environmental studies and sustainability

February 21, 2023February 21, 2023

Hydrangeas

By Chloe Newell

Hydrangeas bushes are beautiful pom-pom looking flowers that are native to our zone 6 climate. Hydrangeas bushes can be seen all over Massachusetts in various assortments of colors based on the soil. Before planting your hydrangea, you should plan out which type you’d like to bloom. Use acidic soil for blue or purple-blue hydrangeas. Alkaline soil with a pH above 7 for pink and red hydrangeas. Alkaline soil with a pH below 7 creates a purple hydrangea. (Source : HGTV).

Photo by Victoria Syverson on Flickrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/124651729@N04/51243638915

Seed Starting Advice

Most people who are starting to grow hydrangeas start with the root. This can be done in the ground or in a pot.

Plant in an area with partial sun.
Trim around the root for parts that look rotting.
Dig a hole deep enough to cover the entire root, leaving 2 to 3 inches on the sides of the root.
Make sure that the top of the root meets the top layer of soil.
Remove root from hole, fill soil with water halfway.
Once water has absorbed, replace the root back into soil and fill the hole with water.
Re-water the plant once again.

(Source : The Almanac)

Growing Advice

When growing hydrangeas bushes, you will need to plant them at least 3 to 10 feet apart (Source : The Almanac). This will give them plenty of space to grow out and not be on top of each other. When it comes to protecting them from pests, you should keep your eye out for holes within the flowers. Slugs can be discovered when there are munches on your petals, and can be reduced using slug traps. Other insects, like scale, aphids, beetles and fruit worms, can be reduced using an insect control spray. ( Source : Esponma).

Harvesting Advice

Avoid cutting your hydrangeas when it is hot outside, since this will cause the flower to wilt. Cut within the months of August and October, which is when they are at their blooming season. Pick when the flowers are fully bloomed. (Source : Garden Guides).

Arrangement Inspiration

The most perfect bouquet featuring hydrangeas include different types of roses, like spray roses and African roses. They also pair well with peonies and dahlias. Alongside these statement flowers, you can add smaller greens, such as babies breath, eucalyptus, delphinium, foxglove, freesia, and bells of Ireland (Source : Cascade Floral Wholesale) When it comes to the colors of the arrangement, you want them to match based on what color hydrangeas you are using. When using blue or purple hydrangeas, you should stick to a more cool toned bouquet, and when you’re using pink, you should use more warm toned flowers- white is the middle ground and can be mixed with either color. Below is an example of a bouquet mixed with both warm and cool colors that looks beautiful as well.

Arrangement done by Flores & Co on The Florist Market

February 20, 2023February 20, 2023

Cape Cod Striped Bass

Over the last 3 years, Cape Cod Bay has called me to its dark blue waters, sandy beaches, rough tides, and vast amounts of roaming saltwater fish species. During the hot summer months, many fish species migrate from coastal southern states to feed on baitfish in the cooler waters off Cape Cod. One of the species of migrating fish, and arguably the most sought-after fish for fishermen in the area, is the striped bass.

After a July 4th night full of fun and fireworks, my girlfriend, her father (Paul), and I prepared for a fishing trip the next morning. As the sun rose on July 5, 2021, and the fish began to feed, we had a feeling that today would be the day we would catch some fresh fish for dinner. Leaving the boat ramp, Paul navigated the boat towards the deep waters in search of mackerel, a striped bass’ favorite snack-sized meal. In just a few minutes, the livewell on the boat was full of mackerel, and we began our search for the aggressive schools of striped bass.

Mackerel (bottom of the screen) and striped bass (top of screen) after a fishing trip. Credit: Bryce M.

After catching our bait, Paul found a giant school of striped bass moving right underneath the boat. Within seconds, we dropped down our live mackerel and began patiently waiting for a bass to take the bait. While the boat drifted, I felt an aggressive tug from a fish swimming right beneath us. After a 12 minute long fight, the tired striped bass was boat side and ready to be brought aboard, and Paul scooped the fish into a large net. Excitement filled us all.

Myself with the 43-inch striped bass. Credit: Paul M.

Striped bass are highly regulated with catch limits and size restrictions in Massachusetts. This 43-inch bass was over the legal size to keep of 35 inches for recreational fishermen like myself. These large fish are only allowed to be kept by commercial fishermen within the fishing industry, so we released this fish safely.

There is definitely some level of satisfaction behind catching or harvesting the very food you eat, especially when it comes to fresh fish. After a long day on the ocean, the most refreshing thing for me is eating a nice meal, packed with nutrients from the striped bass we caught that morning. However, since I am primarily a catch-and-release fisherman, releasing this fish gave me a sense of happiness. As my dad has told me since I was a young fishermen, “let them go…let them grow”.

– Written by: Bryce Miranda

February 17, 2021February 23, 2021

Why Compost is Crucial in our Garden

Composting is a very crucial and beautiful piece of art in our gardens. This is something that I was personally extremely drawn to and wanted to take the opportunity to learn more about it. To start us off what is compost? From the article Composting At Home they stated that “Compost is organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 30 percent of what we throw away, and could be composted instead. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.” Compost is something that is available to everyone and can be done in your own home or even apartment! Not only can composting be a positive attribution to our world but also a new hobby for you to enjoy as we face our worldwide circumstances right now. With that being said we are able to reduce massive amounts of waste in our world with this quite simple task. Composting our leftover foods is an amazing way to make your personal contribution to nature and use what you already have at your fingertips. I personally find this astonishing that with just a simple task how much of an impact on the environment you can make. With just seven easy and brainless steps you will be on your way to composting as well. Attached at the bottom is a link on specifics to how you can achieve your attribution towards your garden. I hope that this inspires you to join me and my classmates in beginning a new hobby and adding positivity to our environment.

Written by Colby Paolo

https://www.leduc.ca/composting/7-easy-steps-composting

An example of what a compost will look like!

How your compost will look in the beginning.

June 10, 2019June 10, 2019

Garden Memoirs Wrap-Up and Merrimack Garden Expansion

The lull between planting and harvest time is perfect for reflecting on the busy spring we had in Garden Memoirs class. Dr. Perks taught ESS 3600, an Environmental Studies + Arts and Literature class, for the first time in spring 2019, working with a fantastic group of students from a range of majors. We went from struggling to identify the significance of honeybees in the opening scene of our first book, Farm City by Novella Carpenter, to talking extensively about the symbolism of hatching a new flock of heritage turkeys at the end of Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It was a rewarding semester, full of human and plant growth.

In addition to honing our critical reading and writing skills throughout the semester (with blog posts, reflection papers, and literary criticism), we also engaged in a lot of food- and garden-related work, some of which is recapped here.

Follow our garden progress on Instagram at ‘Merrimack Garden!’

In the warm, communal space of the 47 Lounge during the colder months, we practiced food preservation skills. During one memorable class, we made over a dozen jars of dill pickles, crafted sustainable beeswax wraps, and perused garden catalogs to help plan our garden.

Jar of dill pickles with snowy background. Photo by Lisa Perks

On another busy class period, later in the semester, we made two apple pies and fresh cheese. Even more exciting: we ate all of our delicious food the next time class met.

Two apple pies cool and cheese curds separate from whey. Photo by Lisa Perks.

All three of our books emphasized raising animals for meat, eggs, and/or milk. Daisy, Lily, and Speckle (three chicks raised for egg laying), visited Garden Memoirs class and the Humor and Media class (pictured below).

Three chicks visit the animal-whispering students in Humor and Media class. Photo by Lisa Perks.

Once the ground thawed, we began work on what would be our proudest accomplishment: expanding plantings at Merrimack’s Rock Ridge Rd. garden site. We tested the soil, analyzed what had been planted the previous year (rotating the crops to prevent disease), extensively researched plant growth habits and disease susceptibility, thought about our community’s needs, and mapped out our plantings.

Pete, Brayden, and Ben identify last year’s plants. Photo by Lisa Perks.

After a trip with Stephanie and Danny (pictured below) to haul our raised-bed cedar lumber back to campus, we were ready to get building.

Stephanie and Danny with the cedar lumber. Photo by Lisa Perks (pictured in shadow).

And after a memorable, rainy-day trip to Lake Street Garden Center, we were ready to get planting. (See Jaiden’s blog post about the experience getting blueberries + apple trees, and check out our garden-themed playlist for the van ride.)

Spring planting photo by Stephanie Sartori

*Blueberry planting photo by Stephanie Sartori*

Watering impatiens photo by Stephanie Sartori

The plants have had over a month to settle in and grow. We’ve added other annuals and a team of volunteers for summer care. Plantings include strawberries, blueberries, apples, cucumbers, lettuce, pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, and a selection of herbs.

The garden is there to feed anyone in our community. Stop by Rock Ridge Rd. to enjoy the plants, pull some weeds, and eat some food! Our Merrimack Garden Instagram account will have updates on what’s ready to harvest. Here’s a look at the progress as of June 9th, 2019.