gardening
Mason bee house
Sunday, April 11, 2010
I don’t think my garden suffers from a dearth of bees, but this mason bee nest looked fun. I ordered mine from Miller Nurseries in upstate NY (not so local, but family-owned and has good prices and service—my dwarf cherry and raspberries came form there), but there are lots of places to purchase them. The female bee lays eggs in the tubes (usually holes in trees or in reeds) and walls them up with bits of mud, hence the “mason” part. When somebody moves in, I’ll post an update.
Posted by Allison on 04/11 at 03:38 PM
Heat Wave
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
The summer-like heat we’ve been getting lately is sending mixed signals to all of my plants. The cool season crops that survived the record-breaking winter have had only a few short weeks to produce and now they are all bolting! The kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli are all reaching for the sky and opening up their yellow flowers. I’m just going to pinch the flowers and hope for the best. The kale I harvested this week is delicious, despite the developing flowers.
Posted by Erica on 04/07 at 09:01 PM
Compost Matters!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Want to learn more about how composting can save the planet and increase your garden yield? Registerd for the “Compost Matters” one-day conference and learn about current and proposed local compost projects, how YOU can start composting (yes, even in the city) and hear from Will Allen - sustainable urban farming promoter who received a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2008 for his efforts. And hey, while you’re in the neighborhood, grab a drink or dinner at The White Dog and support a business that supports local farmers!
Register Here
Schedule
April 9, 2010
8:00 – 8:45 Registration
8:45 – 9:00 Welcome
Nancy O’Donnell, PHS and Linda Knapp, ILSR
9:00 – 10:00 Keynote address; Growing Food and Community in the City
Will Allen, Growing Power
10:00 – 10:15 Break
10:15 – 10:45 Food Composting Projects in Pennsylvania
Patti Olenick and Carl Hursh, PA Department of Environmental Protection
10:45 – 11:15 Wilmington Organic Recycling Center: the Region’s Largest Composting Facility
Nelson Widell, Peninsula Compost Group
11:15 – 12:00 From Kitchen to Farm—A Composting Partnership
Ned Foley, Two Particular Acres, and Marvin Dixon, Four Seasons Hotel
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch (provided on site)
12:45 – 1:15 On-Site Commercial Composting
Maurice Sampson II, Niche Recycling, Inc.
1:15 – 1:45 The Journey to Sustainable Landscapes—Let’s go!
Mark Highland, Organic Mechanics Potting Soil
1:45 – 2:00 Break
2:00 – 2:45 Compost Policy Panel Discussion, with audience questions
Mike Giuranna, US Environmental Protection Agency/Region III
Patti Olenick and Carl Hursh, PA Department of Environmental Protection
Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia
Moderator: Nora Goldstein, Editor, BioCycle magazine
2:45 – 3:00 Closing remarks
Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia
4:00 – 5:00 Tour of Moravian Court
University of Pennsylvania campus, 34th & Spruce streets
Crocuses and Pansies!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
My crocuses are coming up! All my hard work last fall is starting to pay off, and purple and white crocuses has popped their pretty heads up all over my front garden / lawn. Soon, the daffodils and tulips will appear! If you didn’t get to bulb planting before this season, it’s the perfect time to plant pansies, which are hardy and perennial, so not only can you enjoy them this year, they’ll come back for you next spring, too!
Posted by Erin on 03/24 at 11:54 AM
And so it begins . . .
Monday, March 22, 2010
The weather this weekend was perfect for putting shovel to soil, and that I did.
In my plot at The Woodlands Community Garden I planted three rows of seed potatoes (Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac, and Katahdin), chive and leek transplants, and lettuce and arugula seeds. The kale and escarole made it through the winter, along with some sad little carrots that I harvested.
In my plot at the St. Bernard Community Garden I planted Dwarf Grey Sugar peas, Space spinach, and Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach.
Mid- to late-March is also the right time to plant onion sets, garlic, shallots, fava beans, radishes, beets, carrots, turnips, bok choy, parsley, and plants in the cabbage family.
Happy planting!
Posted by Erica on 03/22 at 06:00 PM
Fresh seeds arriving daily
Monday, March 15, 2010
Well, not quite daily. But the first batch came today from a new-to-me source, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company in Mansfield, MO (where the Laura Ingalls Wilder House is!). The website is www.rareseeds.com, and it delivers. I only wish I had enough sun and space to try out the amazing varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains (yes, black sesame, quinoa, buckwheat, flax, plus!), and flowers. And with my small order of 6 packets, they threw in a freebie, “Pink Ponderosa” tomato.
Next arrival: Seed Savers Exchange!
Posted by Allison on 03/15 at 06:22 PM
Start saving your eggshells!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
As we’ve been kinda snowed in here in Fluffya, I’ve been baking up a storm. And after I empty my eggs of their food contents, I put the shells in a couple of ziploc bags I keep in the freezer. Whatever for? I am thinking about the care and feeding of my future tomato plants. Calcium is a mineral that helps to prevent blossom end rot, the black spot that can develop at the opposite pole to the tomato stem—which is the place where the flower once was attached. So, you take the shells of about a dozen eggs, crush them, and dump them in the hole/container and plant your tomato on top. The roots find the calcium, and as long as I’ve been doing this, I haven’t had a rot problem. If you grow a lot of plants, then that’s a lot of eggs. Better get started!
Posted by Allison on 02/10 at 04:02 PM
Philadelphia Green Skills Conference
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia Water Department are co-sponsoring a Green Skills Conference. Want to learn about rain barrels? Or how to start a community garden? Or what do to with abandoned property in your neighborhood? Greening your home? Sign-up for the Saturday session and pick up some skills. Tickets are just $10 HERE.
Join The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for a morning of learning and networking for people interested in urban greening and its Philadelphia Green program. The annual Skills Conference offers training, information, and workshops for community groups and individuals who are committed to improving the quality of life in their neighborhoods. This year’s theme will be about the important subject of “stormwater management.” (Sponsored in part by the Philadelphia Water Department and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
Conference Schedule
8:45 – 9:15 am Registration & Continental Breakfast/Information Tables Open
9:15 – 9:30 am Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:30 – 10:00 am Keynote Presentation: Howard Neukrug, PWD Office of Watersheds
10:15 – 11:15 am Concurrent Session 1 Choose one of the following
A. Greening Homes: Tips & Tricks/Retrofit for Row homes
B. Rain Barrels
C. Greening Open Space: Recreation Centers & Playgrounds
D. Garden Tenders/Starting a Community Garden, part 1
11:15 – 11:45 am Networking/Information Tables Open
11:45 – 12:45 pm Concurrent Session 2 Choose one of the following
A. Greening Homes: Tips & Tricks/Retrofit for Row homes
B. Rain Barrels
C. Greening Streets: Norris Street, Columbus Square
D. Garden Tenders/Starting a Community Garden, part 2
Cost: $10. Scholarships are available. For more information and a brochure, contact Dawn Waters at 215-988-8845 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Whoops! Frozen Beets
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Should have pulled these out before the snow started. It’s meant to be warmer this weekend, so if I get them unstuck, I’ll let you know how they fared.
Posted by Allison on 12/24 at 01:54 PM
Benefit Party for Mill Creek Farm
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
The holiday season gives us many opportunities to support the projects that we care about. Take some time this season to make sustainable and local food part of your giving plan - and have fun doing it! This coming Sunday come out to support Mill Creek Farm, West Philadelphia’s working farm that not only supplies the neighborhood with organic, fresh produce, but also includes children’s programs, a green roof, water recycling and a bat cave! Tickets start at $25, and can be purchases HERE or at the door.
Please Join Us for the 3rd Annual
Benefit Party for the Mill Creek Farm
Enjoy light food, drinks, live music from Three Stories Jazz Trio
and Old Goats, silent auction and raffle featuring great gifts:
artwork, crafts, gift certificates for yoga, local restaurants,
bike repair, and more!
WHEN: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 3:00-7:00 pm
WHERE: The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, 2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
* Celebrate our fourth growing season!
* Enjoy light food, drinks, live music, silent auction, raffle!
* Support Mill Creek Farm’s efforts to improve local access to fresh produce, build a healthy community and environment, and promote a just and sustainable food system.
* Learn more about our work: education programs, growing and distributing fresh produce, and demonstrating ecological technologies.
* Childcare will be available.
* Tickets are available in advance on our website and also at the door.
November GRID is out
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
The new GRID magazine is hitting the shelves at local coffee-shops, co-ops and businesses near you. Check out the issue for more bicycling articles, how to cook dried beans, just what is a green roof, local fashion designers, community garden, a green event calendar, and much more. Or, read it online HERE.
Posted by Erin on 11/04 at 12:58 PM
Trying out a fall planting
Saturday, October 03, 2009
I’ve always been a summer gardener, in part because I used to live somewhere that started to get snow in November. This year, I’m going for it by growing collards (one shares pot with parsley) and beets.
As you can see, I have a critter problem on the collards (whiteflies? I admit that I haven’t taken a good look), and the beets have been in the ground about a month. I bought both as starters at Greensgrow. I’ll keep everyone posted. In summer garden news, I’m down to the last tomatoes and peppers and have been snipping off any new shoots and flowers on both so that that plants can finish what they started. Also, the basil is still trucking—I should get another batch of pesto in the freezer before they head to the compost heap in the sky.
Posted by Allison on 10/03 at 10:31 PM
Red Earth Farm CSA week ? (I have slacked and completely lost track)
Thursday, August 06, 2009
This week’s share included 3 Asian eggplants, 3 summer squashes, 1 pint of sungold cherry tomatoes, a bunch of carrots, a bunch of baby pak choy, and a bag of mixed hot peppers.
Next to the CSA tomatoes are a quart of Roma tomatoes from my garden.
And a pan of uncut blackberry bars, fresh from the oven. The blackberries came courtesy of a gigantic bush a few blocks from our house. I hope the owners don’t mind that we’ve been foraging, but the bush is on our way to the playground and it’s hard for the kids and I to resist.
Posted by Jackie on 08/06 at 02:06 PM
Wild Strawberries
Thursday, June 04, 2009
I’m a lucky gal. I’ve got a wild strawberry patch growing in my front yard! Considered a weed by some, perhaps because of how fast and easily they spreads, wild strawberries produce beautiful little red berries on a blanket of deep green. Lovely enough just to look at, you can also eat them! I’ve compiled a few recipes from online sites below. Taste your berries before using them in cooking of baking. They very vastly in sweetness (mine are, alas, not very sweet) and you may have to adjust the sweetness-level of the recipe. If you don’t have your own wild strawberries, just keep your eyes and ears open. Anyone who has them is very willing to share - they grow and spread that quickly, and are easy to transplant.
Champagne sorbet with wild strawberries from Big Oven.
Wild Stawberries and Cream from Emerils.
Wild Strawberry Salad with Parmesan Crisps and Blueberry Dressing from Fabulous Foods
Mini Pancakes with Wild Strawberries from BreakfastandBrunch.
Upsidedown Wild Strawberry Tart from Starchefs.
Posted by Erin on 06/04 at 01:10 PM
Summer is coming!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
There are many signs pointing to the beginning of summer: first doctoral qualifying exam taken, seminar papers nearly written, allergies hopefully going away soon, LAST WINTER CSA SHARE FROM KEYSTONE FARM and HEALTHY HERB GARDEN ON THE ROOF.
Clearly, the last two items on that list are the most relevant to this post (either that or my cat stepped on the caps lock key—it happens). All winter I participated in the Keystone Farm organic CSA share, picking up a half vegetarian share every Saturday at Clark Park. Yesterday I picked up my last share for the season (pictured above). There was a densely packed bag of mixed salad greens, romaine lettuce, gigantic onion, asparagus (yum!), and the usual homemade granola, half-dozen free range eggs and a local cheese (sharp cheddar - my favorite!). I can only eat so much cheese, so I opt for two granolas and one cheese. There is some flexibility in this share.
Luckily, the summer share starts next week. I will again do the half vegetarian share. Each week you get 1/2 dozen eggs, cheese, granola and then a large assortment of fruit and vegetables—all organic. I signed up early and paid $275 (full price for 1/2 share would have been $300), which works out to be around $12 a week. For organic produce, plus cheese and granola for the week, this seems a great deal. Fits right in with my goal to eat green on a tiny budget. On top of all that, Phylann is a wonderful woman, running a great farm. It’s more than worth the money to support her and her organic farming. Check out their new website for more information.
I’ll be reporting on my share each week. However, next week is my father’s 70th birthday (!!!!!), so I’ll be in CT. I’ll pick up a double share (or a full share for that matter) on the 13th and show you my summer goods.
On another note. After a somewhat rocky attempt at roof gardening last year, I’ve decided to stick to herbs this year. I have a great space right outside my bedroom window/door, and I use wooden wine crates (with holes drilled in the bottom) as planters. This year I have three kinds of basil, sage, thyme, rosemary, two types of mint, dill and parsley. One planter has a couple of creepy (creeping, rather) flowering plants just for fun. Below are a couple of pictures from when I first planted early spring and from this morning. The sun is pretty bright, so you’ll have to use your imagination!
Posted by Melanie on 05/31 at 09:52 AM
