Commonweeder

Cover Your Ground

Post published:05/13/2009
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“Green your garden” sounds like an unnecessary admonition, but as the discussion about global warming heats up (pun intended) gardeners are looking at ways to lower their gardens’ carbon footprint. Because digging the soil releases carbon into the atmosphere no-till cultivation methods have gained new advocates. In addition to saving human energy, sheet composting/lasagna gardening has become more popular. Another way of reducing the carbon footprint of the garden is to reduce the size of the…

Monday Record May 11

Post published:05/11/2009
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Rose season has begun. My purchases from the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas arrived in good shape. The Double Red Knock-Out will join two others on the bank at the end of the house where I hope they will grow into a large clump. Pink Grootendorst which is billed as a large moundy rugosa will also go on the bank. I also shopped in my own garden and dug up some roots from my Dart's Dash, a low rugosa…

Snow in May?

Post published:05/10/2009
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Even though snow has been recorded in Heath in every month of the year, including August at the Annual Heath Fair, this 'snowy' lawn is actually comprised of drifts of mayflowers. At least I thought they were mayflowers, but when I looked them up to find the botanical name I found that the name mayflowers refers to trailing arbutus, Epigaea repens. When I asked my husband what he called those tiny blue and white flowers with a golden…

National Public Garden Day – May 8

Post published:05/08/2009
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I never knew there was an American Public Gardens Association, or a National Public Gardens Day, but I certainly appreciate and applaud the many public gardens, large and small, in my area for the information and inspiration I gain from each one of them. The term public garden seems to cover many types of garden, so I'd like to mention a few that I have enjoyed. Closest to home is The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls which…

Seeds of Solidarity

Post published:05/06/2009
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“Grow Food Everywhere!” is Ricky Baruc’s enthusiastic motto. It doesn’t matter if the soil is bad, or if you have a bad back. At Seeds of Solidarity Farm in Orange Baruc and his wife Deb Habib have proved that food can be grown anywhere, by anyone. He said his secret is cardboard and worms. I will add he gets some aid from the beautiful Diemand Farm compost. His technique is simple. He clears the garden spot then lays…

Monday Record May 4

Post published:05/04/2009
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Last week’s heat wave woke everyone up. There was enough breeze to keep the black flies down, and make it possible to work in the unexpected 80 plus degrees heat. I always start working close to the house. The Herb Bed is protected from the winter winds and the soil drains well. I weeded the entire length and spread around some rotted horse manure I got from a neighbor’s farm. The Red Fire lettuce…

Muse Day May 2009

Post published:05/01/2009
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Bounded by strand above strand of song -- the robin's acre This haiku by a local poet, Carol Purington, who lives one town over in Colrain, is from her book Family Farm: Haiku for a Place of Moons. Carol was struck by polio in her childhood and has lived in an iron lung for most of her life, but she has found a way to connect the limitations of her life with the boundless energies of her family…

Harvesting the Savor

Post published:04/29/2009
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If any edible garden is going to be a cost saving endeavor, thought has to be given to preserving the harvest. The labor in harvesting and preserving herbs is not onerous, but it must be done in a timely fashion. Timeliness is essential. Harvest your herbs before they bloom, while they are at their most flavorful. Cut them in the morning, after the dew has dried, but before the heat of the day. For hundreds…

Ahead of Schedule

Post published:04/29/2009
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I measure the march toward spring by the arrival of the first dandelion in my 'flowery mead' which some call The Lawn. Yesterday, the first dandelion showed up, at least a week earlier than usual. This morning it has been joined by a host of sunny compatriots. I hope the five days of 80 plus temperatures haven't lulled us into a fatal spring. Along with the dandelions, these violets seemed to pop up and bloom over night in…

Monday Record 4-27

Post published:04/27/2009
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Tynan arrived to spend part of school vacation with us and we devoted ourselves to art, the garden, and celebrating Earth Day at the eleventh most beautiful waterfall in Massachusetts. First, off to Umass, my alma mater, to visit our friend Dan at the new Studio Arts building. He gave us a tour of the undergrad studios where we saw all kinds of art, collage, drawings, assemblages, paintings, clay sculptures, and even a work made with black…