May 01, 2012

Wednesday at a Time

May 01, 2012/ Hilary Gordon

“One day at a time” is a slogan used by many ambitious people, such as athletes, business entrepreneurs, and politicians. It conveys the wisdom of breaking up a difficult or prolonged task into manageable parts. At Garden for the Environment this phrase takes on a special meaning. On Wednesday every week, a dedicated group of volunteers and interns show up by ten in the morning and for the next four hours, we break into crews to weed, prune, compost, and fertilize.

February 01, 2012

Grow Your Own Food

February 01, 2012/ Hilary Gordon

This year more people than ever seem ready to start growing at least some of their own food in their gardens or on their decks and balconies. The weather is rarely cold enough to stop all plants from growing, so we can harvest food from our gardens all year round, even in December and January. On the other hand, it doesn't ever get warm enough for many crops which other regions can grow in the summer time, especially that hallmark of backyard gardening, the tomato.

July 01, 2011

An Outdoor Education

July 01, 2011/ Hilary Gordon

Late June and early July means Summer Sprouts is blooming in the garden. The Summer Sprouts are high school and middle school youth who come to learn outdoors for three weeks of garden-based programs, and they are blooming brightly. The youth are learning leadership skills, biking, building compost piles, and eating huge salads and kale dishes from our veggie beds. They are making new friends, and learning about plant care.

June 01, 2011

Yikes!

June 01, 2011/ Hilary Gordon

For me, every year there’s a moment in May when the garden is suddenly just too much. All the irrigation has to be troubleshot and turned on after winter. All the weeds are as high as an elephant’s eye. All the winter crops suddenly bolt so all the vegetable beds have to be turned over and planted for summer. All the spring blooming ornamentals need deadheading, while the cool season annuals are already finished and need to be composted. Yikes!

March 01, 2011

A Satisfying Harvest

March 01, 2011/ Hilary Gordon

Maybe the best kept secret at GFE is our Harvest Program. Every Saturday morning, a small band of dedicated volunteers harvests fruits and vegetables from all over the garden, makes a beautiful bouquet and an herb bundle, and packs everything into a spicy fragrant box of freshness. So far, we have delivered over 400 lbs. of food through this program.

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