Dig out your seed catalogs, sort through your seed packets, and go find your trowel. Spring is coming and that means garden season. For more information, contact koppelgardens@gmail.com. Please put “accessibility garden” in the subject line. #accessiblegardening #accessibilitygarden
Really nice build! I have a battery trimmer too and use long loppers (instead of small hand pruners) as much as possible. Also switched to pitchfork to vertically loosen soil, to avoid most digging. #accessiblegardening 🌱
Back view of mobile tool box / seat for gardener. If I had to make a new one, I would use axles and somewhat bigger wheels instead of casters. The casters are too mobile, so it doesn't pull as straight and sometimes falls over. Still it's very useful for me. A big help, and more stable / stronger / larger than the previous stool that I had bought. The pruners make pruning much easier. I'm VERY CAREFUL to keep fingers and thumbs out of the way - they cut through 3/4" branches INSTANTLY. The extend my reach as well as cut more easily. I sharpen with each round of pruning, for clean cuts. I use the clippers especially to mow off trailing wild blackberries and other weeds at ground level. Very effective. When they start to grow back from remaining roots & crowns, I'll use a digging tool to finish the job.
Front side of rolling toolbox / bench. The rope is for pulling it around. The holes bring in light. The pad is a fisherman's seat. By making it, I avoided buying new parts (except casters). The wood is all recycled and the stain was left over from other projects. The fastener screws were also all re-used.
Gardener's aids for more #accessiblegardening. A home made stool and tool box, on casters, for sitting while working and keeping tools close by. The box was made from scrap lumber, and finished with deck stain. See alt text. Motorized pruner and trimmers. 🌱
Asian pear tree pruned to accessible but deer-unfriendly dimensions.
Pear tree with half of pruning done.
2nd Asian pear tree pruned today as usual Fruiting spurs low enough for me to reach w/o ladder, spurs too short to droop to deer height, and too high for deer to be comfortable reaching up to. I think this is Nijiseiki pear but it wasn't labeled. #HomeOrchard #deer #AccessibleGardening 🌱
Multigraft Asian plum tree after pruning. This tree started as Methley. I added on Shiro and Hollywood about ten years ago. My fruit tree shaping philosophy: no branches easily reached by deer. That includes long slender willowy branches that will droop with weight of fruit. But, as someone who isn't as able as I used to be, keep all branches low enough to reach without a ladder. So, there's a "Goldilocks Zone". I try to keep fruiting spurs 6" to a foot long. I don't worry too much about keeping the center open. it has sort of a flat top, so sun reaches all of the leaves and fruit.
I removed 2-3 feet of top growth from this Methley+Shiro+Hollywood Asian plum multigraft tree. Buds are swelling! So prolific - hundreds of potential plums. I thin a LOT. Pruning philosophy: short enough so no ladder needed. Too high for deer. 🌱 #HomeOrchard #AccessibleGardening
Garden raised bed, covered with crushed, old leaves to prevent weed growth.
Wagon full of red maple leaves.
Raised bed system for gardening. 25-gal fabric containers, filled with garden soil mix, sitting on cement blocks and enclosed in a box made from fencing. Raised system for accessible gardening. Six containers are planted with garlic cloves, six each, and the soil covered with maple leaves.
Squashes, harvested today.
Fall #gardening. First raised bed is weeded & covered with tree leaf mulch (gift from neighbor). Raking red maple leaves. 6 of 8 25-gal containers in enclosure, planted with saved garlic cloves & covered with leaf mulch. 2 remaining. Summer squashes I harvested today. 🌱 #AccessibleGardening
Zucchini plant, including flower and zucchini, growing in large cement "rings" stacked to make a container. They have wire tomato towers fir support. They also have drip irrigation.
Yellow summer squash "Yellow Straightneck" summer squash plant, grown same way as the zucchini plant in the other photo. By having two varieties, I can easily cross pollinate when one only has male flowers and the other just has female flowers, and vice versa.
I'm pleased with how the summer squash and zucchini grew in these large individual "containers", with wire tomato towers for support. Easy care, hand pollinating, inspecting, harvesting, pruning. No kneeling or leaning over. 🌱 #kitchengarden #accessiblegardening
Red Kuri squash and Canada Crookneck squash, trained to a trellis.
Red kuri squash on trellis, supported by a fabric hammock.
Container strawberries. These are on a ledge for easier access for maintenance and care, and have a drip irrigation line for gardener with some physical limitations. The variety is "Ozark Beauty".
"Akane" apple tree, grown on highly dwarfing Bud-9 rootstock. These are a Japanese variety bred partially from the classic "Jonathan". Great flavor, very productive, red apple. The tree growth currently tops out at about 7 feet tall.
Fruit in the #KitchenGarden. Squashes on trellis, some with "hammocks" for security. Ever-bearing Strawberries in containers. Apples. 🌱 #AccessibleGardening
Pink mandevilla grown in container, in bush form.
Red mandevilla in container, in bush form.
Mandevilla update. The pink one is in full bloom. The red one has just begun. Next year maybe I'll take them out of dormancy a month earlier. Still, they replace the day-lilies that have bloomed-out. 🌱 #ContainerGardening #AccessibleGardening
Soft pink, many-petaled English rose "Silas Marner". After growing this rose, I felt compelled to read the book by George Eliot! In 99 F weather, the older petals are slightly burnt.
Rose "Silas Marner" grown in container. A David Austin rose. The fragrance is mild. Fragrance is subjective, and I think I no longer get the full impact. They are still very sweet and spicy. Container growing helps with #AccessibleGardening. #Roses 🌱
Cherry tomatoes growing in containers. "Supersweet 100".
Yellow dwarf cherry tomato plant "Dwarf Eagle Smiley" grown from home-saved seeds. A product of the international "Dwarf Tomato Project". I originally bought the seeds from Victory Seeds. Dwarf tomatoes are better for gardeners with limitations, because the plants don't grow so gigantic.
#Cherrytomatoes are doing pretty well. Container one is Supersweet 100. Probably needed bigger containers. Garden one is Dwarf Eagle Smiley, from home-saved seeds. OK despite undermining by moles. 🌱 #gardening #containergardening #AccessibleGardening
Harvest of white, yellow, and red onions, Single layer in a shallow cardboard box to dry out for longer keeping.
From the #KitchenGarden today. White, Yellow, and Red onions. I planted the sets in February (I think). About half remain to dig up, maybe tomorrow. I have to pace myself and work in cool am. These were in high raised bed # #DripIrrigation for #AccessibleGardening.
"Gypsy" pepper plant in container.
Japanese eggplant plant in container.
July blossoms on Ozark Beauty repeat-bearing strawberry p,ant, in container.
Poblano pepper in container. Next to it is a pink & magenta mini dahlia.
Some #kitchengarden plants on the deck. I think the concrete releases heat at night, + they get more TLC than the regular garden. Perky potted pepper plants, goth-looking Japanese eggplant, & an "Ozark" ever-bearing strawberry in re-blooming phase. 🌱 #containervegetables #accessiblegardening #
Pink daylily. This one is a historic variety that I bought a decade ago. Still thriving.
Apricot-ish colored daylily with deeper throat. I bought this one as Frans Hals, which it definitely is not. It has a bug in the throat.
Daylily "Chicago Apache", the reddest one I have. Very vigorous.
Daylily "Fooled Me", yellow with brick red throat. Also very vigorous.
Some #daylilies. "Luxury Lace", an heirloom variety. Unknown, with friend. "Chicago Apache". "Fooled Me". Daylilies are champs in this hot weather. They are a good #accessiblegardening choice, simply because they require almost no care. 🌱 #Gardening
This way of growing zucchini is easier. In tall cement container with tomato tower form support. Easily accessible.
Artificial pollination of squash blossom. No bees around today. I brush the anther in the stigma.
Galeux squash (pumpkin) growing on the vine.
This female squash blossom will open tomorrow. I will pollinate it in the morning,
#Squash Update. Zucchini plant in large concrete container, and tomato tower. #Pollinating zucchini blossom with another's anther. Roaming Galeux vine with growing pumpkin, yay! Galeux female blossom will open tomorrow 🌱 #gardening #accessiblegardening
Container garden. Lots of several-years-old geraniums, but also succulents and others. I keep the geraniums each winter by letting them dry out, then storing the dormant plants in the garage until Spring.
I think this geranium is "Batik", a hybrid between ivy and zonal types. It stays very compact and has tough, crinkly leaves.
A zonal variegated geranium. Unfortunately I lost the tag.
Also lost label for the hybrid pink one. The white one is seed-grown, "White Maverick".
The front #containergarden. #Geraniums and a lot of others. All but a few were overwintered, dry and dormant, in the garage. After cleanup and some care, they revived and reward the effort with lots of flowers. 🌱 #frugalgarden #accessiblegardening
Container garden on porch, featuring mini dahlias but also eggplant, poblano pepper, and alpine strawberries.
Mini dahlia in container garden. This was overwintered totally dry, in garage. Then re-planted in fresh potting soil and given some TLC for a number of weeks. I like the container plants. Much easier and more accessible for me, than growing in the ground.
Other container plants. Another dahlia, a poblano pepper, and marigolds in the background.
The mini dahlias that I over-wintered in the garage, are blooming now. These were originally seedlings from the grocery store. The cement stores heat during the day, releasing it at night so they grow faster. 🌱 #gardening #dahlias #containergardening #accessiblegardening
I shall savor it. Never give up!
#HydroponicGarden #HydroponicGardening #AccessibleGardening
Deep red, very double rose "Munstead Wood"
First blossom on "Munstead Wood", a #DavidAustinRose that I planted in April. Richly fragrant. Slightly deeper color than Darcey Bussell but much more fragrance. It will need more time to develop as a bush. So far, really nice. 🌱 #Bloomscrolling #containergardening #accessiblegardening
David Austin Rose "Darcey Bussell", deep burgundy, old-fashioned- type blossoms. Grown in a container. It's in a sunny location that is too hot in mud summer, so I roll it to a shadier spot then. This variety blooms off and all, all summer long. Fragrance is moderate and depends on timing. Growing in containers makes them easier to manage, and at a better height for accessible gardening.
David Austin rose "Bring Me Sunshine ". A bright yellow, old-fashioned looking blossom. I think if I pruned it back more during the winter, it might not be as floppy now.
David Austin rose "Boscobel". A coral pink rose with mild fragrance, old fashioned type rose blossoms.
Some container - grown David Austin roses, showing the whole plant. I was reluctant to prune some of them too much during the winter. They might be less floppy now if I was more aggressive. Darcy Bussell, Bring Me Sunshine, and Boscobel. 🌱 #Roses #Bloomscrolling #gardening #accessiblegardening
Latturula fig tree, loaded with developing figs. Alternative names White Marseilles or Italian Honey Fig. I grew this tree from a cutting from my prior home in 2012. Big crop every year. Sweet, mild, juicy figs, excellent raw (fruit salad) or on a grill (kebabs). Or in fig bars. This tree gets no added summer water, good for xeric gardening. I keep it pruned to 7 feet tall, easy to maintain and harvest without a ladder. This tree has survived freezes down to 9F. I think my garden is zone 8a or 8b, depending on which website you beleive.
Summer squash seedlings in concrete-sided, bottomless container. Container is about two feet tall. Soil is native soil mixed with compost and used potting soils. Tomato tower will precent flopping. Good setting for accessible gardening. This also has drip irrigation emitter added after the photo, and will be mulched.
Red Kuri squash seedlings, planted near squash trellis for accessible gardening. The black plastic mulch is multi-reused / upcycled and is covered with arborist chips. It will be irrigated but I havent done that yet.
Supersweet-100 Cherry tomato plant in patio container. This was an extra plant, and very small. In the container, it out-grew the previously taller ones that I planted in raised beds. I think the reason is, the concrete warms in the sun and releases heat at night. Already blooming in MAY! Eventually it will get a tomato tower. Supersweet-100 is our favorite cherry tomato for flavor as well as productivity. It will need extra watering in summer. Probably will need a larger container, too. But, container growing like this is very accessible for the gardener who needs extra considerations.
Around the kitchen garden. Lattarula (White Marseilles) fig tree is loaded. Seems early! Bush summer squash planted in tall "container" & tomato tower for access. Winter squashes planted. Supersweet 100 cherry tomato plant in container on patio 🌱 #gardening #kitchengarden #accessiblegardening
A man drives a Home Depot-branded forklift to transport a plastic-wrapped stack of many bags of soil.
A view of a forklift from behind. The man driving it can be seen. Next to it is a library bookmobile.
An Inclusive Services staff member stands next to the stack of bags of soil, which is now placed pallets on the ground next to the Bookmobile in the parking lot of a library branch.
1 ton of dirt has arrived at the Flatlands Branch. We are so excited to start our gardening clubs for the season! #disability #accessiblegardening #inclusiveservices #gardeningclub #library
Apple bunch before thinning. I cut the smaller ones at the stems, using kitchen shears, leaving one apple per bunch. It's easy, for super-dwarfed trees or espaliers, or columnar trees. Gardener can just stand there and work, or sit for lower ones. Easily accessible.
After thinning. Now one fruit per bunch. This is the variety "Gravenstein".
Time to start thinning some apples & pears. I start as soon as they are ~ half of a dime's diameter. Dime size is OK. I thin to one fruit per bunch, about 5 inches apart. => earlier, better tasting, bigger, sweeter fruit. More in alt text. 🌱 #Gardening #KitchenGarden #AccessibleGardening
Alpine strawberry plants in bloom. These are the French variety "Fraises des Bois", I grew from seeds a year ago. Seeds bought from on-line nursery "Renee's Garden". Compared to the usual strawberries, these are much smaller, much sweeter, much more flavorful. In high container, 3 feet above the pathway, good for #accessiblegardening
Here are the Dunja hybrid bush zucchini seedlings that I started last week. This is the earliest I have ever planted squash in the kitchen garden. It is so warm out there now. Not shown: there is a drip irrigation line to keep them watered. The container lifts the plant 2 feet off the ground - very good for accessible gardening.
Squash seedlings that I started last week, now in the ground. These are a smaller - type squash, good for growing on trellis. Saves space + accessible.
Well, it's not elegant, but the cardboard mulch is mostly in place for the tomato plants. The cardboard shades the soil and the drip irrigation lines & emitters. Importantly, fungal and bacterial spores can't splash from soil onto leaves, with the cardboard mulch in place. This keeps the leaves free of disease. The light color helps keep the soil a bit cooler and moister. It prevents weed growth. After the growing season, the cardboard will be composted. I also have wire tomato towers in place now, for talker or bushier tomato varieties. I have tried butcher paper. It rots too quickly. I'm not happy to use plastic mulches, although sometimes they have a place. Tree leaves might work nicely, but I already used up my supply. Straw rots too fast.
Kitchen Garden This & That. Alpine Strawberries continue blooming. Dunja hybrid zucchini seedlings. Red Kuri squash, near squash trellis. Most of the cardboard mulch in place now, in tomato beds. Also wire towers for taller types. 🌱 #AccessibleGardening #KitchenGarden #Garden #VictoryGarden
Mushrooms growing on arborist chip mulch on bearded iris bed. I don't know what kind.
Florentine iris, a centuries-old bearded iris originating in Italy. Pretty rugged plant, I neglect it. These were (are?) a type used for orris root. Candy-sweet fragrance.
Happy to find a honeybee in the apple blossoms. I also saw tiny native pollinators, and a few bumblebees. This apple variety is CosmicCrisp, a favorite when grown at home.
Three raised beds now set up with drip irrigation lines. I have the irrigation on a timer. These are mostly tomatoes, mostly dwarf or determinate "Roma", but some lettuce, Chinese chives, and I stick French marigolds where-ever they will fit. I use the darkest flowered marigolds, will feed to the hens and see if the yolks are more deeply colored. I the distance, an espaliered apple on the fence. The top variety is the disease resistant "Liberty". The lower tiers are new grafts, not flowering yet. The water jugs are used for night covers for tomato plants, protect from chill. The accessibility is helped by using tall sided raised beds, dwarf tomato varieties or determinants, and by espalier pruning of apple.
Sightings in the garden. A mushroom among the irises. Iris germanica Florentina, a centuries old variety. Bee on apple blossom. Tomato beds all set up with drip lines now. Lots of info in alt text, too. 🌱 #kitchengarden #potager #gardening #accessiblegardening
These open bottom containers are stacked cement rings. They are solid and last a long time. The bottom is open. They raise the work level which is more accessible. They have working drip irrigation. I will plant bushy squashes in them. The squash plants will be supported by tomato towers so they don't flop over.
Bamboo trellis for smaller size vining squash. I ran out of rope for the vine tendrils, will obtain more (cotton clothesline). I can make cloth hammocks for the squashes, once they develop. Space saving and more accessible than growing on the ground. They are on the North side of the garden, so they receive full sun but won't shade kitchen garden plants.
The squash seeds I'm planting. Galeux is very large, will grow on ground. Red Kuri is much smaller, will trellis. I'm not sure about the Butternut Rugosa and Canada Crookneck, they are new to me. The others are bushy type summer squash. I hand pollinate and cover the blossoms until squashes for . That keeps the seeds pure for saving. I find that a lot of seeds, including squash, grow more vigorously if home saved. Can't do with hybrids, but great for heirlooms.
I readied containers for bush squash. I built the first trellis for smaller size vining squash. Planted squash seeds. Read alt txt for info. 🌱 #gardening #accessiblegardening #kitchengarden #potager
Close up showing the strawberry plant containers, which are also on the drip irrigation lines now.
Raised beds with drip irrigation lines. Nearest to camera is bed with onions. Strawberry plant containers are on the north edge of the bed, so nothing is shaded.
I set up the drip irrigation lines 3rd (of 7) raised beds. This one has onions. After July, harvest, it will have green beans.
I also connected 3 containers of strawberry plants.
I couldn't keep up w/ watering, without the drip system. 🌱 #accessiblegardening #gardening #dripirrigation
Akane apple tree on Bud-9 rootstock. A Japanese variety, very productive Jonathan-type apples but a bit larger fruit. It's descended partly from Jonathan.
Pristine apple on a dwarfing Geneva rootstock. Pristine is a very early (July), "sparkly" tasting yellow apple. Very disease resistant. All of these highly dwarfing rootstocks are not strong, so require a strong post to keep the tree standing.
Sweet-16 mini-dwarf apple tree on Bud-9 rootstock. Sweet-16 is a mid-season (Sept) red apple with pink-toned flesh adjacent to the skin, and an unusual "cherry apple" flavor. This tree, using the rootstock and pruning, is about 5 feet tall and bears about 50 good size apples, with early fruit thinning.
On far right, "Tasty Red" columnar apple. I did not graft that one, it's on whatever rootstock the nursery used. Patented (originally Czech), disease resistant variety so cant be home grafted. On left, Gravenstein on Bud-9. Bears in July. Origin 17th century Europe. Triploid. Behind that, Jonared, a red sport of Jonathan, I think I grafted it onto on Geneva because it's a low vigor cultivar. Smaller apples, nostalgic. My parents had a Jonathan apple tree many years ago. Probably originates in rural New York in 1826. Behind that in the row is Akane, already described. Each mini tree can now bear about 50 apples, easily. On the miniaturizing rootstocks, they are easy to maintain, highly accessible to putter and give TLC. Grafting isn't too difficult. Scion and rootstocks are from various sources, mainly Fedco in Maine, and Burnt Ridge in WA State. I think they are close enough together for pollinating insects to travel between trees. They usually set fruit too well, requiring fruit thinning in Nay or June. Yesterday I noticed a few honeybees and more tiny pollinating solitary bees and wasps buzzing around the blossoms.
Apple blossom time. The earlies are in full bloom. Almost are grafted onto ultra-dwarfing rootstock, Budagovsky-9 (Bud 9) rootstock for high vigor varieties, or Geneva-222 for low vigor varieties. Trees are about six years old. 🌱 #AccessibleGardening #Homeorchard #AppleBlossom
Home made chive dumplings
Chinese chives harvested for dumplings. Perennial, clumps can last many years, easy to grow, winter hardy, nice white flowers beloved by bees 🐝. They love growing in large containers for easier gardening.
The much better cook in my house, who also grew up in a family that made dumplings, converted my Chinese chives into dumplings. 🥟😋! There were lots more. Some got frozen for later, too. (I just grow the chives) 🌱 #gardening #ChineseVegetable #accessiblegardening
