Author: William

Time to prune

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A few hardy souls gathered in the garden on the last day of February to get a start on pruning some of the trees and larger shrubs.

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It was only 25°F when we started, but at least the sun was shining.

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About 10 people came to help; not bad for February!

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Brian’s mum and Catherine display weather appropriate layering of head-wear while tending to Euonymus kiautschovicus ‘Manhattan’ and Stuartia pseudocamellia, respectively.

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Two brutes, a Doctor Huey rose and Campsis radicans (trumpet vine), getting a good cut by yours truly and Virginia.

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We have a good deal of Cornus sericea (red-twigged dogwood) which is pruned every winter. After some trimming we end up with enough branches to make a decent stock of pea sticks/bean poles.

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Jeremy uses the pole saw to reach some high up branches.

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Smaller prunings being taken to the brush pile by Aaron.

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We also cut back the raspberries and blackberries and removed some larger limbs of the Euonymous alatus (burning bush). Sprirea japonica was cut back, and some suckers on the apple tree were removed.

Thanks to all who braved the cold! Everyone is welcome to come to our next group gardening day on the 21st of March at 1pm; hope to see you there!

All photos by Brian Thompson.

The garden under snow

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With the best part of a foot of snow over the last few weeks and the temperatures mostly staying below freezing, the garden has spent much of January under a bed of snow.

A blanket of white is actually a blessing for the plants that are covered by it. Snow consists mostly of air and, because it’s trapped by the crystals of ice, retains much of the heat released by the ground. Thus, the layer of snow acts as insulation and the temperature below it tends to stay fairly close to freezing even if it’s much colder in the air above. This can be of real benefit to plants that are only just hardy in our zone or first year perennials that can’t survive quite as much cold yet as when they mature.

Hopefully the next few mild days we have won’t melt the protective layer of snow too much as next weekend is forecast to have several nights of single digit cold!

Enjoy the photos below taken by Brian Thompson.

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Mulch your Christmas tree at MulchFest!

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Bringing your Christmas tree to the garden will guarantee its continued use in the form of mulch which will be used in the garden and around the neighbourhood. Don’t let your tree end up in the trash!

TreeCycle/Mulch Fest 2015 is part of an annual, city wide program organised by New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the New York City Department of Sanitation, and GreeNYC to recycle your Christmas trees into wood chips. For more info on the program, go to the MulchFest site.

Prospect Heights Community Farm will be one of the many places to drop off your Christmas tree throughout the city. We’ll be collecting trees and chipping them into mulch on Saturday and Sunday the 10th and 11th of January from 10 am to 2 pm. That gives you a few days from twelfth night on the 5th of January to lug your tree over to the garden.

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Spring in bloom

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It’s finally here! The wait this year has been a long one, but Spring is, at last, in full swing. Enjoy the photos below.

These first few are from a few weeks ago at dusk. The end of the day, but the beginning of the year.

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Plant sale this weekend

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Our annual plant sale will begin this weekend on Sunday the 4th of May and continue through Saturday and Sunday the 10th and 11th of May. Each day we’ll run from 10am to 6pm to give you lots of time to stop by. There will be a wide variety of vegetables, flowers, herbs and perennials available along with expert advice! Once again, timed to coincide with Mother’s day! Whether you’re in Prospect Heights or elsewhere in Brooklyn, we think you’ll find something worthy of stopping by!

Where: 252-256 Saint Marks Ave., Brooklyn, NY.
When: Sunday the 4th, Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th of May, 10am-6pm.

Check out the gallery below for some of the plants we had available last year including vegetables like tomatoes, basil, zucchini, oregano, rosemary, lettuce, peppers, brocolli and kale, perennials such as aquilegias, hollyhocks and creeping jenny as well as annual flowers like snap dragons, cosmos and marigolds.

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Mulch your Christmas tree at the garden

By

mulchfest-treecycle-2014

Bringing your Christmas tree to the garden will guarantee it’s continued use in the form of mulch which will be used in the garden and around the neighbourhood. Don’t let your tree end up in the trash!

TreeCycle/Mulch Fest 2014 is part of an annual, city wide program organised by New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the New York City Department of Sanitation, and GreeNYC to recycle your Christmas trees into wood chips. For more info on the program, go to the MulchFest site.

Prospect Heights Community Farm will be one of the many places to drop of your Christmas tree throughout the city. We’ll be collecting trees and chipping them into mulch on Saturday and Sunday the 11th and 12th of January from 10 am to 2 pm. That gives you a few days from twelfth night on the 6th of January to lug your tree over to the garden.

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Spring bulb planting recap

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We had a successful bulb planting day earlier this month. Big thanks to everyone who braved the cool weather!

Many daffodils, anemones, muscari, alliums, hyacinths, crocus, and tulips were planted. The dark winter days will certainly be getting brighter come March and April!

We recorded our notes and instructions so that those planting bulbs in the future can use them as a guide. They are available in the gardening guides section of the website.

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Photos by Brian Thompson.

15th Anniversary Events

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2013 marks 15 years since the founding of Prospect Heights Community Farm in 1998.

The garden began as three abandonded lots, filled with rubble from the buildings that previously stood on them, along with years worth of accumulated rubbish. Since then, the space has been transformed into the rich, lush garden it is today.

It has taken the hard work of many volunteers to shape the garden into its current form and an asset for the wider community to enjoy.

To mark the milestone, thank our volunteers and celebrate the garden itself, we’ll be holding a series of events throughout the summer.

Music in the Garden:

CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN Thursday the 27th of June, 7pm
Xavier Cardriche

Thursday the 25th of July, 7pm
Chris Moore

Noon stories in the garden:

Wednesday the 26th of June, noon
Wednesday the 10th of July, noon
Wednesday the 24th of July, noon
Wednesday the 7th of August, noon

May Flowers

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We didn’t have many April showers in Brooklyn this year but the downpours in early May made up for it and now the garden is in full swing.

We’re now in the sweet spot with warmth, harvesting of early vegetables, flowers in bloom everywhere and the mosquitoes haven’t quite settled in yet!

Feel free to correct or add names in the comments!