January 20, 2010

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Working on the cover of the February 1 issue. It's got a spectacular seasonal image, which we'll soon offer a sneak peek at.

Researching and writing Starting from Seed, a chart of indoor crop starting dates in relation to local last frost dates (in Boston between April 1 - 30). The vegetables and herbs started yesterday are staying comfortably warm in front of the office heat register.

Programmed a Radio Roofscape set drawn from Beethoven's late string quartets. Lost 5 listeners overnight! That's never happened, not even close. Occasionally 1 leaves, but another soon arrives. Not now, no new listeners despite a reggae set with lots of props. But the ratio - 1 listener per 5 programmed tracks (now 2691/522) - remains remarkably consistent. We hit 500 exactly on 12/31/09, so we're continuikng to add more than 1 per day. Roll over Beethoven, the big old dog is movin' in.

Visitor tonight for dinner. Charles made kugel with sides of Brussel sprouts and broccoli, lashings of sour cream and apple sauce, bottles of beer. The first kugel came out of the oven early apparently, but I dug it. I like most things done rare - not raw, no stinkin' sushi please - but rare (restored body heat) or medium rare (fevered body heat).

Our office enjoyed a clean sweep today. Boy was that badly needed. Dust bunnies the size of tumbleweeds were collected in the corners.

Haiti and yesterday's Mass. senate election bumming us out. Exchange heard while waiting in line ... "How's your family (in Haiti)?" "Dead." Boston has the third largest Haitian population in the US, and many other peoples from The Yard. You're in our thoughts. I can't imagine the chaos, an entire country shaken to its very core, collapsed. The extent of personal suffering, the extremity of shared suffering, in an already suffering land. There but ...

Image ... Garden Patio in Snow. Fenway Victory Gardens, Boston.

Starting from Seed . 1 | Garden Gates

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The seed catalogs, like late presents packed with promises, begin arriving soon after Christmas then, as winter finally surrenders to spring, the garden season gets under way. One of the gardener's many pleasant seasonal rituals, the first of the new year, is indoor seed starting.

Some seeds are started indoors for later transplanting out into the garden as seedlings or young plants. This technique allows the cultivation of the boys of summer, the warm weather lovers - tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc. - in the northerly latitudes. It's also useful for getting a jump on the growing season with many of the plants that prefer cooler temperatures - lettuces, kale and mustard for example. Some plants can be treated either way, others dislike transplanting and must be direct seeded or sown directly into the outdoor garden beds they will grow in. Spinach, peas, beets and beans are among these finicky vegetables.

Image ... Jimmy with Tomatoes. By Lois Johnson. They look like Mortgage Lifters for sure. Fenway Victory Gardens, Boston.

January 18, 2010

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Woke to a blustery nor'easter with sleet, rain, snow, fog and very high winds. A wintery mix. A perfect day to go nowhere - write, start seeds, do chores. Took a brief walk as dawn slipped in, the sky a grayed-out orange.

MLK Day. Got back to work on his article. Editing to date from the top, then continuing to write. Today: Boston at the time, King's personal life, Martin and Coretta meeting. See the Boston Globe today - John Kerry is bravely trying to get the King FBI and other government files finally realeased under FOIA.

Started Starting from Seed, a seasonal, or soon to be seasonal, article that's been in the works for a long time about seed starting.

Walked and photographed, looking for snow scenes, to take a break from the laptop screen. Worked wonders. Got few photos, but came back ready to write.

Image ... Village in snow at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Japanese wood block print. Artist unknown.

Square Fooot Gardening Tips for January | Garden Girl TV . 2

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Patti Moreno, The Garden Girl, and Mel Bartholomew, author of Square Foot Gardening, discuss planning a new vegetable garden for the upcoming year.

January 6, 2010

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Imaged Olmsted's Green Ribbon . 1 & 2 for Garden Journal.

Added the current Beans About Boston (Malcolm X - Gardner Heist) puzzler, Thought for the Week (Thoreau) and On the Cover . 9 (Snow Train) - a Sneak Peek feature that runs only in the Journal until the next issue of Roofscape (January 15).

Labeled all Journal posts back to the beginning of the year, after discovering the incredible power of labels.

Finished the Croutons article (directly above) for Cookout. Released it as a Sneak Peek.

Set up the seed starting table by the big window in the office. It's too early for Yankees to be starting seeds - you'll notice all the snow covering the ground and planter out on the fire escape - but we need to start well ahead of time to photograph the seed starting how-to article in time for people to DIY. We'll start the actual plants for Roofscape's demonstration garden at their proper times in late winter.

The table's about 5-feet wide by 18" deep, holding dozens of transplant pots and seed starting containers. It's at the height of the window sill, which holds a dozen or so more, and supported on two saw horses we built in Roofscape's woodworking shop. A shelf below stores the planted seed starting containers before they germinate. On the floor the starting containers, pots, seed starting medium, potting soil and other tools of the trade are stored.

Finished editing and uploaded Olmsted's Green Ribbon - 2. It will continue to be serialized daily in the Journal.

Mushrooms in Roofscape's Garden

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The mushrooms I photographed above appear from time to time in Roofscape's garden in the Fenway. They are quite magical and mysterious. Somehow, I'd never bothered to ID them, but always enjoyed their elusive appearances.

Peter, our mushroom (and bee) man had never seen them and didn't recognize them from the photo. But he went online, googled translucent mushroom, and in seconds found photos, a description and an (tentative) ID ... Coprinus lagopus.

A few days ago I noticed some of these on a pile of wood-chips in the woods between Farnborough North and Frimley stations. I also noticed that they seemed to change form between the mornings and the afternoons. I have tentatively identified them as Coprinus lagopus, a type of ink-cap mushroom.

In the mornings their stems are straight (up to 12cm long) and their caps neat little inverted translucent grey umbrellas (up to 5cm across), as shown above. By the late afternoon, the stems have drooped and the caps are ragged, shrivelled and blackened, as shown below. However, by the afternoon, the next day's mushrooms are already thrusting their heads up.

Tristram Brelstaff, Reading, UK. Photo: Stephen Bastide.

Square Foot Gardening Tips for December | Garden Girl TV . 1

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Mel Bartholomew and Patti Moreno talk about eco friendly gifts from and for the garden! From Pine Cone bird feeders to decorating your garden for the holidays!