A Flurry of Spring Planting
Gardeners planted arugula, carrots, chard, kale, mustard greens, pac choi, snap and snow peas, and spinach in beds that had been covered in leaf mulch for the winter. They created narrow furrows, they mixed in compost, and dropped in the seeds. Finally, they watered...
What else is growing at the garden?
Onions Are Happier Than They Appear
Onions are one of the most reliable crops at the Garden at 485 Elm. When we get them in early enough, they grow into gorgeous bulbs that we harvest all at once and divide among gardeners here. Gardeners enjoy red, white, and yellow onions and shallots. This season,...
The Thick of Harvest Season
Whichever direction you look in the garden, there's food ready to eat. These haricots verts and other bush beans need harvesting for the vines to continue producing. Edamame and pole beans will come later. There's greens, greens, greens! As fast as they get harvested...
After the Flood: Help Vermont’s Farms and Growers
The Garden at 485 Elm grows along the North Branch of the Winooski River, a mile north of the city of Montpelier. On July 10 and 11, six to nine inches of rain fell, swelling the rivers and inundating the city and surrounding streets of homes and businesses....
How to Thin a Carrot
Carrots have tiny seeds. Without surgical precision in planting, carrot jungle happens. The more carrots the better, right? Except if they're too crowded, they don't have room to grow into long, thick carrots. They'll be small, stunted carrots, some of them twisted...
Celebrating Bugfest
"Celebrating" might not be the best word, but gardeners who tackle garden pest management are enthusiastic. Tomatillos attract three-lined potato beetles. They're easy to spot, but they're fast and hard to catch. The pest team leader recommends H20 gloves, one of...
Gleaning Herbs for Donation
The first big bundles of garden food for donation are on their way to Just Basics Inc., the Montpelier Food Pantry. Growing a giant garden together means each bed is super productive. A box of chives produces a lot of chives, far more than even twenty-plus gardeners'...
Delicious Garden Tasks
Each garlic plant is sending out a scape. Harvesting the scapes prevents the garlic from growing a big flower, which would draw energy away from the garlic bulb, our target crop. When the scapes are mature as in the photo, gardeners snip or snap the scape off close to...
Undercover Gardening
We use row cover, a.k.a. low tunnels, to protect seeds and seedlings while they mature and gain strength. Garden fabric like this holds in moisture, protects against too much heat or cold, and keeps out insects who would eat the little plants. We uncover greens when...
Planting Day: Basil, Cukes, Eggplants, Peppers
On a blustery day in early June, gardeners planted seedlings for hot-weather crops. Basil varieties this year include these classic Italian basil seedlings from Cate Farm and Heartwood Farm. A gardener started sweet the sweet basil, and the cinnamon basil and Thai...
Horseradish, at Times
Horseradish grows outside the garden fence. It's one of the few crops that deer, woodchucks, and others never bother with. Others are lemon balm, other mints, garlic, and onions. Horseradish best harvested in the spring and early fall. Brush off the dirt, and the root...
