I’ve gotten together with a group of gardener friends who have free time since we can’t do much of anything now. There likely won’t be any food shortages due to the corona virus, but there is always a need for fresh vegetables. We have found a nice piece of land that will be loaned to us. We’ll grow food crops and donate our produce to local food pantries. We plan to donate mostly to the Natick and Framingham pantries.
I don’t know how we’ll get everything done yet. We’re working it out as we go. But I’m the major seedling provider, so I am busy!! Busy doing my favorite things. Sowing, watering, thinning, tending, up potting, watching plants grow, etc. My hoop house is filling up fast.
The first seedlings I started for our Donation Garden were onions back in February. I wasn’t sure at that time that we’d get our project going, but I planted lots anyway. Next I stated up the brassicas. Lots of broccoli, cabbages and kale. Yesterday a transplanted many of the barassicas into bigger pots and moved them to my hoophouse.
Tomatoes are next on my list for sowing. It’s always exciting to get the tomatoes going!!! I can almost taste the sweet juicy fruit as I plant!
Here’s my planting list:
| Common Name | Variety | 2020 Date planted | 2020 date up potted | No. of plants |
| Beets | Boro | 18-Mar | 40 | |
| Broccoli | BC 1611 | 8-Mar | 26-Mar | 10 |
| Broccoli | Blue Wind | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Broccoli | Piracicaba | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Brussels Sprouts | Dagan | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Cabbage | Katerina | 8-Mar | 26-Mar | 10 |
| Cabbage | Tendersweet | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Cabbage | Alcosa | 8-Mar | 26-Mar | 10 |
| Cabbage | Tete Noir | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Cabbage | January King | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Cabbage | Kalibos | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Cauliflower | Purple of Sicily | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Cauliflower | Amazing | 16-Mar | 20 | |
| Eggplant | Hansel | 10-Mar | 5 | |
| Eggplant | Kamo | 10-Mar | 12 | |
| Eggplant | Astrkom | 10-Mar | 15 | |
| Eggplant | Patio Baby | 10-Mar | 5 | |
| Endive | Frisse | 8-Mar | 26-Mar | 10 |
| Escarole | Natascha | 5-Mar | 26-Mar | 10 |
| Kale | Biera | 8-Mar | 26-Mar | 10 |
| Kale | Winterbor | 8-Mar | 26-Mar | 10 |
| Kale | Black Magic | 8-Mar | 10 | |
| Leeks | Bandit | 5-Feb | 50 | |
| Lettuce | Bibb | 28-Feb | 18-Mar | 20 |
| Lettuce | Rouxai | 22-Mar | 26-Mar | 40 |
| Misome | Misome | 5-Mar | 25 | |
| Okra | Burgundy | 10-Mar | 5 | |
| Onion | Cabernet | 5-Feb | 40 | |
| Onion | Wethersfield Red | 5-Feb | 25 | |
| Onion | Yankee | 5-Feb | 30 | |
| Onion | Bridger | 5-Feb | 50 | |
| Onion | Bridger | 8-Mar | 160 | |
| Pepper | Recovery | 10-Mar | 18 | |
| Pepper | Lipstick | 10-Mar | 5 | |
| Radicchio | Indigo | 17-Mar | 15 | |
| Spinach | Bloomsdale LS | 18-Mar | 60 | |
| Spinach | Monstrueux De Viroflay | 18-Mar | 60 | |
| Swiss Chard | Peppermint | 18-Mar | 26-Mar | 50 |
| Swiss Chard | Orange Oriole | 18-Mar | 12 | |
| Swiss Chard | Bright Lights | 18-Mar | 24 |
5 Comments. Leave new
what a wonderful thing you are doing…and the need is so great..so many don’t have access to healthy fresh veggies…thank you…looking forward to updates and photos of your project
Wow is this a farm?! That’s a lot of seedlings! Best of luck to you all. 🙂
Love this, I’m so happy I’ve stumbled across your blog! I’m also in MA(Merrimack Valley) but I’m a beginner with my home vegetable gardener. Therefore, I’m looking to learn as much as I can as I’m trying to establish my garden to be efficient, sustainable with little waste. Can’t wait to look thru your blogs!
HI! Sometimes I feel like I’m running a farm, but no, just me planting and transplanting in my kitchen. I do have a nice little 10×12 hoop house that is great for starting seedlings. If I run out of room in the hop house, I’ll set the pots out in my vegetable garden under row cover.
Some days now I just plant and transplant all day. I guess that’s my way of handling stress. Also I move the seedlings around in the greenhouse. It is pretty stressful for all now I know. It makes me feel better that what I love to do can help others soon. Thanks for visiting my blog. I love hearing from people.
That’s awesome! We started donating one day’s harvest to our local pantry. It’s so gratifying.
You have a great concept and a very worthy cause!