tomato taste test soon!

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I have 7 varieties of tomatoes on my counter now! New Girl, Orange Blossom, Big Beef, Sudduth strain Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter and Sun Gold. I’ll check for more tomorrow and then we’ll have a serious taste test. Any bets on the winner? The Mortgage Lifter (a gift from Ohio Heirloom seeds) sure is good lookin’.
 
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edible front yards

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I got an email I thought was interesting: someone is looking for front yard garden stories for a book. I love to see vegetable gardens in the front yard! For this new edition of the book (Metropolis Books, 2008) we are looking for more reports from across the country from those that have decided to engage in “full frontal gardening”. Have you replaced the lawn in front of your house or apartment building with a completely edible garden? We will be selecting one garden story from each zone, with each…
 
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mishapen radish

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Last year I gad such beautiful radish. This year I over did it with the manure and have lots of funky root vegetables.
 
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vacation

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We’ve been on vacation. Nothing like a couple days in the back woods of the White Mountains, NH! This is Dry River viewed from our hike up the Dry River Trail heading toward the south side of Mount Washington and the presidential range – near Crawford Notch. We only hiked a few miles on the trail. But we did a lot of swimming – especially Skippy. A true water dog! Back to the vegetable garden tomorrow.
 
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tomato photos

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Giant Belgium Orange Blossom and Big Beef Cherokee Purple and New Girl Sungold and Brandywine Suddoth’s StrainHillbilly Mortgage Lifter and San Marzano Purple Calabash Here’s a photo of each of the varieties of tomatoes I have growing now. One plant of each. I have 5 plants left (of 16 planted) at my community plot and 8 (of 8) at home.
 
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melons and martinis

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Charantais melonCrane melon and Sugar Baby watermelonAnne Arundale melon plant under the corn stalks My melon plants are looking really scrawny still. The cool, wet weather has not been good for them. They’ve ended up buried beneath tall corn or rampant squashes. But this week is finally perfect melon weather – 90*F and full sun. Fruit is setting. But it seems late to me and I’m wondering if any will have time to ripen. The real farmers have plenty of melons already. I had a very nice melon from Picadilly…
 
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this week’s harvests

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I pulled a bunch of beets this week: Chiogga, Lutz and White Detroit. Also carrots: Oxheart, Mokum and Bolero (a lot of funky shapes!). And my onions grown from sets: variety is Stuttgarter. Onions will stay in the garden 3 or 4 days to dry for storage. Its a good time with several days of dry weather ahead.
 
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bees in flight – busy pollinating my vegetables!

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(BugGuide ID request for this bee) I heard a nice story on NPR the other day (The Buzz On Bees: Coping With Vanishing Colonies, August 7, 2009). Mostly about urban bees. I didn’t know there are 227 bee species in New York City – all year-round residents. And 4,000 across the US. Its wonderful to think of such biodiversity in backyards. Unfortunately, bee numbers are still declining. “There’s been an estimated … 36 percent decline .. since last year.” I was interested in the description of a recent study. So…
 
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grilled beets

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The bottom line is – fantastic! My husband invented this one. My Lutz beets, his grilling. It was an experiment. I’ve looked on-line for grilled beet recipes. They suggest grilling whole in foil, or par boiling, or marinating slices 30 min then grilling. We like to do quick food prep: very fresh vegetables – very quick grilling. My husband make really nice grilled potatoes, carrots, fennel, onions, squash, etc. He slices about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, brushes with olive oil and adds herbs and/or spices while cooking. Why not…
 
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winter squashes

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Jarrahdale pumpkin (Botanical Interests) Waltham Butternut and Baby Pam Pumpkin This year I’m growing 3 types of pumpkins: Baby Pam, Big Rock and Jarrahdale. Also two winter squashes: Butternut and Lakota. I have lots of Butternuts so far! Maybe 8 or 10! Very exciting. Also several Baby Pan Pumpkins. The big squashes are just starting to bloom and set fruit. I have a couple Jarrahdales that have set fruit. I’m keeping an eye out for Big Rocks and Lakotas. I planted too many big squashes for my little plot. The…
 
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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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