Top-Notch Team on a Perfect Day
On a dry, cool, sunny day, the UVM TREK Farm and Food team arrived with open hands and hearts—and a whole lot of skill—and transformed the garden. Though you'll usually find the garden's photo stories in chronological order, here is the TREK team after four hours of...
What else is growing at the garden?
Harvesting Deliciousness: Potatoes and Onions
Back in May, gardeners planted potatoes and onions in several (and some creative) locations. In August, it was time to harvest them. The team dug potatoes and separated them from the plants. The potatoes were separated by variety in wheelbarrows. The plants went into...
Feeding and Seeding with the Garlic Harvest
As the garlic harvest work party began, rain fell steadily. Gardeners wondered whether many team members would be up for a very wet harvest. No worries. Gardeners turned out for one of the most fun and satisfying work parties of the season....
Families Plant Edamame on Father’s Day
We've been planting edamame for a few years here, but the 2023 planting has our attention. The seeds we planted this June were harvested here in 2023. Why didn't we use 2024's seeds? The plants gardeners cordoned off so the seed could dry on them must have had a...
The Many Steps of Potato Planting
Planting potatoes is fun and satisfying, producing a buried crop that sometimes pops out two or even three seasons later. Picking out potato seeds at Guy's Farm and Yard means choosing seed potatoes with eyes on two sides. This year's varieties are Yukon Gold, Russet...
A Quick Taste of a Delicious Crop
For a brief moment in the spring, asparagus is perfect for eating. The Garden at 485 Elm hosts two asparagus boxes: Purple Passion, planted in 2021, and Martha Washington green, planted in 2022. The first couple years, a handful of stalks came up. Every season, there...
Plant Onions Early for Bigger Bounty Later
While we directly sow many seeds in the garden, our allium seedlings come from beautiful Cate Farm. We pick them up and plant them as early as possible to give onions and shallots time to grow. Onion seedlings are hardy and do fine in nighttime temperatures as low as...
Early Garden Doings and Growings
With nighttime temperatures still dipping into the low 30s, seeds for cold-hardy plants are sown and work parties happen every other week or so. The big push, when everything happens at once and gardeners scramble to prep beds, plant seeds and seedlings, and keep all...
Spring into the Garden!
Every year, gardeners ask when the garden starts for the season. The answer is: When the snow has melted and the soil has thawed enough to dig in. This year, the first work party was in mid-April. Volunteer crops from the previous season are hardy and delicious, like...
Happy New Year from the Never-Ending Garden
The garden is entirely snowed under. The snow and a thick layer of leaf mulch protect the growing beds beneath, preventing soil compaction and keeping the earth a bit warmer. You might think that means gardening is done for the season. If we're talking planting,...
Prepping and Planting Next Season’s Garlic
One of the last tasks we do each season is plant garlic. This task happens only after hard frosts have begun so the garlic seeds don't sprout before spring. https://youtu.be/16WzNcQOqw8 This garden bed grew summer squash and zucchini, which were prolific and...
