Blog: Musings on the Earth, Mindful Living, and our Connections
A 2020 Vision: Green Up
One of the subjects In the Gardens has posted on from time to time involves the changes occurring in our climate and our natural world. This is a topic that is becoming more front and center for us as we hear more about rising temperatures, expanding …
Stretching Out Our Roots
This is our first blog and email since my move to North Carolina. It was a rocky move at best, and after we got settled, we began to explore expanding In the Gardens to North Carolina. What seemed like a quick and easy process wound up having numerous twists ...
It’s Spring at In the Gardens!
Spring is springing! I don’t know about you, but I thought it would never arrive. We’ve been seeing parsley now for awhile, even pushing through the snow, but today its delicate frills have been joined by greening-up sage leaves, red-veined sorrel, onion spears, lots of green...
Planning Your Garden Part 4: The Fall Garden
In the last few weeks, we have harvested lots of fruits and veggies, and some plants have completed their season. The garden looks different. There are big pockets of emptiness, soil with nothing growing in it. Harvesting turnips, beets...
Planning Your Garden, Part 2: Flowers and Veggies Together
I recently learned something about why it’s great to plant certain flowers near specific vegetables. I knew a few basics: that marigolds deter pests and sweet alyssum is great next to your kale, broccoli, collards and other brassicas. But why? Well, let’s start with marigolds. And note that there are different varieties of marigolds. You can grow the average size, from about 18-24 inches high, or you might prefer, as I do, the dwarf size. These grow up to about eight inches high and make great borders, because they don’t take up a lot of...
Planning Your Garden, Part 1: Companion Plants
“I planted peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and zucchini,” a neighbor told me. “The tomatoes aren’t growing at all, and the cucumbers are really struggling. How do you get your vegetables to grow so full and productively?” I hear these questions often. There are some basics...
A Special Volunteer!
Last Saturday I had the honor of seeing one of my former students become a bar mitzvah. It was especially meaningful because of the close relationships I have with so many members of his family, particularly with his grandmother Judy (Gunga, as she is known), who is one of In the Gardens’ main volunteers. And yet...
Volunteers Make our Gardens Grow
This weekend, being a long one with the Memorial Day holiday, gave more time than usual to be in the garden. We held two volunteer days, and while our numbers were modest, our work was extraordinary. One might not realize what…
Spreading Gardens in the Neighborhood
The main purpose for which the In the Gardens main site was started was to serve as a source of food and education: for the congregation of ...
Spring Fundraiser – Join our monthly giving program!
Spring has come much too early this year. From those 70-degree days in February, plants took off early out of the starting block. Even though we’ve had a snowfall since then and some additional cold days, the warm weather is here, and it’s time to get all the goods into the ground. There are times during the season that we need to work overtime, and this is one of them. Our water system is in, but needs some fine-tuning. Some of our seeds are in, but lots more of our beds need to be prepped and planted. Trees and plants around the…
In the Gardens First Volunteer Day!
This past Sunday, April 23, was In the Gardens’ first formal Volunteer Day, and a great day it was. We tackled a number of projects. Early this week we brought several cubic yards of compost to the property, and the first objective was to use it in the rebuilding of the keyhole garden. A keyhole garden is a permaculture design term…
Volunteer Day Celebrating Earth Day!
In celebration of Earth Day 2017, which is Saturday, April 23, please come to the In the Gardens Earth Day Volunteer Day on Sunday, April 23. You will learn about gardens and growing food while you help us plant this season’s fruits, veggies, herbs and …