"To the extent that we approach gardening with the welfare of the natural world in mind, our gardens will be places in which to nourish plants and ourselves and through which to make Earth a healthier, better place in which to live." - Steven Carroll and Steven Salt from Ecology for Gardeners

Dear Organic Gardeners,

I hope you all had a great holiday in the garden. As I heard reports of the traffic jams heading into Maine over the July 4th weekend, I must say that I was delighted to stay home with a few close friends and explore our garden. It was great to simply wander around, without a hoe in hand, and munch peas and radishes, savor the aroma of the lemon balm and licorice mint, marvel at first Echinacea flowers, and finally inhale the heady aroma of evening stock as dusk descended. I also broke out our macroscope for the first time in a while and it opened up a whole new realm of awareness among the familiar scene.

With the macroscope, the tiny blooms of the Persian Cress and Broccoli Raab turned into fantastic sculptures of form and color. The luscious purple and pink of the nemerosa sage revealed a magical pattern of white dots, invisible to the naked eye (at least mine). Insects became stars of my own science-fiction film as they gathered nectar or devoured leaves. It seemed like I could reach out and touch the goldfinches as they perched on the pea trellis and munched down some weed seeds. The more I poked around with this amazing visual aid, the more I was reminded of the complexity of life that is continually at play in the garden ecosystem. My carefully laid plans played host to a myriad of interlopers in the form of insects, weeds, birds and countless other organisms both good and bad. It’s a wild world out there!

	Jesse Cool & Heirloom Organics Join us at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on August 7th... Read More >
	Melons: The Dessert of the Garden Everything you need to know from growing, harvesting, and eating... Read More >
	David Holmgren Interview By Adam Fenderson from the Energy Bulletin... Read More >

I also had the pleasure this past weekend of digging into Steven B. Carroll and Steven D. Salt’s new book, Ecology for Gardeners, which I review below; the book is a delightful read that added context and meaning to my visual explorations and inspired me to continue to delve deeper into the cycles of life that play out in the garden. Speaking of inspiration, in this issue, Farm Manager Erica Renaud shares her love of melons (and botany) with us, including some fascinating facts and enlightening terms of science. In addition, former Farm Manager, now Bulk Seed Representative, Micaela Colley, reveals her passion for growing and harvesting cut flowers in an article geared for the market grower but full of ideas for the rest of us who just love flowers.

As always, Jordan Rainwater shares news from the Research Farm and I’ve dug up some intelligence from the world of sustainability, including a wide ranging and profoundly insightful interview with David Holmgren, co-founder of Permaculture and author of Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.

Be amazed!
Scott Vlaun, Editor

Photo caption: Ladybugs! Part of our Garden Variety Pack of beneficial insects - see the product specials for more info.

Printable PDF Version:
eNewsletter #42
Text only, 112k, 18 pages.

Unable to open it?
You may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.