tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23434894922919702112024-03-12T21:36:41.753-04:00UMBS Garden 2010A new addition to the Biostation this year the community garden will provide food for the dining hall, an ethnobotanical plot, and space for ecological experiments.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-71989990182202903912011-06-03T22:30:00.000-04:002011-06-03T22:30:05.441-04:00The Blog Has Moved!If anyone is still checking this blog out, the new blog for the 2011 season can be found <a href="http://umbsgarden.wordpress.com/">HERE</a>! Thanks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-39779136992466888942010-08-15T19:54:00.018-04:002010-08-17T20:02:09.540-04:00Day 89This morning was our last Sunday morning harvest. A little sad, but not so much when you consider all the people who showed up and also how much we harvested. Today we picked more food than ever, and it was truly a celebration of the ability of the land to produce for us with a little care and fostering.<br />
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The bounty was immense and included beans, squash, tomatoes, beets, kale, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, and probably a couple other delights I am forgetting. The Sunday harvests before breakfast have been tremendous fun, and many different people have had the opportunity to come and enjoy and learn in the garden during these days. I want to thank everyone for all the help. I couldn't have done it without you!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-14388200824937003502010-08-11T19:48:00.010-04:002010-08-17T19:54:17.734-04:00Day 85<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TGsg9Xc6sAI/AAAAAAAAEBI/Wwsnu4uDGxY/s1600/DSCN3086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TGsg9Xc6sAI/AAAAAAAAEBI/Wwsnu4uDGxY/s200/DSCN3086.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>Harvest morning! People are definitely busy these days with classes, but the garden was still able to draw Sophie out bright and early for some wonderful weather harvesting. We picked beans, kale, swiss chard, basil, squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. It always seems to work out that two people can harvest exactly how much they can carry down to the dining hall in an hour. Today was no exception, though I will admit both my hands were full and aching by the time we made it down to the dining hall steps!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-19144969087364741732010-08-08T21:30:00.000-04:002010-08-08T21:30:33.749-04:00Day 82<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TF9ZwjvPegI/AAAAAAAAEA0/SYnN8SXsfJU/s1600/DSCN4585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TF9ZwjvPegI/AAAAAAAAEA0/SYnN8SXsfJU/s320/DSCN4585.JPG" /></a></div>A tremendous day for food and preservation! This morning we harvested many a delicious vegetable, and just hours later we met in the kitchen to preserve those same veggies until the cold winter months. With the help of former associate director Mark Paddock, we pickled and canned a plethora of dilly beans, hot peppers, and beets! Mark was a good teacher and we all learned valuable canning techniques, and all the hands made quick work of all the preparation and cleanup. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TF9Z_aYvU2I/AAAAAAAAEA8/5MXaCQZHm6o/s1600/DSCN4594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TF9Z_aYvU2I/AAAAAAAAEA8/5MXaCQZHm6o/s200/DSCN4594.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>It is easy to take for granted all the fresh produce when it is in such abundance. With a little foresight to the future, we can provide for ourselves a taste of summer even in the cold winter months. All it takes is a little preparation and some vinegar!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-62262064365427328632010-08-05T16:57:00.000-04:002010-08-05T16:57:59.538-04:00Day 79<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFsltjIqVwI/AAAAAAAAD_g/TnMAmTHgF1A/s1600/DSCN4574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFsltjIqVwI/AAAAAAAAD_g/TnMAmTHgF1A/s320/DSCN4574.JPG" /></a></div>At some point I will have to see how many of these early morning garden harvest parties we have had. It seems like a bunch, and each one has been super duper fun! Today was no exception, and with a small group we harvested big produce. Peppers, beets, turnips, lots o' tomatoes, some huge zucchinis, cucumbers, kale, and swiss chard were the bounty. On Sunday we will be pickling and canning things from the garden, so the beans and root veggies and cucumbers are all being saved in the fridge until then. Looks like we will have a good amount to play with, so hopefully we'll have a good turnout of people eager to preserve!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-61052382009010835232010-08-01T17:51:00.014-04:002010-08-02T18:02:24.003-04:00Day 75<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFc_Jmkx3aI/AAAAAAAAD_Y/IWngyR7AtKc/s1600/DSCN4564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFc_Jmkx3aI/AAAAAAAAD_Y/IWngyR7AtKc/s320/DSCN4564.JPG" /></a>Harvest day! We had a great variety this morning, and everything seems to finally be coming ripe. Lots of delicious greens, kale, beans, squash, cucumbers, beets, swiss chard, and tomatoes. We even cut two beautiful sunflowers to bring down to the dining hall. It's amazing what just a few people can harvest in an hour, and amazing how much fun harvesting can be with friendsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-52686288171311162872010-07-30T17:45:00.004-04:002010-08-02T17:50:19.152-04:00Day 73<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFc9XSa-njI/AAAAAAAAD_Q/sXbf4nL8cIA/s1600/DSCN4559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFc9XSa-njI/AAAAAAAAD_Q/sXbf4nL8cIA/s400/DSCN4559.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Potato flower</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-48546007510942142232010-07-29T17:43:00.003-04:002010-08-02T17:45:27.353-04:00Day 72<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFc8Ser3YOI/AAAAAAAAD_I/bFOoCUCotwI/s1600/DSCN4553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFc8Ser3YOI/AAAAAAAAD_I/bFOoCUCotwI/s400/DSCN4553.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Megan and cherry tomatoes</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-38530953969455589882010-07-28T18:00:00.004-04:002010-07-30T16:35:46.884-04:00Day 71<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFMzmw_yuLI/AAAAAAAAD-4/qCNmGOs_8Fo/s1600/DSCN3088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFMzmw_yuLI/AAAAAAAAD-4/qCNmGOs_8Fo/s320/DSCN3088.JPG" /></a></div>Well, another morning without a camera. Shucks. Here is a picture from last Wednesday that is pretty awesome.<br />
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Today was exciting because we picked the first of the summer squash. There were two bountiful bushels of both yellow and green. Also we picked a half bushel of purple, green, and yellow beans, greens, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and kale. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"> Curiously enough, I took a similar picture three years ago.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFM28ZzgyeI/AAAAAAAAD_A/-35b6-JXWV0/s1600/zuchinni+nate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFM28ZzgyeI/AAAAAAAAD_A/-35b6-JXWV0/s320/zuchinni+nate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-67782997103601505522010-07-25T16:10:00.015-04:002010-07-30T16:16:48.976-04:00Day 68Uh oh! I woke up this morning and my camera ceased to be functioning. Just last night I was telling someone how awesome that camera is- maybe I should have knocked on some wood! Nonetheless, even without the pictures to prove it, we had a great harvest this morning. There were lots of cucumbers, three colors of beans, wonderful swiss chard, and lots of kale. I am hoping the dining hall will make some kale chips with the kale, but I will have to remember how to do it first. Yum!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFMy6WCEFyI/AAAAAAAAD-w/0AocTQe0JE0/s1600/DSCN3066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFMy6WCEFyI/AAAAAAAAD-w/0AocTQe0JE0/s320/DSCN3066.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The sunflowers are blooming!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-34670981753268429972010-07-21T16:04:00.002-04:002010-07-30T16:09:45.597-04:00Day 64<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFMxFYLi8mI/AAAAAAAAD-k/UZNPTEnJQ_o/s1600/DSCN3090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TFMxFYLi8mI/AAAAAAAAD-k/UZNPTEnJQ_o/s400/DSCN3090.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A wonderful harvest this morning! Greens and beans and cucumbers and peppers, what more could you ask for???</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-20218076627911284912010-07-20T20:13:00.000-04:002010-07-20T20:13:30.627-04:00Day 63<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TEY7b0g5S2I/AAAAAAAAD9M/owh7cRsYjfs/s1600/DSCN3047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TEY7b0g5S2I/AAAAAAAAD9M/owh7cRsYjfs/s400/DSCN3047.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Swiss Chard</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-30776772956051482502010-07-18T19:49:00.008-04:002010-07-20T20:01:03.007-04:00Day 61<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TEY3rHFw-dI/AAAAAAAAD80/IkcNlm0PMEg/s1600/DSCN1328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TEY3rHFw-dI/AAAAAAAAD80/IkcNlm0PMEg/s400/DSCN1328.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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It was a busy day in the garden this morning. At good number of people showed up for this morning's garden party, and it was a trick keeping everyone busy. Things that usually take me an hour alone or with someone else get done soooo fast when their are five pairs of hands working together. Among the things we accomplished this morning are:<br />
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1) Transplanting the last tomatoes<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TEY4du0MtUI/AAAAAAAAD88/UMK-m0XmCG8/s1600/DSCN1313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TEY4du0MtUI/AAAAAAAAD88/UMK-m0XmCG8/s200/DSCN1313.JPG" width="200" /></a>2) Planting asparagus roots<br />
3) Major harvesting action- salad greens, turnips, green onions, radishes, green beans, cucumbers<br />
4) Helping train the pole beans<br />
5) Having fun!<br />
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Thanks so much for the help everyone!!! I couldn't do it without youUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-31347607086844849152010-07-17T20:14:00.000-04:002010-07-18T08:22:26.697-04:00Day 60Holy smokes, 60 days of gardening at the Biostation! Am I a lucky man or what?! The garden is thriving and everything looks so beautiful. Today I spent some time with Mike weeding and mowing down the grass between beds. Everything is lush and green thanks to the many diligent volunteers who are up in the garden every day watering. The plants (and I) thank you! A greater variety of things are coming ripe in the garden now, and Mike and I shared the first cucumber and green beans as a garden snack. Doesn't get much better than this. Tomorrow morning we will have a work party at 9am to harvest, weed, and even plant (some tomatoes from the greenhouse). Only one more month of classes to go, but the garden will be there the whole time providing for us all. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-31628801518853941652010-07-15T08:10:00.002-04:002010-07-20T20:11:31.794-04:00Day 58Another grand harvest this morning. The highlights today were the many beautiful hot peppers Jen picked from both the greenhouse and from in the garden. The varieties are hungarian hot-wax and red rocket, and they will hopefully make it into the chili we are eating tomorrow for lunch. We also cut many greens, more radishes, and some very wonderful swiss chard. Tasty tasty tasty!!!<br />
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There were some of the first cherry tomatoes ripe in the garden in the morning, but those never made it to the dining hall as they were reserved for party-goers along with a little basil to make scrumptious sandwiches!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-28740241235439862842010-07-12T22:07:00.000-04:002010-07-12T22:07:01.928-04:00Day 55<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDvJvV4mooI/AAAAAAAAD6o/LnB2D-ciOj0/s1600/DSCN2961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDvJvV4mooI/AAAAAAAAD6o/LnB2D-ciOj0/s320/DSCN2961.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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This past weekend I spent at the music festival Blissfest, so I was not around to play in the garden. I did get to show the garden off to many of my good friends on Sunday, and was very excited to see their reactions. Unfortunately some things in the greenhouse did not fare well without water and were pretty zapped. But for everything else things grew to epic proportions and it was time this morning for a large harvest.<br />
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Bright and early I went up to the garden with Jill, and we harvested an enormous bounty. Beets, turnips, lots of radishes, and tons of greens all went into baskets, were displayed in front of the dining hall during breakfast, and then made it into the kitchen. This evening dinner featured greens exclusively from the garden (including swiss chard harvested last week) as well as radishes and kohlrabi. It was sooooo yummy and there was even enough to restock the greens once they were all gone. And the best part is that there is plenty more ready to harvest, so tomorrow morning we are going to have a little harvest party at 6AM! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDvKFfGahdI/AAAAAAAAD64/JNcDn-6F09w/s1600/DSCN2898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDvKFfGahdI/AAAAAAAAD64/JNcDn-6F09w/s320/DSCN2898.JPG" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-59319482288036962272010-07-08T21:52:00.005-04:002010-07-12T21:57:01.036-04:00Day 51<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDvHv7zyvbI/AAAAAAAAD6g/iGM0Li4226I/s1600/DSCN2949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDvHv7zyvbI/AAAAAAAAD6g/iGM0Li4226I/s400/DSCN2949.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Today we had a whirlwind tutorial on watering in the garden. I have been recruiting help with things like watering and composting, and I wanted to show people what can be done when they are helping out. Unfortunately we were a little stressed for time, as the all-camp photo and volleyball games were happening shortly after the tutorial. Hooray water!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-74280275161987770652010-07-07T23:16:00.000-04:002010-07-07T23:16:13.858-04:00Day 50<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDVC2wNoXnI/AAAAAAAAD6U/bFTGuMYVSKw/s1600/DSCN2780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDVC2wNoXnI/AAAAAAAAD6U/bFTGuMYVSKw/s200/DSCN2780.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>Another great harvest this morning. Some of the swiss chard needed thinning, and between four rows I cut just under a bushel that will hopefully go into some kind of soup later this week. I also harvested the first peppers from the greenhouse as well as a whole bunch of radishes. Bon appetite!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-46690030613512822492010-07-06T16:51:00.002-04:002010-07-07T17:08:02.283-04:00Day 49<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDTse0kBbfI/AAAAAAAAD6M/AN5UUwDrM90/s1600/DSCN2906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDTse0kBbfI/AAAAAAAAD6M/AN5UUwDrM90/s320/DSCN2906.JPG" /></a></div>A great harvest this morning! Woke up to early morning wet and went to the garden alone for some meditative time. I harvested a bushel of beet greens and spinach which made for a very hardy lunch salad. With the combination of rain and heat, things have been growing like crazy, though some of the cool season crops like spinach are starting to bolt. That's all for now!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-14433855898130221622010-07-04T17:12:00.019-04:002010-07-05T16:11:55.570-04:00Day 47<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI8SQZ6zGI/AAAAAAAAD5A/Ly4akzy7I_U/s1600/DSCN2887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI8SQZ6zGI/AAAAAAAAD5A/Ly4akzy7I_U/s320/DSCN2887.JPG" /></a>Happy 4th of July!!! Today we had an excellent work party in the garden. Starting at 9am people came up to the garden to help plant tomatoes and onions, weed, thin, and harvest! With advertising by word of mouth and through the message board, about eight or nine people showed up enthusiastically. We accomplished lots of things I have been meaning to do but lacking the time for, and the garden is happy for all the help. There are now more cherry tomatoes in the ground, more green onions, thinned swiss chard and beets and much more! Thanks so much for the help everyone! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Best of all, we were able to harvest a bounty that we will likely eat tomorrow night for dinner. There was almost a bushel and a half of greens, the first few beets, radishes, the last of the kohlrabi, and the first of the green onions. Delicious!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI74yIU5PI/AAAAAAAAD4w/YZzxYfwAR8A/s1600/DSCN2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI74yIU5PI/AAAAAAAAD4w/YZzxYfwAR8A/s400/DSCN2905.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-82203445087821664732010-07-02T18:00:00.015-04:002010-07-05T15:51:45.865-04:00Day 45<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI3sXyeE6I/AAAAAAAAD4U/VowGTMMjX0Q/s1600/DSCN2836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI3sXyeE6I/AAAAAAAAD4U/VowGTMMjX0Q/s320/DSCN2836.JPG" /></a></div>After a busy week with my research job, today I was finally able to spend some time with the garden. After doing a little watering and weeding, Jill and I drove to Cheboygan to pick up some supplies. We bought bushel baskets for harvesting, in addition to a whole slurry of seeds, onion sets, and asparagus roots to plant. My plan is to try growing some sprouts this summer, so we picked up some different seeds in bulk for that end. The types of seeds I will be trying are radish, sunflower, bean, and pea. I will give an update on the sprout progress as I figure things out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-16313465124688568542010-06-30T20:42:00.002-04:002010-07-05T15:58:31.092-04:00Day 43<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI5NAF6FAI/AAAAAAAAD4c/UCCKCD3i4P4/s1600/DSCN2832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TDI5NAF6FAI/AAAAAAAAD4c/UCCKCD3i4P4/s320/DSCN2832.JPG" /></a></div>After hearing lots of feedback about wanting to help out in the garden, today we had our first organized meeting for the summer term. The meeting was very helpful for me to be able to organize help for the garden, because it is impossible to keep track of all the help being casually offered my way. Lots of people showed up right after dinner, and I was able to get a good idea about the different ways people want to be involved. There are those who are interested in helping out on an ongoing basis, such as with watering and composting, as well as a contingency of those who can't regularly commit to help, but are interested in coming to help on a day by day basis. This lends itself well to the garden's needs, as I need help both with regular tasks and also with bigger projects that call for many hands. I will be posting sign up sheets for volunteers by Friday, and hopefully people follow up on their interests.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-78648970918654175812010-06-29T19:18:00.001-04:002010-06-30T07:20:19.855-04:00Day 42<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TCsoQQFqxHI/AAAAAAAAD18/bwk-E-A5uXM/s1600/DSCN2838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TCsoQQFqxHI/AAAAAAAAD18/bwk-E-A5uXM/s400/DSCN2838.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jill sorting greens yesterday</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343489492291970211.post-85390235868829002482010-06-28T19:08:00.001-04:002010-06-30T07:17:17.692-04:00Day 41Harvest day! I woke up early and went up to the garden with Jill where there were lots of happy plants waiting for us. We cut several full rows of lettuce and spinach, with a variety of other tasty greens like yukina savoy and rhodos endives. We also harvested the last of the bok choy none too soon as many were beginning to bolt. <br />
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Right after we harvested, we put the bins of veggies right at the entrance to the dining hall so people coming to breakfast could see directly what they would be eating later on that day. I think it is a great thing for people to have a greater awareness of the processes that go into creating the food we eat, and I think there is often a step missed between seeing a plant growing in the ground (if you ever get to see that at all) and seeing it on your plate. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TCsnhTGEjLI/AAAAAAAAD10/0NUd5g8JPjc/s1600/DSCN2841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PDdWxmQgRuE/TCsnhTGEjLI/AAAAAAAAD10/0NUd5g8JPjc/s400/DSCN2841.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
With all the food we picked, Laurie and the kitchen staff were able to create a feast of bok choy salad, as well as to fill the salad bar with greens from the garden. Not only was everything delicious, but people are aware that their food is actually coming from the garden, and have been duly letting me know how wonderful that is. What an awesome job!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0