set, her voice floating over rootsy banjo picking.

Brian Ellis, above right, read his mind-bending poetry. His verse about a Greyhound bus ride down the east coast as a metaphor for a bad relationship was quite engaging. Ed Masuga's acoustic folk was a nice finish to the evening.

I hope that this benefit went far to beef up BNAN's budget for this summer's series, and that some of these performers and others who are just as good bring their music to the gardens this summer.

Remembering Alan Sedrish

2009-02-24T20:46:00.003-05:00

Last night I attended the Sounds of the Garden benefit concert at the Midway Cafe. Had a great time hanging out with friends, listening to cool music and poetry, and snapping lots of photos. I hope to post a summary in the next day or so. There was only one dark cloud over an otherwise joyful event. Before he read an excellent poem he penned to celebrate the Minton Stable Garden and John Carroll's contributions, Joe Bergin delivered some sad news; Alan Sedrish, a longtime neighbor and Minton Stable gardener, had just passed away.

Alan ran a successful business, Stony Brook Woodworking, out of his studio at the Brewery in Jamaica Plain. He built our bed frame, pepper grinder, and probably other items in our home that I can't recall at the moment, but he was known by a wider audience for his work on his theater sets for Sarah Caldwell and others, and for some benches at Doyles. We always made it a point to stop by during Jamaica Plain Open Studios to admire his humidors, pen sets and other beautifully crafted items.

I often ran into Alan and chatted with him at the Midway back when I used to hang out with neighbors on Fridays, around ten years ago. And since then, I'd see him in the garden, especially at the barbecues, and occasionally tending his plot. I recall that he grew mostly tomatoes, and they too were masterpieces. He struck me as a very reserved person, yet someone who was confident in his competence. And he always seemed to be smiling. Despite some health issues in recent years, it's still hard to believe he's no longer with us. He will definitely be missed.

The costs of gardening: 2009

2009-02-22T23:33:00.004-05:00

In a post a few weeks ago, I summarized a few studies on the monetary benefits of gardening. More and more people are growing their own food, with many seed companies reporting a 20 percent increase in sales. Not only do many gardeners prefer fresher, more flavorful produce that they know hasn't been sprayed with some unknown pesticide or shipped hundreds or thousands of miles, they believe that they'll cut their food expenses as well.

I've decided to do my own research on the costs and benefits of growing vegetables and fruit over the upcoming gardening season. Starting with this post, I'll be reporting from time to time on how much I've spent on my own gardens--both community plot and backyard--and come harvest time, calculate the value of my yield based on local prices for similar produce. I can't promise accurate results. There's always a chance I'll forget to factor in some expense such as potting soil, and I won't include the costs of tools I already own, or estimate how much I was billed for watering the backyard. But I'm curious. Despite all of my years of gardening, I've regarded the activity a hobby, giving little thought to the financial consequences.

My first expense for the 2009 gardening season is this tabletop grow light from Gardener's Supply. In the past I've had mixed success starting seeds; despite locating my peat pots or plastic trays of tomato seeds in a sunny window, the soil never seems to get warm enough to sustain them, and I've ended up with stringy seedlings that droop over and fail to thrive. So with the help of a $50 gift certificate, I was able to purchase this modest set-up for $94.48.

I took up a friend's offer to go in with him on tomato seeds. For others, I placed an order with Fedco: snap peas, spinach, lettuce (romaine and Buttercrunch), broccoli, sweet basil, and thyme. Subtracting the flower seeds from the order, the total plus postage came out to $16.50.

So, the expenses so far:

Grow light $94.48

Seeds $16.50

Total: $110.98

We'll see if I can avoid buying flats this season, though I wouldn't turn down a few donations.

This year's Valentine's sacrifice

2009-02-14T16:21:00.005-05:00

Valentine's Day: no better time to...blog about flowers. Specifically, those that my husband gave me and my daughter. This year he presented me with a lovely cyclamen, which he purchased from a local florist. This Mediterranean plant is a popular houseplant, grown indoors during the winter months, and goes dormant in the warmer months.

I hope this cyclamen makes it to the next winter. I have a notorious history for killing any houseplant that is not a spider plant or philodendron or any other plant I need to water only when the spirit moves me. African violets, Kalanchoe and Caladium are just a few of the varieties thoughtfully given to me and thoughtlessly neglected. I have already traumatized my dear cyclamen once by dropping it when I tried to move it. If my houseplants were children, I would be declared an unfit parent. I wonder if my thumb turns green only when exposed to the outside air.

I have killed a cyclamen before, but this year I vow to be more attentive. I'll keep it in the middle of my dining room table, where there is light during the day, but not direct sunlight. I don't think our house temperature goes below 60 degrees at night, but if I put in in the basement I'll surely forget about it. Blogging about it might help hold me accountable for taking better care of it. Any suggestions would certainly be welcome.

My daughter received a bouquet of red carnations. That sparkly stuff is glitter added by the florist to make the flowers look more festive. No strange experiments in hybridization were performed to create that effect.

Scratching that gardening itch

2009-02-10T16:17:00.004-05:00

Although on Sunday the temperature here in Boston reached the 50s, we know better. Whether or not we choose to believe in the consequences of the groundhog's shadow, there's no denying that we still have at least another month before we can start working the ground, though we can see a little of it here at the base of the fence.

But that doesn't mean we can't plan ahead. There are still seed orders to be placed, and a recent email from the MSG Steering Committee contained important dates to plug into our calendars, including a Sounds of the Garden fundraiser at the Midway Cafe on February 23 and the BNAN Gardener's Gathering on March 28.

The stubborn, hard ground has not prevented all victims of harsh winters from indulging in their favorite hobby. Molly Day, who along with Martha writes the excellent and informative Oklahoma-based blog All the Dirt on Gardening, has been starting seeds indoors since January. And I can always count on Dan of the Urban Veggie Garden Blog to fill me in on his activities, whether he's planting onions indoors or keeping his brussel sprouts and sage protected outside. Who says you can't garden in Ontario in the winter?

Much closer to the MSG, Allan and Kim have forwarded me an impressive list of over 50 native perennial herbaceous varieties they have started this winter, many more than they can actually fit on their own property. Allan hopes that perhaps some of the milkweed can be planted over at the MSG to create more of a butterfly habitat. The other few gardeners I surveyed are much more like me; still putting together a seed order. That counts, doesn't it?

Measuring the benefits of community gardens

2009-02-03T17:22:00.004-05:00

Anyone who is familiar with community gardens can probably spew forth a list of benefits. But can those benefits be quantified? The Boston Natural Areas Network (the MSG's "landlord" and valuable resource) thinks so, according to a study it conducted to determine the total yield and its value from the city's 150 community gardens. According to an article published in BNAN's Winter 2009 Urban & Green newsletter, gardeners grow an estimated 494,750 pounds of vegetables valued at $1.3 million, or $431 a year for each family.

There's no way BNAN could have sent bean counters to every plot in the city (though I know some employees would welcome the opportunity to get out of the office). Assumptions were made that equal numbers of the 13 most popular vegetables were grown, and BNAN's Learning Garden in Mattapan was used as a control to obtain yield data over three years, which was then averaged. The monetary value was based on prices for organic produce in the Boston area.

The theory that community gardens raise property values in a neighborhood has also been examined. New York University's Vicki Been and Ioan Voicu reported in a 2006 paper that community gardens in New York City had a positive impact on the values of residential properties within 1000 feet of a garden, particularly in the poorest neighborhoods studied. The value increases can lead to significant increases in tax revenue--an argument that can be used in dealing with city governments who prefer the land to be developed for another purpose.

Anyone interested in the idea of community gardens bringing together a diverse group of people within a neighborhood should check out the results of a survey used by New York state senators who were fighting to preserve New York City community gardens. Although the survey was taken over ten years ago, I can't imagine that the information obtained about the positive uses and impacts of community gardens would be much different today.

To my knowledge, the Minton Stable Garden's impact on the Stoneybrook neighborhood of JP has not been measured, but I know that it's tangible. I have met people in the garden who have expressed a desire to live in the neighborhood just because of it, and many solid friendships have been forged through participation in gardening and other activities.

Tear up that lawn!

2009-01-30T09:50:00.005-05:00

The idea of a garden on the White House lawn, first executed by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1943, is taking root again. "Eat the View" is the name of a campaign started by Kitchen Gardeners International, a Maine non-profit that promotes sustainable local food systems. The plan to increase "edible landscapes" includes online petitions to "Plant a Victory Garden at the White House" (at their site as well as through Facebook), a link to contacting President Obama, appeals to ask other elected officials to convert landscapes (such as the yards of their residences) to gardens, and an opportunity to buy a "virtual parcel" of the White House lawn, with proceeds helping to fund the cause. As I write this, over 1,400 supporters have registered with the Eat the View web site and over 17,500 Facebook users have signed the petition.

Another noteworthy effort is The White House Organic Farm Project (a.k.a. The Who Farm). According to the organization's petition, the farm could serve as an outdoor classroom for children and Americans with disabilities, provide food for the President, his family, and White House guests, and serve as an example of organic practices such as using heirloom seeds and topsoil nourished by compost. Upon the recommendation of the author Michael Pollan, five acres of the South Lawn could be allocated.

The Who Farm organizers have expressed their support for the Eat the View idea by encouraging their site visitors to vote for the idea when it was under consideration in a contest at the Ideas for Change in America collection of causes. Eat the View also won the On Day 1 contest, in which ideas to improve the world on many fronts had been proposed and judged.

It will be interesting to find out if these petitions will make a difference when and if they reach Obama's desk. If our wait list for a plot at the MSG is any indication, I would guess that many more Americans would support these efforts.

Consider the grass

2009-01-25T10:45:00.008-05:00

Lawns--to some gardeners they're the antithesis to the native flora of a community, while others toil endlessly to cultivate a lush, weed-free, green carpet to surround their immaculate homes. Regardless of your feelings, you will at some point pass many hours on a lawn, perhaps for a picnic, or in my case, something more memorable.

As one of the estimated one to two million participants on the National Mall last Tuesday for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, I felt the palpable excitement and relief over this transfer of power. I look forward to a concrete expression of his vision for environmental and energy sustainability. But for the moment, as many angles of this memorable event have already been explored, I will consider the grass.

I know that comparisons of our current economic crisis to Great Depression are all the rage these days, but I couldn't help but think of the Dustbowl whenever I looked down. The crowd would chuckle every time the announcer would instruct the audience to take a seat--obviously this was directed toward distinguished guests and ticket holders, not the hordes of party-crashers who huddled elbow-to-elbow in front of about a dozen JumboTrons set up between the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument. There wasn't much grass left to sit on, but plenty of sand-colored fine dust that stuck to our coats and behinds when we chose to take a load off our feet. I guess I shouldn't complain, having been lucky enough to make it down on the Metro and find a spot before the Mall filled up, and that we were not camping out for five hours on six inches of snow like we have here in Boston!

The National Mall is maintained by the National Park Service, which has been campaigning for more support toward its restoration. The neglect and disrepair of this 700-acre property has been lamented by officials and visitors alike. It was disheartening to see so much trash and bare dirt as the crowd cleared out last Tuesday. Some of us filled a few of the trash bags that were provided, with limited impact. (The picture below doesn't accurately reflect what the ground looked like where we were stationed.) There are only 300 workers to reseed and repair the National Mall, compared to 2,000 who maintain the grounds around the Capitol. Hopefully the Parks Service will raise more more finds or have some earmarked toward a renewal that can match the political one we are experiencing.

One property, a done deal?

2009-01-13T12:48:00.009-05:00

According to the American Community Gardening Association, starting a successful community garden can involve many steps. The folks in Ashland are working on the first step: organizing a meeting of interested people. However, in the case of the Minton Stable Garden, the garden preceded the community supporting it, as neighbors began to appreciate the efforts started by one person. As we all know, you can't have a community garden without a piece of land, which is not always easy to secure. That an urban parcel larger than an acre could end up in the neighbors' hands is rather remarkable.

The old Minton horse stable, consisting of a barn, paddock, and riding ring, was in operation until the late 1980s, though I've been told that back in the 1970s, the nearby English High School had eyed the land (and the urban wild behind it) for a new facility. By the time I moved to this Jamaica Plain neighborhood in 1989, the stable had already been shut down. When the owner at that time failed to keep up with the taxes, the City of Boston took over the property.

People became concerned that if the stables weren't rebuilt, then the land would be used for non-market housing, increasing the density of an already dense neighborhood of mostly 3-family homes. Paul Novograd, a New York-based developer who had been involved with the stables in Central Park, expressed interest for what turned out to be an ambitious proposal that would require a combination of municipal and foundation money--around $3 million--to not only rebuild the stable but renovate riding trails in nearby Franklin Park.

In the summer of 1992, one of my neighbors, Allan Ihrer, approached me outside my Williams Street apartment and asked if I had seen the plans for the new stable. No, I hadn't. I was busy with grad school, and thought that the new stable was a done deal. He then asked me if I was aware that the new paddock would house seventy horses. I agreed with him that seventy was too many--not quite a factory farm of chickens that couldn't roam, but overcrowded nevertheless, not to mention on property abutting my building.

The garden in 1994 (John is in the center, kneeling)

He then asked me to sign a petition in favor of establishing a community garden; a neighbor had already started planting there. I said that I would, and that I had heard about this guy--wasn't he homeless? This is what one of the handful of people I knew in the neighborhood at that point had told me. No, I was mistaken. John Carroll, a Vietnam vet who worked at landscaping and other jobs, rented a small house on Shurland Street.

Allan was part of a group of five neighbors who presented a counterproposal at a community meeting in 1993. However, the vote was 65-5 in favor of the stable plan. Still, efforts to fight the plan continued. A few teachers wrote letters to the Jamaica Plain Gazette questioning the diversion of funds toward the project. Allan and his partner Kim Kudrna met with Mayor Thomas Menino over a meal at Doyles to discuss the issue; he had told them it was a done deal.

Or was it? Originally, Novograd would provide a small portion of the funding toward the new stable. Then the city asked him to kick in an additional $100,000. For reasons unclear, he didn't, and the whole deal eventually fizzled out. Also, when the city had the old riding rink taken down, John's garden was kept intact.

By 1993, 6-8 neighbors were gardening on the site, and their plots were spared even as the main stable building was demolished. But the land still belonged to the city, and the gardeners figured that it was only a matter of a few years before a stable would be built or the land put to a different use. Allan, who along with Kim provided most of the background for this post, recalls that their next strategy was, "Let's make this place as pretty as we can."

To be continued...

A smart use for land

2009-01-09T11:16:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago a good friend of mine who is a community activist out in Ashland, a town located about an hour west of Boston, reported to me that a group of concerned citizens were interested in organizing a community garden. When several members approached town leaders, they were informed that no land or water was available for such a project. Then, according to my friend, the town auctioned off ten parcels of land at fire-sale prices. She mentioned that community activists didn't have enough time to fight the auction, and how ironic it was that there was no water for gardening but plenty for these new developments.

Ashland is certainly not the first community to experience this sort of struggle. Town officials see the opportunity for increased revenue from property sales and taxes while residents want to preserve open spaces and prevent sprawl. However, I believe that in most cases, and especially during these economic times, establishing a community garden on vacant property is a wise option if the interest is there, as there appears to be in this town.

I'd be curious to see how easily new homes would sell in this somewhat depressed real estate climate, when others have been on the market for months. As more people are interested in growing vegetables to save money, wouldn't a garden make more sense? Some people may have large yards and can dig up their own property, but others may not have room or enough sun for a plot of their own. Schools and other organizations can use the site and offer educational activities around gardening. Space near the gardens could also be provided for barbecues, concerts, harvest festivals, and other activities that could bring the community together. This may sound a little biased coming from an urban dweller such as myself, but I think involvement in a community garden can lesson the isolation that can come with living in a suburb. Concord, Lexington, and Beverly are just a few of the towns outside of Boston that have established them.

The activists in Ashland haven't given up. They are holding a forum next month to discuss their goals and build momentum. I hope to update you on their progress and explore how community gardens get off the ground in some of my future posts.

MSG through a different lens

2009-01-06T12:55:00.013-05:00

For a year and a half I had been struggling with a digital camera that had to be resuscitated after being dropped in a Montana lake. I had to open and close the shutter with my fingernails; forget close-ups and any control over settings. So I was thrilled to find a Panasonic DMC-FS3 in my stocking on Christmas morning. About the size of a deck of cards, it fits easily into my purse or pocket. I'll be more likely to have it on hand whenever I'm in the Minton Stable Garden and need photos for my posts.

As you can see today, however, there's not much life to document. The cut-down perennials in my plot resemble porcupines stuck in the snow.

The John Carroll memorial, however, seems to be getting lots more foot traffic, but with temperatures in the thirties, I doubt that there will be much picnicking or contemplation here today.

I am still getting used to the new camera's settings, and I have found that it was easier to keep the heavier old camera steady when shooting. But in 2009, I'll should have less of an excuse for taking photos such as this one.

The year in gardening

2008-12-31T09:12:00.003-05:00

The year is almost over, and the reflection virus has been unleashed. Top ten lists are dominating print and online media--the top ten movies, the top ten news stories, etc. Regarding the gardening season, I have collected my own data on what has and hasn't worked, and made resolutions for 2009 as I put my community garden plot to bed. Here are my lists, not in any particular order, with a few links to past posts.

The top 5 successful plants in my plot:

1. basil

2. June-bearing strawberries

3. Sungold tomatoes*

4. eggplant*

5. California poppies

The top 5 failures:

1. watermelon* (my daughter really wanted to grow it, but I had my doubts)

2. bell pepper*

3. fall lettuces* (Bibb and Romaine, planted too late)

4. the other heirloom tomatoes* I planted (some had ripened but not without rot, catfacing or other problems)

5. Scarlet Nantes carrots (they had been covered for a while by squash leaves from a neighbor's plot, and I harvested only about a half dozen)

*started in pots by others, and transplanted

Resolutions for 2009:

1. Provide more supports for tomatoes, especially large varieties like Brandywine.

2. Contain the strawberries so they don't spread like crazy.

3. Grow the following: green beans (haven't head of any Mexican bean beetle infestations lately, and Curtis's crop left me envious), spinach, brussel sprouts, and broccoli (mildly successful in my backyard, would like more).

4. Skip the following: peppers (not reliable), carrots (not reliable plus cheap to buy anyway), and some squash varieties that take up too much space.

5. Start more plants indoors and sow more varieties into the plot, when possible.

6. Mulch earlier to combat the spread of pigweed and other weeds. Try to find salt hay before it becomes scarce.

7. Plug some important gardening reminders into my calendar (such as starting my fall lettuce earlier, from seed).

8. And finally, keep up the blog. The exercise in blogging has helped me expand my knowledge of gardening and connect with other gardeners. Now that I have a better camera (a Christmas present) and some experience, I hope to reach out to more gardeners and deliver more informative and relevant posts.

Happy New Year! If you have any thoughts or resolutions, please share them.