John Howell, former horticulturist at UMass Extension, will speak to the North Quabbin Garden Club on Thursday, November 19 at the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street in Athol, on the basics of growing strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Free, and the public is invited to attend.
The Garden Club of Concord will sponsor a self-guided tour next Saturday, September 7, from 2 – 5. The four gardens on tour are free, open to the public, and all are within one mile of Concord Center. Please pick up tour tickets with garden locations from the Garden Club of Concord Table at the Farmers Market, Main Street, Concord from 10 – 2 on the day of the tour, or email concordgardentours@gmail.com. No pets or strollers, children welcome accompanied by adults, gardens not handicapped accessible.
The first garden is a three season organic garden, with veggies, herbs, chickens and bees. Using biodynamic and organic methods, the host’s vegetable and herb gardens provide much of the family’s produce starting in early spring through late fall. Tucked to one side of the property at the edge of a tiny brook is a chicken coop and yard, home to the family’s hens when they are not free ranging. The owner, an avid biodynamic beekeeper, has her hives placed on the opposite edge of the yard, overlooking the gardens.
Next, the raspberry batch garden which was created by a family who moved from Michigan to Massachusetts with 12 raspberry canes in tow. Nineteen years later there are now 11 varieties, some cross-pollinated by the owner, a recently retired molecular biologist who has made it his passion to grow and breed raspberries.
The chicken coop and kitchen potager is a little bit of country in the heart of Concord. The owners have created several gardens, including a small formal kitchen potager in the center of the yard, with herbs and vegetables planted within brick pathways. Soon the garden shed was transformed into a chicken coop and family and friends have been enjoying fresh organic eggs. A pergola, later attached to the building, adds an element of whimsy to the scene as well as providing a space to sit in the gardens and enjoy the charming antics of the hens.
Finally, meet the goats at a low maintenance garden! If this gardener could pass on one piece of wisdom it would be that anyone can garden and grow food. She and her partner have transformed their backyard into a low maintenance and highly productive garden of vegetables, herbs, and fruit, using a system of hoops and row covers over raised beds. In 2009, she fulfilled a long-time dream of raising goats.
Want to learn how to grow the fruits your family loves? Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are delicious and nutritious, and beloved by kids of all ages. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden course on Sunday, March 11 from 1 – 4 will cover: variety selection, planting site recommendations, soil and nutrient needs planting, spacing, mulching, pest control strategies, structural considerations (containers, netting, frames, etc.) and pruning/thinning.
Patti Powers has been growing small fruits organically since 1978, first at her farm in Western Massachusetts, and for 26 years at Cheshire Garden in Winchester, NH. She studied Plant and Soil Science and Botany at UMass, and worked for 10 years as a researcher in the UMass Entomology Department studying insect behavior. THBG member price is $30, nonmembers $35. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
