Barbecue and blogging milestone

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.

The rebuilding of a garden

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.

Around the Minton Stable Garden

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.

Minton Stable Garden has a new website

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.

Gardener, blogger, and now...

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.

Ignorance about gardening

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

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.

And they're off...

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.

Sounds of the Garden benefit

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.

Measuring the benefits of community gardens

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.

One property, a done deal?

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

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.

The mail-order assault

It's that time of the year, when the catalogs arrive faster than I can bag them up and put them out for recycling.  L.L. Bean,  J. Crew,  MacMall, Heifer, etc.  Some once a month but many once a week.  These companies seem to have tapped into our throwaway culture and what they perceive as brief attention spans.  The insinuation is that a consumer is not capable of keeping a catalog in a file (like I do) and refer to it when the need arises.

If you're like me, you are wincing in an environmental pain at the arrival of multiple catalogs.  Perhaps you have also registered with Catalog Choice or a similar web site with its one-stop service to opt out of receiving some of the most common and most persistent mail-order assaults.

I finally got around to registering with Catalog Choice about two weeks ago.  However, its noble mission is not without its obstacles.  My first disappointment:  it takes about twelve weeks for a cancellation to take effect.  By then, the holiday shopping season will be long over.  The other:  many of the companies in the Catalog Choice directory have not responded to the service's requests to process their users' cancellation orders.  In most cases, users are instructed to contact the company directly.

I hope that these issues can be resolved, and that opting out of receiving catalogs can be as simple as putting oneself on a "do not call" list.  I believe that consumers will have a favorable opinion of retailers who participate in such a program.

Not all companies' practices are the same.  I am not in the habit of ordering seeds from catalogs, so (to stick to the gardening theme of this blog) I wondered how often they were delivered to regular customers.  My friend Kim, who receives Pinetree as well as others, reported that seed catalogs arrive "once a year, with some exceptions," and that bulb catalogs are delivered twice, before both spring and fall plantings.  I usually buy seeds from stores and nurseries, but I recollect receiving a White Flower Farm (which deals mostly with perennials) catalog only once a year, in time to prepared for spring planting.  And then there's Fedco's, with its long tradition of thoughtful descriptions and carefully cultivated products.

Let's face it; many of us lead busy lives and rely on catalog and online purchases to fulfill holiday expectations. However, most of us need not go far to shop locally and support businesses that add life to our communities.  And I bet those retailers won't barrage us with catalogs, either.

The Rolling Stones at the MSG

A month ago, I reported the arrival of the stones for the memorial to John Carroll, who planted the first seeds in our community garden.  The massive granite slabs remained where the forklift had unloaded them, just a few feet from their permanent spaces, because of the lack of appropriate tools and muscle needed for the task.  Until yesterday.  After a group of gardeners finished the work day assignment of loading the last of the garden waste onto a truck to be composted off-site, they directed their mental and physical energies toward finally finishing this installation.

I was not on hand, but with the help of Allan's photos and Stephen's account, I will do my best to enlighten any of you with 1200-pound boulders to move in your future.

Stephen recalls that the team of workers came up with about five different strategies.  All three stones were initially raised using a car jack.  Stephen provided a camera dolly on two pieces of PVC pipe, which was used with sheet metal to roll the first stone into its place.  

To move the second and third stones, the workers channeled the builders of the pyramids of Giza and used materials that Allan had been saving under a tarp all of these years for a day like this. Rails were divised out of two-by-fours, and the stones were winched onto copper pipes and rolled into their spots. A few workers using crowbars helped leverage the stones onto the copper.After about an hour of scheming and sweating, the stones were in their designated locations, and Allan continued to have a justification for keeping all of that stuff in his yard.  And those of us with such a spiritual inclination had reason to believe that John was looking down at this operation with pride, grinning over the collective efforts made by the half-dozen gardeners gathered on this chilly December morning.

A Trust-worthy cause?

Have you ever seen those special license plates that tout a particular cause?  Quite a few have been spotted around our state; drivers who have bought them have paid an extra fee to support breast cancer, funding the United Way, or even building a miniature Fenway Park for kids.  There are several plates for which the fees go to the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, a funding source for organizations across the state that are interested in protecting water resources.

Today I as well as many other Massachusetts Audubon Society members received an email from Kylee Wilson from the Boston Nature Center introducing the "Land and Water" plate, which features, in addition to the name of the cause, an illustration of a tree that sort of looks like a cedar.  The plate costs $40, plus the $20 Registry of Motor Vehicles plate swap fee.  $28 is a tax-deductible contribution to the Massachusetts Environmental Trust.  But Wilson explained in the email that the Registry will only produce a special plate if 3,000 individuals send a check first.  "If we don't get the 3,000 orders, checks will eventually be returned, the opportunity will be lost, and more land will be paved."

Whoa!  I take it there's a sense of urgency here.  Funding must be tight for many of the grassroots organizations involved with monitoring and restoring natural areas including bodies of water and marshes, educating people about environmental preservation, and (near and dear to my heart) organizing community gardens, among other activities, especially as we enter a recession.  Not to mention that finances are tight for some of us individuals who (like myself) work less than full-time, and may have also gotten a $40 ticket this morning for parking on the wrong side of the street during street cleaning.

If someone from the Boston Nature Center is promoting this plate, I may just consider it, even if it means giving up my endangered discontinued plate with green letters (for example, see the second one here) that I've had for 15 years.  Like community gardens, the BNC is one of the best ways that neglected land in this area has been reclaimed in recent years.

Word play for the able

Every morning at around 5:00 am, sometimes earlier, John Carroll used to rise and put in several hours tending his gardens here at the site of the former Minton horse stable, then a city-owned vacant lot.  By the time the rest of the neighborhood passed by on their way to the subway, John had often already departed for one of his landscaping or other jobs, but not without leaving a few lines of verse on one of the blackboards nailed up at the two entrances.  In addition to his musings about nature and life, John was known for his love of words.  

The inspiration for a more permanent memorial to the first Minton Stable gardener came from some videotape shot on the day the old barn was razed, in which John contemplated the word "stable."  "Here was a stable," he started.  "Here is the table," he continued, then concluded his lexical dissection with "We are the able."  Each line has been etched into granite slabs that will form a sitting area between the gardens and the children's play area.

I interpret these words as an invitation for people to come together to "the table."  It is up to us to use our strength and unity to bring about positive changes, whether it be to to build a community garden for our neighborhood's enrichment or to elect new leaders who share our values and offer the best plans to address our country's many challenges.

About two months after they were ordered, the stones for the John Carroll memorial were finally delivered on Monday morning.  A group of us, including Jonathan Peet, a former Steering Committee member who worked with John's close friend Stephen McCarthy on the design, watched as a forklift operator lowered the three granite blocks to the ground near their designated spots.  Unfortunately, the operator did not have the appropriate straps that could be used to lower them into their permanent locations.  As he drove off, the people in our group scratched their heads over how best to maneuver the stones, the heaviest estimated to weigh nearly a ton, into the gravel-filled indentations.  One of the most popular ideas involved creating a system of rollers; to my knowledge no attempts have been made yet.

It was one year ago today that we lost a dear friend whose love of peace and gardening changed the landscape of this neighborhood and others in Jamaica Plain for the better.  It is a shame that he was not with us to witness the historic election that has just taken place in our country.  But I am comforted that his words have found a permanent home in the Minton Stable Garden, and will remain there to remind us what we can achieve when we all come to the table.

No work shortage here

As the coordinator of yesterday's work day at the MSG, Jennifer from the Steering Committee had a variety of tasks to delegate to the participants, including some who were there to have another chance to finish their annual 4-hour work requirement.  An Excel spreadsheet documenting work hours that was sent to gardeners earlier last week revealed that over 20 plot holders have fallen short in their duties.  But there was no shortage of items on Jennifer's checklist.  Overflowing compost containers needed to be dealt with; some of them bore signs declaring that they were "closed," while volunteers were piling excess garden waste onto a tarp, I assume to be picked up with other yard waste on trash day or brought to some other location.  Last year around this time, the containers were so full, often a result of everyone pulling out their annual plants and weeds as they put their gardens to bed, that they were removed, and everyone had to carry out their garden waste.    

Some other workers were digging around trees that had been planted after the garden was rebuilt in 2004, because the roots were not at a healthy depth.  I agreed to mow the grass in the dog area; as pleasant as it was to work in the shade, I found out the hard way that not everyone had been cleaning up after their pets.

And, like at a previous work day, more native plants were put in.  In some cases, making room for them can be irritating.  Curtis was wearing thick rubber gloves to remove stinging nettles, which have making inroads from their usual location along the fences, where they are usually kept at bay through mowing.  That would not have been my first choice of work day task, but Curtis didn't mind, as he appreciates the plant's medicinal qualities.  I've spoken to a few gardeners over the years who swear by nettles, not for the medieval practice of whipping patients with paralysis, but for making a tea from the dried leaves to treat infections, pain, hay fever, and other conditions.

Over by the children's play area, on the way to the Williams Street entrance, holes were being dug and leveled with gravel to make way for a memorial to John Carroll, the first person to garden on the lot.  He passed away nearly one year ago, but not without having a chance to witness much of the work that had been put in to preserve the beauty and function of this area, for both gardeners and non-gardeners.

Return of the Raspberries

Today's community garden work day was productive.  Having glanced at the sign-in sheet, it appeared that at least 20 gardeners and wannabe gardeners showed up.  Having gotten to know several people in the latter group over the summer, I hope that they'll get off the waiting list soon.  Then next spring they can get their hands dirty on a more regular basis and channel some of that community involvement they have displayed into a rewarding gardening experience.  And we'll see them more often.

Usually we spend our work days pulling plants out of the ground.  There was still a bit of that to be done today.  I was assigned the task of pulling out whatever burdock I could find in the common areas.  I did my best to dislodge the noxious weed's stubborn roots, but I cannot claim victory.  I wouldn't be surprised if we had to repeat this task at the October work day.

However, most of the participants were busy putting plants in the ground, including asters and goldenrod, native plants that are coming into their peak of beauty at this time of year.  But the initiative that is exciting me the most involves something sweeter.

One of my favorite features of the old Minton Stable Garden was the cluster of raspberry plants located near the back fence.  They were believed to have been planted by John Carroll, and anyone was welcome to feast on them.  When the site was razed to make way for the new garden design, those plants disappeared.  

Not far from the original patch, a new area (see photo) was dug up today and fortified with compost.  Gardeners will be urged to dig up and plant their excess raspberry bushes in the new plot so everyone can enjoy them for years to come.  I wish I had some plants to divide!  But I'm looking forward to the return of this MSG feature.

Successful September gathering

As anticipated, tropical storm Hanna soaked the Boston area, postponing our late-summer Minton Stable Garden/Stoneybrook Neighborhood Association potluck barbecue until Sunday, September 7.  This turn of events worked in my favor as all of my family could attend.  Moreover, the stable weather (clearing and in the 70s) ensured a successful turnout.

I arrived at the MSG about an hour before, to put in a little plot maintenance.  In the shady grassy area near the corner of Williams Street and Dungarven Road a 4-year-old's birthday party was in full swing.  Then a rented trolley pulled up, and Valerie Burns, President of the Boston Natural Areas Network, gave a group of supporters a tour of the garden (see bottom photo).  

About a dozen or more volunteers showed up around 4:00 to help set up for the barbecue.  A new twist to the event was the idea that people should wear name tags, and many of the early participants, including myself, complied.  It seemed to some of us that the name tags made it easier to strike up conversations with people we may not have spoken to otherwise.

Within an hour the elements of a successful event were in place: lots of people, side dishes like pasta salads, tomato salads, rice, tabouleh, and corn bread, plenty to drink and chicken, sausages, and hot dogs coming off the three grills (thanks to Annette, Curtis, John L. and others).  

The only detour from the party was a scheduled portrait of the gardeners taken by Jennifer from the Steering Committee.  The photo of us in front of the garden shed will be presented to the New England Grassroots Environmental Foundation as a thanks for their help with its construction.  The photo at the top of this post shows us assembling (I am still mystified over why I can't place photos in the right location!).

It was great to catch up with some folks I haven't seen all summer and to watch Mitchell (by far the oldest kid in the neighborhood) entertain us with his remote-control helicopter.  I hope to see them again around the garden a few more times as we try to squeeze out what's left of the summer.

Brief moment of community

For the first time in a few weeks, I ran into a fellow gardener at the MSG.  Why did it take so long?  Perhaps because of vacations and a schedule that keeps me away from the garden after 5:30-6:00, when most people are out.  I'm not alone in this predicament, I suppose.  This gardener missed the last work night as well, and at this moment she is probably preoccupied as she begins her final six weeks of pregnancy.

I complimented her on her corn (which I had photographed a few entries back); she complained about the size of the ears.  I lamented my lack of fruit on my pepper plants; she said that growing peppers was so frustrating that she had given it up.  We both agreed that the harvest this year has not been up to regular standards.

Then we went about our regular business.  When I brought over a wheelbarrow to collect weeds, she asked if she could add hers to the pile.  When she finished watering her plot, I took the hose from her to water mine.  She emptied all the weeds into the compost and I coiled the hose.

I like to think of these shared efforts as small gestures toward community.  It's something I have experienced in past seasons, though this year has fallen short.  I hope that the upcoming barbecue (a week from today). the next two work days, and a lighter evening schedule this fall  bring more opportunities for face time with fellow gardeners.