new bluestone patio
Here’s the new patio I made from bluestone I salvaged from the trash. Just a little surface for my garden chair. For now, the stones are just laid out on top of the salt marsh hay. Later, I plan to pull back the hay, flatten the area and set the stones so they are flush with the dirt of the path.
solstice celebration at the community garden
HOT, HOT! But a fun get together of gardeners. A dozen of us shared garden dinner dishes under the apple tree in front of our community garden. The dishes included Catherine’s vegetarian casserole of brown rice, broccoli, onion flavored with dill, mint and chives from her garden, a salad of greens from Judy’s garden, Ali’s couscous croquettes, very fresh snap peas and arugula from Malachy’s garden and lots of rhubarb: Christina’s rhubarb crisp and my rhubarb pie. My rhubarb pie recipe is from the Epicurius website: Deep-Dish-Rhubarb-Pie-with-Crumb-Topping Instead of decorating…
the day before the solstice
We are going from cool to HOT!!! Today was a lovely 70 degree day. I was lucky to be able to spend the day in the garden. Though I forgot to bring my camera, I did photograph my harvest of garlic scapes, spinach and lettuce. Last night I found a couple of nice old chairs that a neighbor had left out for the trash pickup. I snagged them and brought them to the community garden. I left them for others and the first gardener in commented how nice and brought…
wet cool spring
This evening I heard on the TV news that we have had the coolest June in 30 years. What a surprising spring! It was so warm in March, then so cool May and June. The peas, lettuce and brassicas are doing great. But I am starting to worry about my warm weather crops. The tomato plants are small, waiting for their growth spurt. Basil is looking sad. Cukes are small, watermelons too. I’m glad I did not to plant other melons this year.
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!
weeds, volunteers or invasives?
Some plants reseed regularly in my garden: bachelor buttons, anise hyssop, Johnny jump ups, borage, dill, ruby streaks mustard, even tomatoes and squashes. This year a few pea plants sprouted in my compost pile and last year’s potatoes sprouted in the garlic bed. I suppose much of gardening is choosing what should grow where. I carefully moved the dill volunteers to their own patch, and the ruby mustard and Johnny jump ups to theirs. Most of the borage I let stay where it grows. The hyssop is aggressive and I…
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,…
welcome back gnome
My fishing gnome is back! I thought he fell into the pond and carefully checked the mucky bottom 4 feet down – no gnome. We found him while cleaning out the garage – in a storage basket, lost for 2 years.
sideyard garden in the cool wet spring
The beds are pretty well planted now with peas, beans, edamame and tomatoes. They are growing slow in the cool wet weather. The peas have pulled down their supports. I’ll look for another support next year. But they are just about ready to start picking. Inside the cold frame are eggplants, cucumbers, watermelon and herbs.
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
My garden this week
Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!
