back in the garden

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I’ve been away. Its always amazing what the garden does in the absence of its gardener! I will gradually catch up – and enjoy – my findings. I spent today gardening. The morning in my home garden – the afternoon at my community plot. Lots of weeding. Some harvesting. Some planning. There are a few more summer sowings that need to be done. Also, just general checking on what’s going on. Gardens develop their own life. Sometimes I feel I’m just the observer – doing my best to follow along.…
 
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garden aerial – with house painter

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Ah yes – the house painter is here. We are (he is) painting the house green. I’ve always wanted a green house! And down below, my garden is doing good. The covers are off the cold frame, but its still early in the season. All the beds are planted but the plants are still small. Seems to me that I’ve spaced them too far. I’m tempted to fill in all that extra space.
 
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Larry fledged today!

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The oldest male from the Alewife nest fledged early this morning – before any of his flock of human admirers arrived. On his own he left the nest and by midday when I went by by to check on them, he was soaring the thermals! What a sight! His parents fly with him and shriek, “kireee!” They must be proud. Two more chicks are left in the nest and I bet they will fly soon.
 
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today’s planting list

 
 
Today I planted: 4 9-packs of lettuce4 9-packs of soybeans Since I couldn’t decide on only a couple types of lettuce, I just mixed and scattered seeds for 12 different varieties in the cells. Both of these will stay inside til the seedlings sprout. Then I’ll put the lettuce trays out in the sun. I am keeping the soybeans inside for a while this year as yet another attempt to prevent chipmunks from eating the seeds. Last two years I have found they will eat ALL the seeds I plant…
 
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more on the Alewife hawks

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My parents and I spent a couple hours today watching the beautiful red tail hawk chicks on their nest at the Fresh Pond Mall on Alewife Parkway in Cambridge. There are 3 young birds on the nest, two males and one female. The oldest, the female is 49 days old today. The youngest, a feisty male is 12 days younger. These young hawks have had nearly full time surveillance by a group of avid hawk-watchers who observe and share all sorts of details on these birds. The chicks have been…
 
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Brooklyn community garden fights back

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Here’s an email a fellow gardener, Victoria, sent me yesterday. Thought you might find this news item interesting in regard to community gardens….This community garden in Brooklyn fought back after being threatened with destruction and won! I don’t know if you know, but that’s just what happened to the original Belmont Victory gardens, which were located on Concord Ave. The Town wanted to build new athletic fields and relocated the gardens to the wilds of Rock Meadow, which they had just purchased from McLean Hospital, circa 1962. Brooklyn community garden…
 
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preparing bean and corn beds

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Last weekend I prepared the soil of my bean bed and my popcorn bed. Since beans don’t need added nutrients, I didn’t do anything to the soil of this bed, which is where my tomatoes grew last year. I hadn’t touched it since late last fall and it was thick with weeds. I loosened the soil a little with a fork and pulled all the weeds. Now its ready to go. I will plant bean seeds this week. Since corn needs a lot of nutrients, I did as much as…
 
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peas are almost ready!

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I planted 4 varieties of peas this spring. Probably too close together, but so far they’re OK. The nice thing is that they are blooming and forming peas in succession. I’m looking forward to different types of peas ripening at different times. I hadn’t realized this benefit of planting multiple types.
 
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today’s garden work

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It was very hot at 9am in the garden this morning (about 80*F, 27*C), but I got a bunch of seeds planted: Beans, Roma bush and Tavera filet beansDill, Boquet and MammothBorageRadishCarrots, Mokumand POPCORN!!! Golden baby I planted twice as much popcorn as last year. It sure was yummy!
 
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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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