March 19, 2011

bulletin board

The scouts are installing our new bulletin board now!! I am looking forward to posting notices on it soon. All sorts of action is starting up at the community gardens. There were 4 or 5 gardeners out this morning, clearing up from winter and some turning soil already. There are piles of debris showing up at the periphery of the gardens – I will have to post signs to show where these piles should be located. I’ll also post a map of the plots so people know their plot numbers.…

March 15, 2011

snug cold frame

Here is my cold frame with its newly replaces plastic panels on the front and back. Also new battens to seal the seam between the top panels and the sides. In the next warm day, I will add compost to the soil and replant everything.

February 12, 2011

a balmy day in the cold frame

Today at 1:45 pm the temperature inside my cold frame hit a high of 44.1*F (6.7*C)!!! Outside high was only 26*F (-3.3*C). Grow spinach, grow. Yesterday, I wrote myself a note on my kitchen black board to remember to pull the tarp off my frame in the morning and replace it in the evening. I followed the note today. The sun is still having trouble emerging from behind the neighboring house much of the day. But at 12:00 it hits the cold frame, and from then on the frame gets…

December 23, 2010

cold frame ready for snow

We may get a couple inches of snow tonight, so we pulled the tarp down over the cold frame. The greens are still fine inside. I’m hoping for a Christmas Day harvest of fresh green salad. I harvested a bag of greens the other day when a friend came by. I gave her a Christmas gift of fresh greens and a few squashes and garlic from my garden.

November 20, 2010

new garden bulletin board

Last weekend a scout from our local boy scout troop started his Eagle project to make a bulletin board for our community gardens. A group of 6 or 8 kids, a bunch of parents (and a couple dogs) dug two 4 foot deep holes. They mixed cement and filled footings in the holes. The footings will allow them to set up their hand made board in a month or so – after our ground has frozen. The scout has done a lot of work to design a nice board. It…

November 14, 2010

cold frame greens

I have lots of greens in my cold frame, but the questions: are they growing? I think they are, but slowly. I’m trying to compare this photo with the one I took 10 days ago (click the label “cold frame” below). I’m wondering if things will grow enough in the next 10 days to get a big salad bowl full of greens for Thanksgiving.

October 3, 2010

wind-ripped cold frame

We had a serious wind storm the other night. I believe it was the remnants of a hurricane, though I don’t know which one. Lots of rain and wind. Its the first time I have had damage done to my cold frame. The plastic sides were ripped open. Fortunately, plastic panels are easy to fix. We’ll staple on fresh sheets soon.

September 7, 2010

new grape arbor – and my lemon tree

I forgot to post this photo last weekend after my husband made this new arbor for my grapes. The vines were all over the place. I pulled them together and put them on their new arbor. Much more orderly looking. Add my little Meyer’s lemon tree is also in this photo. I will have to get a close up picture of the lemons growing on it. Earlier this year, someone told me that lemons need a lot of nitrogen. So I fertilized it well and added fresh soil. I’ve never…

August 30, 2010

a new mulch for my vegetable beds

One of my projects this weekend was to weed and mulch my side yard vegetable beds. Weeding the beds was a big job as I’ve neglected them recently. I removed two wheel barrows full to my compost bins. Most weeds had grown up in the paths between the beds. After weeding, I spread mulch. A new product for me: Coast of Maine hay and straw mulch. Its finely chopped and sterilized and they say it doesn’t have weed seeds. Its spreads very nicely and one bag covers lots of ground.…

August 27, 2010

garden bulletin boards

A local boy scout is making a bulletin board for our community garden. I’ve been looking into the types of boards that other gardens and parks have. We’d like to have one side covered with plexi and locked for “official” notices and the other open cork board for general use. It will be located along our main path entering the gardens. It seems it would be good to have more communication.

weeks and counting until my last spring frost