summer flowers

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The pure white flower of the birdhouse gourd surprised me. So bright and ruffled! The vine of this plant has grown to the top of my 5 foot fence. I am looking forward to the fruit. Another summer beauty is the hemerocallis or day lilies. These grow semi-wild in our community gardens and I have left several along my garden edge. A nearby gardener has over 50 varieties planted in his garden and new ones open daily. The small purple-blue flowers are anise hyssop that I grew from seed this…
 
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cheers! the cukes are here!

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My first cucumbers are ready for harvest! This is a variety called Rocky. A very nice slicing cucumber. Also nice in a summer martini. I hesitated to post this photo of my hand. It is too brown this year. And my nails are dirty and ragged. One of the consequences of gardening I suppose. In any case, cheers! I hope you too are enjoying a good summer harvest. Topic: martini! harvests from my vegetable gardens
 
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tomatoes

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Lots of green tomatoes! No red ones yet, but it won’t be long now. The Big Beef and Purple Calabrese varieties are doing especially well in my garden. I have always used a tepee structure in the past for my tomato plants, but in my new sunnier garden, I think a more traditional support stucture would give the plants more room. The plants are bigger and fuller than usual in my new garden. So, my husband has started to move the poles and make a box-like structure for the plants.…
 
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garden lock

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Well, furry critters are one reason for the fence. There also seem to be snitches who can open my bar pull and use glass shards to cut off squashes. Oh well. These things are to be expected. Other gardeners here have lots of stories. I just thought I’d wait with the lock until I needed it. My sister noticed that two or three zucchinis disappeared yesterday, so I added a little pad lock to the gate. Just another aspect of community gardening.
 
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gardens after vacation

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I have enjoyed exploring my gardens after my absence. I was away about a week. Everything has grown. I had a list of tasks to catch up on: the tomatoes needed tying, potatoes and summer squashes needed fences, spring lettuce needed pulling, and fall lettuce needs planting. The pole beans needed stakes and a sun flower stem needed a support. Of course, the weeds needed pulling and the garden watering. And then there were so many photos that needed taking, flowers to admire, squash and cukes to harvest, and just…
 
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fava beans are almost ripe

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I will be picking these soon. They are looking about ready to me. They should grow to 5-8 inches and have full green pods. My sister recommends popping them out of the shell and sauteeing them in butter and olive oil. I also have a grill recipe to try. Vicia fabaFabaceae
 
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pollinators

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I was searching for pollinators today. Bees, flies, wasps, etc. I even saw a hummingbird (though no photo). I saw lots of wild bees: green metallics, wool carders and bumble bees. Also lots of small flies. A few wasps. Only ONE honeybee. This one was in my parents yard, which is within a mile of a bee keeper. I was pleased to find lots of pollinators at my home garden, my community plot and my parents yard. Even though there were very few honeybees. The bees spent most of their…
 
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zucchini leaves

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I was surprised at how pretty my zucchini leaves are. They have a mottled silver gray pattern that is very bright on the mature leaves. Someone asked if this is mildew. No. Its a natural pattern on healthy zucchini leaves. Different cultivars have different shaped leaves and different amounts of silver.
 
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me in the garden

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My sister got hold of my camera and took photos of me and Skippy. Those are raindrops on my shirt. We had a few more of our spectacular downpours today. Why not show our CA visitors what New England weather is like! My sister and I got soaked in the garden. photos of Kathy
 
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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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