Free Gardening Workshops in Boston!

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.

A garden that finally looks like a garden!

Success!!! After a very long but productive weekend the garden has taken shape and vegetables have been planted! I could not be happier about how it has turned out. I will walk you through our recent progress with photos...

The 3-4x4 raised beds & perimeter frame are in place

Laying down the weed blocking fabric & securing it with fabric pegs

Mel's Mix: 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost (left to right)

Mel's mix - mixed; wood chips cover the ground

A raised bed - filled with Mel's Mix

A complete box - with lath boards to divide the bed into square feet (for easy plant/seed calculations)

Completed Box #1 with trellis (made from conduit pipes and nylon trellis netting)

Completed Box #2

Completed Box #3 with trellis

The big picture

Lupin (left) & Dahlia (right) for the flower beds along the perimeter

So, what have I planted so far?

Box 1

• Green Bean - Blue Lake Bush Bean (7)
• Cucumber - Diva (2)
• Cucumber - Burpless Supreme (2)
• Lettuce - Head (3)
• Marigold (6)

Box 2

• Tomato - Sweet 100s (2)
• Tomato - Jet Star (1)
• Tomato - Early Girl (1)
• Sweet Basil (2)
• Marigold (6)

Box 3

• Squash - ? (4)
• Melon - Organic Hale's Best (1)
  
• Pumpkin - Howden (1)
  
• Pepper - Red Beauty (1)
• Pepper - Mandarin Hybrid (1)
• Marigold (6)

Containers

• Mint - Spearmint (1)
• Lemon Balm (1)

Still to plant (from seed):

• Green Bean - Roma II
• Cabbage - Earliana
• Cabbage - Red Acre
• Spinach - Salad Fresh Hybrid
  
• Lettuce - Salad Bowl
• Lettuce - Parris Island (Romaine)
  
• Pea - Sugar Snap
• Radish - Crimson Giant
• Carrot - Short 'n Sweet

It's Official!!

Let the planning begin! I officially have a community garden plot!! I picked it out today from a few plots that became available. I have a lot of clean up to do to make it a workable plot but it is pretty big, is sunny, and gives me a great view of the Pru!! Now I am trying to wrap myself around what I need to - and it is quite a bit...weed, measure, weed, create final garden plan, weed, build the raised beds, weed, repair fences and then finally...plant! However, I don't have a lot of time this week to get things in motion-aside from starting to weed!

I have decided that I am going to look to the All New Square Foot Gardening book by Mel Bartholomew for inspiration - in addition to a few 'companion gardening' tips. More to come!!