a lizard in the garden

Harvest Monday - All About Tomatoes

2011-09-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

Tomato production is coming to a sad end. The plants are very brown and skimpy. They no longer provide a barrier to the busy street traffic, as I can see right through them when I pull into my driveway. However, harvests are not finished yet! I picked 20 Grafted Heirloom San Marzano tomatoes tonight! They are not perfect or all completely ripe, but they will still be great for salsa or sauces. With close to 80 tomatoes between the two plants, they provided about 80% of my total tomato harvest this season.

The three days of drenching rain we had last week did not help conditions either, having barely recovered from Irene.

I still expect to harvest some tomatillos (if I can find/get to them) and have some great looking eggplants growing.

Event: FensFest 2011 9/10/11

2011-09-06T09:00:00.005-04:00

Fenway Victory Garden's Annual FensFest is this Saturday - September 10th from 11-3 rain or shine. Check out the great "simply stated" event postcard created by Emily Harris! For more information visit http://www.fenwayvictorygardens.com/

Event: Cambridge Urban Ag-Fair 9/18/2011

2011-08-30T18:00:00.000-04:00

While in Harvard Square running errands and picking up fresh summer rolls from Le's (yum!) I noticed the below poster:

On Sunday, September 18th the Third Annual Urban Ag-Fair returns to Harvard Square. I remember hearing about it last year, but was unable to attend. It looks like a great event, celebrating everything local. Unfortunately, this is the same day as another great event I plan on attending in NH - the Fidelity Jumper Classic. Hopefully I can somehow attend both!

The "judged competition - enter your own home-grown flowers, vegetables, fruit, eggs & pickles" also caught my eye. After all, I already grew a prize-winning cabbage! I am not sure what I will have left growing in my garden by the 18th, but I would love to enter something. Changes are it would be an eggplant considering I really only have eggplant, tomatillos and tomatoes left.

For more information check out: http://www.urbanagfair.com/

Thanks Hurricane Irene

2011-08-28T18:51:00.000-04:00

There is nothing like a hurricane (or tropical storm for MA) to force a person to finally update a neglected blog! It has been almost three months since my last post - just plain embarrassing. Three months without a post is not too bad in the winter (which, regretably I am also guilty of) but these past three months have been prime growing/harvesting time - providing no shortage of updates and news. Travels to Colorado and Maine combined with training for a sprint triathlon and having a busier summer at work has made it difficult to write and keep up with my growing veggies. Fortunately, I was made sure to at least maintain the garden's progress though photos and harvest totals.

With my garden secure as much as possible, I now wait for the storm to pass. Here is a quick summary of what the past few months have involved, hoping to make up [a little bit] for lost time.

Heirloom/Grafted tomato experiment update:
The three plants I ordered from Burpee have been doing pretty well, and I would say that all three experiments (mail order, heirloom varieties, and grafted plants) have been successful and worth it. The seedings transplanted without problems a few days after receiving them in the mail. I planted the Big Rainbow in a container and the two San Marzano plants in with the other tomato plants in a SFG box. I don't have anything to compare the grafted San Marzanos to, but I feel that there production is very high (having harvested 47 tomatoes between the two plants as of today).

Three seedlings recovering from shipping.

Close up of grafted stem.

Planted experimental tomatoes!

A cluster of San Marzano tomatoes.

The flowers of the Big Rainbow were really interesting - very different than most tomato flowers!

A beautiful, Big Rainbow tomato.

Harvests:
Overall, I have been getting some great harvests and made a lot of farm-fresh food. Tomatoes, eggplants and tomatillos have ruled.

Tomatillo craze:
My two tomatillo plants have taken over their SFG box. Even having trimmed them back numerous times, they keep growing out of control. New to me this year, I have made a lot of salsa and have really loved growing them but I am not sure if I will grow them again in my current garden since they require so much space. They have affected the success of almost everything else in the box (peppers, cucumbers, beans).

Tomatillos look like little lanterns.

Tomatillo takeover!

Failed/Poor Producing Crops:
My Sugar Snap Pea plants did not do very well this year. The plants grew pretty well, but did not produce as many pods as last year, and then died off pretty early. I used the same seeds as last year, so I am not sure if that was the problem.

As I mentioned above, my tomatillos have prevented my two pepper plants (Golden Summer, Red Beauty) from producing any peppers.

My Black-Seeded Blue Lake Pole beans also did not fair very well. I used seeds from the very successful crop last year. Again, not sure if it was the tomatillos, soil or using the harvested seeds that affected their growth.

Tomato results have been mixed this year. My regular San Marzano plant never produced a single tomato and was pulled out in July. Out of the four volunteer tomato plants that appeared on their own, I gave two away and planted two in my garden. One of them turned out to be Sunsugar or Sungold (noted by the ? in the harvest report) which produced almost as much as my Sunsugar I have this year; One turned out to be Yellow Pear, which failed after providing about two tomatoes.

Disease and pests
I feel that there comes a point were all tomato plants start to get discolored leaves, a fungus or a disease. I am not sure if others in the area experienced the same thing. It didn't seem to affect tomato production, but just looks awful.

I was curious to see if I would have any problems with pests in my new backyard location. Until a few weeks ago, I had no problems. Then I noticed multiple ripe tomatoes gone without a trace from my San Marzano plants. I had been waiting to pick them until I had enough for a canning session. Since only the ripe ones had been taken I thought that a person had jumped my fence and grabbed them. However, a week later, after another round of missing tomatoes I saw evidence that it may have been an animal (raccoon, squirrel?) I am now trying to grab tomatoes as soon as I can before someone or something else does!

A similar experience to last year in my community plot, I have had baby bunny visiting my backyard. All of my plants were full-size, so I was not worried about damage it would do. He seemed to have no desire to eat anything but grass and enjoyed being able to sit in the shade the tomatillo plants. It has now grown up a bit, but still visits from time to time.

Lettuce and Strawberries...on repeat.

2011-06-05T23:14:00.013-04:00

Aside from Wednesday's crazy weather of severe thunderstorms and tornados, the weather has been sunny and mild. It has been great to spend so much time outdoors. This week's harvest continued to be all about lettuce and strawberries. I harvested a few more ounces of Salad Bowl and Boston lettuce, in addition to six perfect Junebearing strawberries, which are really living up to their name.

The Everbearing Strawberries look just like they did last year - not very appetizing. They are supposed to be more of a small, alpine berry (compared to the Junebearing variety), but I am not sure why they look so bad. I have not tried eating one yet - but maybe that will be the true test since it is the most important factor!

Other news...

The first pea flowers came out this week. They always remind me of birds...

I moved the largest of the mystery volunteer tomatoes to an open square near the rest of the tomatoes. I hope that it proves to be a successful transplant so I can find out what variety it is. I hope to move the remaining three from their current and crowded location, but need to get more soil to put them into containers.

My Golden Summer pepper plant is getting a little ahead of itself. At only 8" tall, I noticed that it had at least 4 peppers starting to grow. There is no way that it could support them, so I pinched off a few to encourage growth upwards!

Garden overview 6/4/11

Rosemary & Thyme Flatbread

2011-06-04T16:56:00.010-04:00

My rosemary and thyme bushes are really starting to take off. So, I wanted to figure out how I could use a lot of each herb at once. I remembered a recipe from smitten kitchen (one of my favorite cooking blogs) that I made a while back - rosemary flatbread. It was absolutely delicious - and easy as she says it is. Since she commented that other herbs like thyme could be substituted for rosemary, I decided to make a batch with thyme.

Due to a limited parchment supply, I cut four 8" x 6" squares - which made the flatbread a little thicker than a thin cracker. However, both versions were very yummy!

Links of Interest #2

2011-06-04T15:30:00.000-04:00

Crafts/Projects/Ideas
Terrace Herb Display (made from Ikea GORM shelf)
A Space Saving Vertical Salad Garden
Host a Green Garden Party
Vegetable Patch Centerpiece
Three-layer Worm Composting bin (made from Ikea TROFAST bins)

Articles
The Farmers' Market Myth - cheaper or more expensive?
Can Eating Local Honey Cure Allergies?

Food/Drink
Homemade Herb-infused Vodkas
Five Ways to Eat Sugar Snap Peas
Hibiscus is in - although I have never had any food with hibiscus, it is one of my favorite flowers, reminding me of my time in Bermuda. I am excited to see it making a presence in drinks & food!

Plants
Using Plants As Air filters

Event : Garden Party & Flower Arranging at Frog Pond

2011-06-03T10:37:00.003-04:00

Venture down to Frog Pond in the Boston Common on Saturday, June 4th from 10am-2pm for a free flower-arranging demonstration and workshop. Pre-registration is encouraged and can be done here.

In anticipation of Boston’s hosting the World Association of Flower Arrangers (WAFA), the Frog Pond will host a free flower-arranging workshop taught by a designer from the Cass School of Flower Design in Watertown. Create your own beautiful flower arrangement at no charge.

It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day - cool but sunny, and there should be plenty of baby ducklings and geese to see!

Strawberry Season

2011-05-30T21:05:00.019-04:00

English Lavender

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I spent the weekend up in Maine, seeing family and welcoming the start of summer with open arms. Although slightly cooler up north, it sounds like it was a great, hot weekend for most of New England.

I had a special treat of fresh Jersey strawberries that my parents brought up from southern NJ, which tasted heavenly paired with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Then, as I returned home tonight to my garden I found that a few of my own Junebearing Strawberries had ripened.

Now, I know the rule that you are supposed to pinch back flowers on strawberry plants in their first year to help them establish for the future - but I am just too impatient to follow that rule. I let my three plants flower away. So, tonight I ate three great tasting strawberries of my own.

I swear that most of my plants doubled in size over the weekend. I love watching everything grow. In addition to the three strawberries, I harvested more Salad Bowl Lettuce (2.25 oz) and my first head of Boston Lettuce (4.75 oz).

5/30/11 harvest

Other growing news...
The volunteer tomatoes are taking over and will need to be moved soon:

My first tomatoes (Better Boy) are growing:

My second succession of Black-Seeded Blue Lake Pole Beans (planted only on 5/24) are about half the size of the first succession, planted more than two weeks earlier on 5/8. The warm weather really made a difference with germination:

2011's First Harvest

2011-05-22T14:23:00.012-04:00

Let there be lettuce...and salad.

In between the rain storms this week I harvested some of my Salad Bowl lettuce (11.4 oz). The leaves were definitely getting out of control, and I wanted to make sure I did not let them go too long, where they developed a bitter taste.

I love the fact that I have already had my first harvest, as it was about two weeks before last year. However, I still have quite a few weeks before I will be able to harvest anything but lettuce. My Boston Lettuce is doing quite well, and I expect to harvest some of that soon, but I anticipate the next veggie to harvest to be...sugar snap peas!

Tomatoes en route!

2011-05-17T15:15:00.003-04:00

My Burpee tomato order is finally on the way - the plants should arrive on Wednesday!

Commencement

2011-05-15T20:23:00.018-04:00

This past weekend seemed to be all about commencement. One of the great volunteer opportunities I have in working at a college is assisting at the annual graduation ceremony. For the second year in a row I signed up to be a "marshal," someone assigned to lead/direct a row of students during the commencement activities. Although a bit stressful at times, it is such a great opportunity to share the day with students. It also means that I have to look the part - wearing the whole outfit: black robe, a hood with my grad school's colors, and even the hat with tassel! Saturday's ceremony was ordinary and extraordinary at the same time, and everyone was thankful that the weather cooperated.

Immediately following the commencement ceremony, I went over to Russell's Garden Center in Wayland, MA to buy a majority of the vegetables I wanted to plant this year. I had everything calculated and planned out - expect for a few varieties of tomatoes. There are many varieties to choose from, but I just picked a few based on wanting a combination of cherry, paste and slicing tomatoes - with some 'new to me' varieties. I am very excited to have the 2011 growing season officially commence. This is what I came home with:

Marigold (Durango Orange, Durango Outback Mix, Bonanza Yellow)
Tomato (Italian Ice, Jet Star, San Marzano, Sunsugar, Better Boy)
Basil (Sweet)
Cucumber (Diva, Northern Pickling)
Tomatillo (Toma Verde)
Eggplant (Black Beauty)
Pepper (Golden Summer, Red Beauty)
Parsley (Flat)
Zinnia (Cut & Come Again)

Tomatillos are new for me and although I have some research still to do, I hope to diversify my salsa creations this summer. I am also curious about the Italian Ice cherry tomato variety. They are going to be white/ivory! The Sunsugar cherry tomato was just too amazing last year (about 240 harvested) to pass up. I grew impatient waiting for my marigold seeds (planted 4/17) to grow, so I bought some plants. I just love the instant color they bring to the boxes. I left a few of the marigold seeds that actually germinated, but there may not be enough room for them all to mature.

On Sunday I was able to get everything in the ground, but a rain storm interrupted me mid-day so I had to stop. Luckily it stopped in late afternoon just enough to allow me to plant the rest. I cleaned up the tomato plants, trimming the lower leaves to promote upward growth and placed a few crushed egg shells around the base of the tomato and pepper plants for added calcium. I have a few empty squares as I wait on the arrival of my mail-order grafted tomato plants, wait to sow the next succession of carrots & lettuce seeds, and purchase two cabbage plants. Here are what the boxes look like after planting - it is great to have them full.

This week I really need to start harvesting some of the Salad Bowl lettuce, which will be my first harvest! Over the past few days, I noticed a few volunteer tomato seedlings among the weeds that have popped up in the SFG beds. I am hoping to let one grow a bit to see what it turns into!

This week looks to be very rainy. Hopefully my all my plants will survive the heavy downpours. I have heard from a few people that crops seem to be behind compared to this time last year. It has definitely been a cool spring. However, since weather can change in a second, who knows what this summer will bring. My fingers are crossed that it will be as good of a year as 2010!

Garden Overview 5/15/11

Lilac Day & Garden Tasks

2011-05-09T00:02:00.006-04:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful and beautiful Mother's Day. I was not able to be with my mom, but spent the day doing a few gardening tasks and visiting Arnold Arboretum for their annual Lilac Sunday festival. It was very impressive, and although some of the lilac bushes had not yet fully bloomed, the air was filled with their fresh scent. Have you ever seen white lilacs?

Weekend Garden Tasks

sewed second succession of carrots (Finger & Short 'n Sweet)
thinned red onion plants
sewed first succession of Black-seeded Blue Lake Snap Pole Bean seeds (which I saved from last year's crop).

Three New Experiences: Mail Order Plants & Grafted Heirloom Tomatoes

2011-05-07T13:59:00.010-04:00

I am excited for the following three reasons I am about to try for the first time:
1. Mail Order Plants
2. Heirloom Tomatoes
3. Grafted Tomatoes

I first heard about grafted tomatoes a few weeks ago upon receiving an article via email from Johnny's Selected Seeds (JSS). According to JSS, grafted tomatoes "can improve production, overall crop health and vigor, reduce or eliminate the need for pesticide use, lengthen harvest duration, and significantly increase net income." Below is a photo from JSS's article showing the difference in appearance between grafted (left) and non-grafted (right) tomato plants.

Here is JSS's step-by-step guide if interested to give it a try as they claim it is not difficult. I am a bit too intimidated by the process to try it myself, so I noted the technique, but moved on.

However, on Friday the topic of grafted tomatoes re-entered my inbox as I received another email - this time from Burpee - stating that they had 6 varieties of grafted heirloom tomato plants for sale. Still curious about the benefits of grafted tomatoes, Burpee's well advertised "limited time while quantities last" was all I needed to jump on the offer. Here is Burpee's article about grafted tomatoes. I ordered two San Marzano plants and one Big Rainbow.

Since I was expect to buy and plant all my tomato plants next weekend, these three tomato plants (expected to arrive next week) will likely be the first I add to my garden. I am very excited and will provide updates about all three of these new experiences in time.

Links of Interest #1

2011-05-07T13:00:00.001-04:00

Below are a few things I have come across from a variety of sources that I thought I would pass along:

Crafts:
Vegetable Patch Quilt
Planter Box Bench (looks easy to build)
Garden Labels from Spoons

Gardening:
DIY Indoor Garden Wall
Creative Planter Ideas
Plant Pest Remedies Straight from the Kitchen
How to Clone Your Herbs
Mobile Container Gardens
The Most Profitable Plants in Your Garden
Four Ways to Use Baking Soda in the Garden
Natural Insect Repellents Using Herbs from the Garden

Food/Drink:
20 Summer Cocktails with Fresh Herbs
Keeping Salad Greens Fresh with a Towel
Getting a Tan from Eating Carrots

Local (Boston) stories:
Seaport Hotel Installs Giant Green Composting Machine
Buying Local - Seedlings & Plants
Harvard Pilgrim - Workplace Garden

Misc:
Top 10 U.S. Farmers Markets
Garden Set Kids Toy from Ikea
How Much Do Residents in Your City Spend on Food?

Competition Among Peas

2011-05-06T09:22:00.004-04:00

The Winner!

In a race to grab hold of the trellis, this little guy was the winner!

Gearing up for Farmers Markets

2011-05-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for Mass Farmers Markets (MFM) 2011 Events:

Tues, May 17th: OPENING DAY at the COPLEY SQ MARKET!

Mon, May 23rd: OPENING DAY at the CENTRAL SQ MARKET!

Wed, May 25th: OPENING DAY for the DAVIS SQ MARKET,and BENEFIT NIGHT for MFM at Flatbread at Sacco's Bowl Haven in Somerville

June 10th through July 3rd: The 4th annual Strawberry Dessert Festival

Wed. TBD in Aug or Sept: Redbones BBQ grills fresh+local veggies at the Davis Sq. Market. All proceeds to Mass Farmers Markets.

Sept 16 - Oct 2: The Big E, West Springfield. Mass Farmers Markets provides healthy food and ag info at the country's 5th largest agricultural fair!

Thurs or Fri in Oct or Nov: 4th Annual Urban Barn Dance in Kendall Square, Cambridge: a fun-filled celebration of the harvest with a locally sourced buffet meal, live music, and contra dancing!

for additional information or to find your nearest market, check out www.massfarmersmarkets.org

Haymarket, Boston

Lavender Help Needed

2011-05-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

These are my two lavender plants. One English (left) and one French-Provence (right). I purchased them last year and then brought them both from my community plot when I moved. I immediately planted them upon setting up my beds in November. They are looking pretty sad. I have read a little bit about lavender plants, but am still having a hard time figuring out if they are going to bounce back, or if I need to trim them back at all. One article said to trim them back to the woody part in the spring. However, most of the stems appear to be very woody. The English lavender definitely has evidence of new growth, as seen below:

Does anyone have any experience with lavender - especially keeping the plants as perennials in Zone 6? I would love to hear your advice.

Hydroponic Store in Cambridge

2011-05-02T18:10:00.001-04:00

A few days ago, I received a postcard in the mail for a new store that opened up on Mass. Ave in Cambridge. The word "garden" caught my eye, so it was spared going into the recycling bin.

I assume that GYOstuff hopes to attract city-dwellers with the idea of being able to have a garden indoors, since many people do not have access to a yard or even patio/deck. I personally do not know much about hydroponics, but plan to do a little research and visit the store soon.

a lizard in the garden turns 2

2011-05-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

Today marks my second year as a blogger. It is a lot harder than I imagined to keep up with posting, but it has been a great way to share information and keep a journal of my gardening adventures. Thanks to all who visit and/or continue following my progress!

Garden Chores

2011-05-01T23:20:00.006-04:00

Today, May 1st, ended up being a beautiful day! Trees and flowers are blooming around the city, the grass is green, and daytime temps are finally starting to average above 50. I spent almost the entire day outdoors - visiting Harvard Square for "MayFair" and having a BBQ in my backyard, surrounded by my garden. Have I mentioned lately how much I love being out there?

Saturday was not as nice of a day, but I was able to continue accomplishing little garden tasks, as I wait until the day I can plant the rest of my veggies (target date May 14th). Here was my list of my garden tasks for the weekend:

Move containers off the grass (to prevent too much damage to the grass)
Plant my new mint plant in a container
Hang my 'wind chime'
Put netting around my strawberry plants to protect from birds/critters

(Left) 3 plants planted this year; (Right) container leftover from last year

Overall, the tasks accomplished were nothing too challenging, but they made a difference and kept me busy for a little while!

Garden overview (5/1/11)

I contemplated planting my next succession planting of carrots and lettuce, but decided to wait another week. My peas, about 4-5 inches high, are doing great. Germination is not 100% but two late bloomers just started to poke through the soil.

Sugar Snap Peas on 5/1; planted 4/3

Events: Upcoming Events, Workshops, Classes & Volunteer Opps

2011-04-20T09:00:00.006-04:00

I love that there are so many workshops, community events and seminars happening around Boston. Many events are free, so tune in to your town or even search boston.com. I tried to put together a list of a few that I found. I will definitely will not be able to catch all events, but will try to keep this list as comprehensive as possible!

BNAN Seed, Sow & Grow Program Series (events now through October), free
Every Saturday (April-October) - 11am-3pm: Lessons at the FVG Teaching Gardens, free
NEW - May 14, 2011 - 12-6pm: Bikeride and screening of "Greenhorns;" Somerville; bikeride-free, movie screening $5
May 14-15, 2011: The Gardener's Weekend; An overnight gardening experience at the MIT Endicott House; $199 per person.
May 22, 2011 - 9am-noon: FVG Community Participation Day, volunteer opportunity
May 22, 2011 - 9am-4pm: 27th Annual MA Horticultural Society Plant Sale & Tomatomania
June 25, 3011 - 9am-noon: FVG Community Participation Day, volunteer opportunity
June 28, 2011 - 9am: Help the Somerville Growing Center; volunteer opportunity
June 1, 2011 - 6:30pm: Nibbling on Natives in Your Backyard and Beyond, Cambridge Public Library; Free.
September 10, 2011: FVG Fensfest, Boston, free
September 24, 2011 - 9am-noon: FVG Community Participation Day, volunteer opportunity
October 23, 2011 - 9am-noon: FVG Community Participation Day, volunteer opportunity

Sprouting peas

2011-04-18T21:21:00.007-04:00

Sugar Snap Peas are sprouting!

So far about 14/18 seeds planted have broken through the soil. Planted on 4/3, they took exactly two weeks to sprout.

On Sunday I planted the following:
Lettuce - Boston (plants)
Lettuce - Salad Bowl (plants)
Onion - Red (plants) - total experiment; I am not really sure what to do with them
Marigold - Crackerjack (seed) - seeds were free, but I worry that this variety will be too big
Carrot - Short n' Sweet (seed) - half of one square
Carrot - Little Finger (seed) - half of one square
Strawberry - June-bearing (plant) - I couldn't resist increasing my changes for strawberries this year

Earlier in the week I planted a thyme and rosemary bush. I already experienced the convenience of having the herbs outside my door. While grilling Sunday night I was able to add some fresh thyme to my basket of onions, potatoes and peppers. Yum!

Here are some updated box shots - now that there something growing in each one.

Box 1
(Currently growing: marigold, thyme, rosemary)

Box 2
(Currently growing: marigold, sugar snap pea, strawberry, lettuce, carrot)

Box 3
(Currently growing: marigold, lavender, red onion)

Hello Neighbor!

2011-04-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

My backyard is now home to two gardeners! A friend has joined me with her 3'x6' SFG bed. It will be great to have the company, with even more things growing.

Once everything has been planted & starts growing, I hope that sitting at the bistro table will become an even better urban sanctuary - 'hidden' from the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood.

First seeds in the ground

2011-04-04T09:00:00.001-04:00

My Super Sugar Snap Pea (Burpee) seeds have been planted. While I try to locate my stone marker, I decided to use one of those cute markers, which also accurately describes their progress. Last year, my first pea harvest was in the first week of June - so I expect peas in about two months!

Plant Markers

2011-04-03T21:29:00.010-04:00

A simple google image search for "plant markers" will bring up practically an infinite number of store bought, home-made, wood, metal, simple, extravagant, cheap, or expensive ideas to choose from. It doesn't matter what you decide to use, as long as you are keeping track of what you plant where!

Here are some cute "un-traditional" markers that a friend found:

I am going to continue using the stone markers that I have made for any veggie that I continue to plant, but also anticipate using a combination of other markers - some I have been given, some that I may make, or some that I may buy.

I like this simple, natural twig marker idea from Martha Stewart.

No Joke

2011-04-01T08:55:00.004-04:00

It was not fun waking up to this garden scene.

Fortunately, I do not have much to be worried about, but I rescued the pansies just in case. I am still not sure if the strawberry & lavender plants survived the winter; hopefully this storm won't kill them. It is supposed to "warm up" this weekend, so I plan to get my peas in the ground.

All in a day's work

2011-03-27T21:42:00.018-04:00

On a beautiful, but chilly Sunday morning I set out to attend to my garden for the first time since my move in November. Here is where I started:

Taken from my 2nd floor

Everything looked pretty dreary but, I set off to buy some compost and start on my tasks.

I decided to try a new method of sectioning off each square foot. Instead of the lath boards (which I used for my first two seasons, and is suggested in the SFG book) I wanted to try string for the following reasons:

The condition of my two-season boards was pretty poor, so I didn't think they were worth moving (I gave them to a fellow gardener to use).
Each lath boards was an inch wide, so they made the planting area within each square foot smaller (every inch counts!)
When moving/adding soil it was sometimes challenging to spread it out between the squares.

There honestly are probably many easier ways of going about laying out the grid. However, I decided to use 1/2" screw eyes & polypropylene string.

It was pretty time consuming and I had a minor setback when I broke my itsy-bitsy drill bit that I was using to start the 12 holes for the screw eyes, but...

Ta da! My backyard garden set up is complete and ready to go.

warm weather...I am waiting!

Event: Gardeners Gathering

2011-03-25T00:11:00.008-04:00

It is time once again for the...

36th BNAN Annual Gardeners Gathering
Saturday, March 26th
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Curry Student Center
Northeastern University, Boston
Free, walk-in registration

Kick off the gardening season by joining over 300 community and residential gardeners for plenary sessions, workshops, community gardener awards, information gallery, door prizes, and much more. Click here for more information INCLUDING WORKSHOP SCHEDULE.

At noon Mayor Menino will welcome the gardeners and present this year's community gardener awards. Be sure to be there! Bring your gardening friends, free event, all are welcome.

I have attended this event for the past two years and always have learned lots of tips and techniques. I am excited to attend the sessions about canning, composting and bee keeping!

2010 Harvest Recap

2011-03-22T12:50:00.001-04:00

2010 was a incredible gardening year due to a variety of things...being established in my community plot and being able to start planting earlier than 2009 made a big difference. Also, having an increased knowledge of gardening and terrific growing weather helped as well.

Another Year...Same Thing...DIFFERENT VENUE

2011-03-20T12:00:00.004-04:00

Surprise! I have gone from community gardener to backyard gardener!

Last fall, the change of season meant a little more than usual end of season tasks. I made a sad but exciting garden move from my large community plot in the Fenway Victory Gardens to a backyard in Cambridge, MA where I now reside. Leaving Boston was difficult, but leaving the FVG was really tough. It is where I started gardening, and I spent so much of my time in the past two years tending to my plot & chatting with other gardeners. I still hope to stay connected to FVG by becoming a friend and helping with monthly park clean ups.

I am excited to experience the convenience of my new backyard garden and the new learning opportunities it will provide. The snow finally disappeared last week after over 3 months of snow cover, so now I have a lot of work to do:

add more of 'Mel's mix'
put up a trellis on two of the boxes
re-outline each square foot (with string this time)
order/buy seeds
decide what to grow this year
and...plant peas!!

So, I am officially back from blogging hiatus, and hope that you will follow me on my new gardening adventure. Happy Spring.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-08T21:34:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year!

I realize that have been absent from blogging for quite a while. However, I hope to be back in full force once spring arrives in a few months, and with a lot of gardening news!

Have fun reading all your seed catalogs and choosing what to grow this year! I know that I have a lot of decisions to make. As much as I love snow, I look forward to my third (!) year gardening.

Harvest Monday: Slowing Down

2010-08-30T07:00:00.001-04:00

Sunday was my first visit to the garden in almost two weeks, and after we had 4.5 days of horrible rain. My rain gauge was almost overflowing! I felt bad for neglecting my plot and was not sure what condition the plants would be in. I had to pull out my popping corn that had gotten totally devastated by...squirrels? Otherwise, left growing are: tomatoes, basil, peppers, watermelon, eggplant, butternut squash, carrots & potatoes. The butternut squash look great! I have about 5 that are almost ready! Yumm, I can just taste the soups!!

I harvested a few cherry tomatoes, one Roma, lots of short n' sweet carrots and two Italian Pepperocini peppers. In addition, I pulled some of the seeds out of the dried pole beans, hoping to save them for next year!

a small harvest 8/29/30

Black-seeded Blue Lake Snap Pole Bean seeds

Clean Garlic

2010-08-29T17:16:00.006-04:00

I am back...and I finally got around to cleaning my cured garlic!! I harvested it back in mid-July, so it had been curing for a good month! Since I used some of the garlic heads/cloves immediately, I now have 11 nice looking heads for storage, which I hope will keep into the winter.

Organic German White Garlic, hardneck

A while back I saw this article on thekitchn.com about onion storage and vegetable keepers. I thought these three bags were great, as I was trying to think about what I would do with all the garlic and potatoes I was going to get from my garden! However, time passed and they stayed on my "wish list." Fast forward a few weeks when I had to go to Crate & Barrel to get a wedding shower gift for a friend. I was just going to get her the kitchen composter that she registered for but next to the composter on display were...the storage bags! I had forgotten that Crate & Barrel carried the garlic & potato bags! So, I decided to get one of each for the bride-to-be...and one of each for me!!

my new storage bags!

cute images on the bags

Harvest Monday: Watermelon!!

2010-08-09T22:22:00.007-04:00

I have to confess, I am not a die-hard watermelon fan. However, in my quest like more things, I figured that growing one would help! I picked my first Sugar Baby watermelon today, with one still left in the garden. It was definitely the sweetest and most flavorful one I have ever had!

Additional harvested items include lots of tomatoes and basil (small varieties not shown). The dry, hot weather and my inconsistent watering are taking a toll on my large tomatoes, where they have developed many cracks. However, I am just happy to have so many this year. Last year, my plants did not produce as many and critters always selected the ripest ones to munch on right before harvesting!

My Green Zebra variety is being very neglected. The fruit are so hard to see within all the greenery from neighboring tomato plants, that I keep leaving them too long on the vine. I have to make a more conscience effort to look for them since they are not as easy to spot as the red ones.

Green beans were plentiful, along with some of the last pickling cucumbers. I harvested my first red Giant Marconi pepper and four small Italian Pepperoncini.

It is sad to see signs that the garden is slowing down, but so am I. Sunflowers were pulled and the weeds are starting to win. However, I still have a lot to look forward to...like potatoes (fingers crossed) and butternut squash!

A crooked garden overview, 8/8/10

Harvest Monday: Color Diversity

2010-08-02T23:19:00.004-04:00

The beautiful summer weather has been keeping away from blogging, but the veggies continue to come in! I had a great harvest yesterday with lots of tomatoes, green beans and carrots!

Movie: Ingredients

2010-07-26T22:24:00.004-04:00

The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA is screening Ingredients, a documentary about the local food movement in the United States, on Thursday, July 29th at 7pm.

The Mutant Sunflower

2010-07-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome thyme2garden! Good luck with your SFG!

Last year I planted ONE dwarf sunflower. I guess I was afraid to go overboard. This year I am growing the same variety (actually using leftover seeds), but planted SIX! Ooooh...Ahhhhh! The seedlings barely survived because something was eating them and I feel like they have taken forever to grow. Planted in April, they are now just getting to be about maximum height (3-4 feet) with the sunflower heads starting to form.

Anyway, the other day I was taking a quick scan of the garden and noticed that one sunflower was "not like the other"...

I lost count at 15 heads (some of which are indicated above)! None of the other sunflowers are as tall as this one or has this 'problem.' I wonder if I got a rouge seed of another variety!? Will they all form heads with seeds?

Stay tuned to see what happens!

Red Silk?

2010-07-15T12:00:00.001-04:00

Is this normal? As much as I know about gardening, I know way less about growing corn. Overall my two corn varieties appear to be doing well, and started to get tassels, especially the Brocade Sweet Corn. I noticed the first silks starting to appear last Sunday, but then on Tuesday, the were all red! I had assumed that they would stay white/yellow, as you find them on the ears of corn in the grocery store!

The male tassels have red pollen, so does this mean that the silks have gotten pollinated? I hope so!

Acting like Mr. McGregor

2010-07-15T00:12:00.003-04:00

This is "peter rabbit" outside my garden gate....

This is "peter rabbit" inside my garden plot before I chased him away!

He/she was quite cute and not too phased by anything until I started chasing it around! This is the first rabbit I have seen in the garden. I hope he/she stays out!! No munching on my veggies "peter rabbit"!!

Coleslaw

2010-07-13T11:00:00.001-04:00

I love coleslaw..even the kind you get in restaurants! However, the kind that I grew up with was made with pineapple, and without vinegar! It adds a great sweetness and soft contrast to the crunch of the cabbage and carrots! Now that I think of it, I am not sure where this recipe came from, but I feel that it is unique enough to call it Saumsiegle Coleslaw, since my family has been making it for as long as I can remember!

Coleslaw made with first Market Prize Cabbage of 2010

Saumsiegle Coleslaw
~1 head of cabbage
~About 3-5 carrots (enough to balance out the amount of cabbage)
~canned pineapple, chunks or 'tidbits' (i tend to buy the rings and cut them to 'tidbit' size)
~miracle whip

Cut cabbage and carrots. Combine in bowl. Drain canned pineapple and dump in bowl. Add miracle whip until ingredients are coated (to your liking). Enjoy!

Harvest Monday: Lots of Garlic

2010-07-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

I had a great harvest yesterday! The biggest news, is that after almost 9 months, I harvested my garlic! My pickling cucumbers, sunsugar tomatoes and sungold tomatoes are producing really well. My sugar snap peas are almost exhausted, as the plants are starting to die back. Growing impatient, I picked a few carrots. They were tasty, but all very small. My cabbages are almost all ready, so I picked the largest one...coleslaw is on the menu for this weeks' meals!

I now have 11 heads curing for future use. About six heads had various problems with them, however I am hoping to use a few of their cloves in the near future. Overall, I am very happy with my first garlic harvest. The bulbs averaged about 2" around, pretty close to the size of the original heads of the cloves I planted in November.

Trying to Beat the Heat!

2010-07-11T15:45:00.010-04:00

We finally had relief on Saturday after about two weeks of hot, sunny, dry weather. However, mother nature decided to give us the rain to us all at once! It poured for at least an hour, causing some major flooding that made nationwide news. The water had nowhere to go since the ground was so dry. People were stuck under overpasses, cars started floating away, even the Fenway dugouts needed to be pumped out. Unfortunately, it appears that we are now back where we started, with the extended forecast back to hot, sunny, and dry.

Garden Updates

I spent a few hours this morning tending to my back perimeter flower bed. My experiment of trying to grow a few flowers from seed failed miserably. There were just too many weeds, and I didn't want to pull anything, in hopes that the flowers would appear. So, today I pulled everything up. I am still undecided about what I should do here, since weeds tend to come in through the back fence as well.

I am anxiously waiting for a ripe, yellow pear tomato! Overall, my tomatoes are sprawling everywhere and producing nicely. I am still waiting for a ripe "large" tomato. None appear to be turning red yet.

Unfortunately, I discovered about 8 Roma II tomatoes with blossom-end rot. I did some research, and I narrowed it down to two potential causes...calcium deficiency, or drought stress. I sprinkle egg shells around my tomato and pepper plants, so I am not sure if the calcium deficiency fits. However, the we have had drought conditions!

The Black-seeded Blue Lake Snap Pole beans are starting to form as they compete for space with my cucumbers! I was not expecting pink flowers!

7/11/10

Vacationing with Veggies

2010-07-06T22:47:00.009-04:00

Welcome Giddy Fingers! Thanks for following me! I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July! I had a wonderful, long weekend in Maine, relaxing and taking advantage of being in the outdoors! Kayaking, star-gazing, badminton, loons and lobster were all I was concerned with, while my growing veggies dealt with an impending heat wave in Boston!

Even though half the jar was eaten, I was inspired to have a photo shoot with one of my jars of pickled sugar snap peas while picnicking in Castine! I highly recommend this recipe from smitten kitchen if you want a break from eating the peas raw! My count is over 300!

Harvest Monday: First Tomatoes!

2010-06-28T22:50:00.008-04:00

Gorgeous! As the sugar snap peas keep coming, I excitedly picked my first tomatoes of 2010! Three bright, orange Sungold tomatoes were ripe for picking on Sunday morning!

I also harvested a mix of all my lettuces, sugar snap peas, a forgotten garlic scape and three tiny strawberries.

Plot update (6/28/10)

Babies

2010-06-26T13:02:00.011-04:00

(sungold tomato, butternut squash, northern pickling cucumber)

(roma tomato, hansel eggplant, italian pepperoncini pepper, sugar snap pea)

(sugarbaby watermelon)

Seeing baby vegetables form never gets old! I have not been keeping up with reporting on my garden progress, but I am VERY pleased with how my vegetables are growing this year. Being able to plant earlier and having a little more knowledge, compared with last year, has really made a difference! I expect to harvest my first tomato soon!!

Hot off the Press: Late Blight in 2010?

2010-06-18T17:29:00.007-04:00

Welcome John, thanks for following!

Please don't let it be true! I came across a report in Organic Gardening e-newsletter that made my heart sink:Tomato Blight Strikes Again in 2010!

I would say that I was fortunate last year not to be devastated by this disease. I managed to get most of my harvest in before my plants' presumably affected branches were almost all stripped away.

However, in growing more tomatoes than last year and potatoes for the first time, I am hoping my garden does not get affected! To date, I have not seen any evidence of blight. Have you?

Original Article:

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Anything but the tomatoes! Unfortunately for home gardeners and farmers alike—including some of us here at Rodale.com and our Organic Gardening tomato blight, is starting to appear in parts of the country. And, as before, it's threatening gardeners' most prized possessions—their juicy, homegrown tomatoes. "Unfortunately, I think it's a matter of time before it's widespread," says Meg McGrath, PhD, associate professor of plant pathology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. "Hopefully, people will be more knowledgeable of the disease this year, realizing it's a community disease. If you end up with it, you have to take care of the problem, you can't let it fester in your garden." colleagues—the funguslike pathogen known as late blight, commonly called

THE DETAILS: Maryland reported the first outbreak this growing season, with Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Canada following suit. The disease is cropping up in all types of settings, from backyard gardens to fields and high tunnels on farms. McGrath says plant pathologists have not been able to pinpoint the source of each outbreak this spring, but notes that the disease needs a living host and can overwinter in potatoes left in the soil or in storage. (Late blight affects potatoes too, and caused the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century.)

Photos courtesy of Meg McGrath/Cornell University

If a stem is OK, but you start to see nickel-size or bigger olive-green or brown patches on a plant's leaves, with some white fungal growth underneath, your plant has most likely been struck by the disease. The brown areas are likely to first appear in the early morning or after rain. Sometimes the spot is surrounded by yellow, or looks water-soaked, explains McGrath.

A nursery supplying tomato seedlings to big-box stores was blamed as the source of last year's tomato blight outbreak. However, once infected plants are in the environment, things can get ugly quickly, affecting plants far and wide. Tomato blight spores on infected plants are easily swept up in wind currents and carried high into the atmosphere, where they can potentially travel for long distances, even between states. The spores survive up there in ideal weather conditions (rainy, or even just humid and overcast days), and then fall into gardens and onto farm fields with the next rain.

WHAT IT MEANS: This is bad news for this year's tomato crop. What's worse, McGrath says if tomato blight sticks around for a few more years, it could very well become endemic in this area. That's bad news especially for organic growers, who nix the use of toxic fungicides. And while some copper products are approved for organic use, they aren't benign to soil or human health, either. "For organic, copper is the best choice," she says. "But people should make sure they understand that just because it's an organic product, it isn't as safe as water."

While truly blight-resistant tomatoes aren't currently available, some tomato varieties tend to fare better against tomato blight. These include, according to Cornell University's Vegetable MD Online, Golden Sweet, Juliet, and Legend. McGrath says Matt's Wild Cherry has also shown some resistant properties against late blight.

Here's how to deal with the tomato blight threat:
• Evict these garden volunteers. McGrath says volunteer tomato plants—ones that spring up from last year's seeds that took root from dropped fruit—are a major concern for spreading this often lethal and very contagious disease. They may be hidden within your dense pea plants, harboring tomato blight without your noticing they're there, so check carefully.

• Seek and destroy. Cornell instructs gardeners who find a hotspot, that is, a group of infected plants located around relatively healthy ones, to destroy the unhealthy ones immediately. Also take out the ones directly beside ones infected with late blight of tomatoes and potatoes. Proper destruction practice for plants infected with tomato blight: Pull them, double-bag them, and send them to the landfill. McGrath stresses that it's really important for gardeners and farmers to monitor their potato and tomato crops—ideally, several times a day—to quickly spot and remove an infected plant before disease spreads. It's possible this may save some of your plants, but there's no guarantee.

• Spread the word. Give your tomato- and potato-growing neighbors a heads-up on this disease, and forward this article to as many people as you can. McGrath says education is key, so gardeners know to act quickly and remove any plant infected with tomato blight before spores form and spread to other plants.

Additionally, here are two resources with great photos from the University of New Hampshire (my Alma mater):

http://extension.unh.edu/agric/Media/Late-Blight2010/Late-Blight2010.htm
http://extension.unh.edu/agric/Docs/Lateblightpreventionflyer.pdf

Best of luck to us all!

Found: Seeds in Triscuit Boxes

2010-06-13T14:25:00.006-04:00

Triscuit wants everybody to experience 'home farming.' They included basil or dill seeds in 4 million boxes, providing seed cards inside marked boxes. My mom is the one that pointed this promotion out to me, and gave me two basil seed cards. I hope to plant them soon.

I think this is a creative way to spread the word about gardening, especially for kids who will be able to see how easy and [in my mind...miraculous] it is to grow a plant/vegetable from one seed speck.

For more information on Triscuit's collaboration with urbanfarming.org visit www.triscuit.com/homefarming

Disclaimer: I am not sure if this promotion is still running; just check your local Triscuit retailer to find out!

FRESH Movie & Local Event

2010-06-09T10:35:00.001-04:00

Produced and Directed by Ana Sofia Joanes, "FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy."

In addition to the film screenings nationwide, there is a local event at Boston University:

Farm to Fork: A Panel Discussion About How We Get The Food We Eat
Wednesday, June 16 2010
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Boston University's Sargent College
635 Commonwealth Ave., Room 101 Boston, MA 02215
Tickets $10 (includes voucher to see film)

Click here for more information and to find a screening of the film near you!

Introducing...the Garlic Scape

2010-06-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

They are so cool! In all its curling wonder, I experienced garlic scapes for the first time as my German White Garlic gets close to maturity! Since this is a hardneck variety, it produces a scape, a long, thin shoot that is initially curly. Scapes will eventually straighten out, harden and produce a flower - taking some of the plant's energy away from the bulb. Harvesting them before they straighten serves two purposes - a culinary delicacy & encouraging bulb growth.

On Sunday, I picked 17 scapes (out of 21 cloves planted last fall). I know that at least two plants are on the smaller side, but I should doublecheck how many plants there are!

I had heard that many people use scapes in stir-fry, on pizza, or make pesto. I am hoping to try pesto later in the week, but tonight I used the scapes as a pizza topping! I first cooked the scapes for a few minutes in the oven with a little salt & evoo. Then I placed them on my pizza (homemade pizza dough, sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & homegrown basil).

yumm........it was delicious!

Note: as pretty as the curled scapes look on the pizza, it was very impractical when trying to cut and eat it! I ended up cutting up the scapes in smaller pieces and putting them back on each pizza slice!

Perfect Growing Weather?

2010-06-06T22:14:00.012-04:00

After being away at a conference in Kansas City, MO for a week I visited the garden yesterday. I could not believe how much everything had grown! I think the great weather we have been having has kicked the plants into overdrive. Some of my veggie plants almost doubled in size (or so I want to believe). Unfortunately, it also meant that the weeds grew even faster! I spent a lot of time weeding my perimeter beds and in "the addition" - because, of course my SFG boxes were weedless!

My potato box is now complete and filled to the top with soil. I anticipate them starting to flower by the end of the month (when I will check for new potatoes). I appreciate the cautionary comments from Leslie of dreams and bones, " I have found that soil that is too fertile tends to yield lots of foliage but no spuds. So as you add dirt, make it dirt, not some extra enriched soil." This is a lesson that I may have to learn this year, sine I used a mixture of free compost and store-bought potting soil. The plants definitely grew fast (planted on 4/18; first sprouted on 5/7) - way faster than anticipated, which may not be a good sign! I still wonder if there are any spuds in there! Hopefully the mystery will soon be solved!

I love getting comments and tips! This is what blogging is all about-sharing and learning!

In other growing news, my two corn varieties are coming along nicely!

Brocade Sweet & Japanese Hulless Popcorn

Here is my first 2010 harvest comprised of lettuce (Salad Bowl & Mesclun Mix), Sugar Snap Peas, Basil...and something else that is so special it needs its own post (to follow shortly!)

In not so great news...my Everbearing Strawberry plants appear to be growing well and producing small berries, but critters have made any red berry inedible to humans. I placed some bird netting over the plants two weeks ago, but it is not stopping smaller pests. Also, two of my cucumber varieties, recently bought and transplanted, did not make it. With sadness, I pulled up my shriveled Diva & Burpless seedlings (varieties that served me well last year). However, I decided to try two new varieties: Sweet Success & Straight Eight!

Hang on Little Tomato

2010-05-26T21:20:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of the 'little orchestra' Pink Martini? I have been wanting to check them out for a while now because I heard that they provide a unique musical experience crossing many cultures and music genres. When browsing the CD collection at the library last week I came across an album of theirs, Hang on Little Tomato. How fitting!

Here are the lyrics to the title track to their Hang on Little Tomato album:

The sun has left and forgotten me
It's dark, I cannot see
Why does this rain pour down
I'm gonna drown
In a sea
Of deep confusion

Somebody told me, I don't know who
Whenever you are sad and blue
And you're feelin' all alone and left behind
Just take a look inside and you will find

You gotta hold on, hold on through the night
Hang on, things will be all right
Even when it's dark
And not a bit of sparkling
Sing-song sunshine from above
Spreading rays of sunny love

Just hang on, hang on to the vine
Stay on, soon you'll be divine
If you start to cry, look up to the sky
Something's coming up ahead
To turn your tears to dew instead

And so I hold on to his advice
When change is hard and not so nice
You listen to your heart the whole night through
Your sunny someday will come one day soon to you

Pink Martini, 2004 http://pinkmartini.com

My First Year as a Gardener

2010-05-25T09:00:00.022-04:00

How time flies while gardening! One year ago today, I picked out my community garden plot in the Fenway Victory Gardens! Overjoyed by the challenge and desire to grow my own veggies, I transformed a neglected piece of land...

May 2009

...into an organized and bountiful flower and vegetable garden!

May 2010

Throughout the past year I put in countless hours and enjoyed many great harvests. I was introduced to the incredible world of gardening through blogs, books and fellow gardeners. My garden was a place to relax but also gave me a workout. I am so fortunate to be part of the Fenway Victory Gardens and still amazed of this hidden gem in the heart of Boston!

2009 in review

As I enter my second year as a gardener, I look forward to continuing my gardening education, experimenting with new veggies & techniques, and getting more involved within the FVG community! Bring on the veggies!!

It's Farmers Market Season!

2010-05-22T19:43:00.008-04:00

Farmers Market, Brooklyn, NY

Farmers markets in metro Boston area are starting to open as the growing season gets going! My goal this year is to finally make it to the 'infamous' Haymarket in downtown Boston on an early Saturday morning!

Do you know where your closest farmer's market is? If not, you can use Local Harvest to find one! In Massachusetts, www.massfarmersmarkets.org is a great resource!

Lots of additions!

2010-05-18T09:31:00.021-04:00

The past few weeks have brought a lot of additions to my garden, but not to my blog. My most exciting update is that my potatoes are growing! I always have a little uncertainty when planting by seed and wonder, "is anything happening?" I was not sure quite how long it would take for the Bintje potato plants to push through the soil. I anticipated 3-4 weeks, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the first leaves after 2 1/2 weeks!

Bintje Potatoes (planted 4/18) on 5/7 & 5/16

In other news, I added a yellow bistro set so I now have a place to rest my tired feet (and back) and also a place for guests to sit! I am attempting to grow grass so that I have something soft to run my toes through! In addition I now have a blue, triangle shade 'sail' to have provide some sun protection as my garden provides no shade. This design allows me to take it down and put it up easily. I look forward to many mornings, afternoons, and evenings here! Come on over!

Sunday was a BIG planting day! Our last frost day came late this year, as temps dipped back down into the 30s and 40s last week. However, with the beautiful weekend weather, I was anxious to fill the rest of my SFG boxes! I had finished my research and knew which type of vegetable/herb/plant I was going to plant in each square foot! I made most of my purchases at Russell's Garden Center in Wayland, MA. I went there for the first time last year and was blown away by their variety and quantity of vegetable plants! In addition to my garlic and potatoes already planted, I am trying a lot of new things this year: watermelon, eggplant, butternut squash, corn and all new varieties of tomatoes and peppers.

Here is what I planted on Sunday, except for a few sown on 5/11: [s] = seed; [p] = plant

Nasturtium - Fordhook Favorites Mix [s]
Fennel [s]
Basil - Sweet [p]
Lavender - Provence [p]
Bean - Black-seeded Blue Lake Snap Pole Bean (planted 5/11) [s]
Corn - Brocade Sweet; Japanese Hullless Popcorn (planted 5/11) [s]
Cabbage - Market Prize [p]
Squash - Butternut [p]
Eggplant - Hansel [p]
Watermelon - Sugar baby [p]
Cucumber - Diva, Burpless, Northern Picking [p]
Pepper - Carmen, Giant Marconi, Italian Pepperoncini [p]
Tomato- La Roma II, Yellow Pear, First Lady, Green Zebra, Sunsugar, Sungold [p]

Unfortunately, I lost track of which square I was working in and dug up a few beans. I am hoping a few still come up!!

I still actually have 4 squares still unaccounted for and am thinking of getting two more basil plants and two more tomato plants to ensure I have enough for my anticipated canning and pesto-making adventures!

SFG Boxes (5/16/10)

a lizard in the garden overview

Patience is a Virtue

2010-05-17T21:13:00.005-04:00

Tonight I braved the Monday night grocery store mobs to get a few essentials for the week. Despite my great love for Trader Joe's, I painfully purchased cucumbers, mache, avocados, fresh salsa, and sweet potatoes, most of which had been imported from Mexico. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that starting in a few short weeks I will enjoy fresh, organic vegetables grown by yours truly.

So remember...be patient; it is worth the wait!

a lizard in the garden turns 1

2010-05-02T09:00:00.004-04:00

How time flies! I celebrate my one year blogging anniversary today!

Spring Cleaning in the FVG!

2010-04-25T22:21:00.021-04:00

What a gardening weekend!! However, being exhausted and meeting fellow gardeners are two indicators that the Fenway Victory Garden's first "All Park Clean Up" of the 2010 season was a success! Saturday was glorious & sunny, perfect to welcome gardeners, friends, and members of the Boston community into the park to tackle spring chores. The agenda included: organizing the three composting areas, building new wheelbarrows, planting grass seed, re-numbering plots, building up a few plots that did not fair to well with the March floods, and collecting litter.

It was invigorating to see everyone out and ready to help! I also had recruited two friends to get their hands dirty with me - and they were in for a treat! We were assigned to one of the composting areas with three other people. Our tasks involved making three rows of debris into one [which would allow gardeners space to drop off new compost materials], garbage clean up, and making the ready-to-use compost pile into a more distinguishable pile for easy access.

Here are some shots from the morning's activities:

(the large compost area getting lots of attention; our finished compost area)

(one of the groups collecting litter along the Muddy River)

After the clean up ended, The Landsdowne Pub hosted a gathering for all gardeners involved in the clean up. After taking a break I returned to the garden to do some work on my own plot, wanting to take advantage of the weather! As luck would have it, a fresh, dry pile of wood chips were delivered! Everyone rushed to get their share!

Saturday's tasks:

planted marigolds in each of the front corners of the SFG boxes
planted a lavender bush
hung a pot of pansies
planted two dahlias

built a SFG trellis for the middle box (Box 2); unfortunately the trellis netting was defective and the squares are not perfect; i know it is not a big deal for the growing veggies, but I hate that it doesn't look as perfect as the other two...

took down a side of my potato box, allowing it to get more sun
added a wheelbarrow of compost to the 'addition'
planted grass seed in my future 'sitting area'
added a wheelbarrow of wood chips to the 'addition,' creating a small walkway - this area is really starting to come together!

weeded along my fence
added 5 wheelbarrows of wood chips to the aisle

On Sunday, I returned just for two hours to work a little more. I accomplished what I wanted to do, but I was definitely low-energy!

Sunday's tasks:

trimmed the wild rose bushes along the back fence (in & outside the plot)
added yet more compost to the back raised bed
sowed poppy seeds; hoping to eventually turn this area into a wildflower area

Here is how my plot is looking as the average last frost date approaches this week:

A final tip for people on a wait list at a community garden: VOLUNTEER! It is the best thing you can do in order to show your interest and dedication.

One of Those Days

2010-04-18T23:38:00.018-04:00

First off, let me say that if you are a returning visitor, you may notice a few slight changes to my blog layout. I was frustrated with how narrow the posts section was and as a result, spent way to much time trying to give the page a mini-makeover. I only made a few subtle changes, but hopefully they will make a positive difference!

Today was one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong. I hit snooze too many times. I spent too much time in the garden center - and ended up with a few items more than what I went in for (although this is typical). I got stuck in traffic on Storrow Drive, a road that is difficult enough to let a single police car through when needed, let alone two firetrucks and an ambulance. Showing my ignorance to current Red Sox news, I found out that they had to finish Saturday night's game today at 1:30 - just when I was trying to find a parking spot. It rained most of the day. Then it was sunny. Then it poured. Then the sun came out - you get the picture...

The good news however, is that despite the weather, I was able to get a lot accomplished. My primary goal was to plant my potatoes and assemble my potato box.

This is my potato box, modeled after the Seattle Times article. For Christmas, I asked my father to build one for me. He followed the instructions perfectly, and even pre-drilled and numbered the boards for me (as you can see above). Thanks Dad! The box's design is supposed to maximize your yield and also make it easy to both, mound and harvest. Potatoes are relatively easy to grow but unique in that as the plants grow, you continue to cover them with soil. People have used buckets, trash cans, bags, or directly sow them into the ground. You just need to watch out because if the growing potatoes are exposed to sunlight they will turn green. Once the foliage dies and turns brown, it's time to harvest! My harvesting plan is to wait until they are mature, but I am curious about the 'new potatoes' so I may have to pick one or two to see how they are.

I was very excited to finally get the box up. I placed it in a sunny spot in my "extension" area. I left two of the sides together, but may take some of the boards down to provide more light to the growing spuds. I have mentioned the potato box a few times. I planted 5 Bintje potatoes (totalling 9.5 oz). We will see how much these yield in a few months! Each of the potatoes had started sprouting in at least one 'eye.' I added in a little vermiculite to help keep the soil light and to help with water retention. Sinfonian is someone else who has tried the potato box method and has some good tips and photos!

Today I also planted two herbs (rosemary & thyme), 6 strawberry plants and 15 freesia bulbs - that I picked up today at the garden center! I already used some of the rosemary for dinner - with [store bought] red potatoes and homemade rosemary flatbread. Yum!!

I worked on finalizing my extension area design, but am waiting until it is actually finished for the big "reveal." I planted another variety of carrot (Danvers) next to the garlic. Until now, all my carrot varieties have been short, so I am excited to get full-size carrots!!

In planning my corn planting I read more about corn pollination. Based on the remaining space I have & the space corn needs (at least four rows are recommended), I will only be able to fit one of my two varieties. This means that I will have to choose which one to try - the popcorn or the sweet - OR - plant the other variety along the backside of my plot, which gets overrun by the wild roses & vines. Decisions, decisions! If I have to choose one variety, I am leaning toward the popping corn.

Tomorrow is Patriot's Day, a Massachusetts holiday to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the American Revolution at the battles of Lexington & Concord. It is also of course, Marathon Monday as the 114th Boston Marathon takes place!!

Gardening with Winter Gloves in April

2010-04-17T20:09:00.007-04:00

This weekend's weather has been horrible - cold and wet. Temps got down into the 30's and some areas of New England saw snow! I stopped quickly at the garden today to throw a cover over my growing seedlings (peas, lettuce & carrots) and deliver some of my potato box materials. Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow as I have a lot to do!

My First Seed Order

2010-04-17T19:00:00.010-04:00

This week I received my order from Seeds of Change. Not counting my garlic order, this is my first true seed order. I originally bounced around between different seed companies trying to find an ideal balance between variety, price and quantity. My hardest decision was figuring out which potato to grow using the potato box method. After researching online, I found that a late maturing variety works best when growing potatoes in containers. Bintje potatoes were a versatile, late maturing variety with smooth pale yellow skin & light yellow flesh. Seeds of Change had this variety and offered a 10% discount through Facebook. Here are my cute, little Bintje seed potatoes:

In addition to the Bintje potatoes, I also ordered a two varieties of corn (Japanese Hull-Less Popcorn & Brocade Sweet Corn) and Black-Seeded Blue Lake Snap Pole Beans. I am excited to plant corn this year!

Fire in the Fens!

2010-04-12T23:44:00.018-04:00

One week ago (4/5) a brush fire spread through the phragmites (reeds) along the Muddy River. Fortunately the garden plots in the FVG were not damaged, but the visual difference the fire has made with the landscape is amazing! I have not heard the official cause of the fire, but according to a few articles, the brush catches fire pretty frequently.

I was not able to get to the gardens until this past weekend when I witnessed the damage firsthand. I do not believe that anybody was injured. However, visiting and resident geese were definitely affected. Given that baby geese/ducks are expected soon, I sadly imagine that some nests were destroyed by the blaze.

Muddy River (Pre-Fire 2/14/2010)

Muddy River (Post-Fire 4/11/2010)

More pics of the damage:

For better or worse, I expect the reeds to be back to their 20' height in no time...

In addition to surveying the damage, I also continued with my garden tasks. I was very relieved to find my peas sprouting (after seeing little evidence last week)! They survived after all! I have now sowed peas, carrots and lettuce! I was not meticulous in planting the lettuce and carrots seeds and know that I will have a lot of thinning to do once they grow a bit more!

I also:

added compost to my perimeter flower beds
planted three Dwarf Sunflowers on either side of the gate

Finally, I now have another lizard (in addition to my welcome rock) to watch over the garden in my absence! I added a colorful tin lizard (a present from my mom) to the middle SVG box.

I am excited for a few important packages to arrive this week with various things I ordered for the garden...soon to be revealed! I hope this weekend's weather is good so I can get back into the garden! This Saturday is also the first

Book Review: Farm City-The Education of an Urban Farmer

2010-04-10T17:50:00.005-04:00

This winter, during a brief stroll through a local bookstore, a book title caught by eye - Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter. As I am not one to buy a lot of books, I immediately requested it from my local library!

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in food, gardening, farming or wanting a good laugh! Novella's amazing memoir will inspire any city dweller with her 'anything is possible' attitude as she transforms a vacant lot in an Oakland (California) ghetto into a FARM - with geese and rabbits and bees - oh my!

To follow Novella's current adventures (and about her new book due out in early 2011) visit: http://ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com/

I also found out that there was a Boston Globe article last summer!

My Easter Celebration

2010-04-04T16:51:00.012-04:00

...was in the garden of course! Today was about as perfect you could get for Easter Sunday-temps reached almost 80 degrees! To make the most of it I logged about 5 hours - the the most time I have spent in the garden in many months; and to top it all off it was the Red Sox home opener! People were everywhere!

I was anxious to check on the peas that I planted on 3/20 as I was afraid that the incredible rains we had drowned them or washed them away. I only saw signs of one plant breaking the surface, so I will have to keep an eye to see if the rest follow. When I planted last year in mid June they seemed to come up quickly. Maybe when planted earlier when the temps are cooler, they are slower to grow..? However, I am so happy to already be able to plant, remembering that this time last year I was 'plot-less!'

Today's garden chores consisted of:

stabilizing the fence between my plot and my neighbor
weeding the perimeter flower bed and three square foot boxes
raking leaves
trimming back wild rose bushes along the back fence
planting lettuce (Mesclun salad mix,Buttercrunch & Salad Bowl ) & carrots (Short n' Sweet & Baby)
drafting possible layouts for the 'addition' area which include a space for my potato box, corn and a shaded area
adding one wheelbarrow of compost (I forgot my shovel today which made it very difficult; I will need to add more when I return with my shovel!)

What do March showers bring?

2010-03-29T21:43:00.009-04:00

As the saying goes...April showers bring May flowers. But, what do March showers bring? For the third Monday in a row, New England is under major flood warnings. March 2010 is 1" short of being the wettest month in Boston's history (and we are due for 3-7" by Wednesday!) Roads have been closed, and basements, backyards and gardens flooded. I am thankful not to have a basement or backyard to worry about, and my garden appears to be fairing well. I was surprised as my plot is along the backside of the FVG close to the Muddy River. However, upon my visit last Thursday, I saw that many other plots in the are under water. Is there anything to do but wait?

The silver lining is that it is expected to get up to 80 degrees this weekend! I hope to spend most of it in the garden. I will also be able to welcome in the 2010 Red Sox season as the home opener is Sunday!

2009 Harvest Recap

2010-03-21T22:31:00.003-04:00

2009 is where it all began for me. It was a challenging, but rewarding year. I can now honestly say that there is nothing like growing your own food! I learned a lot and ate delicious vegetables all summer long!

Spring Renewal

2010-03-20T08:55:00.020-04:00

I am back from a blogging hiatus. The hiatus was not something I planned, but the short, cold, dark days seemed to decrease my motivation to blog [or at least publish, as I started about a dozen posts.] However, spring is officially here and I welcomed it with open arms. Being that it was sunny and 70 degrees in Boston on Saturday, it would have been hard to ignore it! Birds were singing, EVERYONE was outside and new growth has popped up around the city!

On Saturday I attended the 35th Annual Gardeners Gathering. This is a spectacular, free event open to all local gardeners. Gardeners ranged from community to container, young to old, and new to master. It was great to meet other local gardeners and share tips.

Before it started I visited my plot to check in on any spring growth. This was the first visit in well over a month. Growing were...

(Yarrow, Garlic, Crocus)

Although I missed planting peas on St. Patrick's Day, I got them planted Saturday. I planted the same variety as last year - Sugar Snap. They were just so tasty and easy - with no preparation needed to eat them! With the days getting longer I look forward to visiting more often. I still have a lot of work to do to finalize my 2010 garden plan. However, two definite new additions (and experiments) this year will be potatoes and corn!!

Movie: The Garden

2010-01-09T13:47:00.010-05:00

I am an avid lover of Netflix and have enjoyed many recommended films, based ones that I rent. One recent recommendation, was as spectacular as it was timely. It was a documentary titled, The Garden. Nominated for many awards, the documentary shows the emotional fight of the South Central Farmers in Los Angeles, CA to hold onto land they had cultivated into the largest community garden in the U.S.

Synopsis:
The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.

But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.

The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers.
Source: http://www.thegardenmovie.com/about-the-film/

For more information visit: www.thegardenmovie.com, www.southcentralfarmers.com

Thank you Campbell's..I think!

2010-01-08T19:07:00.015-05:00

While scanning The Cheap Vegetable Gardener a few months ago I saw a posting about getting free tomato seeds through a Campbell's Soup promo on their Help Grow Your Soup site. Since I had a can of soup on hand (you needed to enter a can code), I requested the seeds...and yesterday I received about twenty tomato seeds!! Thanks Campbell's!

However, while receiving free seeds is great, these are not entirely without issues. Here is why...

the good...free tomato seeds!!
the bad...all I know is that they are tomato seeds...I have no idea what kind!
the ugly...the package says I should plant by March, 2010.

Florescent lights are my only hope for starting plants indoors as my apartment hardly does not have enough natural light. However, I have not quite figured out my plan yet!

Although the seed promo appears to be over, they still have a few exciting community projects going on and even a virtual garden to test out your gardening skills during these winter months!

The White House Garden in the spotlight again...

2010-01-03T22:10:00.004-05:00

...this time on Iron Chef America! I am not a die-hard viewer of the show but a commercial for an upcoming episode perked my ears as I heard that First Lady Michelle Obama, The White House and the White House Chef Comeford were going to turn the show into a "Super Chef Battle."

In watching the episode I was thrilled to see that the "secret ingredient" was anything from the White House garden!! Each team of two chefs collected as many fruits and vegetables from the garden as they needed!

The mission was that each team's cuisine "must inspire America to eat fresh, eat local and eat well." In addition to the ingredients from the garden local meats, eggs, milk, cheese and even honey from the White House beehives were brought in!

Another highlight to the episode were the judges: domestic goddess, Nigela Lawson (a personal fav), actress Jane Seymore and Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin.

If you didn't see the show tonight, I recommend trying to catch a replay. You can also always check the Food Network website for highlights. In addition to all food prepared, I was impressed with the quality of the White House vegetables and learned a few things too...like about icicle radishes, japanese eggplant and romanesco.

Bon appetit and think spring!!

P.S. The Obamas are huge sweet potato fans!

Free Gardening Workshops in Boston!

2010-01-01T22:40:00.010-05:00

Happy New Year!!! I gladly welcome 2010 as it will provide me with another year (and chance) to grow fresh produce in the city. I learned and accomplished so much in 2009 and and cannot wait to develop my skills in 2010.

I was happy to discover that the date for the 35th Annual Gardeners Gathering has been announced! I attended this event last spring before I received my plot assignment! I learned the basics of gardening, discovered the wonderful world of vermiculture/worm composting and heard about the benefits of raised beds! Now that I have gotten my hands dirty, I cannot wait to see what I learn this year!! I highly recommend attending if you are a gardener - or want to be gardener - in the Boston area!!

Here are the details, taken from the Boston Natural Area Network website!

Saturday, March 20, 2010
11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Curry Student Center, Northeastern University, Boston
Click Here for Directions Free Event, All Welcome
Walk-in Registration

The Gardeners Gathering is an annual citywide event for community gardeners and other garden enthusiasts. Held in the spring of each year, the event is a welcome kick- off to Boston’s upcoming gardening season. The event is filled with informative and fun activities and workshops. Gardening and green space organizations are present to provide current program information. Door prizes are awarded and pre-ordered seeds (provided by BNAN) are distributed. All are invited to join more than 300 community gardeners to welcome spring.

There will be Community Gardening Workshops for Beginner and Experienced Gardeners. Networking, Door Prizes, Info Gallery, Community Garden Awards, and More!

One of the typical highlights of the Gardeners Gathering is Mayor Thomas Menino’s greeting and presentation of the annual Community Gardening Awards. BNAN is grateful to Northeastern University for hosting the event each year and to the City of Boston for its ongoing support of community gardening.

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

2009-12-20T16:31:00.013-05:00

I was very happy to hear that a huge storm was making its way up the coast this weekend for two reasons. One, I love snow. Two, since southern NJ (where I grew up) was going to be getting dumped on meant that I will have a white Christmas!

On Saturday I was glued to The Weather Channel and local news stations. Boston was expected to get 10-15 inches. I anxiously waited - and stayed awake - until the arrival of snow in Boston at midnight. Although it was not a peaceful, quiet snow I still loved waking up early this morning to find everything covered in white!

After the storm stopped on Sunday afternoon I decided to take a walk around Boston. I especially wanted to see what to see what the FVG (and my plot) looked like with almost a foot of snow!

A few people were out walking their dogs, but overall the city was pretty quiet. The Muddy River was colorless but beautiful.

I am sorry to say that it has been well over a month since I visited the gardens. However, with leaves missing from the surrounding trees and bushes, the plots of the FVG were more visible than ever before! I has a great time wandering around to get a closer look at people's plots. Some of the rows were deep from the drifting snow. I had my rain boots, but should have worn my snowshoes!

I then strolled over to see how my own plot had survived the Blizzard of 2009. I looked down Row Z to see my fence, sticking out because of its height, design and 'newness'. As I followed footprints from an earlier visitor, I got my first glimpse of what my plot looked like in the snow! Anything that may lie under the blanket of snow may remain hidden for quite sometime.

On a final note, Monday, December 21st is the winter solstice, the longest night of year. Even though winter has just started, and we may have many more snow storms, the arrival of the winter solstice puts pressure on me to start planning my 2010 gardening goals! I long for the days where it doesn't get dark until 8pm!

Gardening Gift Ideas

2009-12-11T13:00:00.007-05:00

I can not believe how quickly the holidays are upon us! There always seems to be so much to do and so little time, and with two weeks 'til Christmas I have not started my to-do list! After surviving my first season of gardening I am really looking forward to next spring to try everything all over again. I have a few ideas up my sleeve for things to try. As a result I have called out for assistance. Two things on my Christmas list are:

a small, homemade cold frame
a potato box as seen in The Seattle Times
a kitchen composter (like this one)

Living in the city I have found it extremely difficult to build things. The re-building of my plot's fence was hard enough! Although these two projects are smaller, they require more precise cuts and tools that I cannot easily use/store in my apartment.

I came across this posting on Craftzine for a few gift ideas for gardeners in case you need one!

What is on your Gardener's Christmas list?

Happy Holidays!

Fall Chores & Harvest Report 11/1

2009-11-01T21:12:00.004-05:00

I hope that everyone had a great Halloween. I was disappointed not to have a pumpkin from my garden to carve and ended up not doing anything very festive. I attended a concert last night by one of my all time favorite bands, Guster! Walking around Boston, there were a lot of great costumes, but I also found it amusing to see what the more 'popular' costumes were this year. I saw many people dressed up as Peter Pan, Minnie Mouse, a Pirate, Where's Waldo, and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. My favorite costume was probably "the swine flu" (a pig with a face mask).

Anyway, back to gardening...finding time to get into the garden is becoming increasingly difficult as the days get shorter. Now that we turned the clocks back, weekends are going to be the only time I can really attend to the garden (since early mornings are not my thing). So, in addition to planting garlic, I took the opportunity to do a few fall chores:

dug up my impressive marigolds that added color and bug protection to my plot
spread two wheelbarrows of wood chips in the path

I also harvested my remaining radishes and mache*:

*A side note about my background with mache (i.e. corn salad, lamb's lettuce). I first discovered mache while in Switzerland. With a simple vinaigrette, it was delicious by itself. While shopping at my local Trader Joe's in Cambridge, MA shortly after my Swiss trip, I came across a bag of mache. I could hardly contain my shock and excitement. I now purchase bags of mache several times a month (partly because I want to make sure that they continue to stock it and feel that i alone purchase enough to keep the sales up!) Unfortunately, I have not found it at all TJ locations, but if you can find it I highly recommend it. Again, all it needs is a simple vinaigrette, but is also delicious with avocado, tomato and eggs! Bon appetit!

Garlic Planting Day

2009-11-01T20:10:00.012-05:00

My goal of planting my garlic this weekend was accomplished as my order arrived on Friday. However, although it was incredibly warm on Saturday (70 degrees), it was unbelievably windy! The winds were blowing everything around like crazy so I decided not to attempt planting on Saturday. Fortunately, today was a beautiful day, sunny & 60 with less wind!

A little bit more about my garlic. After checking the garlic inventory of the more popular sites, I decided to order from The Garlic Store. They are a small company based in Fort Collins, CO. (I only bring up that they are in Ft. Collins because I lived there for a short time after college and absolutely loved it!!) Anyway, my 1/2 lb. order of Organic German White Garlic (a hardneck variety) gave me 3 bulbs/heads.

It looked great...especially once I broke the bulbs open to find out how many cloves were in each! The cloves were very easy to break apart, fragrant, and although I did not try, also easy to peel.

Each bulb had 7-8 large cloves, giving me 21 to plant. (I held back one on the smaller side to eat!) I have heard of a few variations on how to plant garlic and was very impressed with Daphne's method. However, I decided to start with the most basic and easiest way of planting...au naturel! I was going to leave the skin on each clove and just plop them into the ground.

After loosening up the existing soil and adding a bag of compost to the bed I created to plant the garlic, I made 21 holes, about 2 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart. I put one clove in each hole, "tip" up.

Next, I covered the holes back up with the soil. To protect the garlic from the upcoming New England winter, I used what I had around me as mulch...leaves and grass! I covered the bed with about 6" of leaves and added pieces of the 20' reeds from the surrounding Muddy River bank.

The final result after placing a plastic netting over it so the wind wouldn't blow everything away...

I can't wait until next year and hope that I have all 21 heads of garlic!!

Garden Scene Cupcakes

2009-10-28T19:49:00.003-04:00

Garden scene cupcakes, originally uploaded by Angelina Cupcake.

How cute! Take a look at this cute garden scene cupcake from Angelina Cupcake in the UK. I found these cute cakes while visiting Cupcakes Take The Cake, a blog that I follow related to my other passion, baking!

Thumbs Up San Francisco!

2009-10-28T19:41:00.009-04:00

In case you haven't heard I wanted to share the great news that composting is now MANDATORY in San Francisco!! This is an incredible accomplishment! Similar to the Seattle law, which required only households to compost, the October 21st SF law requires every residence and business to have three separate color-coded bins for waste: blue for recycling, green for compost and black for trash.

I cannot imagine how the city is educating everyone on composting, however I did find details about what people can compost in their green carts and kitchen pails, in addition to this public awareness commercial:

San Francisco is definitely doing their part to reduce their carbon footprint--all their collection and transfer trucks run on alternative fuel (either liquefied natural gas or biodiesel). They may start fining people in the future for non-compliance as their goal, according to City Environmental Officer, Jared Blumenfeld is to have zero waste - no garbage - going to landfills by the year 2020. I hope that other cities (especially Boston) follow SF's example.

View a quick MSNBC report about how composting can go full-cycle to help local vineyards.

Learn more about SF's composting program:

Also, I added a poll (in the right hand section) to get a feel for how many people are already composting in their homes. Unfortunately, I am not yet composting myself, but hope to purchase at least one kitchen composter by early 2010! Living in an apartment makes composting challenging, but not impossible!

Brookside Community Gardens

2009-10-26T23:06:00.000-04:00

Last week I took an opportunity to go over to Brookside Community Gardens on my lunch break. Located close to where I work in Wellesley, MA I have driven by it many times. This is the one of the few other community gardens I have visited, so I was interested to see what they had to offer.

As I strolled through the garden I passed two women tending to their plots and said a quick hello. Wandering down each aisle, strawberry plants had popped up where people had not walked. I noticed that most of the 30 plots were very large, but bare from the fall clean up.

I enjoyed my lunch detour on such a beautiful (and mild) fall day. It is always great to admire other people's gardens!

Cabbage & Celery Harvest

2009-10-26T22:50:00.008-04:00

On Saturday I harvested the last of my red cabbages along with two heads of celery! I was so anxious to try the celery and I have to say that I am very pleased!

Quick celery tip: Did you know that putting celery in tinfoil keeps it fresh and crisp?

A Shot in the Dark

2009-10-26T21:09:00.005-04:00

Tonight I placed my first garlic order! However, the combination of being late to order and not knowing much about each variety, I took a shot in the dark. I ordered a 1/2 lb of Certified Organic German White from The Garlic Store. This variety seems like a good place to start. I am definitely a garlic fan, but also always buy whatever I can find in the grocery store. As long as the garlic comes, I look forward to planting this weekend!

A Strawberry Surprise!

2009-10-21T22:30:00.007-04:00

I made a spur of the moment purchase at Whole Foods a few months ago. It was an "ever-bearing" strawberry plant. I originally planted it in the perimeter 'flower' bed, but later had to dig it up when I made the passage way between my two spaces. It is doing pretty well in a pot, but I was doubting whether it will make it through the winter. However, upon my visit to the garden today I noticed a small white flower blooming!

What a difference a year makes

2009-10-20T16:05:00.007-04:00

As many of you are aware, this has been an interesting and challenging year for agriculture. In New England, it was "too wet" earlier this summer and now it is "too cold." Martha Stewart posted an interesting entry on her own blog, comparing this year's autumn to last. The weather conditions earlier this year seem to be having an affect on the foliage this year. I have definitely seen some brilliant trees, but I agree with Martha that the widespread colors have been more dull this year. Have you also noticed a difference?

Find Martha's post here.

Caring & Preparing

2009-10-19T23:52:00.009-04:00

I continue to care for my last remaining crops that are still growing...mache, peppers, bush beans, scallions, cabbage and celery.

mache; Mandarin Peppers (unripe)

Here is an updated shot of my plot. I now have two of my 'boxes' covered since we have had many nights in the 30's, frost watches and snow. Unfortunately, I ran out of odds and ends to weigh down the plastic, so the middle box is on its own for now!

In preparation for garlic planting I cleared and created a spot in my recent addition. I still have to order my garlic so I will be limited to what is still in stock. However, I am hoping for a hard-neck variety at least. I have searched Johnny's, Seeds of Change and The Garlic Store. I definitely need to plant soon though-especially if the temps are going to stay below average!

On a final note, I just checked Eliot Coleman's Four Season Harvest out of the library. I hope to have a 'review' soon!

The End of a [few] Season[s]...

2009-10-19T23:51:00.003-04:00

The sun has set over Fenway as another baseball season has come to an end for the Red Sox. Since baseball is such a big deal in Boston, I guess Mother Nature decided to strike back with some crazy weather--ending Fall before it even got started! In the past few days I have seen snow not once, but twice! It never amounted to anything in downtown Boston (so I did not capture it on film) but others like Daphne and Kathy saw a nice dusting!

Before the nor'easter hit on Sunday, it was a very nice almost fall-like day! I hit the river to catch some of the Head of the Charles rowing events. I used to row in for the University of New Hampshire (despite being on the shorter side at 5'3"). Although I no longer row, I still love the sport and have many opportunities to watch the local schools compete! If you have never seen attended the Head of the Charles I highly recommend it! It is the largest two-day rowing event and one of Boston's best traditions, attracting people from all over the world!

Re-post: You Might Be A Gardening Geek If...

2009-10-07T08:55:00.003-04:00

I found these great posts on May Dreams Gardens and thought I would re-post it.

Her original post, You Might Be a Gardening Geek if...

An expanded post, More clues that you might be a Garden Geek

Although my overall "score" is low, I find myself moving toward some of these "geeky gardener" characteristics. Is it bad that to have it be an aspiration?

An unexpected visitor

2009-10-06T23:50:00.005-04:00

As if walking into the gardens didn't already make me feel that I have escaped city life for a while, I get to enjoy the beauty of nature in another way...

While bringing some debris to the compost pile near my plot, I turned around to see a surprise visitor! A hawk was perched on a fence post of the plot next to me, about 10 feet away. I carefully rushed back to my plot to grab my camera. However, I did not have to worry about the hawk flying away, as he was enjoying his freshly caught dinner.

Still growing...

2009-10-06T23:15:00.007-04:00

I am excited to have a few things still growing in my garden...

Second round of radishes; revived peppers

Second round of bush beans; my celery experiment

marigolds!!

I also have a few more cabbages and mâche (lamb's lettuce/corn salad)! Unfortunately, cauliflower and melon made it to my "failed" crop list.

Preparing for frost...

2009-10-06T22:55:00.009-04:00

'Tis the season to prepare for frost. Temps are getting into the 40s at night. In order to protect the last of my growing veggies I wanted to try making protective domes. Following the SFG method, I bought two PVC pipes per box. For the cover I chose a thin plastic tarp. I realize that a variety of things can be used as a cover (burlap, blankets, sheets, row covers, plastic). Right now I only have Box 3 covered. I still have a lot of clean up tasks to do, which include removing the tomato plants. Hopefully I can spend more time in the garden this weekend and finish prepping my plot for the fall temps!

Updated photos of my SFG boxes.

Box #3, covered

A harvest of another kind

2009-10-05T10:10:00.009-04:00

Taking advantage of a beautiful fall day, I ventured west of Boston to harvest some apples! Apple picking is such a great New England tradition, and one that I have not done in quite a few years! There are so many orchards in Massachusetts alone, but decided on Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, MA. Although my primary focus was their orchard, I just had to step into the gift shop to browse their selection of wines! (I definitely want to check out their wine tour and tasting some day!)

Back to the apples...there were only three varieties of available for harvest...McIntosh, Macoun and Courtland. I filled my bag with equal amounts of all three! The macs were especially large, but I think I managed to fit about 25 apples in my bag (a peck). There were also a few peaches left in their orchard, but opted against harvesting any. Maybe next year!

Once I had the apples at home I tried smitten kitchen's simplest apple tart recipe..twice! I am still trying to master rolling out the dough, but it was a delicious recipe! What do you like to make with your apples?

Carrot harvest

2009-10-03T18:27:00.012-04:00

I harvested the last of my Short 'n Sweet carrots. Many of them were a perfect 4-5" and tasted great! I added the smaller ones to the pot roast I made, debuting my new dutch oven!

GoGreen.vc

2009-10-01T13:06:00.006-04:00

Thanks to gogreen.vc for listing me in their directory of farming, gardening and composting blogs! Check out their website to find a lot of great information. Many of my favorite blogs that I follow are also listed! Blogs are listed by state/country.

Also, since the site founders also invented the Worm Factory®, there is a lot of information about vermi-culture (worm composting) which I hope to try some day when I move on from apartment living!! I hope to post more about vermi-culture soon as I attended a workshop earlier this year! It sounds easy and fun with only a small amount of "yuckiness!"

Free Press

2009-09-24T22:13:00.003-04:00

Even though things are slowing down, I am way behind in posting about my garden. Unfortunately, this is not that kind of post. Before I forgot, I wanted to blog about an article from Boston University's student newspaper, The Daily Free Press. One of their reporters gave the Fenway Victory Gardens some publicity and wrote an article about the garden and the recent FensFest event. To make it even more blog-worthy, I was quoted in the article as he happened to catch me in my garden!

Read the article, "Avant Gardening" here: http://www.dailyfreepress.com/avant-gardening-1.1880212

Thinking about potatoes

2009-09-15T22:56:00.003-04:00

Like many, I am starting to think about what veggies I will grow next year. Potatoes are definitely on my list. I have heard that they are pretty easy to grow and can even be planted in buckets and trash cans!

While I still have to decide what variety or varieties I will grow along with my method of choice, I came across a post, "How to grow 100 pounds of potatoes in 4 square feet." Again I have never grown potatoes, but this seems like a great way to go!

Side note: for those not familiar with apartmenttherapy.com they have a great family of websites/blogs. The one I visit [every few hours] is thekitchn.com

Success at FensFest!

2009-09-13T18:12:00.021-04:00

The Fenway Garden Society made the right call when deciding to postpone the FensFest until Sunday. We received 3 inches of rain between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening! Thanks to my new rain gauge I will now know how much rain we get!

We had a gorgeous day to celebrate FensFest! With steel drums playing in the background, the grill was hot, the 'white elephant' table was stocked with used treasures, and everyone had the chance to win fabulous raffle prizes! Gardeners, families, friends and passers-by stopped by to wander through the gardens and enjoy the festivities.

I entered one of my Savoy Ace green cabbages in the produce contest! It won "Best Vegetable"!

Success! I was thrilled to win "Best New Gardener" for my section.

Thanks to everyone that came out! I loved showing you around!

Come to FensFest 2009!

2009-09-08T21:44:00.009-04:00

To anyone in the Boston area, the Fenway Victory Garden Society invites you to the FensFest on Sunday, September 13th* from 11:00am-3:00pm.

Activities:
~ Listen to live music
~ Enjoy the free cookout
~ Get a bargain at our White Elephant Sale
~ Buy chances for great raffle prizes
~ Bring your children to get their faces painted
~ Watch the Garden Awards
~ Have a fun day in the Park!

Map

FensFest is open to the public and is hosted by the Fenway Garden Society in cooperation with the Boston Parks Department, and funded through a generous grant from the National Land Trust Foundation.

Plot Expansion

2009-09-07T20:28:00.005-04:00

My garden has another new fence!! After a full day in the garden on Sunday the area I recently acquired has a new fence (on one side).

After the fence was rebuilt an opening was created to join the two spaces together!

My plan for the new space is:

Make a covered structure to provide much needed shade
Add a table and chairs
Have a variety of potted plants, shrubs and vegetables (maybe potatoes next year!)
Have one small raised bed area for vegetables

I am hoping to start with some of these things this fall, but may wait until spring to really start the transformation!

Late Forming Melons

2009-09-05T12:32:00.005-04:00

I have been waiting to see if my Hale's Best Melon plant was going to make it. It has struggled since I planted it in June (purchased from a nursery). As Skippy's Vegetable Garden mentioned a few weeds ago, it has not been great melon weather. She posted about how she was not sure if her melons would have time to ripen. Unfortunately for me, her plants/fruit were farther along in August than mine are in September! And, with the cool weather we are now having I am doubtful that I will see a ripe cantaloupe this year. In an attempt to help things along I pinched off all the other flowers so that the two that are the furthest along can get all the attention!

Cute Carrots

2009-09-05T11:54:00.008-04:00

I finally got some decent size carrots! I have been waiting patiently to pull out my Short 'n Sweet carrots, as the stalks on most of them are over two feet tall. However, the few that I have pulled recently were less than 1 inch in diameter. Last night I decided to try again and low and behold, I pulled out a winner! It was about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter and close to the 5-6 inch mark in length. I then pulled out two more that were not quite as big, but still tasty!

I sadly pulled out my cucumbers and am seeing the last of the sugar snap peas. I still have a large amount of sweet 100s that are forming, but something keeps taking huge bites out of my larger (Jet Star & Early Girl) tomatoes. I was able to grab only one yesterday. The romaine lettuce is starting to bolt, so I may not be able to harvest any more.

White House Garden Video & Victory Garden Shout Out!

2009-09-03T23:01:00.003-04:00

White House garden update! A 7 minute video documenting the creation of the historical "kitchen garden" was recently posted on the White House blog. First Lady Michelle Obama and Chef Sam Kass tell the story of the garden, as it the first garden on White House grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden during World War II. There is a neat time lapse video of the garden's growth and historical footage from a 1944 "Victory Gardens" film.

Playing catch up...

2009-08-30T21:08:00.007-04:00

It has been a while since my last post so I thought I would create a photo collage to catch up what has been happening! To see more detail, click on the photo and move your mouse over the photos. Enjoy!