Photo Credit: Our Urban Eden Community Garden by Anna used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

How I love history.

I have come to realize that to move along life one needs to look at the past and understand it before we can move forward.

In my opinion, mistakes are made when we never look at the past and learn from it. The same goes with gardening.

A few years ago, I was enlightened with a saying, which at first shocked me. I am one of those individuals that is a habit keeper.

If it works why change it has in the past been my motto but this saying made a lot of sense so I decided to give it a try. Lo and behold, it worked; so today I live by this simple but complicated motto. The motto I refer to is “if you do things they way they have always been done, then you will get what you have always gotten. “

At this point, one may wonder what this has to do with community garden history. The answer will be clear to you soon after we take a walk down the garden lane past the community gardens of the past.

The first concept of community gardens Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: Kale by Clyde Robinson used under CC BY 2.0

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

This is the second year for The Charlestown Community Gardens and the first for The Maxwell Project.

While this year’s experience was different then last year’s, it is still a learning experience.

I have learned a lot through this experience and have been a little frustrated at times.

But communities were not built in a day nor will the gardens associated with them spring up over night.

The present research I am doing through a survey I created for my Masters degree has backed up several of my challenges I have faced this year. The first one is what exactly is a community garden. This term is very broad and depends on the end use or what you hope to get out of the garden. In my research I have found 7 different types of community gardens and each one is unique in itself.

While the term “land” is used in the description of each garden type, do not feel that you have to garden in the traditional manner. Today’s community gardens can be built right into the land or raised beds can be used.

Also, do not fret if your community garden falls into Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy of Winchester Gardens

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Blood meal, to some, may seem like a boring topic but the importance of this product is what makes it interesting.

Blood meal, by nature, comes from organisms that bleed and in doing so that means animals.

Winchester Gardens have come up with a way of providing the organic gardener with an organic source of blood meal.

At this point, one may be asking how and the answer is simple. Their blood meal only comes from organically grown porcinis, which provides a hormone-free and antibiotic-free product.

But what would a gardener need blood meal for in the first place. First, the blood meal Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Just a few years ago, I became acquainted with the wonderful eggplant.

I was at a friend’s house and he fixed grilled eggplant Parmesan.

Oh how wonderful it was and it tasted very similar to the omnivore type that I have had many times.

After I had this dish, I was determined to grow my own. Through my own experience, I have developed four secrets to growing wonderful eggplants and handling the tough ones.

1. Buy at the right time.  Many gardeners buy their plants too early and in doing so plant them too early. Eggplants should be bought late in the season once the soil has warmed. The plants that you choose should be fruit and bloom free. If you have to buy your plants early, plant them in a gallon container and move outside when the days warm.

2. Plant at the right time.  Eggplants do not do well when the temperatures are cool. They also do not do well when planted early and protected with cloches. The best time to plant eggplant is when the soil warms or as soon as your local frost-free date has passed. Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Oh how I love blackberries, raspberries, cherries, and gooseberries but so does rabbits, deer and other creatures of the wild.

While I am completely against killing these creatures great and small, I do utilize organic techniques that deter them away from my fruit crops.

Below are 5 techniques that I have used successfully.

The key to using these techniques is to always change it up. Animals, just like humans, become accustomed to everyday noises and distractions. Changing it up, keeps the animals on their toes or claws, no pun intended, and protects your crop.

1. Flash Tape – This tape is a specially designed tape that is red on one side and silver on the other. The tape is strung so that it twists upon it self. This twisting moves in the wind and gives the illusion of fire. To utilize this technique to its fullest, only put it out when you begin to see damage and take down at the end of the season or when the fruit is gone. Leaving it up will allow the animals to get used to it and it will become ineffective.

2. Loud Noises – A radio playing loudly can Read the rest of this entry »