presentation preparation

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Well, I’m trying to figure out what a group of gardeners would want to hear me talk about tomorrow morning. I’m talking at 10 am at the Squirrel Brand Community Garden Spring Kickoff in Cambridge. The weather’s going to be drizzly, so I don’t expect too big a group (my parents are coming, so there will be at least 2 people). Let’s see, I should come up with an outline …. Title:“The On-Line Community of Gardening: Garden Blogging”
 
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aerial view

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Our weather has turned into beautiful springtime the past few days. Temps only went down to 60F last night and the baby tomato plants (in pots still) stayed outside. Everything is growing nicely. I am starting to think that we may not get any more frosts – in my sheltered home garden at least. Yesterday I went ahead and planted sunflower seeds outside. I think bean seeds can go in soon too. Maybe the squash and tomato plants can be transplanted soon! Spring comes so fast once it starts! I’ve…
 
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cucumber sprouts

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Its a good week for planting squash-type seeds indoors in pots. Seeds like cukes, squashs, pumpkins and watermelons (curcurbits)… Maybe the weather will be warm enough to plant them outside next week! We’ll see. Here’s what I have growing inside now: Sowed April 21:Watermelon (1 3-pack), sprouted April 29 (8 days)Zucchini, Caserta (1 3-pack), no sprouts yet 🙁Zucchini, Cashflow (1 3-pack), sprouted April 25 (6 days)Summer squash, Sunburst (1 3-pack), sprouted April 30 (9 days)Summer squash, Zephyr (1 3-pack), sprouted April 29 (8 days)Summer squash, Starship pattypan (1 3-pack), sprouted…
 
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transplanted fava beans

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This weekend my sister helped me transplant some fava bean sprouts to my community garden plot. At last there are green plants in my plot! I also have a nice rhubarb plant starting to sprout in the corner. I sowed the fava beans in my home garden – half on March 18 and half on April 11, using a fava bean inoculant. I hope they will do better for me this year than last year. Last spring, I planted them in my home garden without inoculant and they were completely…
 
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perfect weather for peas

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Its perfect weather for the peas – rainy and cool. I ended up with an whole bed full of sprouts. There are four types: “Pisello nano”: A dwarf plant about 1 foot tall (70 days). Medium sized pods of about 6 green peas per pod. These did well in my garden last year. “Tall telephone (Alderman)”: A new variety of green pea I’m trying this year. 6 ft tall with very high yields. Pods are late and are produced over a long cropping period. The pods are large (up to…
 
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early lettuce

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I have two varieties of lettuce outside in my home garden. The red one is Marvel of the Four Seasons (Merville de Four Seasons), the green one is escarole Bionda A Cuore Pieno. I sowed the seeds for these indoors back in early March and transplanted them outside on April 11. This year, I seeded my lettuce pretty dense in little flats, then transplanted them. (A flat that needs to be transplanted ASAP is on the lower right.) This way I’ll get heads of lettuce, I hope. Last year I…
 
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tomato seedlings

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They’re small, but I have lots of varieties. And they are growing well. I bring the tomatoes outside for extra light when the temperature is above 50 F. Otherwise, they are on a window sill. Solanum lycopersicum
 
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flying squirrel

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This is not really a vegetable gardening topic, but I wanted to share these fantastic photos my dad took of the current occupant of the bird house in his backyard. The critter is a northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus). Very cute! She has a whole family in a house that wrens usually use. garden birds (Hortus Aves)
 
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garden blogging presentation

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For the first time I will do a presentation on garden blogging! I do scientific presentations regularly, but now a group has invited me to speak about my hobby. The event is the Squirrel Brand Community Garden Spring Kickoff. Its on Saturday, May 10, 10-4:15, Squirrel Brand Community Garden, between Boardman and Broadway streets in Cambridge MA. (Here’s their discussion board.) Stop by if you’re in the area! My talk is at 10 am.
 
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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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