So one of the joys of gardening in a community plot open to the public is that you get to share the joys of dirt and sometimes even your harvest. Unfortunately, not all of the harvest sharing is by choice/with permission. Nobody stole my Cherokee Purple tomatoes last year, I think because they didn'...

Sorry I've been so quiet-- they had closed our community garden while they put in all sorts of plumbing, and the more cynical and suspicous of us wondered if they'd ever unlock the gates... but they did! We visited this weekend and our garden now has a water tank and several spigots and a water foun...

No, I'm not sure, which is why I'm not ripping up my plants just yet (but feeling guilty about it, y'know, in case I'm Typhoid Mary). Thanks for explaining how to dry the beans without leaving them on the vine. Dumb newbie question: I know you need to pick runner beans for the plant to continue flow...

er, my freezer is a little full. :} also, i thought they were so pretty, i wanted them out where i could see them. (soooo pretttty) i guess i better look up freezing beans. (i hope i can just pop them int a container, because i don't think i have room to freeze them as a single layer) thanks so much...

Thanks for mentioning cutting off the tomato leaves as a solution/treatment for tomato blight. We have never had such a wet and cold summer (in the States), and the press has decided this means the End of the Tomato. People in my community plot are panicking about it and suggesting we rip out all bi...

The garden has had a bad attack of bean mosaic virus, and we've been encouraged to rip up our bean plants if they get it. Well, I seem to have it, but I wanted to harvest something first, and then wait and see if the virus would spread higher up or if i could pick another round of beans later... Mea...

Things are quiet... too quiet... The powers that be were impressed that we were working with a real garden designer, and say that they will wait until the results of that discussion are presented to them before they make any sudden moves. We're really in a wait and see period. I'm planting my annual...

oh, and re: city community garden assoc's.... yes and no. many seem to have gotten corporate sponsors. twitch. and the ones who haven't are working hard to stay independent and keep their identity, they don't have a lot of time/energy in trying to save the new kid on the block. We've agreed we don't...

Thank you guys so much! We do have a lot of energy (and I have *two* books on guerrilla gardening, which i keep by my chair. ohhhh yesssss....), and a really neat cross-section of the community participating. (hipsters, oldsters, folks from the projects, folks born in Astoria and folks whose childre...

Our community garden? The one where we have about 1000 square feet of garden, and 104 plots? The one that was an unloved obtuse triangle of concrete and garbage across the street from The Projects (tm)? (Where just last week, as I sifted through a pile of woodchips, i found a used syringe?) Parks De...

am here. checked plot this morning. what i had hoped was my winter rye sprouting two weeks ago is just grass. ah well, it was an experiment. picked up litter, anyway, so still a productive outing. my parents in law *love* lanzarote. i think they've done every tourist attraction there. i *think* that...

how many feet is a perch?

(i've heard of "rods" but not perches! something to do with birds?)

alia

Son #1 had school off yesterday, so we went to the Children's Zoo in Central Park.
Next to the peacocks and bunnies was a small bed of tomatoes.
I'm sad about that, tomatoes on the vine being odd enough to warrant being placed in a zoo.
I'm feeling old and crotchety tonight.

thank you, john!

i'm in new york city, so we get plenty of cold winter weather-- but also hot dry summers. i'll check out the link.

i am going to have to start tilling the neighbors' yards. it's the only answer. do you think they'll notice a small tomato jungle in the carport?