We did it!!!

Well... we did it! School is over and we are proud to say that the STEM community has accomplished both a greenhouse for aquaponics and Rand Park has been brought to life again-- thanks to Mrs. Eckert/English's group. 

I was in charge, as well as my partner Tyler Nedzi, of the Raised Bed Garden sector at Rand Park. 

  

It feels like just yesterday when our plants were only seeds under a grow light. Tyler and I (along with other Raised Bed Garden members), planted about 7 different types of plants. However, only about 3 made it to Rand Park. 

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After we had a rough idea about how we wanted to make our garden look, my group popped over to Renaissance to take a peek at their finished garden. Because we were first year students who were redesigning Rand Park, we knew we were going to start off small. Although, looking at Renaissance's garden but amazing! 

We all know this is not a raised but-- but I had to share it anyway. This is basically a sack and the soil inside has seeds that have not yet sprouted. I thought that this was absolutely amazing because anybody could do this! You don't need lumber, nails, a drill... all you need is a sack- almost potato like :)- then fill it with dirt, plant your seeds, and magic!! 

Here is just another fun photo. This is me and at Renaissance's garden. They are growing radishes!! No, I didn't just steal it out of the ground- although it was so delicious I probably would have ;). 

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(Please excuse this awful photo of us caught off guard) 

Here myself and a group member of mine, Marcell. We are at the location in Rand Park where our beds will be. If you can see, next to me are things that look like little black smudges. They aren't smudges, but stakes. We were measuring and staking out where we wanted to build out beds. 

(Sorry for the slanted picture, my computer wont let me change it) 

Here is myself (stripped shirt), Tyler Nedzi (middle), and Marcell Brown (far right). We just finished building our first raised bed! There were two other helpers, but they just missed the photo :( 

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TADDDAAHHHHH!!!! 

WE DID IT!!!! Tyler(far left), myself (next to Tyler), Noelle (next to me), and Elena(far right)- with Marcell- have all built and finished planting our first raised bed!!!!! We are so excited! In this bed, we have three different plants. Arugula, tomatoes and a bean plant.

Wasn't going to lie, the whole process was difficult, but well worth it. 

Hope you have enjoyed and have a wonderful summer!!!! 

- Florise Schwartz 

Raised Bed Take Two

After having so much fun last year (especially with the endless Swiss chard!), I decided to be slightly more diligent this year and map it out.  I added 2-3 inches of new soil to the bed from last year (which I'd pretty much completely ignored since last Fall), as well as 1 bag of leaf compost, 1 bag of mushroom compost, and some Plantone.  I used a combination of leftover seeds from last year, new seeds from Melina (in little envelopes with no directions!), and new seeds from the garden center.

Here's the map:

Green beans on top, like last year; fennel and kale in the second row (new this year); Swiss chard in the third row, like last year; and radishes and carrots in the fourth row.  As this was about as much organization as I could handle, I didn't pay too much attention to how I put the seeds in.  I planted everything from seed on May 3, 2014, and this is what it looked like two weeks later (May 17):

Here's what it looked like two weeks after that (May 31).  Still nothing edible, but looks good!

Here's what it looks like today (June 14):

So what have we had to eat?  A few pathetic-looking (perhaps last year's seeds?), but very tasty radishes, and that's it!  In my desperation, I actually found a recipe for radish leaf pesto so we could eat something from this gorgeous bed.  Other than that, the bean plants have lots of little flowers on them, and no beans--not sure what that means.  It looks like something must be going on under the soil where the fennel and the carrots are (I hope the bed is deep enough to support them).  Some kale leaves have come up, and it looks like the Swiss chard is slowly on it's way ( I think last year's was much more productive, but we'll see. . . ).  I think I'll add some more Plantone and call it a day. . . 

I welcome any feedback/suggestions!  Sharon

Plants a plenty at Crane House.

From 10-2. See everyone`s progress and take some home.

Plant Swap Saturday May 17th 10-2

Team Hesitant Gardener: A 5-Photo Diary

WTF are you feeding your seedlings?  Yes.

Oh, we like our WTF Wine Bottle Water Shaker...

... and our Warm Grow Light!

Some of us will move to new homes.

Some of us will stay here! 
Team Hesitant Gardener is trying lettuce, spinach, kohl rabi,
brussels sprouts, broccoli raab, winter squash and tomatoes.

Cheers to an Edible Montclair!  See you at the swap on Saturday! 

LT

MHS frosh and little Eckerts plant!

Hello readers of the mighty Montclair Guerrilla Gardening page! This is a combined post, documenting the planting efforts of MHS freshman and little Eckert kids. I am a science teacher and my biology class planted a couple of weeks ago; I am not exaggerating much when I say my students did so with glee and vigor. I know that planting seeds is often seen as more of an elementary school activity but I have yet to meet a teenager that thinks she is too cool to plant a seed and tend to her plant as it glows a beautiful green on a sunny windowsill. It's often a nice respite from the power points and worksheets. (And that's probably an understatement.) We actually covered quite a few standards with the simple activity, e.g., standards covering photosynthesis, cellular respiration, transfer of energy, science as a process--we set up a controlled experiment with one tray covered with a dome, another dome-free. A seed is not so simple and asking a straightforward question such as where does a seed get its energy from as it germinates since it's not photosynthesizing often gives a HS student pause. But, it wasn't all academics. There were lively questions about favorite vegetables and even friendly arguments about whether broccoli raab is delicious or disgusting. And interestingly there were looks of surprise (and maybe a little disgust) when I pulled out some arugula seedlings from the dirt and ate them. I will post a picture that displays the fruit of our labor this week but the picture below is after the first day we planted.

And here are my own children, David and Julianne, planting with joy and love. Deer and groundhogs eat almost all of our veggies every year but we always plant nonetheless.

We, as students/teacher and mom/children, are happy to participate in this effort. And we're grateful to Melina for making it possible. Looking forward to the community swap!

Failure and Success

Without a doubt, every growing season, I learn something new.  I learn when something fails.  I learn when something succeeds.  The seed starting for Guerrilla Gardening Montclair is no different.

For some reason this tray of butternut squash seedings started dropping like flies this week.  But the other tray that was planted at the same time, with the same seeds, the same seed starting mix, getting the same amount of water and light-

is the perfect specimen of seedings ready for a new home.  Repotting the success stories today!

Seeds Are Sprouting in South End Montclair!

My Oh My! How did I miss last year of all this fun? Thanks Melina for telling my about this group and inviting me to join! 

All the seeds are planted plus a few extra well loved trays of my own!

My Niece was visiting and was so excited to help out! "This feels so GOOD!" she exclaimed with her hands elbow deep in the seed starter mix. 

She was amazed at how much the coco coir expanded. "It just keeps absorbing the water! WOW!!"

I'll be sending her photos weekly of the progress of the seeds. We also dug through my seed stash to plant a pot each for she and her brother to take home. (She planted flowers while he planted veg.)

Looking forward to the continued warming weather and our swap in a few short weeks! 

So far the Palla Rossa Radicchio, Tatsoi, Romain, Arugula and Easter Egg Radish have all sprouted!!

Come on seedlings --- GROW!!

Continued growth

The butternut squash is gargantuan! Everything is growing nicely. The mustard greens are growling slowly, but still growing. It's really interesting to see how the plants point in different directions depending on where the sun is. I never knew that plants did that until now.

My first batch

From Left to right we have pesto basil, mustard greens, cilantro and an unknown seedling ( the package was hard to read what the seed was).  Letting the little sprouts get their tan on! I'll be potting them very soon. Open to any advice on keeping the mustard greens upright! I'm worried about them

Novice Talking to My Plants Everyday

I joined Guerrilla Gardening Montclair last year when they had their free seedling swap. I threw my hat into the game because it was free. What did I have to lose? Gardening is possbile with whatever space you have. I live in a small apartment in Montclair with no ground to call my own, but there is always a way. I container garden. I grew basil, tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. I have never tasted a better tomatoe than my own. They tasted like candy. I did so well with it that my Sacred Basil from last Spring is still alive and thriving. Sunday night pasta has always tasted better since!

So here I am, ready to take my next step. Seed promoter, nurturer, person who prayerfully watches over and hopes for change. The hardest thing was finding the right spot. One window got great morning sun, but another had a longer duration of sun.I chose the latter. Most people can attain a heat lamp from Guerrilla Gardening, but due to my space limitations. I had room for just one tray.

Error one...over excitement. I received supplies on April 9th let everything sit in my car due to the nasty cold spell then started on April 12th. I forgot everything mentioned the week before and started to pot my seeds without the special mix to promote germination and prevent fungus. I realized this only after I completed the entire tray. After about 30 minutes of thinking, staring and pouting...I took action. I scraped a little off the top and added the special mix.

Error one turns into a win. 1 week later, I come home and look at the big tray...I saw green. Whooooo Hooooo! I wasn't a waste to this project. Since then I've seen little sprouting here and there. My growth is slow going since I don't have a sun lamp and it's been on and off with April weather, but it's growing! I'm growing spinach and parsley in old strawberry containers. One thing weird about the strawberry containers is that I'm starting to see green growning out the side. That will be an adventure when it comes to move to a bigger space.

Thoughts since seeing green....Why is my spinach so skinny? The parsley took 1 1/2 weeks longer to show green. Does parsley really grow that slow? I did take pictures..I'll make a montage in the future. Good luck fellow gardeners.

Cynthia was a plant recipient last year and (having an enthusiastic recruit in her daughter) an eager Pioneer Planter this year, GO CYNTHIA!

My daughter couldn't wait to get into the project body & soul. 

Li'l gal with a hoe

Eureka!

Reading to the babies before bed.

Seedlings at Upper Mountain

Our seedlings emerged this week.  Some are starting off stronger than others.  This Metro Butternut Squash really broke through with some force.  

We are also growing Romaine Lettuce, Joi Choi Pac Choi, Superbo Basil, Edible Luffa and Black Mountain Watermelon.  The New Zealand Spinach seems to be the only thing really struggling.

Here are 4 raised beds in our backyard after the snow this week.  One cold frame remains with Kale, Spinach and Swiss Chard from last season.  This part of the garden has double fencing year round.  The large fence keeps out deer but not bunnies or groundhogs.  The raised bed fences keep out bunnies and groundhogs but not squirrels, chipmunks, rats ( yup- I actually caught the rat eating a gorgeous red Moskvich Tomato.  He tried to escape through an old chicken wire fence.  He got stuck and I had to help him get loose from the wire.) or birds.  The third layer of fencing is usually netting that is secured over the beds to keep out climbers and attacks from above.  So when there are veggies and fruit present, the third fencing even keeps us out!  This is our 6th season gardening in this location.  We learn from our mistakes and new intruders every year.  I wonder what adventures are in store for us in 2014.

My baby Plants

I was very nervous when I first started planting the seedlings .
Especially since I have never taken care of anything , not a pet or plant I almost thought I won't make it lol... But I Made it so far and I am so excited !

Seedlings Started and Garden Growing

Alright!  All of our seeds are planted for Guerrilla Gardening Montclair here at the Forrest/Branski residence.  Thank goodness the weather cooperated for planting outside 

so my kitchen isn't covered in soil again this year.   

Here's a shot of our front yard raised beds.  Garlic growing from cloves planted last fall.  

Garlic, leeks and onions seem to be so easy and fuss free to grow.

No critters like to eat them and you don't have to do anything during the growing season!

Next post will show our other beds and how many fences we have protecting our hard work.  

I hope to have some seedings ready for photos as well!

Re-potting has begun already at my house on Sunday--perfect day for it. As you can see, my sprouts are somewhat out of control/ready to go.  Only thing I did not plan on was just how many pots and bags of soil I would need to get them all in there...also I have a lot of sprouts.

 ...So I met up with fellow classmate Natalie and we will continue repotting through the rest of the week.  Two people is definitely better than one on these projects.  Plus its fun!

Growing plants definitely creates community, even my landlord (who saw us struggling a bit in the front yard) came over and showed us tips on getting the plants comfy in their new homes.

Fun!  Looking forward to what the future holds for these plants!  Also getting them into the ground as they are now taking over my living room.

Team Hesitant Gardener at it Again

Well, I picked up my seeds, soil and pots for the second year in a row.  Last year I was a successful pioneer planter and was able to start many seedlings for the plant swap.  My garden did OK - not great.  Very shady yard.

Today, I'm planting tomatoes, winter and summer squash, lettuce, brussels sprouts and broccoli raab.  Wish me luck!

Good luck all you happy gardeners!  I look forward to swapping plants and stories with you all again this year!

Laura Torchio
The Hesitant Gardener

BE PREPARED FOR OUR FURRY FRIENDS WHO WILL WANT A PIECE OF THE VEGETABLE ACTION

Montclair High School STEM Students Try Planting

The students at the STEM program at Montclair High School got down and dirty last wednesday when we decided to plant seedlings for Guerrilla Gardening. 

The students were given many options of what to plant, varying from watermelon to parsley. The challenge was being in a room with 20-30 high school students and a huge bag of soil and not making a mess (needless to say, we did.) 

(Back, Florise Schwartz '15 front, myself, Tyler Nedzi 16' planting their seeds)

There were many other groups as well, working hard and getting their hands dirty planting their seeds. In the end we now have several seedlings planted, hopefully soon it will be warm enough to plant them outside!

 Florise and I planted cucumbers, parsley, bell peppers, zucchini, basil, and tomatoes. I will try to keep updated on the growth of the plants, but they have already started sprouting!

Sarah Forrest picks up her Pioneer Planting gear

She loves the gorgeous Black Watermelon Seed Pack!