Comfrey on Freecycle

tomato seedlings and lovage I’ve been trying to get hold of comfrey – for compost. Neither Fedco nor Johnny’s carry the seeds, and the seeds I’ve found are expensive: $4 for 10, plus $3 shipping! I don’t think so. So I put a request for a mature plant on my local Freecycle and within 12 …

More Orders! More Bushes, Berries, and Vines

Irises (probably) in the back yard While I was spending money anyways I went ahead and ordered, from Burnt Ridge: 2x ANANASNAYA FEMALE HARDY KIWI 1x MALE HARDY KIWI /POLLINATOR 2x  PAW PAW 2x YORK ELDERBERRY (canadensis) 2x SOCHI TEA (Camellia sinensis) 1x BARCELONA HAZELNUT (Corylus avellana) 2x BUSH HAZELNUT (Corylus americana) 1x GAMMA HAZELNUT …

Currant and Gooseberry Order, and Crazy Weather

I went ahead and ordered the following from Nourse Farms, here in MA (I’m so happy to get them locally): 4x Blanca white currant 4x Rovada red currant 4x Invictus gooseberry 4x Hinnonmaki gooseberry 25 Purple passion asparagus plants 2x Samdal elderberry 25x Honeyoye strawberries All of these will go into places that are either …

Ribes (Currants and Gooseberries) in Massachusetts

You may recall that last Summer I contacted the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture about growing Ribes on our property.  He told me that I would need a grower’s license, which is a pain to apply for, and anyway the variances from white pine stands will probably disqualify our location. I asked about gooseberries, and he …

Stones, Stones, Stones

We had a glorious weekend. After 5 days of noise and dust, the patio is finished. I’ll take a picture of it once the coming rains have washed it clean. The challenge now is to level the surrounding soil and clear it of stones, stones, stones, and to grow grass and plantings around it. I …

All I Got Done Was…

1. Topped off the large new bed. 2. Sowed 60 peas (5 kinds) in it (along its entire length next to the fence). 3. Didn’t forget to inoculate them. 4. But forgot to chit them. I figure if I keep the bed wet till germination we’ll be okay. (Okay, this is cheating.) 5. Built frame …

Real Food Challenge: Soil and Bread

A neighbor was walking by when I was digging and filling the new garden bed (our side-yard veg garden is fully visible from the street) and he came up the hill to tell me: “You’re hard at work again! And always with a smile!” I smiled but refrained from telling him what I was thinking …