How Does Your Garden Grow?

It's Early June and the Schroon Lake Community garden shows much promise.

Many  beds have been weeded and tilled, Spring crops of lettuce have been planted, as well as some early toms, peppers, herbs and onions.

And if you've been lusting after your own little green space, you are in luck!

As of this writing three plots are open -- a new table top box and two regular beds, according to the Garden's Godmother. Sharon Piper. ( Sharon started the garden in 2011).

"We secured a grant for two handicapped accessible table top beds and that opened up some space," Sharon told Schroon Laker today.

"One table top box was snapped up almost immediately."

The beds are  $15 and can be rented through the Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce Office, directly opposite the garden.

Tools are available and the garden's water supply is ready to go.

And if you are looking to fill your own garden, be sure to support the Community Garden's plant sale on Saturday (June 7. 2014) Hanging baskets, flowers, veggies and herbs are available, with proceeds going to the garden.

What's in your garden this year? Tell us in comments!

A Special Deal For Warren County Schroon Lakers

Warren County’s 2014 Annual Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale is finally here.

This terrific program supplies amazing specimens to folks looking to improve their landscape and benefit wildlife. And this year there are several new species, including American Larch and Ninebark, Golden Delicious Apple Trees, Bartlett pears and Barren Strawberry
 

Also offered are 35 species of trees and shrubs, wild flowers, tree stakes, mats and shelters, wild game seed mixes, wildflowers, fertilizer, watering crystals, bird and bat houses. Hurry, Orders are due March 14 with pick up on Friday, April 25th, between 8:30am - 6:00pm.

You can check out the order form here, and learn more about the sale here or call (518) 623-3119.

Schroon's Community Garden: Early September 2013 Edition

This is how the Schroon Lake Community Garden looked before September's first predicted frost. The sun was deliciously warm, on the sunflowers the bees were fighting over pollen, as a slight breeze floated in and out of the garden.

These photos were taken around midday on September 5. Let's hope Mother Nature is kind to this year's bumper crop of herbs, veggies, and gorgeous flowers.

Did you partake in the gardens this year? Or did you just visit? Tell us about your experience in our comments section. 

Honoring The Harvest In August

By Deb Philp

My vegetable garden is not having a good year. The only things that haven't been eaten to sticks by grasshoppers are the Adirondack rocks which manage to pop up through layers of compost in my raised beds. Since rocks are hard on the teeth no matter how long I cook them, I'm glad for the local farmer's markets and grocery stores which allow my family to enjoy August's bounty anyway.

August is the time of Lughnasadh, the ancient festival of Lugh, the great Celtic Sun King. The first harvest of grains and fruits was celebrated with feasting, market fairs, games and community bonfires. It is a time of thanksgiving for what has grown. Underlying the joyousness of the harvest, however, is an acknowledgment that the sun is beginning to wane and the time of growth is nearing an end.

A poor harvest, like mine, would mean a hard winter for those folks, yet they would celebrate and give thanks for whatever they had. And, even if it meant they had even less for the winter, seeds were saved for planting the following spring. They knew that, whether glorious or sparse, the present harvest holds the seeds of all future growth.

The turning of the seasons reminds me that growth is not endless. In each cycle, whether it's days or years, there is a time of fullness, followed by a time of enjoying whatever abundance has been reaped. Like the corn cut down at its peak, once the desires I have been cultivating have manifested, or, like a poor harvest, failed to manifest, their time is over. What is left is lessons learned and the question “what is next?” I invite you to take some time, perhaps while on your yoga mat, while outside enjoying a warm, if not slightly shorter, summer day, or while partaking in a feast from the farmer's market, to look back with thankfulness at what you have achieved or manifested in your life. Look back also, with the same gratitude, at your disappointments. In both are the seeds of what's ahead for you.

You can check out the rest of Deb’s wonderful inspiring newsletter here, and follow her on Facebook and on her True North Yoga website.