reflecting on my community plot

It seems that gardens are a reflection of a person and what's going on. This year my garden is fending for itself a fair amount of time. The soil is good and the weather has been nice, so my plants have done well. But I have big areas of unplanted space. Some fall greens are coming along under lights at home and will fill these in soon.

My mom is pretty sick right now. I've been visiting the hospital and keeping her company. She had some bad luck it will probably take quite some time to recuperate.

I'm also putting more time into my role as coordinator at the Belmont Community Gardens. Communication and planning. And my new company is growing. Good news, but it keeps me away from my garden on those beautiful rainy days when the flowers colors look so bright and the droplets allow you to reflect.

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end of August garden aerial

I've worked on several projects in my side yard the past two weekends. I have been fixing up a little flower garden next to my cold frame (bottom center of this photo), I've mulched and weeded the vegetable beds, and I've set up a new grape arbor just to the left of this photo. I'll post separately on each of these projects.

If you want to, you can click on this photo and mouse over to what's planted where.

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new flower bed

I've been fixing up a little flower garden next to my cold frame. I had a few perennials here that had grown together and gotten weeds and then they got trampled when my husband painted the house this summer. Now that the painting is done, I replanted the bed.

I dug out everything, separated all the perennials, removed the weeds and replanted. I added some compost and a few new plants, including a red bee balm (monarda), orange butterfly milkweed, a purple New England aster, a classic Autumn Joy sedum, a deep red rose (Mr Lincoln), and some annuals. Plants I have include a purple iris, several peonies (which I planted all together) and digitalis.

I also bought a bunch of slate pieces, odds-and-ends at a local garden center and made a U-shaped path of stepping stones. I'm hoping to have lots of flowers in this bed next year and walk along the stones to pick bouquets.

I splurged and used the dark black Coast of Maine composting mulch on this small bed. I'm looking forward to next year as it matures and fills in.

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a new mulch for my vegetable beds

One of my projects this weekend was to weed and mulch my side yard vegetable beds.

Weeding the beds was a big job as I've neglected them recently. I removed two wheel barrows full to my compost bins. Most weeds had grown up in the paths between the beds.

After weeding, I spread mulch. A new product for me: Coast of Maine hay and straw mulch. Its finely chopped and sterilized and they say it doesn't have weed seeds. Its spreads very nicely and one bag covers lots of ground. I used it to suppress weed growth in my paths and to make a nice surface for walking on. I'm looking forward to using the rest of the bag for moisture retention in the vegetable beds at my community plot.

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fall seedlings

These are my little plants growing inside under the lights. With the hot dry summer weather and then pelting rain, its nice to baby them. I have several types of lettuce here, and some spinach. They're ready to go outside soon.

I checked my community plot today. I've been sowing seeds there regularly. Not much sprouted during hot dry weather in July and early August. Today I see several patches coming up. Nice pea sprouts, and a little bed of tiny lettuces. Also a row that looks like broccoli, but I can't remember what I planted there (oops!). Carrots and radicchio have not done well.

Today I planted cilantro and dill in the garden and last night I planted about 5 types of butterhead lettuces in flats under lights.

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tomato sauce

I made a great big batch of red sauce this week. It simmered all afternoon. Mostly tomatoes from my parents garden. Also a few from my garden and some from my Piccadilly Farm CSA distribution. I added to the sauce a couple grated summer squash, carrots, garlic and onions. It smells fantastic!

Tomato varieties are: Mortgage Lifter, Box Car Willy, Pink Beauty, New Girl, Big Beef, Oxheart Red, Giant Belgium, Cherokee Purple, and Brandywine. Also two fantastic varieties of plum tomatoes: San Marzano Gigante 3 and Opalka.

I'd like to get a photo of each variety separately. Maybe next week.

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farm links and parasitic wasps

Its fun to read about real farmers, especially this summer with the bumper crops. Here are a few links I've come across:

Shared Harvest Blog
Riverland CSA Farm (Sunderland MA) newsletter
Waltham Fields newsletters

I emailed yesterday and asked Piccadilly Farm what they did to get rid of corn ear worms this year. Susie told me they are using a parasitic wasp that feeds on the European Corn Borer. Well it sure worked great. I will look into this but I hear it is expensive. Maybe other gardeners would want to share an order. I can't very well keep them in my plot anyway.

I also read in a Waltham Fields news letter (July 26) that they are using these for the Mexican Bean beetle. I wonder if it is the same wasp species as the one that parasitizes the corn worms? Hmmm. I hate those ugly bean beetle larvae. The newsletter says that over a few years, the wasp population should go up and the beans beetle go down. So the wasps don't need to be purchased every year forever. I'm also wondering how far they travel. My plot is only about 1 mile from Waltham Fields.

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Sunshine yellow watermelon seeds

I got a fantastic yellow fleshed watermelon from Piccadilly Farm. They told me the variety is Sunshine (Johnny's Seeds). I collected seeds from my watermelon, but now that I see its an F1 hybrid, I will throw out the seeds :( and put them on my list to order next year. I hope I can grow this great variety myself.

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garden notes

We had a very successful garden event today. We requested volunteers come to help dig a trench (about 125 feet long x 1 ft deep) to run an extra water line to the new plots. About 25 people came and it was short work to dig, lay line, and back fill. Thanks to all who came!

I checked on my beans at my plot today. I had a terrible problem with Mexican bean beetle. On Thursday, I sprayed with Captain Jack's Dead Bug Spray. I am pleased with the results. Very few larvae/beetles left today. I was able to squish these (yuck... I HATE to do this...). I will try to keep up with squishing them so I don't need to use spray again. Maybe I will bring an old glove to the garden and use this. I notice that many plots have skeleton bean leaves this year with bad bean beetle infestations.

I picked a handful of Chinese pole beans pods that I let ripen fully on the vines. I save these every year for replanting next year.

I continue to plant seeds for fall crops. I put in three rows of peas today. A bit late, but so hot I couldn't see planting sooner. I planted Caselode and Oregon Giant. Also a couple rows of carrots and lettuce seeds. I've been planting carrots every week for the past month. They don't do well with such dry weather, but I keep at it. I've covered the beds with row fabric and this seems to help keep in moisture and shade small seedlings.

I have some nice lettuce ans spinach seedlings under lights at home now. Its fun to watch them grow. They a coddled to be watered and under lights.

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garden bulletin boards

A local boy scout is making a bulletin board for our community garden. I've been looking into the types of boards that other gardens and parks have. We'd like to have one side covered with plexi and locked for "official" notices and the other open cork board for general use. It will be located along our main path entering the gardens. It seems it would be good to have more communication.

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a wet week at the gardens

Wow! 4 days of non stop rain and drizzle after 3 months of dry weather. We sure needed it. And it was very pretty. The newly seeded fall crops are enjoying it. Skippy and I walked through the Belmont Community Garden paths on Wednesday in the drizzle and checked out the gardens.

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my community plot

It seems that gardens are a reflection of a person and what's going on. This year my garden is fending for itself a fair amount of time. The soil is good and the weather has been nice, so my plants have done well. But I have big areas of unplanted space. Some fall greens are coming along under lights at home and will fill these in soon.

My mom is pretty sick right now. I've been visiting the hospital and keeping her company. She had some bad luck it will probably take quite some time to recuperate.

I'm also putting more time into my role as coordinator at the Belmont Community Gardens. Communication and planning. And my new company is growing. Good news, but it keeps me away from my garden on those beautiful rainy days when the flowers colors look so bright and the droplets allow you to reflect.

Read more ...

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mesh-covered green beans

I came across the beautiful beans last week in a plot at the Belmont Victory Gardens. Why are they covered with mesh? Does this keep the bean beetles off? They sure look great with no signs of beetle damage, unlike most plots around here. But then the adjacent and uncovered pole beans look good too.

Very nicely mulched with salt hay, too. I bought some stray/hay mulch that I will be spreading today in my gardens. I hope it looks as nice as this.

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The Last of the Daylilies and a Purple Datura

Most of the daylilies are finished blooming, and the few that bloomed today will be finished tomorrow, or else have one or two buds left.  I can't believe how fast summer is flying by.  The photos were taken at dusk, so aren't the best quality, plus, the blooms are getting ready to crumple up and die, but I wanted to take this opportunity to make note of the last daylilies to be in bloom, and join Tootsie's Flaunt Your Flowers.


Curb bed:

Front yard bed:

Curb bed in front of veggie garden:

Just inside veggie garden:

In a tub in the front yard:

Have a great weekend!

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A Few Blooms

While there are only a few daylily buds left, some flowers are just now beginning to bloom.

I just discovered ironweed this spring.  I don't know why I hadn't before, since I choose plants the butterflies like whenever I see them and have the room.  I'm glad it's a later bloomer, at least it is this year.

I cut back my only mum, 'Debonair' a couple times this season, and it is now determined to go ahead and bloom.  This is the first flower of the year for it, not quite fully opened.

The statice is late blooming this year.  This was lying down, so I found something to prop it up with.

Someone identified this reblooming iris that I got at the sale table last year.  I'll have to look it up when I get a chance, and will come back to add it.  (Yes, Glenda, this is 'Immortality'.  Thanks!)

I don't remember if I posted a photo of the oldest butterfly bush we have.  It is late blooming this year, too. 

Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday is up and runnning.  Go check it out!

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Short Video of a Monarch

I have been seeing a number of butterflies and other insects this week.  A couple have eluded getting their photos taken, but I keep trying.  I am continuing to see a couple of monarchs daily.  It's fun watching them.  The video I'm posting is 27 seconds.  I've tried to post videos lately, and couldn't get them to upload.  I'm trying this short one to see if that makes a difference.

It worked!  Have a great Friday!  I go back to work tomorrow, after having the summer off.  My house will be cleaner than it usually has been when I go back, but I'm disappointed with the vegetable gardens, mostly due to the weather and critter damage.  The flowers are getting stressed from all the heat, and a few have died this summer.  Already, I am starting to think about next spring, and what I want to plant in the holes.  Still, the black eyed Susans and goldenrods are looking good, and cheering me up.

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Lots of Critters this Week

I have been seeing more and more butterflies.  A dark colored swallowtail of some kind has split the scene whenever I've had my camera out. Other butterflies have hung around, knowing I was out.

The bees are enjoying the Joe Pye weed, since the globe thistles are finished.

From looking at my book, this looks to be a gray hairstreak.  I've seen several the last few days.

I've been seeing huge numbers of skippers.

Here's an insect I probably had identified last year, but now, can't remember what it is.

Painted ladies like to come around a lot.

Maybe I should get a guide for dragonflies.  I was so tickled that I was able to get a photo before it flew away from the veggie garden fence.

I've mentioned I'm seeing 2 or more monarchs a day.  Actually, every time I go out, I see them.

The next photos were taken Thursday.

I've seen this kind of butterfly a few times this year.  I wonder if it's a spread wing skipper of some kind.  Do you know?

I didn't get a good shot of this one before it darted off.  I wonder if it's a checkerspot.

I haven't seen as many honeybees as bumblebees. 

I missed the shot of the squirrel on the neighbor's roof, but saw a dove on the birdbath in time to take a quick photo before it flew off.

I liked this photo of the monarch dancing on the short toothed mountain mint.  I didn't see the butterfly on the right side of the photo until I was editing the photos.  I think it's another gray hairstreak.

The next 2 photos show 2 different monarchs on my oldest butterfly bush.

After I took the above photos, I was surprised to see this hummingbird moth on the agastache, out in the bright sun.  Not only that, but it put up with me taking loads of photos, and even a couple videos.  I had trouble getting clear photos because of how fast it flapped its wings.  I looked it up, and it appears to be a white-lined sphinx moth.

Another painted lady showed up looking lovely.

To see more critters, click on the Camera Critters button on my sidebar.  Have a great weekend!

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