It’s a beautiful
spring day – just the kind of glorious ambiance that gets gardeners in full
gear.
It’s perfect for my
presentation and talk about Edible Gardens and my book, The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook
The Free talk takes
place at the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center (formerly a coast guard facility),
located at 128 Ocean Avenue.
I was asked to speak
by a friend and former garden design client, Mary, who lives in Monmouth Beach.
Our collaboration produced such a beautiful garden; it was one of two of
my garden designs featured in the coffee table book, Cottages and Mansions of the Jersey Shore
So it is more than
heartbreaking to see her garden yesterday -- I scooted over to make sure our
technology worked for the presentation -- and saw the last of the trees damaged
by Superstorm Sandy removed...
As part of my talk,
I’ll discuss how we can practice permaculture -- gardening in harmony with
Nature. And gardening for a sustainable world in an age of Climate Change
-- or "Climate Chaos." We need to ask more of our gardens than
“just” to be pretty.
And with Earth Day
just about here - what better way to celebrate?
I’ll talk about the
importance of trees as carbon sinks, getting your garden to fifty percent
Native plants (at least), saving money. Did you know that use of Native
plants rather than exotics saves up to $3,000 a year over time? And that
trees save 75% on air conditioning costs and more than 15% of heating costs.
And we all know that
growing your own edibles saves money.
But we do it for the
sheer, unmitigated luxury of taste. When food is eaten for taste vs.
transport, there is just no comparison. Garlic that crunches like a water
chestnut or fresh asparagus still warm from the earth is truly one of life’s
best pleasures…
I’ll talk about the
importance of soil -- how to get good soil and how to prevent it from eroding
and how to nurture it. There is no greater responsibility. Everyone
in the food chain -- from chefs to farmers -- recognizes this and
worships at the altar of Soil!
I’ll show how to
learn what kind of soil you have and how to amend it.
Then we will discuss
garden design - a bit about ornamental and mainly the edible or kitchen garden.
Even if you don’t have a yard or community garden - you can use the
“Crops in Pots” way to grow vegetables and herbs. The plants are so
pretty, too. Utilize a three-step planting process of “Thriller, Spiller,
and Filler” - to make your containers looking great as well as tasting great.
I’ll share some good
companion plantings, too. Both to benefit the garden and protect from
harmful insects or critters, as well as those that grow well together.
You know about plant adaptations, right? Take marigolds for
instance, they help keep away or suppress pests. Because of their nematodes.
Plus they possess beneficial soil microorganisms.
We’ll talk about
what tools to use and garden maintenance. And in a climate change world -
we’ll discuss watering the gardens. It’s not just California that has
water issues. There’s the old saying, “As California goes, so goes the
nation.” With recent legislation restricting water use, I suggest it
could be that way in many states soon. In the meantime, we can all re-use
water (Doesn’t it seem selfish to use potable water to irrigate a lawn?!), use
of water barrels, practice storm water runoff, and use drip irrigation, in
addition to xeriscaping.
Gardens are healing,
hopeful places. Enjoy your garden. And for those in the
Garden State, I look forward to seeing you soon.
