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...
What else is growing at the garden?
Glimpses of Spring in the Garden
It's nearly time to roll up some of the netting we used to anchor leaves last fall. The leaves served the newly planted garlic seed well. They protected it from heavy snow all winter long so the moment the ground and air warm enough, the garlic seed can sprout for our...
Our Mothership: the Vermont Community Garden Network
The Vermont Community Garden Network (VCGN) has been there for us since before we dug up the south lawn and invited the community to garden together here. Way back in the winter of 2014, I went looking for a community-garden template (my favorite way to work). I...
The Garden in Winter
The garden sleeps. We don't. The garden is blanketed in snow. Compostville is still and frozen. The tabletop leaning against the garden shed holds heavy snow. In the growing season, we spread and dry crops on the table's mesh surface. Garden managers Chris and Sheryl,...
Thanks to the Plants and the Planters
The Plants Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to...
Sweet Dreams to the 2020 Garden
We're still enjoying some garden greens and herbs, but we've done our last big harvests and created a cozy winter bed for the garden. https://youtu.be/gkvq0G3Tris It's all about the leaves. The City of Montpelier gathers truckloads of bagged leaves from neighborhood...
Brussels Sprouts: The Last Big Garden Harvest
While there are still salad greens, kale, and herbs to harvest, and a few lovely daikon radishes in a box bed, this special seasonal treat was our last big harvesting hurrah. We dug out all the Brussels sprouts, popped the sprouts off the stalks, and separated them...
The Garden’s Ancient History
This essay by 485 Elm gardener and naturalist Ned Swanberg originally appeared is reprinted from the Bridge with the author's permission. ESSAY: Discovering Watershed Passages Through Time and Space MONTPELIER — From the bridge near my home, I could drop a “Pooh...
Garlic Planting Day
Gardeners plant hope. Every year, we planting garlic for harvesting the next season. On August 8, 2020, we harvested the garlic planted the previous fall. We separated the garlic into two piles: We laid out these beautiful heads into shares for gardeners to take home....
Compost Happens
Eventually, everything that was once an animal, vegetable, or mineral will break down—it will all compost. Without help, that could take months, years, decades. Here at the Garden at 485 Elm, we're making compost happen faster. What's the rush? With Vermont law...
A Frost-Ready Garden
In early September, we had several nights of frost, our first of the season. Covering the greens overnight helps them live on to continue feeding us. The chard to the left and kale to the right are frost hardier; they'll do just fine on their own. When the sun and...
