Squirrel Brand Garden Community Blog

Welcome to our Community Garden Blog

2008-05-10T19:02:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

Welcome to our blog. This blog is for all of us to use to share tips, pictures, information on seed exchanges, and whatever else we want to post about--building soil screens? Community tools? Garden shed?

Here are the pictures from the Spring Garden Kickoff, held today, May 10. We had a great time and give a hearty thank you to all of our presenters! It was fun, too, to learn the name of our climbing rose--Dr. Van Fleet. I've posted a picture of that above (from the web) and a picture of ours.

Please come by and post something here...See you all at our meeting next week.

Take care, Linda

Art Group Needs Help/Donations/Ideas/Time

2008-05-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

The CAC (Community Arts Group) that has a plot in our garden needs help in the form of donations/ideas/time. They are facing financial issues and could use assistance in any form.

* * *
Today was a fun day in the community garden. We came together to plant the roses that David Cannistraro, former president of the NE Rose Society, gave us, and a weeding brigade made up of Hatch, the children, and Charles went to town.

The results are great!

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day in the garden.

Area Plant Store Report: Allendale Farm and Ricky's in Union Square

2008-05-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

I spent part of today visiting garden centers and wanted to give a mini report based on my earlier suggestion regarding Allandale Farm in Brookline. I did got there today, and they had some tomatoes but no peppers and not many vegetables. I was told they would be moving them down from the greenhouses later this week. I was impressed with the variety, and I bought some exotic types. Plants were $3.19 each, I think. They didn't have six flats, just individual plants. I got the Brown Berry, a Sungold, Purple Cherokee, Black Prince, and Mortgage Lifter. I'll report on how those do in the season. Plants were sturdy but on the small side since they are just coming out for the season. The tomato greenhouse wasn't open, but they let me pick some out, which was great because I drove a bit of a distance to get out there.

The surprise and delight of the day, however, was Ricky's Flower Market in Union Square. Not only was the selection Fabulouso but the funky layout and green oasis that is Ricky's really enthralled me and the kids. There were green nooks and crannies to explore and plants around every corner. I have posted some pics here of both places. The one inside is at Allendale Farm. The ones outside with the sign "Vegetable Plants" is Ricky's. What a delight those tables are as verdant and lush tomatoes spill from the shelving. Varieties were a bit less exotic here with plenty of what everyone loves but also with some interesting sounding other choices.

The pics of the flat here are from Ricky's. Look at how healthy these are! And they were pretty reasonable at $2 and some change for a pretty nice tomato plant. We got some eggplant, cucumbers, musk melon, and a healthy variety of peppers including Thai peppers.

Take care, Linda

Here is What We are Growing

2008-05-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

What are you growing?

Our interesting exotic tomatoes:

Brown Berry: An unusual variety with cherry-type fruits dressed in appealing, earthy- brown skins. More than a novelty - the fruits have very good flavor and are sweet and juicy. A very different look for fresh and cooked cuisine. Sturdy, 78" plants.

Black Prince: The Black Prince Tomato is known in Russia as "Czerno Prinz Tomat" and next to the Black Krim Tomato, this is among the most popular and best known of Black Tomatoes. This outstanding tomato variety was originally introduced from Irkutsk, Russia (in Siberia) some years ago and is typically regarded as a true Siberian tomato variety due to its outstanding qualities in northern climates. Although the Black Prince could be considered a rare heirloom tomato in the United States and the United Kingdom, this tomato is widely raised in Russia and is regularly sold commercially by some of the larger vegetable seed companies in Russia today.

Cherokee Purple: Heirloom from Tennessee cultivated by Native American Cherokee tribe. Very productive plants producing loads of dusky rose to purple colored, 12 oz.-1 lb., beefsteak tomatoes with deep red colors to the interior flesh and dark shoulders. A very popular market variety because of it's rich, complex and sweet flavors. One of the best tasting heirloom tomatoes.

Sungold: The Sungold ripens to a golden orange, with a very sweet flavor. This tomato is popular in all climates as it produces in warm and cold conditions. Fruit matures quickly, and crops heavily throughout the warmer months.

Mortgage Lifter: The Mortgage Lifter tomato was developed in the early 1930's in Logan, West Virginia by a radiator repairman, M.C. "Radiator Charlie" Byles. Without any experience in breeding, he made a successful cross of four of the largest tomatoes he could find - German Johnson, Beefsteak, an Italian variety, and an English variety. Radiator Charlie sold the first seedlings of his new tomato in the 1940's for one dollar each to customers who drove up to 200 miles for his famous plants that bore tasty tomatoes averaging two and a half pounds. With these sales, Charlie managed to pay off his $6,000 mortgage in only six years, and so the tomato was named Mortgage Lifter.

--Linda and Brian, Aidan and Kellen

Rapid Soil Test

2008-05-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone,

I bought some manure and lime for our plot today--and I also learned about these nifty little soil testers, which are rapid and accurate for Ph. I bought one for $4.99 at Ricky's, and I'm going to see what happens. The kit says it's easy--kind of like "just add water."

:-)

I'll post what I find here. I wonder if all of us are dealing with similar soil composition. I would think so, but then that would change a little depending on what other people added to their soil in the past few years.

Linda

Do you recognize the garden now?

2008-05-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

The Sunflower Project

2008-05-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Dan had the great idea to line the perimeter of the garden with sunflowers...I have been sprinkling seeds in, and I know James has been too. If anyone feels like donating some seeds, we could use even more. Some of the first sunflower seedlings are peeking out from under the mulch and soil around the perimeter of the fence, too, so if you are weeding that area, be on the lookout for them...

If the spirit moves you, sprinkle some out there, and let's see what happens! We have some Italian sunflowers that I put in there, a mixture of nice oranges, and some straight yellows...Should be interesting to see what grows.

Cold Frames

2008-06-02T11:14:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone was interested in building a cold frame for this coming winter? We just got an old cold frame that needs work (which we plan to do this summer)...But we plan to use this on our plot in the late fall/early winter months.

Is anyone else interested in building cold frames? Tim has expressed interest, and I thought that maybe a bunch of us could come together to plan, discuss, and construct them! There are always building materials on Freecycle (there is some free landscaping lumber there now for instance), and I think we'd be able to get some old windows at an area junk yard.

Take care and let me know!

Linda

On Deadly Nightshade and Other Dark Portents

2008-06-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

Since I discovered the deadly nightshade growing in our garden, I've done a lot of research on this fascinating plant, with which I've been intrigued for a time.

In Vermont, this was growing near my garage (loads of it). It came in as a wildflower/weed. Finding it enchantingly beautiful, I allowed it to live until it was near berry stage. A relative identified it for me--and urged me to pull it up. I had a baby (Aidan) at the time. The plant irritated my skin where it touched me.

The consensus seems to be that we should kindly ask our gardener to remove the deadly nightshade and replace it with another companion plant to deter pests, something like marigolds or catnip. He is out of town now, but I will try to reach him when he returns. I have sent him emails as well.

For now, I labeled the plant "This is toxic. Do not handle."

Liz had wonderful ideas for creating a fence around it with skull and crossbones on it. I love that idea but wonder what kind of fence we could build? She also said it would be a good education opportunity to teach people about these kinds of plants. Foxglove, for example, is poisonous, but the plant is used by drug companies for heart conditions (do not try this at home though as Foxglove really is powerful)!

Liz also mentioned this wonderful garden, created by Jane, Duchess of Northumberland: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/apr/05/martinwainwright. It is worth the web visit. She grows cocaine, belladonna (of course!), and scores of other poisonous things. It is like something out of a story book--really fascinating and cool. However, she has a staff to educate people, and the garden (I imagine) is locked at night. Fascinating topic though.

And lest we sell belladonna short, check her out when you are in the garden. As her name (Italian meaning beautiful lady) indicates, she is quite stunning. Black widow style.

Blast from the past

2008-06-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Squirrel Brand candies are still being sold on amazon. Here's a picture...Who remembers these?

:-)

First Eggplant Blossoms

2008-06-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the first eggplant blossoms...so purple!

New Raised Bed

2008-06-06T17:33:00.001-07:00

Three gardeners, working together on a plot, created these raised beds...They are stunning!

Ah Sunflowers

2008-06-06T17:34:00.001-07:00

Margaret Fuller's sunflowers are progressing quite nicely.

June lettuce

2008-06-06T17:35:00.001-07:00

The lettuce is doing very well as these pictures indicate.

Radish Mystery Solved

2008-06-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

I was in the garden today talking with James about my radish crop. I'll try to post a picture, but they were measly and didn't bulb. They were in for twice as much time as the packet indicated (50 days instead of 25).

So...what went wrong?

A little researched turned up that my soil was too rich with nitrogen and probably low on potassium. Radishes like just the opposite--low nitrogen and high potassium.

This explains why one of James's radishes (that I had given him) did beautifully on the top leaves but produced a smallish radish.

Mystery solved!

Look at the Peas

2008-06-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

Emily and Rob's Square Foot Gardening project has produced these lovely peas...

Just wanted to post a pic.

Look at This Incredible Flooding

2008-06-28T07:52:00.001-07:00

And then there was...a Flood

2008-06-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

Water, Water Everywhere

2008-06-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Documentation of Garden Flooding

2008-06-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, with the significant rain fall, the garden flooded.
I took some shots of it while the kids and I explored what had happened...
This was the worst flooding I've seen in the garden yet.

Take care,

Linda

Look at Amy's tomatoes

2008-06-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Simply marvelous...

How High Can They Go

2008-06-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

This close up (and even the pic below) don't do justice to the height of Amy's burgeoning tomatoes...Anyone want to wager how high they will go?

August Notes

2008-08-30T20:08:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Harvest time is in high swing, and it is lovely to be collecting various fruits and vegetables from the garden. The tomato and zucchini and squash blights that we have been experiencing are shared by many in New England. Most with whom I compare notes lament about the wetness this season and also say that they have not gotten much in terms of squash.

We are blessed to have some happy eggplants and peppers along with some citrus and happy hibiscus. Our tomatoes are less than happy though, and we will likely take them from their misery soon in the hopes of planting some fall crops. Blight is awful because it will kill the plant before it gives its usual share of fruit. We did manage to get enough tomatoes so I felt as if I had a taste and had regular ones at that. But we did not get enough to be overrun, which is a kind of blessing that I found myself longing for...Tomato paste, canned tomatoes--all of those possibilities were extinguished. Alas.

I do hope to join the BNAN master gardener class this winter and might be able to learn there about what to do with blight. We had it in Vermont, as well, and we never did get rid of it. It only afflicted our tomatoes, but we planted them anyway.

One solution, I read, is to plant tomatoes in straw bales that never touch the ground and thus eliminate blight. That might be an interesting experiment next summer. We should be prepared to have blight again next year if we do nothing as blight is like a virus--living in the soil. That said, I can hardly imagine using any kind of pesticide even if the city did allow it! Pesticides are the antithesis of good gardening and healthful living--in my opinion anyway.

I also wished to share that we did raise some Monarch caterpillars to butterflies, thanks to Gretchen whose success hatching eggs inspired us. Gretchen, I learned that only 10 percent of caterpillars hatched in the wild make it to butterfly stage as there are too many predators. So taking in the eggs when you find them--and raising the caterpillars--is a great way to increase butterfly populations. We released our first butterfly today in Squirrel Brand garden, around 4 p.m. and have another 7 in coccoons and one lone caterpillar that is still growing. We collected many eggs and ended up losing about six or seven caterpillars for various reasons (one crawled out of the cage when it was still pretty small; four became dried up or sickened by milkweed taken from next to Carberry's (pesticides, I wonder?). Still another was smooshed when I picked up a leaf! What are the odds. I felt quite awful about these small failures until I learned about the mortality rates in the wild. And I am happy to say that, if all goes well, we will have added nine butterflies to the Cambridge community.

Be well all! Hope to see you in the garden. We'll be there in the coming week or two, sorting out summer crops and making way for fall.

Linda

Tomato Blight? Pruning may help

2008-07-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

Some gardeners have mentioned that their tomato leaves are starting to yellow. When this happened to me last year, I did some research and learned of about 5-7 pathogens... any of which could cause yellowing leaves. Though I learned of all the possible diseases. Properly diagnosing the disease was a bit out of my expertise and time allotment.

Some diagnostic tests were extreme... even involving cutting the plant down and immersing the stem in water to look for whitish discharge. Left alone, the symptoms diminished, and my tomato eventually made it through the summer reasonable well. But from this scare, I learned the benefits of pruning in promoting plant vigor and in reducing pathogens.

For some gardeners engaged in intensive gardening, pruning also encourages strong vertical growth, giving more space to other plants ( http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx). Pruning encourages air circulation and bigger fruits. At the end of the summer the plant can easily be capped to encourage the ripening of the last few tomatoes.

There are a few drawbacks from pruning: fewer fruits, commitment to trellising, and since there is less foliage, fruits are more exposed to sun scalding.

I hope more people will consider pruning as a tool to discourage soil/plant pathogens and as a tool to manage their plots. Anyone suspecting that their plants are diseased should act responsible to contain the disease and restrict it from spreading to other plants. Diseased plant should be disposed of in the garbage - NOT THE COMPOST.

Square Foot Gardening

2008-06-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Now that Linda posted the lovely photo of our pea blossoms, it's time that Rob and I make good on our promise to write a bit about the method we're experimenting with this year: Square Foot Gardening.

The basics:
1) raised beds -- significantly diminishes weeding and prevents walking on soil (crushing roots)
2) super fluffy, super-nutritious, moisture-regulating soil mix: 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite.
3) handy 1 ft square grid: makes it easy to eyeball plant spacing and gives a
structure for interplanting of companion crops.

Why
SFG, popularized by Mel Bartholemew, is just one of many intensive gardening techniques. We chose it because my brother --- who really knows how to stretch a dollar --- had great success with this method in the past few years.

My brother had chosen this method for a couple reasons:

1) At the time, he was homeschooling 3 children. Several components of SFG make nice curriculum supplements: lots of measuring and calculations required in the bed construction and square-marking; plant life cycle; where food comes from; and all those soft lessons like delayed gratification, responsibility, and frugality.

2) My brother's the type of person who likes to optimize things from first principles. As such, I'm sure that he did extensive research on intercropping (interplanting of crops that have complementary nutrient needs/supplies) and optimal layout for succession planting (full 3 season gardening where each crop is turned under and supplies nutrients to the next crop). Roberto and I have not really pursued this thread --- while it's tempting to suggest that our incomprehensible layout must be the result of advanced understanding of soil conditioning and detailed planning, it's actually just haphazard (although mesclun-under-tomatoes does seem to be working out pretty well right now....we plan to pull the lettuces after their next bolt).

3) My brother really knows how to stretch a dollar.

Our experience so far

We built our Soviet block apartment complex, I mean, raised beds, in early March.

We learned that garden stores & home improvement stores don't really start stocking soil & supplies until LATE March. Getting the vermiculite and peat moss that early was a bit of a problem. I'd recommend building up your beds in the fall, so that you've got everything ready to go for putting that first pea seed in the ground on St. Patrick's day. Also, major home improvement box stores (who shall remain nameless) no longer carry vermiculate because, when dry, it poses a particulate inhalation hazard. (classified as a "nuisance dust" according to materials safety data sheets. Note that much of the recent flap over potential vermiculite hazard has been because of asbestos contamination, not a toxicity inherent of vermiculate.)

Since this was our first year doing SFG, our soil mix was a bit warmer than the ambient soil at the time, which was a plus. Unfortunately, germination was a bit dodgy for a couple reasons: first, the soil mix was so fluffy that the top inch dried out immediately on any sunny day. In general, this soil mix is really good at maintaining even moisture content (the vermiculite acts as a moisture capacitor), but only below the top layer (which is perfect once roots are established). Secondly, the water hookup at Squirrel Brand Community Garden was not turned on until late April, so we had to schlepp water from our home (only ~4 blocks away) every couple days to keep our germinating seeds moist.

We developed a greater appreciation for floating row covers at about the same time that everyone else in the country decided to start planning their garden --- way too late. So, in April, the heirloom seed supply that gave us such prompt service in February when made our initial order, was completely overwhelmed. So our row covers arrived a bit too for us to really take advantage of.

Which brings us to my second piece of advice: plan your garden early and order your seeds on-line by February. This will let you really engage in 3-season gardening to make the most of your community plot. In Cambridge, our last-frost-date is around the 3rd or 4th week of April. This means that the earliest crops (english peas & spinach seeds planted 6-8 weeks before last frost, onion sets or seeds planted 4-6 weeks before last frost) can go in as soon as the soil thaws --- first or second week of March! Also, February-March is the perfect time to start seeds for warmer weather crops indoors (if you have a sunny windowsill).

Our local stores don't stock seeds until April, which is really too late to get started. So order your seeds early, and you'll be ready to go for both direct-sow and indoor starts.