A Walk in the Garden

The beginning of the gardening season is a good time to go for a walk in the gardens. It’s the perennial garden beds that I’m referring to, and the beds themselves, not the pathways. This is part of an annual springtime tidy-up, and can be critical to the survival of some of the plants.

I get started by carefully raking leaves off the beds and into pathways where they will stay. Mulching paths with leaves reduces yard work in a big way by keeping them free of weeds. Wearing my new pair of beanies,* I walk through each garden bed, stepping between emerging plants, and pressing down on tunneled and hollow spots.

The roots of perennial flowers, shrubs and small trees must be in contact with soil in order for the plants to thrive, so I pay especial attention to their root zones. If you’ve planted these things you may have noticed that instructions say to pack the dirt firmly around the roots. Garden vegetables may like things loose and fluffy, but perennials do best in firmed-up soil.

The dark spot in front of my foot is a mole hole.

It is moles that are responsible for this little bit of work. These creatures live underground and scurry through the soil to find food. Apparently, they had a busy winter this year, as there are lots of tunnels and hollow spots. Two of our moles met their demise over the winter as our ever-helpful dog, Murphy stuck his face into the snow to nab them. Moles look similar to mice but they have big fat hands and a short tail. You may have noticed, too, they seem to have no eyes. But then, why would an underground denizen need eyes?

Moles are not interested in eating your plants or the roots of them- they are meat eaters. I did a bit of research and found several sites talking about earthworms being their main diet. Besides worms there is a long list of critters that moles are inclined to eat. These include things you might not want anyway, such as slugs, termites, carpenter ants, and yellow jackets. Here, we think it’s a good thing that moles like to eat earthworms. Worms are in plentiful supply as they breed in droves under the leaf mulch on our paths.

We don’t give a thought to trying to get rid of the moles. They are part of the food chain. We share the forest with hawks, barred owls, and snakes all of who might like to enjoy one for dinner.

Several times during the growing season I’ll put on my beanies and repeat the walk through the gardens. Just in case. And it’s a simple thing to do. -jmm

* L.L. Bean waterproof mocs (great for wandering in the garden!)

A Recipe for Parsnips

Now that things have warmed up a bit and the soil has begun to thaw, it’s time to pull up the parsnips. Left in the ground all winter, they are harvested as soon as they can be pulled up in spring. A reason to over-winter them in the garden is that the chill of frosty weather sweetens their flavor. Parsnips are a genuine treat in spring when most of the stored crops have run out. It’s important to get them out before the warmer weather inspires them to grow. Parsnip is a biennial, forming a seed head in the second year. As that happens, the core of the root hardens and the plant becomes inedible.

Harvesting the parsnips is one of the great joys of spring. To do this, I start at the edge of the raised bed, and holding the shovel exactly vertical, push it straight down into the soil. Then I tip the shovel to loosen the root so it can be pulled out by hand. This method  keeps the shovel from cutting into and damaging the roots.

Parsnips are in the sink for scrubbing.

This year’s crop is the best ever; the roots are straight, long and plump. AND TASTY!, I might add. Last year we planted them in a new spot with lots of soil depth and plenty of compost. This resulted in an abundant crop, so there are some for the freezer. The first step in preparing parsnips for the freezer is to throughly scrub them, then blanch for two minutes in boiling water. Following this, they are plunged into cold water for a few minutes, and then put into freezer bags.

The best and simplest way to cook parsnips is to sauté them in butter. The dash of wine is optional.

Sautéed Parsnips

Parsnips, 2 to 3 per person depending on size

2 tbsp butter

Dash of white wine

Thoroughly scrub the parsnips with a vegetable brush. Trim off the tops, and slice them in half lengthwise. Melt the butter in a pan over medium low heat. Add the parsnips and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes, turning occasionally so they cook evenly. Cook until the parsnips are fork tender, but not mushy. Add the wine in the last 2 minutes. Enjoy! -G.H.

Are You Making a To-Do List?

The idea of spring showing up has seemed like it would be some kind of a miracle. We got buried under about seven feet of snow this winter, and endured one cold snap after another, but finally the days are warming and the white stuff is gradually disintegrating.

There's still plenty of snow and I’d much prefer to be outdoors doing some work, but in lieu of having actual ground to walk on, here I am indoors planning things to do this gardening season. I’m making a list.

First thing on the list is kale. I was thinking it would be fun to make a garden border out of kale and edible flowers. The way we grow kale is to plant it once and then let it to reseed itself. This means the row stays put. Kale leaves can be picked when needed, including in winter if you can get to it through the snow. Kale usually looks fine all by itself, but I’m thinking a few flowers would both look nice and take it out of the realm of monoculture.

Snow is receding and perennial onions are there for the picking.

The next item on the list involves daffodils. They grow very well here and the clumps have gotten very thick. The bulbs are toxic so none are ever lost to our fat and sassy squirrel population. Last year I started dividing them up, but there are plenty more to do. I’d be happy to share some if you live nearby.

Item three is a new stone wall started last year. Dry stacking stone walls is a favorite thing to do, and I can’t wait to get started.

Another item on the agenda is something new to learn about. We’ve decided to raise some chickens. This is a first, a whole new adventure as neither of us has done this before. We can’t wait to get started and we’ll let you know what happens.

The annual load of organic manure from grass fed cows will be arriving as soon as the ground firms up. There will be compost piles to build. Some of the manure will need to be wheelbarrowed out to the orchard for building compost piles there.

A sign of spring- daffodils ready to bloom.

There’s some landscaping to do by the pond. Another place to make a compost pile as it's on the list for planting a willow and some native flowering plants.

Gil has already seeded the cold frames full of salad plants after the winter ones got used up, and they have started to grow. Seeds for other crops are started indoors.

Looks like it will be a busy gardening season this year. It will be great to get out there and do stuff. The more I think about it, the longer my list gets! -jmm

Jazz in the Garden … and Thoughts of Spring

There’s a jazz jam in the garden. No, the zucchini isn’t sitting on a piano bench. The cauliflower isn’t holding drum sticks. But, there’s a sweet sound of music coming from the soil if you have an ear to hear the rhythm in the garden. Spring is when the garden melodies start warming up.

Like a piano, melodic, emanating beautiful chords, the garden flowers delight the soul and sustain the bees. The bass is a steady force, bursting with strength and an occasional solo that arrests the background chatter for a spell. So it goes with the hearty root veggies, the incredible parsnip, the dependable potato and the oh-so-edible rutabaga. The drums are in the background, hardly noticed, but crucial to keep order in the combo. Compost is also unnoticeable, but without it growth is sporadic and spindly. The compost is crucial for a virtuoso harvest.

Happy first day of spring!

Throwing a flashy saxophone attention-grabbing riff into the mix is like walking past the pepper patch. The orange habaneros, bright red cayennes and yellow banana peppers grab your attention and slow your step while you think about spicing up the stew pot.

Brass horns provide a solid background with flashes of harmonic brilliance when they take center stage. So does the reliable tomato, sometimes in a sauce, but also topping a salad, adding color, flavor and pizazz. The trombone can slide in like a wild card and take over the gig. A little arugula in the salad has the same effect. So does basil, pesto-ing to center stage, or blueberries that harmonize with just about anything. 

The vocalist is the main course, like wild caught jumbo shrimp or grass fed local beef. She is the center stage ingredient, but gives room to the others to shine on their own.

Though all members of the combo are artists in their own right, it takes them all performing together to bring the audience to their feet, demanding an encore. The same goes for the garden. It takes the entire lot of to make a feast.

Inspiration for this post came from a night at the Acton (Massachusetts) Jazz Café. We hope your garden produces a symphony of flavor. -G.H.

Buying Seeds: Organic vs Inorganic

As we place our orders for the few packets of seeds needed to populate a smallish garden, I began to question, why buy organic seeds? We are fortunate to have three in-state companies to choose from: Johnny’s, Pinetree, and Fedco. All three companies run their own seed trials, while Fedco states that they also cultivate relationships with many small farmers in sourcing their inventory. And all three offer a selection of organic seeds. Why pay a little more for seeds that are grown free of chemicals? I questioned whether plants grown from inorganic seeds will be just as organic as the methods used to raise them. I thought I’d put the question to a google search.

Seeds for this year's garden are both saved and bought

What turned up were several reasons for choosing organic seeds over inorganic.  The reasons seemed to ditto each other from one site to another. Three main ideas were presented. One stated that plants grown for seed production may require heavy use of chemicals. These may include herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. An argument could be made that, to produce seed, a plant grows for a longer time. In the case of biennials such as kale and parsley, the plants must be grown into their second year. This would then translate into a heavier use of chemical additives than for plants grown for crops.

Yet another reason given was that organic seeds are better adapted to organic growing methods than those that were subjected to chemicals. None of the sources indicated the presence of studies to prove this point. I would want to see a study that might involve a range of food plants. The comparison would then look at any differences in how well the plants got started, the general health of the growing plants, and any difference in yields. Without studies, I’m not convinced.

A final reason addressed ethical concerns. Buying organic seeds is one of many ways to encourage organic growing in general. This reason is one that I wholeheartedly agree with. It is certainly a wonderful thing to encourage organic farming and gardening in as many ways as possible. Knowing that our foods are free of chemicals is one advantage to organic growing, with another being that organic is far, far better for the environment and therefore the ability of our planet to sustain life.

Are there downsides to organic seeds? Only one popped up in my research. These seeds are often more expensive. This seemed like a minor point especially since we buy so few. It would be great to have access to research documenting how organic differs from inorganic throughout the life cycle of the plant. Until this kind of research becomes available, we can choose to buy organic on the basis of issues of sustainability, and in hopes that they will indeed present improved performance. Even if it means paying a bit more. -jmm

Protecting Farmlands: A New Land Trust Program

Coming up our mountainside driveway with a handful of mail the other day, I happened to notice on top of a stack of gardening catalogs a newsletter from the Maine Farmland Trust. An article caught my interest and I suddenly found myself coming up short at the steps to the front door. There’s nothing like an interesting read to keep you from knowing where you are. I was astounded by a new program they have started.

Maybe you are not familiar with the Maine Farmland Trust. They are a nonprofit  organization that creates easements on land used for farming in Maine. An easement is a legal means of keeping tracts of land undeveloped while designating specific uses, in this case, farming.

Faster than a trust can write up the documentation to protect land, it seems that acreage is taken over for development, becoming houses, businesses, and even communities almost overnight. And, this is happening not just in Maine, but almost everywhere. It might be a good idea for all of us to wake up and take notice. As families continue to expand, more people need housing. Before you think that new homes might be a good use for repurposed farmland, consider that as population grows, greater and greater amounts of food are needed. Add to this climate change which threatens to drown some areas and turn others into desert, while causing unpredictable storms that have already destroyed crops. It seems that we have a compelling need to keep as much land as possible in food production.

Because land trusts typically operate on a limited budget, it is standard practice for a willing land owner to donate the easement, often paying for the needed surveying and legal work. For a trust to secure easements by waiting for them to be donated had one thing going against it. There are many land owners who simply cannot afford to fund the expenses of an easement. They may be tempted to sell land to a developer as a way of raising cash even if they truly wish to protect the property from development.

What I got excited about in the Farmland Trust's newsletter is their new program for procuring easements. They are now taking on easements funded by the trust’s own fundraising efforts. By raising the needed amounts, they buy an easement, paying the owner a certain price per acre. The price is a set amount, less than market value, but still an adequate amount to attract easements. This is already a known method of doing easements, but few land trusts may be able to attract the needed funding.

Through this program, according to the newsletter, three farms have been granted easements, three more are in the works, and nineteen await consideration. Farm owners who love their lands and believe in the value of farming now have a lasting option to subdivision. Farmland is precious, and once divided for development is gone forever. It will be a relief to owners that their precious lands can continue to produce food. It is good, too for those of us who appreciate local agriculture and want it to continue. For a long, long, time. -jmm

It's Time for Tool Care

It’s white, it’s fluffy, and it’s stacking up. Deepening layers of snow and ice seem to be saying that winter has settled in. And that means it’s time to give our hard-worked tools and equipment some TLC and put them into storage until spring. They do a lot for us, so it seems right to return the favor. I gather a few simple items and get to work.

The saw mill, borrowed from a friend, is already covered with a tarp, but gasoline has a short shelf life and should not be left in equipment that will not be used for three months or more. I empty out the fuel and will be taking it to our town transfer station where they have a depository for such things. I fire up the engine and leave to run dry while moving on to the next thing on the agenda.

The chain saws are next. They get winterized in much the same way; empty the fuel and run them dry to clear fuel lines and carburetor. I do this outdoors away from any containers of fuel. I then take off the bars and chains, clean them and check the spark plugs. I clean the power heads and air filters.

Hand tools are cleaned and ready for spring

And on to the next things: gardening hand tools. These are in need of serious work. A wire brush proves to be the tool of choice to scour off the dirt. I file the edges of shovels and hoes, sharpen axes, hatchets, pruners and loppers, and tackle rust spots with course sand paper. A light coating of oil on metal surfaces will keep them rust free for the winter. Wooden handles are buffed with rubbing alcohol and then get a coating of paste wax.

It is necessary to sort the tools; some are broken or too damaged for further use- a shovel with a split blade and another one with a cracked handle, along with some worn out snow shovels. These will go to the dump along with the used fuels.

It’s a good feeling to know that our tools and equipment are cared for and will be ready for us when spring arrives. -G.H.