Former N. Y. Times columnist gives garden hints to Rotarians

MILLBROOK — Millbrook resident Leslie Land, who summers at her gardens in Maine, wrote the New York Times weekly Q & A garden column for eight years. On March 10, she spoke to the monthly Rotary luncheon at the Carriage House restaurant about the techniques and pleasures of growing vegetables.

She explained that vegetables taste best when they grow quickly.  In order to grow rapidly they need space around them. She suggested putting only a few seeds in holes spaced according to the directions on the package. As the plants come up they should be thinned to leave only one per hole.  

“Crowded carrots don’t taste good,†she said.

Another tip was that seeds should be planted in wide beds. The standard is 4 feet, or as far as your arms can reach.

Expert gardener Land distributed a guide to the seven habits of highly successful gardeners.  

“Make compost. Use compost. Plant crops in wide beds.  Mulch.  Feed the soil, not the plants. Share something. Be there,†she advised.  

She spoke movingly of the community of gardeners — the common ground of shared enthusiasm, expertise and experience that ignores the differences of politics, religion and opinion that might normally separate people.

“Gardens are like icebergs, where almost everything important is going on beneath the soil’s surface,†according to Land.  

She explained that the fine roots of trees extend out to three times the width of the tree’s canopy and compete with gardens for nutrients. The shade cast by a house is very different from the impact of a tree shade canopy and spreading surface roots.

The audience was heavily seeded with eager gardeners who had questions to ask.

“What do you do about bears when composting?†Land’s answer was that, “Bears like protein. When they destroy beehives they are actually after the bee larvae, not the honey.  You should avoid putting in any material that has protein.â€

Land also urged everyone to compost to nourish the soil and discussed different methods. Peter Greenough asked if keeping a worm box in the cellar might be a solution to bears. Although the types of worms used in creating this kind of compost are not soil worms, Land discussed the problem of invasive earthworms in the forest.  

“They decompose the leaf layer destroying the habitat for certain species of trees, ferns and wildflowers,†Land said.

“Why should I grow my own vegetables when I can write a check to Sisters Hill and pick up fresh, local vegetables from them?†asked David Brinkerhoff, who admitted that last summer he had grown one $64 tomato in his own vegetable garden.

Land passionately responded, saying that there is “Power and creativity in growing your own food. You have a personal relationship with your lettuce. Your fresh basil will be fresher. Your vegetables can be picked when they are just ripe. You can eat the very best heirlooms that cannot be grown by commercial farmers.â€

In response to the question about which vegetables make the most sense to grow, Land suggested chard, tomatoes, pole beans, garlic, zucchini, herbs, tall snow peas and sugar snaps — all high-return vegetables.

Land referred the attendees to her own blog, leslieland.com, and the Maine Organic Gardeners and Farmers Web site,  mofga.org for more detailed guidance for gardeners. Her book, “The New York Times 1,000 Gardening Questions and Answers: Based on the New York Times Column ‘Garden Q & A’†covers kitchen, potted, landscape and flower gardens.  It is available at Merritt Bookstore.