Rhode Island Feeds

Broad Street’s new Friendship Cafe – a little oasis that features fresh vegetables from City Farm! Located just blocks away, City Farm has partnered with Friendship Cafe to provide them with fresh herbs and greens, such as mint, oregano, sage and green garlic, to name a few.

Raul Figueroa, head chef and operations manager, is excited to help bring healthy, local and affordable food into the neighborhood. As part of Amos House, Friendship Cafe primarily serves as an incubation center for recent graduates of the Amos Culinary Education Program: “It’s job training to help them build their resumes and sharpen their skills. They’re hard workers,” said Raul of his staff.

On our visit at 1pm, their line was out the door – and for good reason. See for yourself, Monday-Friday, 7am-3:30pm, and Saturday 7am-2:30pm, located at 500 Broad Street.

Raul (right) and a co-worker hold City Farm mint. Photo courtesy of Sandra Ficula.

There is great satisfaction in the New England garden in June. It really doesn't matter what kind of gardener you are, one with many perennial borders, one with a large vegetable garden, one with a small courtyard, or one with... Layanee DeMerchant

A short boat cruise along the River Dart from Dartmouth to Greenway House jetty was enjoyed by members on a bright sunny day.
Photos supplied by Val Payne:

Hello Gardeners,

This is both a reminder and a heads-up on what needs to be taken care of this weekend.

Saturday 8:30am: Norma will be your point of contact for any details that need to be taken care of for the new plots. Please bring cordless drills, work gloves, good shoes and a kind disposition.

Most of the plots are already in place, but they need to be filled with soil and compost which should be delivered to the addition area in front of the gate.

Very Important, Please read this carefully:
Gardeners who wish to get rid of rocks, pile the rocks near the trash barrel. ROCKS MUST BE PILED ON THE ASPHALT. He stated that in other gardens, the gardeners had thrown rocks onto the grass. THROWING ROCKS ONTO THE GRASS IS AN EXTREME HAZARD FOR WORKERS NEAR THE MOWERS, since the mowers are so powerful and rock fragments that are hit and thrown by the mowers are very dangerous.

Sorry for the caps and bold, but it’s really, really important that everybody knows about this, first for the safety of our city workers who so diligently keep care of the grounds, but also for the safety of the garden’s existence.

Sunday, I’ll be there by 10, but you can start any time you like. I know some people like to get going early and I’m not one to stop you.  Both workdays will continue as long as there is light. I will be there most of the day.

Okay, onward.

Some of the plots are looking really, really shabby. I want to put some emphasis on the fact that plots will be reassinged at the end of June without refund if they aren’t taken care of before then. I hate to be hard on this, but when your plot is unkempt it spreads weeds into other people’s plots and it’s truly not fair to any of us. And there are a lot of people on the wait list who would love to have your plot, so please, don’t make me reassign it. I’ll be contacting individuals after this weekend.

The compost bins are looking fair; not great, but fair. Those of you that have been taking care of it, be aware that it is noted! The big bins in the North end of the garden need to be turned. A few light words about it:

• Please break down large chunks of wood. Wood is great for the pile, but it should be no bigger than your thumb.
• Please turn the compost, even if just a little bit, every time you’re at the garden.
• Please add new material to the leftmost bin (as you’re looking at it from inside the garden) only.
• Please do not add any meat, bones or whole eggs into the pile.
• Please do not add any knotweed to the pile.

Thank you to all of you who helped clear that area on Thursday. It smells worse, but looks better!
There is still a lot of weeding that needs to be done in the community areas and  along the fences. If you’re unsure of what’s a weed and what’s not a weed, just ask another gardener or me and we’ll get you on your way to plant identification!

Wood chips should be delivered either Monday or Tuesday. Please feel free to drop by any time of the week and spread some chips in the pathways. That’s a good way to satisfy your community requirement and there’s no workday necessary to do it; however, Thursday “manager hours” are unspoken work nights, so if it makes a difference to you, you can always come Thursday night, too.

New gardeners: I will be assigning your plots by Thursday, the 17th of June. I will be in touch with you directly about it.

If you have any direct questions about any of this, please reply to this post so that when I answer them, everybody can look here instead of waiting for an email. I will do my best to answer everything as quickly as possible.

Thank you for all your help, and I hope to see you tomorrow!

Warm regards,
k

Miniature golf course or backyard? You decide.

I did something the other night that I seldom do: I actually sat through an episode of DIY’s “Sweat Equity.” In this episode, two suckers…er, I mean, a lovely couple, wanted to turn the barren back yard of their cookie cutter McMansion into their fantasy – what the host called a “backyard oasis.” I knew I was in for some good laughs, so I settled in to watch the action.

Since the name of this show is “Sweat Equity,” the lovely couple had to haul the rocks, sink the fence posts and plant the plants. After my previous rants about landscape fabric and over-mulching, I was not surprised to see an overabundance of both. That’s probably why so many people make these mistakes: they believe everything the home improvement shows tell them. And guess who was one of the sponsors of this episode? Why a maker of landscape cloth, naturally.

As the host went on about sustainable plant selection, I was looking at pink chrysanthemums! Then there was the obligatory immense and complicated “water feature” with fountains gushing and water flowing with reckless abandon. In the pond were “mature” koi, which, the host informed us, cost $150 EACH!!!

The final cost of this project was about $22,000 – a bargain, we were assured, because the lovely couple had done so much of the grunt work themselves. And the final result? One of the ugliest backyards I have ever seen – more like a miniature golf course than a landscape. The only things missing were good taste – and a pirate.

I fell in love with these beautiful flowers back in June 2006 when I did not even know its name. I only remember planting some new bulbs in the fall of 2005. The flowers resembled tulips, but the leaves...

This has been a year for foxglove in my New England garden. Perhaps the excessive moisture of last year's pseudo-summer increased seed germination of this biennial. I have found it blooming in areas where I haven't seen or planted it... Layanee DeMerchant

Sunday, June 13 @ 2 PM
Rocky Hill Grange 1340 South County Trail East Greenwich, RI
Meeting topics will include hive registration and inspections, colony reports from members, queen performance, mentoring, honey extraction, RIBA inventory.
Directions: Take I-95 North or South to Exit 8 Make a right onto Rt-2 (Quaker Lane) Go through the traffic lights at Division St., keeping the Walgreens to your left The Grange is located just past the Walgreens on Rt-2

Swarm season started early this year with reports of swarms comming in as early as the third week of April. Although there was a lot of Spring rain it came all at once and not spread out over days and days. Moisture in the ground contributes to the nectar flow, and this year's black locust flow was one of the best in years.
Colony build up for my hived packages has been very disapointing for me this year, the worst I've ever experienced. Nuc build up will come too late for beginner beekeepers and at this point it looks like I will be disapointing 40+ nuc orders.
For experienced beekeepers with over-wintered colonies ready and supered up took advantage of early nectar flow and record honey production.
Last meeting's program did not go off without a hitch, and I apologize for that. Directly after the meeting Jim Praski's son took a look at the projector and found a loose connection, we will try again at a lkater date to do that program again.
---Mark Robar

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Check it out! Radical Beekeeping, at Farmacy Herbs:

“On Wednesday June 9th, Sam from Anarchy Apiaries (Hudson Valley, NY) will be buzzing into Providence to share his knowledge and experiences gleaned from bees.

He is currently on a Bee Talk Tour and will be stopping by Farmacy Herbs in Providence (28 Cemetery St.) at 6pm.  This is open to people of all experience levels, including none (no bee experience necessary…come learn!).

The talk will start at 6pm and a donation of $5-10 would be greatly appreciated to help with travel costs, but of course no one will be turned away.”

Since my last post was about sweet smelling blooms, it seems only fitting that  that this one should be about a plant at the other end of the fragrance spectrum. Don’t get me wrong – I love the smell of onions especially when they’re being sauteed in butter. But it’s safe to say that ornamental [...]

Giant alliums in my back yard, planted last fall, have now grown to about 4 feet in height. 6.1.10 It is fascinating to watch small light greenish balls of tiny buds turning to light purple. Next, the flowers gradually...

Allium sphaerocephalon - "Drumstick" in my garden

A few years ago, I started experimenting with alliums. They’re perfect plants for that period when the spring bulbs have gone by but the summer plants aren’t blooming yet.

They come in so many variations of color size and form that I would venture to say there must be an allium for just about every garden.

As most gardeners know, alliums are members of the onion family. That’s why deer won’t touch them.  They range from a few inches to five feet tall. All like full sun and good drainage. Plant them in the fall, and here in Rhode Island, most cultivars will be blooming in June.

I like how they poke through the developing foliage in my perennial bed, and make it so much more interesting. Pollinators seem to like them, too. The only cultivar I planted that didn’t make it was the low, yellow-flowered moly “Jeannine.” Maybe the spot where I planted them was too wet. Who knows?

The “Drumstick” allium or sphaerocephalon is a reliable performer, and, because I think they’re weird and funny, I also grow pulchellum or “Hair.”

Allium pulchellum - "Hair" in my garden

I think alliums are often forgotten, or at least overlooked when gardeners plant their bulbs in the fall. Whether you’re looking for something big and showy, something whimsical, or a plant that rises to the occasion before your garden gets going in the early summer, maybe you should check them out.

Here’s a  source for allium bulbs. By the way, they’re pretty cheap, too.

UPDATE: Work will begin on plot frames on Thurs. June 10 from 4pm to 8 pm whether the fence is up or not. Please bring your own gloves, sturdy shoes or boots, and cordless drills with screwdriver bits and any other tool you think would be a benefit.

Hello Gardeners,

The next workdays are scheduled as follows:

Thursday, June 10, *4-8* updated

Saturday, June 12 8am, all day
Sunday, June 13 10am, all day

We need to have some dedicated volunteers to help build the new plots in the extended garden. Please come and give at least a couple hours of your time over the three available days. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done and I’m really counting on many of you to come help out.

The workdays are scheduled to help the garden in general, in essence, to be a community gardener.
Please work on your own plots during other hours. The workdays are meant for total community benefit. There is plenty to do: We need to turn compost, weed pathways and community areas and put the shed back in order, just to name a few. But most important is building the plots.

On non-workday hours: some plots are looking rather shaggy. Please tend your plots and remember that seemingly abandoned plots will be reassigned. Do not let weeds grow in your plots: they spread very fast into other people’s plots! Use organic mulch (straw, hulls, etc) and remember to use only organic manure, fertilizer or additives.

Thanks, I’ll see you soon!
k

The Capucijners Blue Podded Peas I posted about last March are starting to come in now, and I thought you might like an update. Here they are.

Blue-Podded Pea

I grabbed this photo before picking them, as they can be eaten either as pods or mature and dried as soup peas. They were great in an Asian Chicken Salad, along with the last of the radishes, a few onion leaves, and a mess of spinach. Somehow I don’t anticipate a lot of mature soup peas. And the flowers are beautiful, too.

Pea Flower

Seed starting is fun and easy – unbelievably easy. When starting in-doors, make sure seedlings get WARMTH and MOISTURE, critical ingredients to germination. Once seedlings have emerged, they still prefer moister conditions in establishing roots in their new home.

Click to view slideshow. Steps: 1. Ready materials (seed, soil, container with drainage hole at bottom, water) 2. Fill container with soil 3. Make a hole 4. Put seed into hole 5. Cover with soil 6. Water

And finally, watch for your seedlings to sprout! Thanks to City Farm volunteer Julia for learning how to start seeds with us!

Kick-off June and boost your food growing savvy with another installment from Plant Providence:

Learn how to affordably garden in your backyard! Saturday, June 5, 2pm – 563 Public St., near Broad St.

We hope to see you there!

Mother Nature often has a hand in design. The recent Rhode Island flooding in April caused the office to flood continuously until the rain stopped. After the umpteenth removal of water from the sun room office, which is a step... Layanee DeMerchant

Torch lily (Kniphofia uvaria) is a very attractive plant in the family Asphodelaceae, originating from South Africa. There are many varieties of Torch lily. The flowers can be yellow, red or orange. Some years ago, I planted a few of...

Providence Farmers’ Markets will be popping up all around town this week. Many of SCLT’s farmers at City Farm and Urban Edge Farm will be setting up stands to sell their healthy, delicious fruits and veggies and eggs.

Little City Growers’ Coop and Xiong Farm will be at the Parade Street Farmers’ Market! City Farm and Xiong Farm will be at the Hope Street Farmers’ Market! Big Train Farm will be at Providence Downtown on Friday! Visit the Farm Fresh RI website for more listings of farmers’ markets.

Armory Park Farmers’ Market

Starting Thursday, June 3rd, from 4pm-7pm

Armory Park along Parade Street

Downtown Farmers’ Market

Starting Friday, June 4th, from 11am – 2pm

Next to Burnside Park in Kennedy Plaza

Hope Street Farmers’ Market

Starting Saturday, June 5th, from 9:30am – 12:30pm

Lippitt Park, at the end of Hope Street and Blackstone Boulevard

The air smells so pervasively sweet right now that it’s almost hard to identify which plants are producing all the fragrance. I have now stuck my nose in so many flowers, it’s probably a wonder I haven’t had an asthma attack or been stung by any annoyed bees. There are a couple of easily identifiable, all [...]