good work day

We had a good work day at the garden this evening.  Keff, Yvonne, Tracy, and our daughter, Kira, were all there.  Lots of hands helps spread the work around nicely.   We did some weeding, watering, and I spent more time tying up tomato branches and trimming tomato plant leaves off the ground (we want to avoid blight).

The garden looks truly amazing.  All the plants are vigorous at the moment.  The squash and the cucumbers are reaching up towards the top of the fence.  We've had a little bit of powdery mildew, but not too bad, and some blossom end rot, so we put down some crushed egg shells around the tomato plants. 

I think people have already picked the first tatume squash and cucumber.  I had my eye one one of each yesterday, and today they were gone.  Neither was quite ripe--I'm tempted to put up a sign that says "please don't pick the cucumbers until they're round at the bottom."  The cucumbers are blooming like mad--if a good fraction of them set fruit, there will be plenty of cukes to go around.

The mustard is enormous.  I'm talking to a group of senior citizens at the 99 Kent Street apartments tomorrow, so I think I'll pick some mustard greens and bring them with me to hand out.  I wish I was going to have more to give out, but the big stuff isn't quite ready yet.  I think we've got at least one more week until the tomatoes are ripe.  The good news is that there are easily more than 100 tomatoes on the vines right now, and with 7 cherry tomato plants there will be lots of snacks for passersby.

No Work Day Today (but we'll be back on July 5

Due to a number of scheduling conflicts, we won't have a 200 Foot Garden work day today, but we'll be back on our regular Tuesday schedule next week on July 5.

There are lots of snow peas on the fence, so if you're in the neighborhood, make sure you get some while they're still around.  (We'll need to start taking some of the vines down over the next few weeks, to make room for cucumbers and squash vines.)

(We're still looking for folks interested in watering on a weekend watering team.  If you're interested, please e-mail me.)

Hope to see you next week!

Patrick

good stuff

We had a great work day yesterday.  The weather was perfect and the work went quickly, with Keff, Nathan, Tracy, Noah, and me all hard at work.  We weeded, watered, planted a couple tomatoes and marigolds, and we also thinned out the chard, kale, and mustard greens.  The mustard greens sprouted really well, and we picked a big bag that we split up between us.  I had them in a salad for dinner tonight, and they were delicious.  Incredibly tender and mild, and taste just like the start of summer to me.  Noah picked more than 200 snow pea pods, and I'm sure between altogether we picked well over a pound.  We brought more than half a pound home with us, and with the rain we're getting, there will be plenty more (as long as we keep them picked) on the vines soon.  The pea plants are reaching high above the top of the fence, as tall as my head now.

next work day is Tuesday, June 21

Just a quick post to say that our first "regular" work day will be tomorrow, Tuesday, June 21, at 6:30 pm.  So if you're in Brookline and want to get your hands dirty in the garden, come on down to 99 Kent Street and help us out for a little while.  We'll be doing some weeding, planting of marigolds, watering, and picking some snow peas (which are now about 4 feet tall!).

Ground Ready to Go (and watch for peas)

We had good weather for our first workday of 2011 on Saturday.  Tracy, Kira, Noah, and I were joined by Nathan and Keff to help move the three yards of compost to the garden and dig it into the soil.  Sarah joined us to help plant snow peas. 

(a family that shovels together, sticks together, right?)


We only had one wheelbarrow and three shovels, so it took a while.  Keff brought down a trash can that we could load on the back of his electric wheelchair, to carry additional compost.

We all noticed that the soil has greatly improved since we started gardening the site in 2009.  I remember when we turned it over for the very first time and there were almost no earthworms.  On Saturday, we saw plenty of worms (and lots of grubs, too, for some reason).

Once we got the soil worked, Nathan, Sarah, and I (plus a two-year-old girl who stopped to help) planted half a pound of snow pea seeds--it was just enough to seed the entire fence line, all 180 feet of it.  If they all come up, we'll have a serious crop.  I think it'll look really cool.  I wonder how long it'll take before they sprout?

Plenty of people stopped by to say how glad they were to see the garden back again.  Some had questions and were curious about the project.  (A few had critiques, as well.)   I hope we'll see some of them on future workdays.  Lots of folks are looking forward to a productive harvest this year.

Last work day of 2010, Saturday, December 4 (and good news for 2011)

I know it's December, which is not exactly a month that conjures thoughts of gardening, but every garden needs a little bit of tending before winter truly descends.  Tomorrow (Saturday) from 11am - noon, we'll be at the garden, pulling out old plants and bagging leaves.  It shouldn't take us very long, but an extra hand or two will make it go even faster.

As some of you know, the Village at Brookline, which owns the property on which the 200 Foot Garden sits, got a new property manager, Joe, this fall.  I met with him earlier this week, and he's fully supportive of the project continuing.  So the garden will continue to grow for at least another year.  The roof on the greenhouse has already been repaired, and Joe is checking into the possibility of installing a ventilation fan that would make it possible for us to more effectively use the greenhouse in the spring (without a new fan, the greenhouse is actually not usable for us anymore). 

Thanks to all the folks who have supported and helped the garden this year.  This winter will offer us some chance to reflect on what changes to make for next year and to start studying seed catalogs when they start to arrive in the new year.  I hope to see some of you tomorrow and very much look forward to working with you next spring when it'll be time to start the seeds for the third year of the 200 Foot Garden.

(P.S.  Our main source of funding for seeds and fertilizer is our own pockets.  If you want to help us pay for seeds for next year's garden, you can hit the donate button on the right.  Every little bit helps.  Thanks!)

Word Day today

We have a work day this evening at 6:30 pm at the garden (99 Kent Street).  Last week, we had a great turnout with about a dozen people (half of them children).  All those extra hands made the watering go fast.  The weather has been tough--so hot and dry--but the plants are still growing strong.  Like a lot of vegetable gardens, we're fighting powdery mildew and had to take out some of the cucumber plants.  With any luck, it won't get too bad.

We'll be picking cucumbers, green beans, and maybe some tomatoes (though tomatoes don't last long).

Another good workday

On Wednesday, we had another productive work day at the garden.  Jeff and I were there (along with my son, Noah) to water and feed the plants.  We were joined by a Carleen, a neighbor on her way home from work, who pitched in and helped me get worm tea on the plants and haul water, while Jeff tied up the cucumbers to the fence to keep them off the peppers.  One of the things I like most about the 200 Foot Garden is chatting with neighbors and having people just jump in and help.

We picked a few beans, but not many.  The cucumbers are looking good, as are the squash.  If we get enough pollinators in, I think we could have quite a crop.

Slightly Wet Work Day

Despite the drizzle this evening, Jeff and I put in some time for our regular work day at the garden.  Today our big focus was on tying up tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash that were flopping over on the short front row of peppers and eggplants and smothering them.  But some twine will help train everything back up to the fence.  And the tomatoes are looking great--nice thick stems, lots of leaves and fruit.  It should be an excellent harvest in a few weeks.

Speaking of harvest, we did pick two perfectly lovely lemon apple cucumbers.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Jeff kept one and we gave another away to a man who gardens at the local Korean church--he'd never seen a lemon apple cucumber before, but we assured him it really was a cucumber (he was skeptical).  We also found one red cherry tomato, and picked a few handfuls of beans.  The beans don't get a lot of sun (they're on shady fence blocks), which is probably suppressing the harvest.

The rain over the past few days has really been a boon for the garden.  The leaves on the plants are green and huge.  The eggplants look especially promising.  We fed some of the plants with my high-powered worm tea, though the tea had been sitting without aeration for all of today, and you could smell that it was beginning to ferment, sort of like a mead or worm beer (okay, that's a little gross, I know, but I'm hoping the plants will love it).  It's been nice to have a break from watering, but the 10-day forecast shows lots of hot, sunny days ahead, so it'll be time to get the watering cans back out soon.

join us for planting this Saturday, from 9:30 am to 11:30am

On Saturday, from 9:30-11:30 am, we'll be planting seedlings at the garden.  We can definitely use help, if you're available.  We'll have snacks, too--When Pigs Fly Bakery is donating some loaves of bread to keep our strength up.  (and it's very yummy stuff!).

Stop and by, we'd love to see you.  Bring a trowel if you have one.

Great Work Day Monday

Thanks to everyone who showed up to work on Monday for our last-minute digging session.  Nathan, Sarah, Benjamin, Yvonne, Allison, and two BU students, Liz and Amanda, all helped spread compost and turn over the soil one last time.  Tracy worked hard up in the greenhouse taking inventory and replacing seedlings that had died (from the heat) and planting seeds that had gotten missed in the planting frenzy.

In addition, we were able to get the top row of vent windows open on the greenhouse.  That should make a huge difference for temperature control.  The only downside is that I have to get up on the ladder to open it, manually, every sunny morning, and get up there again to close it every night.

I'll have more photos soon.  The seedling mostly look great, though the heat has been tough on them.  Next weeks should give them some gentler, steadier growing conditions.  Keff and Jeff and Allison have been keeping a close eye on the plants and watching the temps and trying to keep everything alive.

Last minute workday today

We've been waiting for a stretch of dry weather to put some finishing touches on the soil of the 200 Foot Garden.  Yesterday, I was able to spread out some lime on the garden, to balance the pH a bit.  Now we need to spread out the rest of the compost (since the extension isn't going to happen) and then dig it and the lime into the soil.  We need to get this done soon, so that we can get the mulch on (and suppress weeds) and get the peas planted.

So, we're going to have quick workday today, from 5:30pm-7pm.  I know the announcement is last minute, but if any of you have the time and want to get a little after work time in the sun and fresh air, I hope you'll stop by.  (Bring a shovel if you have one.)

Thanks!  I hope to see some of you there.  (We can show you the seedlings in the greenhouse, too.)

Nice Pics in the Brookline TAB

The front page of the Brookline TAB featured a very nice photo of Nathan, Tracy, and Dorothy, from last weekend's workday.  There are other photos, too, on the Wicked Local Photo Gallery site.

Successful Work Day--the compost is in

On Saturday we had our first work day of 2010.  From 8:30-10:30 our small crew worked hard at moving and spreading compost across the length of the garden.  Besides me, Tracy, and Noah, we also  were joined by Nathan, Dorothy, and Alexis.  Not only did we get the compost spread, but we even got it all turned into the soil.  The weather was fabulous--ideal for getting some exercise and talking with neighbors.

We still need to find some lime to spread out before getting a load of mulch put on.  We're hoping to do a little planting of seeds in the greenhouse this weekend--just confirming a few details first.

This is what it looked like before we started:

Here's Noah getting started loading the wheelbarrow, while I talk to Nathan and Dorothy about a plan.

Tracy and Dorothy worked at raking off the old mulch before we could put on the new compost.

Nathan dumps yet another wheelbarrow load of compost:

It's hard to see, but there are a few worms poking their heads up here, as we're turning over the soil.  In almost every shovel I turned over, I saw at least a worm or two.  This is a marked difference from last year--when we started the garden there were no worms--the soil seemed almost dead.  We've managed to do something right with the soil.

And finally, the compost was all turned in.  Not much to see yet, but it's clean and full of potential.

Work Day on Sunday, October 25

We're planning to have a work day on Sunday, October 25, starting at 11am. It'll be time to clean up most of the vines from the fence and rake up leaves and pick up trash. Shouldn't be too tough. There's a chance we might have some bags of compost to add to the soil, but I'm not sure we'll have the resources to get them in time.

If you're in Brookline and want to meet some fellow gardeners and help with the project (and chat), please come on by. (99 Kent Street)

Work Night and Mystery Manure

Last night we had a brief work sessions. Besides me, we had Luralee, Jose Pablo, Yvonne, and Ilana. Thanks very much to all of them for helping weed and water. We ran out of daylight, so we didn't get to finish all of the weeding, but we got off to a good start.

There were also three half-full 40lb bags of composted cow manure waiting for us. I'm not sure who they were from, but thanks! I laid the organic matter down as top dressing at the start and end of the garden, where the plants are having the most trouble. We finally got about 15 minutes of heavy rain today, so that'll help work the nutrients into the soil (and give us all a day off from watering).

Work Night Tonight--7pm

Tonight (Wednesday) we're meeting at 7pm to weed and water as a group. Anyone interested is welcome to show up. I think with even a small core of volunteers, it'll go quickly.

With the current heat wave, we've been watering at least once a day, and that seems to have helped. The heat is supposed to last for a few more days. Even tonight at 7pm, it'll still be hot. Still, as long as they're not drying out, the plants are happy with the heat.

Small Work Day

We did just a little bit of work this morning--weeding, staking tomatoes, and replacing damaged signs. There were five of us--me, Tracy, Yvonne, Ilana, and Lura Lee, which was plenty of hands for the work that needed to be done. Next year, if we grow a lot more plants, or we extend the garden (all the way to the T would be interesting, and would make for a VERY long garden, with lots of different challenges), we'll need more people. But for now, a few hands at a time does great.

(Noah, with Yvonne and Ilana pulling weeds, and Tracy fixing signs.)

mini-work day on Sunday 10 a.m.

We're going to have a mini-work day tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 a.m. If you want to help out or just want to talk to us about plans for the garden, please come on by.

There won't be much to do--a tiny of bit of weeding, maybe some watering, lots of admiring seedlings and plants, put new signs up, and chat. I'm sure we'll be there less than an hour.

Walked by the garden at lunchtime today everything looked good. A couple new lemon apple cucumber seeds have sprouted. I don't think any of the Tatume squash are up yet, but I'm not sure.