This year, I planted oak leaf lettuce and spinach in a cold frame and selected seeds for a Summer raised bed garden of eggplant, cucumbers,peas, beans, and heirloom cherry tomatoes.
5 years ago, my wife and I joined the waiting list for a space in the Wellesley Community Garden on Brookside Road. We were just notified that we'll be granted a space this year. This means that we'll have a 32 x 25 foot plot to share with another family. Our plan is to install several raised beds and plant Japanese pumpkins (Kabocha) and other vegetables that require generous amount of sunny, well-drained flat ground that we do not have in our backyard because of the 100 foot hemlocks causing shade much of the year.
All our seeds come from the Kitazawa Seed Company, a truly remarkable supplier.
For the next few weekends, I'll be tilling soil, hauling mulch, building fences, and installing raised beds. My plan for new fencing to keep rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks from eating our fresh produce is pictured above. I found two great design resources - one about wire fencing and one about raised beds.
We've lived in New England for 15 growing seasons so I've learned not to plant tender seedlings until after mid May. It's still possible to have a hard freeze in April despite the temptation to plant induced by occasional 70 degree days.
As my daughter goes off to college and we enter the next stage of life (51-60), the time in our backyard garden and our new community garden space will be very therapeutic.
The rituals of the planting/harvesting cycle, the anticipation of fresh vegetables, and physical labor of small scale farming melt away all the problems of the week. I look forward to a weekend in the dirt!
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