Photo Credit: Fertilizer Spike courtesy of Winchester Gardens

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

As my life gets pulled into hundred different directions, I find myself forgetting to do certain things.

This includes forgetting what I entered a room for, forgetting names, and forgetting the date.

While some may view it as old age, I, with my science background, know it is not but instead too many things going on in my head.

My little brain can only process so much and as much as I would like to remember everything, something has to give.

This something is always very important but is especially important when it comes to my “bread and butter” plants or in other words my beloved vegetable plants.

While I have given up my daily vitamins in exchange for fresh vegetables, I have not given up on feeding my plants but Read the rest of this entry »

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 »