This is Mark with one of our Mammoth Sunflowers last fall.
This Friday ... just in time for my favorite holiday (one that I think should be a national day off to pick up after ourselves), Earth Day, the Concord Monitor and the wonderful folks involved with the Green Guide have launched ...
::drum roll please::
GREEN GUIDE NH!!! HOORAY!!!
Visit, visit, visit!!! Danielle Kronk (the lady in the know)0 gave me the heads up on this great addition to New Hampshire culture a little while ago and I have to give her and her staff HUGE props for doing such a tremendous job on it.
Well done, ya'll. Gaia is beaming, I can see her ear-to-ear grin now!
Ya' see ... it's folks like Danielle and crew that help to make this state and our communities a better place. Like my friend Suzan Ware Flower, another journalist who doesn't get enough recognition, when writers utilize these spaces- when they seek out platforms for educating their friends and neighbors- we're all a lot better off. They have important things to share and we should be listening.
In another sweet gesture by Danielle- you can reach my blog via the Green Guide web site.
Now, this is super exciting for me. I've been working on this little bloggy-thingy for over a year now. There have been lulls in my postings (specifically during the election and my transition from the Hippo to non-journalistic employment), but this is the best catalyst for me to get back on the band wagon.
To new readers: Let it be known ... sometimes I cuss. Sometimes I get politically charged. Sometimes I digress and get way off topic. Overall, I hope you feel a little more informed ... sometimes get a laugh ... and above all else, I hope you keep reading. ;-)
So, what are we talking about today, with this weather that is just making me itch to put my hands into the soil at the garden plot????
Let's talk GERMINATION.
Mark and I have several plants going ... here they are in order of planting over the past few weeks:
Black Eyed Susans
Catnip
Spearmint
Peppers (New Ace- best kind EVER.)
Eggplant
Broccoli
Zinnias
Azaleas
... and of what else we have, my brain log is weak. There are plenty more along the way, including pumpkins and melons, heirloom tomatoes, and most of the rest goes seed to soil ... summer squash, zucchini, mescaline and mustard greens, rainbow chard, radishes, sunflowers (Teddy Bears, a flower introduced to me by a farm at the Concord Farmer's Market), shelling peas, pole beans ...
::whew!::
We are going to be rolling in the veggies this summer. For those that were following my gardening ventures last summer, you know what a change this kind of variety is for us. For those unaware, Mark and I had much in the way of volume, but little in the way of veggie variety.
31 Tomato plants
20 New Ace peppers
12 Jalapeno plants
Not enough sweet peas
12 Summer Squash
A few gourds (really puny butternut squash)
Some gorgeous marigolds we got from the Fisherville Road prison greenhouse.
To all gardeners who know how vital marigolds are, get the Sunshine variety from the prison greenhouse. I have yet to see a marigold that rivals their vitality and the beauty of their blooms.
This is a shot of them in September, after several frosts ... and they're still kickin' it. Word.
That's about the only greenhouse plant we'll be buying this year, the rest is sitting on a fat kitchen table in my parent's livingroom in Bow. They have huge south facing windows that have allowed us to get some light to the germinating seeds with out running out and buying shop lights to hang over them. So far so good. I'll take pictures this weekend and post them here for all to see. It's quite a set-up ... a bit amateur hour, but we're not looking for awards ... we're just looking for a healthy, vibrant garden this year.
Now, Mark and I have a plot at the Concord Community Gardens. I'm fearful of putting their exact location here because our neighbors and ourselves have had several brushes with theft from our gardens. Yes ... people drive (or walk) to our plots with plastic bags and pick whatever they want from the gardens. One of our neighbors went on a long weekend vacation and came back to find half of his corn crop completely gone ... stolen by the worst thieves of all- the two legged kind. Mark and I spend at least 10 ours a week, almost always more, in our plot and to have our eggplant and herbs stolen was heartbreaking. We put good vibes out there, what kind of Karma would get our hard labor vandalized?? Hopefully this is an issue that will be addressed thanks to the survey sent out by NH DRED with our plot renewal forms. If you happen to bump into DRED at a local farm expo or farmers' market, take the survey and let them know your thoughts on the whole affair- that's how they can make these programs better for all of us.
Well, with all that said I have to be moving on for now. In the mean time, enjoy this gorgeous spring weather!!
Thanks for reading, go hug a tree.
Best,
Say
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