I never liked going outside. I'm blonde with fair skin and blue eyes, resulting in headaches, sunburn and heat stroke if I spent time outside. So I avoided it. I never liked the "outdoor life", preferring a rather sedentary existence with desk jobs, TV, Movies, and the like. So it's really funny that I'm so into the things I'm into now. I was outside ALL day and didn't once want to be anywhere else.
After a trip to the Farmer's Market, a stop at Brookford for more milk and cream (which they aren't allowed to sell at the Farmer's Market) and LYS for their sale, I spent the day in the garden!
An image of a field at Brookford. Isn't that beautiful.
All milk should come from cows who live in such beautiful places.
I am trying the 3 Sister's Method for my Corn, Beans and Winter Squash. There is a site that outlines it fabulously, and even gives a map of how to create the mounds and a diagram of how to plant the seeds. I made the mounds, in a 10' x 13' section of the garden.
I made a total of 10 mounds and planted the 4 corn seeds in each mound. Once they are 4" tall I will plant 4 pole bean seeds in each mound and inbetween the corn/bean mounds will be squash mounds, with 2 squash plants per mound. If all plants come up and live, that will mean 40 each Corn and Bean plants and 20 squash plants.
The method comes from the Native Americans and the short story is that the corn creates a stalk for the beans to grow up, the beans fix nitrogen into the soil for the corn to eat, being a heavy eater of Nitrogen, as well as giving the corn some stability, and the squash provides a living mulch, shading the base of the other two, thus preventing weeds from growing, and keeping moisture in the soil. It's really a brilliant little ecosystem and I'm excited to give it a try. It also allows for a lot of food to be planted in a relatively small plot of land, and keeps the corn together, allowing for good pollination. If you are interested in more information, I highly recommend checking out the site, as it offers a very clear explanation of the history, why and how of the technique.
I also planted the bush beans, Summer Squash and Zucchini. We weeded the lettuce, spinach and chard, and Mulched the cole crops. A lot got accomplished and we are down to one more good day of work before all the plants are in the ground and the tending and watching stage begins.
The mounds for the 3 Sisters on the left
Another beautiful thing I saw today, the Barrington Town Gardens. The Barrington Bloomers, a volunteer group of gardeners, planted a lovely garden at the intersection of Route 9 and 125. They added a sculpture a couple weeks ago, and with flowers beginning to bloom, it's is a lovely site to behold.
Hi!
Interesting about milk and cream not being allowed at the farmer’s market. At the farmer’s market in Exeter, a week and a half ago, there was milk for sale. I’m not sure what farm it was from. I’m not sure how close Exeter is to you…..but thought I’d comment just in case it’s close enough!
Sue