First full season in the community garden

[Healing Garden]

I started last year with a plot I received in mid-July that was so overgrown you couldn't walk into it and had a falling down fence. Spent the summer building fences, gates, raised beds, etc. This year I am planning for veggies....

Here's my growing plan for 2011:

[Megan]

Welcome, Healing Garden!

Sounds like you had much work ahead of you. Can't wait to see what you have done with it!

[Healing Garden]

In case you are interested here is my blog link with all the photos of the plot from last summer.

SFG in the Fenway Community Gardens

[BackyardBirdGardner]

Outstanding blog. I really hope you can find time to keep it updated. You do such a lovely job with it.

[quiltbea]

Great blog. I added it to my favorites SFG gardeners list.

I hope that double row of tomatoes isn't up against a fence as it looks in the drawing. It'll be difficult to get to the back row if it is.

Your garden looks like a winner. Its nice to see someone in my general area on the forum. There don't seem to be many of us using the forum much.

Good luck this spring.

[Healing Garden]

Thanks Megan, Quiltbee, BackyardbirdGardner for the welcome. I am excited to see if the seedlings I started today will germinate. Updated the blog til today. Hope I can keep the momentum going.

[Megan]

I have to join in and say, nice blog! I started one last year and just couldn't keep up with it. Looks like you did a lot of work in your parents' yard. I moved my hydrangea a few years back and it darn near killed me....those things are HEAVY! And kudos for re-lining that pond. I helped my dad build one once, and that was worse than moving the hydrangea.

Baker Creek is seductive, isn't it? I am eagerly waiting for my new order to come in. Like I need any more seed after last year!! (Of course I do!)

You seriously need to cut a half-moon hole on the door of that little shed. Or at least chalk one on!

I am interested in growing something flowering and NOT invasive on my back fence, so your arbor interested me. How did you arrive at choosing the clematis and the honeysuckle? (I may just cheap/wimp out and just a scarlet runner bean or something like that....)

[Furbalsmom]

Healing Garden

I started last year with a plot I received in mid-July that was so overgrown you couldn't walk into it and had a falling down fence. Spent the summer building fences, gates, raised beds, etc. This year I am planning for veggies....

Here's my growing plan for 2011:

It is a shame that the community garden was is such sad shape. It makes for such a hard start for you.

Now that the HARD work is done, you get a chance to do the more enjoyable part of gardening, planting, nurturing and harvesting those great veggies.

I have not had a chance to read your blog as yet, but I am looking forward to seeing your journey to get this far.

Again, Welcome, and please keep us updated with your progress.

[miinva]

I can't wait to see how your garden turns out! I'm looking forward to reading your blog, and I hope everything goes well for you.

[Healing Garden]

Yay I have babies http://y9fvg.blogspot.com/

Thanks all for making me feel so welcome.

Quiltbea I checked out your blog and I'm now "following" you. Love all the herb info.

Megan I spent a lot of time looking at vines that thrive in our unpredictable New England weather. I wanted the arbor to have full season flowers which is why I chose a spring AND fall blooming vines. I wanted vines that produced lots of flowers. I also looked for vines that while fragrant wouldn't be overpowering. My mother is allergic to bees so I wanted to avoid vines that grow too thickly where the bees could not be easily seen and avoided. Also wanted fast growers so that I didn't have to wait years to cover the arbor. Finally, wanted white and yellow/orange to compliment the other flowers I have planned.

Furballsmom: I actually enjoyed all the construction. I had never made a fence before and it was fun digging posts and building a gate. The weeds were overwhelming especially since much of the growth was waist high. I first had to scythe everything down and then pull out by the root as much as possible and then till the soil to break up the remaining roots. I'm glad I wasn't planning to use the existing soil because there is no way I could have stayed ahead of the grass and weeds. I put down multiple layers of weed blocker under my raised beds. It seemed to work for my first growing experience. I had NO weeds through November.

Miinva: Thanks. I am so excited for this years first full year of growth.

[camprn]

Hi Healing I am just a few hours north and west of you. to the Forum! I must say you did fabulously with your allotment garden last year! Love the Garden porn

[Healing Garden]

Hi Healing I am just a few hours north and west of you. to the Forum! I must say you did fabulously with your allotment garden last year! Love the Garden porn

Thanks. My parents have a cabin near Meredith NH on Lake Winona. I'm sowing a few flowers for their shady woodland garden as well. Much harder to garden up near you than here in Boston. Stay warm.

[miinva]

Healing Garden, your blog is great, you should put a link to it in your signature. That way people can easily pop over to your blog and see what's going on from any of your posts. If you'd like help editing your signature line feel free to send me a PM and I'll lend a hand.

[ander217]

Welcome to the forum, Healing Garden. You have accomplished a lot in your first year. Can't wait to see what the second year brings. Love your blog, too.

BTW, in case you haven't already answered your question, a 4 cu. ft bale of compressed peat moss will double in size when "fluffed". I made that mistake last year when setting up my first box, and we got twice as much peat moss as needed in our mix. That's not a good thing, and we had to remix it.

[Healing Garden]

Healing Garden, your blog is great, you should put a link to it in your signature. That way people can easily pop over to your blog and see what's going on from any of your posts. If you'd like help editing your signature line feel free to send me a PM and I'll lend a hand.

Thanks! This site is so easy I figured it out 1-2-3 and now my blog is in my sig.

[Healing Garden]

Welcome to the forum, Healing Garden. You have accomplished a lot in your first year. Can't wait to see what the second year brings. Love your blog, too.

BTW, in case you haven't already answered your question, a 4 cu. ft bale of compressed peat moss will double in size when "fluffed". I made that mistake last year when setting up my first box, and we got twice as much peat moss as needed in our mix. That's not a good thing, and we had to remix it.

Thanks. My problem is that the peat I bought from Home Depot said 3 cu ft compressed which I interpreted as meaning its true volume was 3 cu ft when not compressed.
The first 4x4 I filled assuming it was 3 cu ft the plants did not do as well as the next 4x4s were I treated it as compressed. I wish I hadn't over thought that one.

I fixed my first box at season end by adding compost and vermiculite only once it had settled to equal the proper proportions.

[miinva]

Great! Thank you

[Healing Garden]

Still working all the kinks out of my indoor seed station but wanted to report that the snow has melted from my community plot. I have a cold frame to go out.

My brassicas are almost ready for hardening. And I have a lot of flower seeds germinating.


Thanks for all the encouragement!

[Healing Garden]

I've moved a few things around, got the beds ready for the season, and started planting. Yay.



Please check out my blog to see pics of my seedlings as well.

Thanks for all the motivation this season.

[FarmerValerie]

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