Recent data from Hunger Free Vermont show that two in five Vermonters face food insecurity. Recently, a listener reminded Charlie Nardozzi that home gardeners can share fresh produce with local organizations whose clients are food-insecure.
And now is the time to plan a dedicated garden row or raised bed of high-producing, not highly perishable veggies, like beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions and peppers to share.
Vermont farmers already do this on a larger scale, with Vermont Food Shelf programs, like Vermonters Feeding Vermonters. And home gardeners have a rich history of the practice, too, though probably in more informal ways like dropping off extra produce on a neighbor's doorstep or leaving baskets of fresh veggies at local senior centers.
If you'd like to grow extra crops to donate, there are a couple of things to tackle before you map out the garden space or purchase seeds.
First, reach out to your local food shelf and chat with them. Find out when they're open, how they like to have the produce brought to them and especially, what kinds of produce they're looking for. That will help you plan what you're planting.
The simplest method would be to grow a crop of the same shelf-stable vegetables in one raised bed, like carrots, potatoes or onions. If you want to mix it up and try multiple crops, plant more perishable things like beans and tomatoes.
Then, when it's time to harvest it, make sure the food pantry is open and can accept your fresh produce at its peak ripeness. At harvest time, always select the best quality produce from your garden plot and clean it thoroughly, then bag it up and deliver.
A long-lasting poinsettia
I just had to share this bit of cheer. Last year, I bought a very small poinsettia with red blossoms spattered with white. It lasted the holiday season, then as the months went by, slowly dropped leaves. I kept watering it, less and less. It sat in my shady screen porch for the summer, but as it still had green stems and a couple of teeny-tiny leaves, I couldn't throw it out. Then, suddenly, as fall approached, it began sprouting little leaves! When it began to look like it was serious, I re-potted it and planted a few fertilizer capsules in the pot. It continued to grow and put out leaves, then several big, enthusiastic blossoms - four white and four white-spattered-red, with a few more very small, less colorful blossoms within the green foliage. It lives in my big south window and keeps growing, with more colorful "petals" growing on the blossoms. A gorgeous and very enthusiastic plant which gives me great enjoyment! I am hoping I can keep it going for next year. Do any of your other followers have poinsettias coming back over the years? Spring is coming, as attested to by longer days! - Nan, in West Windsor
When to mulch long-standing blueberry bushes
Q: I have established south-facing, prolific blueberry bushes that are between 30 and 35 years old. I usually wait for the ground to freeze, then wait for a layer of snow, and mulch the berries with either sawdust or leaves. I'd heard that the mulch prevents the berries from budding early. Somehow I forgot to do this project this very cold winter. Is it too late to mulch them now? - Celeste, via email
A: You probably still have quite a bit of snow where you are, so no need to put mulch on top of it. Once that snow melts and the ground is starting to thaw out a little bit, that might be a nice time to put some mulch down.
Usually, blueberry buds form and flower a bit later in the growing season, so no need to worry about frost affecting them. But if you want, putting mulch down is a good way to keep that soil evenly cold a little bit longer into the season. Then the flower buds will grow a little slower and won't open till later.
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