Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 84 Entries. Sunday, April 10 View Page Hi, happy 2022. Hope everyone had a good fall and winter! Early Spring is here. I went down to the garden today in the city park and there was a Northern Flicker drumming away on a light post.   Sunday, April 10 View Page The Winter Rye looks great. The community garden opens this upcoming weekend. I will cut the rye with a push mower and take a soil sample. This is my third year growing and I am looking to make a big jump. This is my first season when I was able to add amendments the previous fall.   Saturday, April 16 View Page After the BAA 5k today we had a couple hours of required garden clean up. There were a ton of branches, sticks, and leaves that had to be cleaned up. Boston Parks also stopped by today and serviced the garden's water hook up. This is the Winter Rye before I cut it.   Saturday, April 16 View Page The Winter Rye after I cut it with the push mower. It is like a carpet now. The blades need sharpening-will have to look into that.   Saturday, April 16 View Page This year my girlfriend has a plot. The plan is tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, marigolds, and perhaps some other unique plants to mix it up a bit.   Tuesday, April 26 View Page I cut the Winter Rye short today. The soil test results should be back soon.   Tuesday, April 26 View Page Thank you to Steve Connolly for his 1046 seeds. I purchased a Jump Start germination dome and this grow bulb over the winter and did some seed starting experiments/practice. I stated the seeds today. Probably a bit early as I will not be using a hoop house/green house. Given the offsite location of my plot and city traffic multiple trips a day just isn’t in the cards and I would risk burning the plants and frost at night. I started in five inch peat pots and will be transplanting to one gallon pots, maybe two gallon pots depending on the weather.   Thursday, April 28 View Page The reason I started the seeds a bit early is during the last week we were on a LA/Death Valley/Vegas road trip. This is the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley in the early evening. 97 degrees. Death Valley is like another planet with a wide variety of landscapes and elevations. One of the highlights was a 87 degree spring fed pool and looking up into the sky at night.   Thursday, May 5 View Page Two for two. A warm up is coming in about a week, so outdoor planting will probably be in the middle of May.   Saturday, May 7 View Page The weeds grew like crazy in my girlfriend’s garden.   Saturday, May 7 View Page We hauled compost to the vegetable garden. While the city of Boston has a compost program, unfortunately it is not available to residents. The city dumps piles of compost outside of community gardens and also uses in in Boston Parks.   Saturday, May 7 View Page Next, I tilled the vegetable garden and we added rows. Looks a lot better!   Saturday, May 7 View Page I rented a tiller in Dorchester. Unfortunately the 3hp model I requested was not working so I ended up with a 5 hp model. The extra weight was more difficult in these smaller plots but we got through it. Amendments were added and the winter rye tilled in. The seaweed from Halloween was all decomposed-no trace of it. The soil looks and tested way better than last spring.   Saturday, May 7 View Page It was only 51 degrees today with a cold wind off the harbor. I also tilled two other garden plots. We worked for just over four hours. It was time for a late lunch, some Sam Summers, and Celtics playoffs.   Saturday, May 7 View Page It was only 51 degrees today with a cold wind off the harbor. I also tilled two other garden plots. We worked for just over four hours. It was time for a late lunch, some Sam Summers, and Celtics playoffs.   Monday, May 16 View Page The plants are really looking good. They are growing more and more each day. I transplanted them into one gallon plastic containers last week. I was out of town this past weekend so this week will harden them off, add 5lbs of WOW Kelp Meal to the garden, make final garden preparations, transplant one outside, and begin spoon feeding. The weather looks solid with the lowest lows at 50 degrees and highs in the 70s and 80s.   Tuesday, May 17 View Page We went down to the plot this evening after work. I removed small amounts of winter rye along the wooden borders that the tiller could not reach. Added 5lbs of Kelp Meal.   Friday, May 20 View Page I typically cut the grass at the garden on Friday evenings. I find it a relaxing way to start the weekends. Still have to sharpen the blades.   Sunday, May 22 View Page With the heat this weekend I have postponed transplant date until early this week when it cools off. I started the spoon feeding program yesterday, minus the fish, crab and lobster.   Wednesday, May 25 View Page I transplanted outside this past Monday evening. I planted in the Northeast corner of my plot and will be growing at an angle this year to the Southwest corner for a longer main vine. Spoon fed today.   Sunday, June 5 View Page Not the best pic with the cell phone zoom, but the plant has great color. I might prune the kick stand leaf off in a couple days-will see how it looks. Running the marathon at my pace...   Sunday, June 5 View Page The vegetable garden today. Heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, kale, peppers, cucumber, marigolds, and a Peri-Peri aka African Red Devil Pepper Plant. Planting on the bottom of the rows drew some curiosity from other gardeners, yet is pretty common in Portuguese gardens. It makes watering easy as we place the hose at one end of the trenches and also provides some wind protection to small seedlings. It reminds me of how very few of us plant pumpkins on mounds these days as we want water and nutrients flowing towards our plants, not away.   Sunday, June 12 View Page Sunday morning spoon feeding. The plant is about four feet long now, up from three feet on Friday evening. Just like last year at this time picking up speed…   Wednesday, June 15 View Page Made it down to the plot this evening. With the PGA Tour event in Brookline traffic is awful! I have added a "new" product to my vine burying mixture this year, Espoma Bio-Tone. The neat thing about the message board on here is it seems every product in the history of gardening has been talked about at some point. The Bio-Tone had a few posts back around 2008-2010ish when it was new. I bought it because it contains five of the same bacteria strains found in Root. Of course Root has them at 60m CFU/gram while Espoma is at 1.5m CFU/gram. However, Espoma is also only $13.99 for four pounds.   Wednesday, June 15 View Page My vine burying technique-pretty standard. It seems some people have gotten away from trenches these days? When I enter the garden my plant always looks a bit shorter than it is since I am growing it diagonally this year in the plot. Male flower buds are appearing. Making our way to the other end of the plot...   Tuesday, June 21 View Page Vine buried today, spoon fed, and watered this morning. No sign of cucumber beetles or SVBs. Plant looks good.   Sunday, June 26 View Page Summer heat in the city. All is quiet on this Sunday morning.   Sunday, June 26 View Page I buried vines, spoon fed, and watered. Had to stop a few times and hose myself down and stop sweat from running into my eyes. Four secondaries on one side and five on the other. The plant is feeling the heat. Pretty neat to see how quickly it perks up after watering.   Sunday, June 26 View Page The vegetable garden is doing well. Planting is fully completed. Some from seed and others were seedlings. A bunch of different varieties and planting dates. Trench watering and misted today in the heat.   Tuesday, June 28 View Page We have the first female around 12ft out near the tip of the plant.   Tuesday, June 28 View Page No males have opened yet. Their stems are about three inches long. Very pleased with how the plant and plot look right now. Long way to go though…   Wednesday, July 6 View Page The males are late showing up to the party. Yesterday I went down to Steve Connolly's patch in Sharon and he gave me a few male flowers from his Mendi 2356 plant. I pollinated this morning when the sun was out.   Wednesday, July 6 View Page We had a lot of rain last night so I just spoon fed with four gallons of water. It will not be long until the plant fills the 250 sq ft plot.   Wednesday, July 13 View Page Not good. Unfortunately I was not able to make it down to the garden yesterday. Very hot and yesterday's rainfall broke apart before making it to Boston. A vegetable garden would be so much easier.   Wednesday, July 13 View Page DAP 7. I carefully removed the flower remnants, worked a bit on the curve, and carefully moved the pumpkin just a little bit in today's heat. No stem cracks this year hopefully!   Wednesday, July 13 View Page Since Sunday I have terminated eight secondaries. Spoon fed today and watered-glad the plant perked up quickly. I am carefully curving the main and running it to the far corner where it will be terminated. I have to measure but the main is probably around 21ft ish long now.   Monday, July 18 View Page Unfortunately the pumpkin has done nothing since Wednesday. The plant still hasn’t produced a single male flower. Stems get about three inches tall and the flower never open. There is a genetic issue with the plant which is very frustrating and disappointing as my path is so narrow, and everything else has been going well. Perhaps my plant will not be able to grow a pumpkin? I thought about quitting this weekend, but going to give it another shot. Deja vu today with another another trip to Steve Connolly’s for a couple more flowers from his Mendi 2356, thanks again. We also started some broccoli and brussel sprout seeds last week indoors to replace the harvested lettuce. I will be growing two wee b little pumpkins as well. The way things are headed those might be my biggest pumpkin, haha.   Thursday, July 21 View Page Watered tonight. I have stopped vine burying and spoon feeding. I pollinated the flower in the foreground a couple of days ago, but I doubt it will take. Other ones have opened but nothing to pollinate them with. I am done driving 1.5-1.75 hours round trip to get flowers. I will give it another week before ripping the plant up and going with wee b littles, or just a cover crop. Disappointing, I was hoping for back to back last place finishes at Topsfield, haha.   Thursday, July 21 View Page We have some animals in the garden doing some damage. The chewed pumpkin was pollinated 7/6 and just rotted away.   Thursday, July 21 View Page The vegetable garden is looking great and really producing! The giant marigolds were started from seed and should be blooming soon.   Thursday, July 21 View Page We harvested some low lying vegetables this evening. There are plenty higher up so hopefully the critters don’t get them. We will be pickling the cucumbers, Boston pickles!   Friday, July 22 View Page We watered both gardens tonight. The pumpkin I pollinated early in the week looks small, soft, and has flies on it. It appears three females opened Friday morning with another three or very close, and another five or so just a day or two behind. Way more females than I had the last two years. Still not one male has matured and opened. I don’t know if this plant is technically a male sterile but it certainly appears the ethylene is very high. I planted six more wee b little seeds indoors-90 days to maturity so if all goes well we should have some before Halloween.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page I am done for the season. Still no males and nothing pollinated. The good news is a bunch of wee b littles have germinated at home and will be going into the plot soon when I pull the plant.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page The squirrels have been pretty bad this year throughout the gardens. Doesn’t matter on my plant at this point.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page The vegetable garden is looking great and has already accounted for some great salads. We used/are using WOW Starter Paks, Soil & Plant Booster, and MI. Espoma Biotone and Garden Tone.   Wednesday, July 27 View Page Vegetable garden.   Sunday, July 31 View Page The giant marigolds have started flowering.   Sunday, July 31 View Page Eight Wee B Littles have germinated indoors. Will have to separate them soon. I am going to put in medium effort on these, weekly feedings, vine bury with just soil, weeding, etc. Curious how many I can get per plant?   Wednesday, August 3 View Page A mini harvest today.   Sunday, August 7 View Page With the drought the squirrels and racoons seem extra aggressive this year. Better to harvest a bit early and ripen indoors than to lose them to the animals.   Sunday, August 7 View Page Sunday Evening at Faneuil Hall. Many Boston residents are out of town for summer weekends, most of the college students have yet to return, but this area is packed with tourists.   Thursday, August 11 View Page Boston recently had two heatwaves each lasting six days. First time this has happened since record keeping. We also just ended the warmest 30 day stretch with a 89.9 degree maximum mean temperature. That 30 day period ended on 8/9.   Friday, August 12 View Page The Wee B Littles are still indoors. I am misting them with small amounts of Original Miracle Grow 24-8-16 to get them going. MG has gotten so much flak over the years but compare its label to Pete's or Plant Marvel-very similar products.   Friday, August 12 View Page ...this pic should be with today's posting.   Monday, August 15 View Page A different kind of big orange.   Friday, August 26 View Page We are going to push the public garden season this year. Today I transplanted three Wee-B-Littles into my patch. I also added six broccoli plants and six collard greens.   Friday, August 26 View Page We also added six collard greens and broccoli plants to the vegetable garden-where the lettuce had been. The cucumber plants are getting tired. Would like to plant more but they seem very hard to find at this point in the summer. The garden closes on 10/31. I know we had water on at least through 10/1 last year so there is a bit of uncertainty about October.   Sunday, September 4 View Page We were away for a week and returned to the garden today. Fortunately the garden coordinator watered for us and Boston had some rain. This Wee B Little is the best of the three so far. A very different growth timeline than the Atlantic Giants.   Sunday, September 4 View Page This Early Girl Tomato plant has really been producing all season for us. It shows no signs of aging yet.   Sunday, September 4 View Page We finally found some cucumber seedlings. These are the Slicing variety. A planted a couple in my plot as well and we also planted Spinach in my plot today too. We might be pushing the season a bit too much with the cucumbers, we shall see...   Monday, September 19 View Page San Diego sunset. 10 days here for work/vacation.   Saturday, September 24 View Page Perhaps the biggest pumpkins in the city limits this year? Roche Brothers, West Roxbury.   Wednesday, September 28 View Page Fenway Park Garden. It is included on the tours of the park.   Friday, October 7 View Page Despite the gardens being open until 10/31, Boston Parks turned the water off on 9/23! I got them to turn it back on and they said it will be on through 10/15. The remnants of Ian sat here for around four days. The gardens got beat up a bit as East and Northeast winds blow across the park and right into the gardens.   Tuesday, October 11 View Page Bumble Bees love the giant marigolds.   Monday, October 17 View Page I pollinated a Wee B Little today. Can we get a small pumpkin by Halloween with these cooler temps and less daylight? I don't know. We shall see.   Monday, October 17 View Page The broccoli are growing but not sure if I will get heads before Halloween. The spinach is doing well and we already harvested a bit. The cucumbers in my garden did not make it.   Monday, October 17 View Page The Kale and Collard Greens are doing very well in our vegetable garden. The season is coming to a close very soon. Mandatory garden clean-up day is 10/22-if you don't attend say goodbye to your plot for next year. However, one's plants can stay in for a bit longer as the garden closes for the season on 10/31. On the weekend of 10/29-10/30 we plan to remove all plants, add amendments, seaweed from South Boston beaches, Black Kow composted manure, and plant a generous amount of Winter Rye.   Saturday, October 22 View Page DAP 5.   Saturday, October 22 View Page The tomatoes and cucumbers are tired, but the rest of the vegetable garden looks good.   Saturday, October 22 View Page The “urban wild lands” part of the park.   Sunday, October 23 View Page I gathered some seaweed this morning at Carson Beach in South Boston. Most of it was already rotting but I got one solid wheelbarrow of good seaweed. I will hit an open ocean beach in the next few days to gather more.   Sunday, October 23 View Page I gathered some seaweed this morning at Carson Beach in South Boston. Most of it was already rotting but I got one solid wheelbarrow of good seaweed. I will hit an open ocean beach in the next few days to gather more.   Friday, October 28 View Page I took a half day today and went down to Hull to gather seaweed. Hit the jackpot. Hull is so close, yet so far from Boston.   Friday, October 28 View Page Fortunately there was a good amount of fresh seaweed that recently washed up. We know someone in Hull and were able to wash a lot of the sand off. Stopped at Home Depot in Weymouth on the way home and got nine bags of Black Kow.   Saturday, October 29 View Page The park on this beautiful fall morning.   Saturday, October 29 View Page Final corner shot of the year of the vegetable garden.   Saturday, October 29 View Page The Kale and Collard Greens. Everything was harvested.   Saturday, October 29 View Page We got one small Wee B Little Pumpkin. The broccoli heads were just starting-probably needed a couple more weeks. We harvested the rest of the Spinach.   Saturday, October 29 View Page We dug six trenches in each garden and buried the four wheel barrow loads of seaweed. Also added some Oak Leaves. I did not soil test my plot this fall. I will in the spring.   Saturday, October 29 View Page Technically one is not supposed to drive a vehicle in Boston Parks, but there were cars in the park all summer when people were grilling. Boston Detectives stopped by the park this afternoon and were looking around. It is not everyday you see someone with a trench coat and handgun walk by the garden.   Saturday, October 29 View Page I also added six bags of Black Kow to my plot and seeded with 3lbs of Winter Rye seed. The water is turned off, but rain is forecast for Monday evening.   Saturday, October 29 View Page The vegetable garden has also been put to bed with 3lbs of Winter Rye Seed.   Monday, October 31 View Page The DeMarco .125! We had the weigh off this morning in Boston. Just glad to put a pumpkin on the scale this fall, haha. If anyone wants seeds feel free to reach out.