garden work

 
 
Today I spent several hours at my community plot. It was such a nice morning to work in the garden. I trimmed the weeds in the path outside and all around my plot. A garden next to me (to the north) is untended, so I cut back their weeds and cleared out the overgrown path between us. Sigh, the weeds are quite abrasive and spiny (Japanese hops, raspberries, horse nettles). My arms are all scratched up. I’m hoping for a more active garden neighbor next year. I watered well, as…
 
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garden work

 
 
I did a lot of work today to remove fungi damage. Squash leaves at the base of plants, especially zucchini and butternut, were white and fuzzy. I removed and bagged these. The pruning made it easier to find and pick squashes and weed under the plants. My potatoes ares quickly dying back now. I removed the plants from my red potatoes and bagged these rather than composting just to be safe. I also removed tomato leaves with leaf spot damage. It’s a super year for tomatoes – plants are big…
 
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the garden after vacation

 
 
Its been a busy week in the garden. Good and bad. Many firsts to harvest, but also the concern that late blight may be just round the corner again this year. Here’s a rundown of my garden after returning from a week of vacation. My broccoli is heading up and looking super. Don’t know if I’ve ever had such big pretty plants. I’m expecting some great big heads starting in a week or so. And its the first time I’ve grown cauliflower and the plants look really nice. Great big…
 
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garden helpers

 
 
I had some super helpers in my garden this past weekend. My niece and nephew harvested, weeded, fertilized and watered the garden for me!!! Their harvest was peas, lettuce, mustard, herbs and rhubarb. I love it when kids are so excited about the garden. These kids ate peas fresh off the vine, they showed me which crops needed fertilizer. They picked the oldest lettuce and mustard plants for me. And it seems like they know the names of everything. Thanks for helping!
 
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it’s weeding season

 
 
Today I weeded an hour in my community garden plot. Funny how you can weed and think you’ve got them all, and then look again and there are a bunch of big weeds. If I look for the little ones, I miss the big ones. Today I thought I weeded the whole garden and told Skip we could go walk and then I noticed the asparagus bed – full of weeds. Skippy is used to me changing my mind and taking a while after I say I’m done. But still,…
 
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Today: Planted in the garden next to my house seeds for two double rows of soybeans (Envy and Butterbean) with soy bean inoculant. Also two double rows of bush beans (Tavera and Royal Burgandy) and two poles of Chinese pole bean. In my community plot, I weeded and spread salt marsh hay in the paths.
 
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a busy week in the garden!

 
 
Wow! What a super week. I haven’t posted because I’ve been busy gardening. Last weekend I tended my backyard. Monday I helped my parents in their garden – its all planted now and looks beautiful. Tuesday, I spent a long drizzly afternoon in my community plot. I brought in compost and planted lots of little seedlings. Like my parents, the beds are full now. The only garden still waiting for me is my side yard where the very warm weather plants (beans, watermelon, eggplants, cukes, etc) will go in. I…
 
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I finished off my indoor spring seed planting yesterday with a few pots of zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, butternut and buttercup squash. I also put in a couple extra pots of basil. My cukes and watermelons have sprouted and are working on their second leaves. All that left for seeds now is  to remember to plant more lettuce every couple weeks. And maybe a second crop of spinach too. The bean seeds go directly in the garden and I don;t plant to put these in for a couple more weeks.
 
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planting and transplanting

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On Sunday I turned my dining room table into a planting bench by spreading out an old sheet. I transplanted 12 early tomato plants. And I planted 6 6-packs of seeds (carrots, parsnips and 6 types of chili peppers). The chilis are under my fish tank now, since they like it warm for germination. Its 80*F under there. I just have to remember to water them now and then. (varieties: Amelia’s cayenne, Thai hot, yellow sweet, Joe Parker, Nardello and Ancho) I’ve always direct planted carrots and parsnips before, but…
 
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preparing for winter

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On Sunday I cleaned out most of the dead plants from my garden. We have have several hard frosts and only the very hardy plants are still alive. I piled the debris in two places in my garden since my compost bin is already overfilled. I’ll have to move the piles to the community bins later. I did not get time to plant a cover crop this year. It will make it easier in the spring to turn bare soil. After the cleanup, I dug my potatoes bed. I’ve been…
 
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Kathy Martin
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy


weeks and counting until my last spring frost

What I planted recently

Jan 21
thyme, lettuce, escarole

Feb 21
celery, celeriac, parsley, leeks

March 11
cabbage, kale, arugula



What I'm planting soon

April 1
peppers, eggplants, marigolds, beets

April 12
tomatoes, basil, sunflowers

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My garden this week

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17 years of archives!

Check out the food pantry farm I helped to start up:

Aurelia's Garden

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Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!

“I envision a day when every city and town has front and back yards, community gardens and growing spaces, nurtured into life by neighbors who are no longer strangers, but friends who delight in the edible rewards offered from a garden they discovered together.” – Greg Peterson

"What can happen to a seed is a miracle."

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