Warrior Fresh Content

Written by: Eliza Whitfield

This semester, I’ve been taking a couple of food and agriculture-based classes; between that fact and my general love for the great outdoors, I decided that I wanted to grow my vegetables this summer. Feeling extra inspired, I decided to build two raised garden beds at my house in Upstate New York. I have always considered myself to be relatively handy, so I confidently drew up basic design plans for the beds and determined what supplies I would need. I figured I would build an eight-foot by the three-foot bed and a six-foot by the three-foot bed would provide sufficient space to grow a handful of vegetables.

I started my project with seven 2” x 6” x 12’ boards, six 2” x 6” x 8’ boards, and two 4” x 4” x 6’ boards. Using a circular saw I cut the 2” x 6” x 12’ boards; I cut three boards to 6’, three boards to 3’, and one board to 18” increments. I then cut the 4” x 4” x 6’ board into 18” increments.

I lined the boards up and using #9 x 3” outdoor screws,  I drilled two 18” boards against three 8’ boards — in the case of the 6’ bed, I only used one 18” board. I then attached the 4” x 4” ‘s to the ends of the lined boards.

I then added the 2” x 6” x 3’ boards to the other side of the 4” x 4” corner posts. Then repeated the process for the remaining sides of the garden bed.

The final step to completing these beds is: filling them with soil, compost, mulch, and seedling vegetables. I have not done this step yet, I will fill the beds in May once this semester is over and I am able to plant the vegetable seedlings.

I have made sure both beds are located in areas that recieve generous amounts of sunlight to allow the vegetables to grow big and healthy. These beds were very easy to build and through building them I was left feeling very accomplished and eager to produce my own food.

Written by Aleda Collins

I live in a suburban neighborhood with very strict rules about landscape and property use. It is required to get approval from the neighborhood to paint your house, pave your driveway, and even remove potentially dangerous trees! Even worse–there are no gardens allowed! Container plants are great, but I have made it my goal to transform a hidden corner behind the garage into a make-shift ‘raised’ garden bed so I can incorporate companion planting into my practices. Companion planting is placing varieties of plants in a close proximity as to benefit each other throughout their lives. Benefits that come from companion planting include pest control, nutrients, or habitat for helpful critters.

So far, there is a 10 foot by 2 foot patch of land backed up to the house, lined with planks of wood that act as the walls of the garden bed. The walls are about 3 inches tall from the ground, just enough to pass as a raised bed. I have started the germination process with sage, oregano, basil, parsley, sweet mint, white onion chives, potato, and watermelon seeds. All of the herbs will be transplanted to this make-shift garden bed, whereas only one or two watermelon and potato plants will be transplanted and the rest will be given away to family and friends that are able to grow crops on their property. I chose to mainly produce an herb garden because herbs typically don’t grow to be too big, and subtlety is a priority.

Basil is said to improve the quality of neighboring herbs, as well as repel flies and mosquitos. Mint also repels mosquitos, aphids, and ants while attracting bees (Dyer, 2021)! The list of beneficial properties of herbs and other crops is endless, but the important thing to remember is to do your research before companion planting because some plants don’t like to leave near each other such as basil and sage. For that reason, they will be on the opposite sides of my herb garden.

Gardening comes in so many forms, and being creative with the space that you have can lead you to a successful harvest. I am eager to see how herbs grow alongside each other compared to in separate containers, and to see if I can get away with my secret garden.

My mom has always been interested in all things relating to flowers. Every year in the early days of April, she would drive down to our local gardening store and buy a couple bags of soil and an assortment of flowers to plant in our flower bed in front of our house. She loved to plant daffodils, roses, and tulips. She would pick a warm Saturday morning in April and she would spend the whole morning planting her flowers.

While she always loved planting roses, tulips, and daffodils, she always wanted to plant sunflowers. My mom would always run into problems growing sunflowers with squirrels eating them early on or having them blow over from the wind or a storm. The sunflowers never would last the whole season. But my mom has had enough and she was more determined than ever to grow sunflowers to their fullest potential and have them last the whole season.

Last April, my mom enlisted me to help her grow the sunflowers. With the Covid-19 pandemic at its worst, we both had nothing to do and we can put our full focus on the flower garden. We first worked to space the sunflower seeds about 6 inches apart and 2 inches deep in the bed. We then made sure to water them regularly and monitor their growth. To deter the squirrels from eating them, we found that if we planted thorny or sharp tipped plants around the base of the sunflowers, they will not be a problem. Sure enough, during the whole growing process, we did not see one squirrel attempt to eat our flowers. To keep the sunflowers from blowing over, we used stakes and tied the sunflowers loosely to the stakes which proved to be successful. 

In about 3 months, my mom and I were able to grow the sunflowers up to 10 feet and we were able to keep them around without them dying prematurely. This made my mom so happy and it proved to be a very good project during the pandemic.

Jeff Joslyn April 6, 2021

By Mike Patterson

Gardening is something that I never really thought that I would get into. Looking at flowers and planting have been something that have never really been prevalent in my life. However in taking this class I have started to gain an appreciation for nature and the beauty that plants have and all the different qualities they possess. A couple of years ago I would never even have considered going to visit a garden while on vacation. But this time around that is not the case. This summer I am going to be taking a two week long vacation traveling to different parts of the United States. One of the stops that we are going to is Virginia. I was looking at things to do in Virginia and one thing I stumbled on was the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia.

From the moment I saw the garden I was immediately impressed. It has a classic look but with a modern twist. The garden has a beautiful orchid collection along with a butterfly garden. The garden has a little bit for everyone including art exhibits, live music, and a variety of tours that you can go on. After reading the description of the garden and looking at different photos I was hooked. Visiting the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden became a must on our summer trip to do list. I never would have thought that going to a garden would actually be something that I would want to do on a vacation. Normally I want to go to amusement parks or stay on the beach. Visiting a garden never really crossed my mind. Throughout the past couple of months I have gained a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature and gardening.

I am looking forward to my summer vacation and experiencing the beauty of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. It has a lot to offer people of all ages so I believe that it will be a great experience for our vacation. 

Cheers! Cheers! Spring is here!

By: Kyannah Hernandez

Rising under the avalanche of winter weathers, spring begins to sprout. 

Our community has several signs of spring, whether it be flowers blooming, animals leaving and arriving, or simple sunshine. 

According to Bird Watcher’s Digest, animals and flora to keep an eye out for are Woodcock, Peepers, Juncos, Ducks, Owls, and lastly, Tree and Flower Buds. One main sign would be that distinct spring smell, Bird Watcher’s Digest described the smell of spring as 

”earthy spring smell that the land produces in late February and early March. It’s equal parts rain and soil, grass and ozone, creating a perfume that no amount of chemical wizardry can replicate.”

Bird Watcher’s Digest

Known for its gloomy, showered down days; April is the primary month that introduces warmth in our New England area.

Being born in spring has added a sense of peace in my life. As I walk out into the Merrimack campus, just after 4:00pm- you will witness the geese who do not clean after themselves. You can see them near Austin Hall, by McQuade Library or even spread out around the Sak. 

Spring is a season of peace and tranquility, a truce against the harsh winter and the coming summer. A chance of blurred pasts and new beginnings; spring is beautiful. 

According to the Weather Channel, a common sign of spring would be the nature of:

“flowers start to bloom in parks, gardens and woods.”

Throughout the community, a flower is springing out of the soil; birds are flocking toward the north to take advantage of the increased insect populations. As birds follow food, when winter comes and food options decrease, birds travel back south until the chain commences again. 

Spring is all around us, it can be down the street or in your very own backyard. If you see it, take it in because when spring goes it’ll be a year before we’ll see these marvelous signs once more. 

Remember to Smile as bright as Earth’s Sun and Enjoy Spring!!

Do you ever want to start gardening, but feel like you don’t have the skills to keep up with one on your own? The aero garden is the perfect solution! Living closer to the city, having space for a garden has always been a challenge. Most of the yards in my neighborhood are shared among neighbors and usually tend to be very small. My mom and I always wanted to try and grow our own vegetables, but always struggled with finding the room and proper sunlight. After a few failed attempts, my mom came across the aero garden. 

The aero garden allows one to grow plants using aeroponic technology. The plants are grown without soil and it uses just the air and water to grow plants. The kit has a base that you can pour water and the nutrients into and it has lights so that the plants can grow indoors. This was a huge benefit because we could grow tomatoes all year round and we could start a little garden in our kitchen! If you get the seed kits that come with it, they can start to germinate within 24 hours. Not only can you start a garden whenever and wherever, but they even start to grow super fast. The aero garden is so convenient and made it possible for my mom and I to actually start a successful mini garden. The aerogarden makes a basically perfect environment for the plants by having their roots grow towards the air and the water in the basin. It gives the roots a lot of humidity and lets them grow quicker than they would in the ground. The device adjusts the water and nutrient levels and amount of light based on the plant, so it doesn’t take an expert to be able to grow what you want! It has been perfect for my mom and I because we aren’t at home a lot and have busy schedules and it has made it so easy for us to grow our tomatoes. Although expensive, I think the convenience and quality of the plants is beyond worth it. 

By: Hannah Brennan

By Drew MacInnis

Throughout my life I have spent a lot of time in Boston, and this fall I was able to get an apartment in Cambridge. Although there are so many different places to go and things to do in the city, there is nothing more relaxing than going to the Boston Public Garden when the flowers are in bloom and the swan boats are in the water.

It is such an incredible sight and immediately calms me down and puts a smile on my face. Obviously the creation of the Public Garden did not happen overnight, so I did some research to see how it got to where it is now.

Similar to many other aspects of Boston the Public Garden was way ahead of its time. It was created in 1839 and was the first botanical garden that was open to the public in the entire country. Between 1839 and 1856 the area was not owned by the city of Boston and was primarily worked on by a man named Horace Gray until he could no longer fund his plans. Once the city of Boston obtained the rights to the land, they held a design competition with the winner getting his vision created. A gentleman by the name of George Meacham won the competition at only twenty five years of age and in less than twenty years his plan was created, and is still primarily the layout of the Public Garden today.

The Public Garden is twenty four acres and with so much space to cover there is extensive planning that takes place. With Boston having very harsh winters, a lot of the raising and growing of the plants took place elsewhere. When the garden first started most of the plants were grown throughout Boston in various greenhouses. During that time there was also a lot of experimentation going on with what plants look the best and stay alive the longest. There would be new seeds shipped in from all over the world, with some making it to the garden and some not. The Public Garden is something that has evolved over time through the hard work of so many people and thanks to them I am able to escape the craziness of the city to a beautiful natural landscape filled with life.

Sources:

• https://www.nps.gov/places/boston-public-garden.htm#:~:text=In%201839%2C%20a%20group%20of,garden%20in%20the%20United%20States.
• https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/2019/10/16/the-art-of-planting-the-gardeners-of-bostons-public-garden-october-16-2019/

Images:

• https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2015/04/17/boston-public-garden-app/
• https://lostnewengland.com/tag/boston-public-garden/page/2/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCa2KjjLcCo&ab_channel=TomBerrigan