Pea Pod Plants Looking Good

 

Well, it has taken 2 months to reach this stage. Not surprising given the weather, but the plants look nice and sturdy and healthy. They are now about 18" tall. Can't wait to see those little white flowers signalling the eventual emergence of the pods.

Time to Plant Peas/Pea Pods

I love pea pods and my nephew, Christian,  reminded me that we can eat the greens, too. Good way to thin the bed when the plants emerge and are too close together. Start the seeds indoors in a flat-bottomed container . Line the container with a paper towel, folded as needed for the space. Sprinkle with some seeds. Add some water, just enough to moisten, not to drown. 

 You will notice that the seeds "plump up" in a day. 

After 3 or 4 days they will start to sprout a bit.

Time to plant outdoors.

Be attentive to watering if it doesn't rain. Have fun!

'Tis the Season

       Sunny day. Brisk, clear.  
       Time to start putting the garden on paper.
I stopped in to Sam Bridge's Nursery on North St. in Greenwich  today and asked if they had any seeds leftover from last year. They generously offer their "old" but perfectly good seeds to schools for on site gardens. Ask your own local garden centers for their seeds. The germination rate may be slightly lower, but that's not really a problem. We always have more seeds than we have land on which to plant.
My objective this year is to go totally organic and to encourage others to do the same. I love that they had Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa, a beautiful orange milkweed. Snapped that up. Another objective is to become more butterfly and bee friendly.  Enjoy the process.

How Does My Garden Grow

Late August. What does your garden look like? Some things have faded, some are still producing, some have yet to fulfill their destiny. And- there's still time to have another round of cool season crops. Let's concentrate on those.

After 7 days- lettuce, radishes, arugula, kale

We can plant lettuces again, arugula, kale, chards, radishes, cilantro, parsley... Think early spring, yes, the same crops can go in now. We, in Connecticut, should have at least 8 wks of growing season left. Given the crazy summer, we might even have more time. It seems like we are a month behind all year long. However, be mindful of shorter periods of light. That will affect plant growth. In any case, we can couple garden clean-up with additional sowing to lead us gently out of the season and into our prep for next year. Stay connected to the earth. It keeps on giving.

Chinese red long beans- great fun!

Rainbow Chard

The Garden Doesn't Stop Until We Do!

We continue to enjoy produce from our summer garden: green beans, tomatoes (cherry and slicing), an occasional cucumber. The garlic has been harvested and will soon be planted for next year's crop. Potatoes have been dug and distributed. Strawberries- done but so many runners to share. Need a few strawberry plants?  Zucchini is finished.  Sage is thriving and will be shared at Thanksgiving. Kale is still producing and we'll let it stay over

the winter. Fun to see what peeks out after the snow melts.
Time now to assess what went well, what can be improved, what needs to be repaired. Sanitation is key to a healthy garden- good project for early fall weather while we can still enjoy being outdoors.

Lettuce Challenge 2017- Finale

Today was the day. The winners were announced and heralded at a special ceremony at the Stamford Government Center. The Mayor presented the awards - a blue ribbon to Tyler Johnson for Best in Show. Lots of beaming faces - students and parents and teachers- all pleased by the lovely looking butter crunch lettuce plants. Now the plants can go back into the school vegetable gardens to grow into full heads and eventually be part of a summer salad. Many thanks to the members of The Stamford Garden Club for all of their work in organizing and funding this effort.

Lettuce Challenge 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Lettuce Challenge 2017

Once again, through the generosity of The Stamford Garden Club,  the Stamford schools have been invited to participate in the annual Lettuce Challenge. Each year involved students and teachers receive the tiny plugs and necessary materials to start the project. Each class decides on the method of nurturing their plugs. Some are grown under gro-lights indoors,some are boldly placed outside for nature to do her thing. Photos are from one school that believes in letting nature guide the process. On June 1st, Mayor David Martin will award the winners their blue ribbons and all will be able to bring home their entries to be planted in the school vegetable garden or their home garden. The carefully nurtured plants will grow into full heads of butter crunch lettuce to be enjoyed by all. Entries may be viewed at the Government Center lobby from Tuesday, May 30-Thursday, June 1st.

Snow White Oyster Mushrooms

What a thrill to glance at the "mushroom logs" and discover this gigantic oyster mushroom! Thanks to a "mushroom log" workshop conducted by Stephen Conaway of the Greenwich Land Trust on Feb. 27th, 2016, our group is now enjoying oyster mushrooms and shitakes as well. There's no end to the exciting experiences one can have in the garden. 

Time to start thinking about putting the garden "to bed" for the upcoming winter months. But, first, do plant your garlic cloves soon so you can enjoy your harvest next summer.

Garden in Full Glory

 

Since May, Nancy Juarez' garden project has zoomed along. But why explain all the details. The photos should give you a sense of what she has accomplished in 3 months: built raised beds, filled with soil and planted, added wood chips to pathways, added supports for vertical gardening,  fenced in the area, planted flowers in the border, and is now harvesting lots of vegetables and sharing with everyone who crosses her path. BRAVA!

What Should I Do as a Senior Project?

Here's what a student at Westhill HS in Stamford, CT decided to do. Nancy Juarez wanted to create a vegetable garden for the school community, something that she could "give" to her school as a parting gift. So she and her Dad built 9 large raised beds- about 4' by 13' by 10" deep. She  got rich soil to fill them, black fabric mulch to prevent weeds between the beds, and lots of wood chips to cover the fabric. Then she framed in the whole area to prevent the wood chips from spilling out onto the adjacent grass and road surfaces and to provide an area for a flower border as well. Next step: planting the beds- the fun part and the most creative element yet. Kudos to a young woman with great heart and great energy. What an honor to know her. Let's keep growing.

Seeds and Seeds and More Seeds

What would you do if someone said, "Give Designs by Lee a call. They have seeds left over from last year and are happy to give them to you to distribute to the schools' vegetable gardens." YES! I went over to the nursery - different feeling at this time of year- expecting to be given a small basket of seed packets. What I was offered was the equivalent of a full bushel.  I asked if they were to be shared with anyone else. "No, they're for you." Merci Beaucoup! How wonderful to know that others think of our school project and let us enjoy their kindness and generosity. I spent about 3 hours sorting, alphabetizing, and bagging them up for distribution. My dining room table is bursting with seeds. What a happy feeling!
Bottom Line: ask your local nurseries if they have leftover seeds. They can't sell them but most seeds will be viable for much longer than the year stamped on the packet.
Snow outside. Seeds on the table. Spring will come. Life is good!

Birds in Winter

From the Bartlett Arboretum's weekly newsletter, I am happy to share the following:

Over Wintering Birds Food is scare for all wildlife in winter. Many species depend upon supplements from their human hosts. Finding bird feeders that only feed birds is difficult as their competitors, squirrels and chipmunks are creative foragers.  Bartlett Arboretum friends, Designs by Lee, Keough's Hardware and Wild Birds Unlimited in Bedford & Darien offer bird feeders that are less likely to become squirrel feeders. Birds need high protein foods in the winter to help maintain their body temperatures. Look for suet mixes and feeds that contain nuts.  Shell free feed is available if you are adverse to the mess. Providing shelter also give the birds in your garden a better chance of surviving winter. Cleaning out the birdhouses in your garden will keep them disease free while providing an attractive home for overwintering birds.  Fall is the perfect time to clean.   If you are interested in learning how to clean your birdhouses, please click here: Birdhouse

Ready for Spring Planting

Are you ready?
Here are a few photos to illustrate how good basic design will enhance your garden's appearance and productivity. This beautiful garden is at Davenport Ridge ES in Stamford,CT. Beds for early vegetables, for herbs, edible flowers, and more flowers for their beauty and fun. Sunflowers anyone?
Notice the beds of varying shapes and heights and angles. And birdhouses to bring in nature and additional visual appeal and the "ooh" factor. 
Time to: clean-up, amend the soil, set out the first tender plants or seeds: peas, lettuces, radishes, carrots, chards,  etc. Let's get growing!  'Tis the season.

Winter Door Decoration

An easy, fun, and beautiful activity for children and adults, too - clusters of evergreen branches, secured tightly with a rubber band, then with green wire. Create a loop with the wire so as to hang it easily on an outside door. We added our own wired ribbon bows, some pine cones we had gathered and voilà -  a lovely door decoration created during our middle school Garden Club activity. You can use any kind of evergreen as well as dried stems from perennials like artemesia and sea grasses. Be whimsical. 'tis the season.

How to Get Vegetables to an Urban Population

Just came across DC Greens. How to get vegetables to an urban population- compliments of Lauren Shweder Biel.
Produce Plus
Over the summer months, DC Greens worked with the Department of Health to implement their Produce Plus program. Operating with municipal funding, Produce Plus allows any DC resident on Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, and other federal benefit programs to get $10 in market dollars per week to purchase produce at the city’s farmers markets. The demand for this program was astonishing. Markets across the city saw lines around the block on a weekly basis!

DC Greens spent the fall analyzing the data for the program, and we are thrilled to report that $167,000 went out to help low-income customers buy local produce. In addition, the program brought new customers to markets, resulting in a city-wide increase in SNAP (food stamp) purchases at farmers’ markets. We are so proud of the city for investing in nutrition incentives at farmers' markets, and thrilled that the program was met with unequivocal demand from the customers who need it the most.

Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program
This week marks the end of our 2014 Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program season.  For the past six months, patients at four Unity Clinics across the city have received prescriptions from their doctors to redeem for free produce at any of 40 farmers markets across the city. This season, 78 patients and their 173 family members benefited from the program, which DC Greens runs in partnership with the Department of Health and Wholesome Wave. We’ll be analyzing the health data in the coming months, but from our initial review we expect the same strong results that we’ve seen in past years, with drops in Body Mass Index (BMI) and increases in well-patient visits among patients at high-risk for obesity related chronic illnesses.

Planting Now for a Fall Harvest

An article perfectly timed to get us thinking about succession planting. Try it, you'll love it. In fact, if you never got around to planting a summer garden, now's your chance. It's always time to garden.  Picture lettuces, beets, broccoli, kale, chards, cabbage, beans, peas, parsley...to be  harvested into early November. Imagine!  Plant what you and your students love to eat. http://www.kidsgardening.org/article/plan-ahead-fall-garden

Harvested potatoes leave room in the beds

 for lettuces, kale, etc.

Out with the cucumber plants, cherry tomatoes, 
peppers, etc., to make room for cool weather crops. 

And remember to leave space for garlic in October.

Dig, Plant, Grow

Dig, Plant, Grow- a guide to planning your own garden curriculum written by teachers Meredith Hill and Sarah Ohana. Here's a link to their perfect little booklet that addresses many ways to bring the garden into the curriculum and the curriculum into the garden. It is scientific, doesn't "talk down' to anyone, and will enrich your understanding of the processes needed to make your gardens grow and flourish. 
Download free, enjoy, share. Perfect timing for summer reading and inspiration.

http://www.organicgardening.com/sites/default/files/pdf/digplantgrow.pdf

How to Build a Potato Tower

What fun!  Here's a look at the potato towers at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.
Constructed by Will Kies, Director of Education and Heckscher Farm, they are already leafing out. Will did 4 nests per tower.
See link below for specific directions:

http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/how-to-build-a-potato-tower/

And the most fun part - harvesting!  Kick the tower and out roll lots of potatoes. No blemishes from digging tools. Just beautiful, perfect potatoes.