Category: Behind the Scenes

The other bits that help the garden grow.

Note to future me #2

You may have done some record keeping in 2018 you were (or maybe still are?) proud of, but you really need to remember to note where you planted certain flower seeds if you haven’t figured out a good way to start them indoors without artificial lighting again and decide to direct sow.  If only for the possible amusement of what flowers grow nowhere near the spot you think (or even know) you planted them.

It just might save you a plant ID search when it’s growing but not quite obvious yet since we get so many great volunteers here.  That’s time better spent doing other things.

Another happy surprise we had last year hidden in chaos.
Posted in Indoor Musings, Plants, Progress, Stories

Let your garden grow

Posted on by Lily

Sometimes you don’t have a lot of time or resources to do what you want.  Life happens and postpones things.  You just can’t make up your mind.  Mistakes can be made even by experienced gardeners that cause setbacks as well.

Most of what we have done last year and so far this year hasn’t felt like enough even though I’d be a dunce not to acknowledge what has changed and acknowledge we really couldn’t do much more with the time and resources we had to spare.   Continue reading “Let your garden grow” →

Updated the Plant Progress yesterday

I updated the 2018 Plantings page.

We’ve had another casualty, but some success as well (one noted by image yesterday).  We also ate our first blueberries and raspberries of the season (red and black).  It was still a bit soon for the blueberries we taste tested.  The strawberries keep getting raided by the critters before we get a chance.  To be fair, we have a lot more raspberry canes than we do fruiting strawberry plants so far.

Status• Posted on by Lily
Posted in Behind the Scenes

Follow up of attending my first Conservation Commission meeting.

Posted on by Lily

As I noted before, I did finally attend a local Conservation Commission meeting, and in doing so found myself volunteering to help share some plants with a homeowner that inadvertently removed plants he didn’t know he shouldn’t because part of his land was in a protected flood zone.  Not a “you’ll flood every year” sort of flood zone, but what’s known here as a Q3 “100 year flood” zone.  You’d think there’d be some law stating sellers of homes should make sure buyers know about that sort of thing…I guess it’s more expected that folks will inform themselves about such.  I remember after I heard about one legendary Gardner flood, and soon found myself well acquainted with the OLIVER map which helped us strike a few homes off our house search possibles. Continue reading “Follow up of attending my first Conservation Commission meeting.” →

Waterworks unturned

A fickle weather report resulted in arid night soil.  Despite the humidity, I know the kitchen garden’s thirst is likely as strong as my desire to grab a flashlight and go outside to fill the can and do what would have been done had I checked again earlier and saw the cloud shift.

How can I expect them to survive, these children I one day hope to eat like Cronos did his own?  I feel as cruel as he, though my planned timeline for their demise is longer than he gave his own.  Yet I have greater fear of even the whiff of the skunks I know wander through at night than I fear for their health and wellbeing.

Hold fast, young plants!  Water will come to you with the dawn.  Forgive this terrible mother, and don’t let one night’s scarcity stem your growing selves.

(Yes, I know my brain heads in odd directions sometimes.  Other times, my thinking seems to take a more even path, too.)