Harvest Monday and vegetable update

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.

Minton Stable Garden Annual Meeting

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.

Waiting...

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.

The year in gardening 2009/Resolutions for 2010

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

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

"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.

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.

Missing my garden

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.

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.

The season begins

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

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.

The costs of gardening and other updates

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.

As pretty as possible

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.

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.