Peas are up (and sidewalk getting replaced)

As you can see from the thin green line snaking up along the fence, the snow peas that we planted have sprouted and are doing quite well.  We've got nearly 180 feet of snow peas, ready to climb.  The weather has been damp and warm, which has suited them well so far.  A sunny weekend will help out a lot, too.

The soil is still pretty mounded pretty high, and we'll need to smooth it out before we can plant more seeds, but we'll need to wait another week or so, to make sure that we don't bury the snow pea seedlings. 

It turns out they're replacing the sidewalk at the bottom 20 feet of the garden.  So far, it looks like the workers have done a good job at not trashing this section of the garden, but it's hard to know how careful they can be when they have to pour the new concrete.   It seems likely we'll lose the snow peas in this section, but since they're hitting it early, hopefully we won't have any big disruptions like this for the rest of the season.

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.

Compost is Here

Our three yards of compost arrived today.  This is something we'll need to do, year after year, because the soil is fairly poor, and we take a lot out of it every season.  We'll be moving the compost onto the garden tomorrow morning (Saturday), from 10am-Noon.  We've just got one wheelbarrow, but plenty of shovels for turning the compost into the soil.

(I already got a head start on shoveling this morning, because part of the pile was blocking the driveway, so I had to move it.  Gave me a good excuse to get out in the sunshine.  I also had a chance to trim the trees by the garden a little, so we won't bump our heads on the branches, and we'll get a tiny bit more morning sun on those blocks.)

And here's how the garden looks in early April.  Not much now, but just wait a couple months.

First Work Day of 2011: Saturday, April 9, 10am-Noon

It's time for us get back to work at the 200 Foot Garden.  I just placed an order for three yards of compost, which should be here Friday morning.  On Saturday, we'll gather at the garden from 10am-noon, to spread that compost out along the garden and turn it into the ground, so the soil can be ready for planting.  (We may even plant some snow pea seeds.)

If you can make it, we can definitely use your help.

One other thing to consider--we do need help in paying for the garden this year.  We received a generous donation from the management at 99 Kent Street, as well as from some other neighbors, which will cover the cost of the seeds and some of the supplies.  But the compost delivery will cost about $150, and we'll spend another $70-$85 this season on hoses and tools.  If you feel like making a donation, look at the right hand column of this blog--there's a "donate" button there that allows people to contribute.  Every little bit helps.

I hope we'll see some of you this Saturday.  Thanks very much for your support of the garden in the past.  We've got lots of exciting plantings coming up soon.

The seed orders have arrived, so I'm hoping to get some of those started in trays this weekend, and then we'll start looking for volunteers with sunny windows to help plant-sit them until they're ready to go in the ground.

Getting started on 2011

Okay, well, it's almost April.  And the garden doesn't look like this anymore (thank goodness).  We had a very snowy winter here in Boston, with almost 80 inches of snow, almost double our normal amount.  It's still very much chilly and blustery March here, but we've had touches of warm weather, and the crocuses are already up and the daffodils are just waiting for a few warm days to really let loose.

I'm a little slow in getting started this year, for our third season at the 200 Foot Garden, mostly because I've been busy with other various projects.  I don't know if we'll have use of the greenhouse this season--the new property manager at 99 Kent is checking out the possibilities of installing a fan.  Without a proper fan, the greenhouse is just too hot to be practical.  My guess is that we won't have it for this season, but maybe next year.

In the spirit of spring, I ordered a whole bunch of seeds for the garden on Saturday, from High Mowing and Victory Seeds.  Here's what we've got coming:

Tendergreen Mustard Greens
Vates Collards
Moon and Stars Watermelon
Tatume Summer Squash
Toma Verda Tomatillo
Mountain Princess Tomato
Moskovich Tomato
Rose de Berne Tomato
Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato
Yellow Perfection Tomato
Lemon Cucumber
Green Finger Cucumber
National Pickling Cucumber
Marketmore 76 Cucumber
Mammoth Melting Snow Pea
Genovese Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Golden Chard
Lacinato Dinosaur Kale
Early Jalepeno Pepper
Jupiter Pepper

Twenty-two different seeds.  Not bad for a long, narrow little garden.  We're actually not growing as many types of vegetables as last year--we're not going to grow pole beans or eggplant this year.  The Rainbow Chard didn't do so well, so we'll just do Golden.  And no standard kale, just dinosaur.

I love that this garden lets me experiment with new varieties.  All the tomatoes are new to me, as are the peppers.  I don't know how the melons will do, but we'll give it a shot.

Once the peas arrive, I'll put the word out to our volunteers (come join us!) and we'll plant snow peas along the fence.  They like the cool weather, and they'll be finished by the time the tomatoes are ready to go in the ground.


I still have a bunch of planning yet to do--need to order compost, rustle up some more donations (after spending $85 on seeds), and get volunteers lined up.  We're going to try a different watering system this year, too.

So much ahead, but that's the fun of it.  The good news is, with the seeds ordered, we're officially started.

Final work day of 2010

On Saturday, we got a little bit of sun and a few hours of slightly warmer weather for our last work day.  Actually, our work day (for me, Nathan, and Tracy) only lasted about 45 minutes, because by now most of the remaining plants were completely dried out and there weren't too many leaves to collect (I imagine they blew away). 

The really good news was that we actually harvested a few greens from the garden, for a final harvest.  We were able to pick a handful of chard leaves, and a couple dinosaur kale leaves.  There were two tomatillos still buried in the husks of their bushes, too. We left the green plants, the chard and kale, to see how much longer they'll stay alive.

Here is Nathan picking a little chard (it probably finally froze last night):

and Tracy with the wagon and bags of leaves (and Noah with his scooter).  It all looks so brown and bare now, but we'll have it plenty green by May/June.

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!)