Everybody must get stones....

The latest chapter in the Newington Public School landscaping project is the installation of a river run stone swale to capture runoff from the Fire Department parking lot that was washing bark mulch down the hill. We also put in a line of boulders from the Newington Town Forest above the trees to prevent future plow or snow dumping damage from a bucket loader during the plowing of the Fire Department.

The work never completely ends though. We still need to install tree gators on the western red cedars to ensure they get enough water during the summer that will need to be filled this summer. The sprinkler system for the lawn should also be set up again. In addition, one of the red swamp maples will have to be replaced in a different location. It was located in a swale and the water was simply too much for it to survive the first spring.

We have come a long way since March 2010 when all of the trees that were planted when the school was built blew over. We hope you like what has been done so far.

Spring Garden Tour By Elsa!

Spring is nearly over and the warm hot weather this week may be with us for keeps. That's great news for the cucumbers, tomatoes and melons but not so much for the CAPUCIJNERS BLUE POD HEIRLOOM PEAS -aka POIS A CROSSE VIOLETTE (scroll down). Today, as I promised over the weekend, the peas have surpassed Elsa in height. They should grow over the top of the trellis which is only 5 feet, to be 6-8 ft high. It's a dutch variety that should have blue or purple flowers and pods, depending on your point of view.

The Cucumbers ("Bushy") also appeared today for the first time. You can see some tiny cukes forming behind the flower. This variety is good for both slicing and pickling. I would love to start pickling this year but I have a feeling my heart won't be in it once strawberries are in season and I will be canning jar after jar of jam. Elsa and her sister blew through about 25 pints of it since last fall. Go figure.

Garlic is doing very well but I just read a scary story via Seacoast Eat Local that garlic bloat nematode has been shipped to Exeter NH which is only 3 towns over from Newington.... It sounds like a dreadful pest that will destroy tomatoes, alliums and other plants, overwintering for up to four years.

Speaking of strawberry jam though, things are looking really good for the strawberries I got from Agway last year and planted in one of my raised beds. I normally shy away from anything that is not a local heirloom but I have been impressed that Agway sells many of the same varieties that respected organic growers sell. I don't know what their policy on GMO is and should ask the next time I go there. It will be exciting to have our own strawberries for Josie's birthday in a couple of weeks however. That will be a first for me.
Above you can see the fenced in bed where I put all of the woodchuck's favorites.... Detroit red beets (nearest), parsley, Spinach, and Bietola a costa fine chard (back). The supplier of the chard is Adaptive Seeds. I also got Ildkongen Marigolds from them, which can be seen in the front. They are a great company, shipped exactly what I ordered in one or two days... answered questions almost immediately. Not all seed suppliers do that. They are also one of the organic farms brought suit against Monsanto over its use of GMOs.

Elsa is not a fan of GMOs, I am sure. It will be interesting to see where she goes with her beliefs. Here she is in any case, standing in front of the Stupice and Peche Jaune tomatoes. The Stupice started flowering last week but I have not checked to see if any flowers have set.

It is hard to believe that I have a six year old that knows more about the cretaceous than I do.

The last photo below, was taken along Mountain Dream, the fanciful phrase the kids use to describe my neighbors driveway after I planted wildflowers there a few years ago. The idea was to move away from the green wasteland of lawn and actually support wildlife and conserve water. It has been a great success. Here, you can see the wildflowers are playing host to a horde of caterpillars that will then be consumed by the bluebirds or bats. As long as they don't eat tomatoes or melons, I am fine with that.

Enjoy your spring! It will be over too soon.

PDA Seeks Grant to Cut Trees in Newington Historic Center

The subject line says it all. Town officials met with the PDA just over a week ago to discuss PDA plans to obtain an FAA grant to "manage" trees including those shown in this picture along the edge of the cemetery. PDA officials would not say how far down they planned to cut trees or what they actually proposed. After pressing, they indicated that if the land owner refused consent, they could do so without land owner consent.

Twenty years and millions of dollars at its disposal and the PDA has never cut down trees on Town land. It is troubling that the PDA is willing to spend federal government money to do this project but not its own.

The Town has asked for the PDA's grant application and its data on tree penetrations. The PDA agreed to provide this information but has not done so yet. More to come....

Weeding out!

Thanks to everyone who helped weed the beds at the Newington Public School on Saturday.

We had six adult volunteers, plus a number of assistants: the Grubes, the Muellers, Jane Hislop, Jane Kendall and Sharon Brown.


PHOTO: Bed above between the school and the fire department needed the most weeding. Two inches of mulch should be added next week. A swale will be added to address drainage from the parking areas above the school.

Also a big thank you to the Newington Fire Department for letting us use their grill and picnic table. Everything looks great and another layer of mulch should keep the weeds down significantly.

All of the beds were weeded out in about 3 hours including lunch which was grilled organic hot dogs, fruit popsicles and potato chips.

PHOTO (above): Daffodils were relocated throughout the beds for next year. The results met with audience approval.

May 14: Spring Cleaning & Grill Extravaganza

Spring is here and it is great to see some life come back to the Newington Public School Landscaping after all of the time, money, and effort invested by many last year. I am pleased to report that other than some winter burn (see below) for which a full recovery is expected, things look great.

PHOTO: The Chanticleer Flowering Pear, Pyrus calleryana var. Chanticleer is in full bloom. Stop by and take a look.

Unfortunately, there is some weeding and other work that needs to be before mulch is delivered to the beds the week of May 16, 2011. Dandelions, grasses and other weeds have started to work their way up through the beds. They need to be removed with small hand tools before the mulch is delivered which will help maintain the beds and the appearance of the school.

PHOTO: The Dwarf Inkberries, Ilex glabra var. Compacta, were adversely impacted by the unusually cold winter and deep snow. Weeds coming through the mulch needs to be removed!

Ms. Guare has already brought the kindergarden class out and weeded around the sugar maple tree and did a fantastic job avoiding the Lilly of the Valley, but in order to get this done before LJH Landscaping arrives, I'd like to organize afternoon a group to go out on Saturday May 14 to help get things ready.

I would like have the Conservation Commission hold a "Weeding Day" on Saturday May 14, 2011, and offer food and drink, to feed any volunteers willing to help out. I think if we had 4-8 volunteers, it could be done in an afternoon. All are welcome, and the more people that come, the more time we can spend by the grill, rather than in the dirt. This will be a BYGT (bring your own garden tools) event.

PHOTO: Horsechesnut, Aesculus carnea var. Briotii, leafing out by the driveway to the school.


Please email me if you are interested in helping out so I can plan who will be there etc. Or even better yet, RSVP on Facebook.

Hope to see you there!


Justin Richardson