NY Restoration Project and MillionTreesNYC have announced the species of the trees that are going to be available for FREE at the Putnam Triangle in Clinton Hill (Fulton Street at Grand Avenue) for the Free Tree Giveaway on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 10 a.m. They are: 

100 Japenese Cherry Trees
150 Kwanzan Cherry Trees
50 Cherokee Brave Dogwood Trees

Come out early to be sure to get your pick of the these beautiful, flowering trees.

In other cherry tree news, the watch is on for the first blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where the annual Cherry Blossom Fest runs April 30 to May 2.

[via Fulton Area Businesses]

Liberty Sunset Garden Center, photo by Marie Viljoen.

If you’re anything like us, you’ve got the gardening bug BAD this year, and here’s a little good news/bad news for all you would-be green thumbs: the beloved Liberty Sunset Garden Center in Red Hook is having a massive going-out-of- business-sale and we hear that just about everything is half off. Our friend and occasional contributor Marie Viljoen from 66SquareFeet blog has the full story and some glorious photos: She found “figs, citrus, roses, blackberries, more raspberries, kiwi vines, many hardy trees, like magnolias, birches and maples, and a lot else besides.” Bring cash, and be prepared to wait. Here’s more from Marie, including the coordinates.

The author's windowsill garden, awaiting spring

I’ve always been emotional about plants, ever since the pumpkin patch I toiled on for three months as a kid was ravaged by a posse of deer. Green visions resurfaced ten years later when I moved to Brooklyn and dreamt of a brightly lit windowsill garden. But in Bushwick, the closest I got was an English Thyme plant from Whole Foods. Until, that is, I unearthed Brokelyn’s four-part guide to windowsill gardening. As I heeded the advice on seeds and soil and putting it all together, my fledgling garden was finally realized. My failure as a gardener brought me to Brokelyn, which also led me to Rose Red & Lavender, where I bought organic soil, pots, wildflower seeds and a Thai basil plant. The deer haven’t returned but my budget gardening knowledge is sticking around.

As Chris Kreussling, a.k.a the Flatbush Gardener, tells us, “Gardeners have shared plants in this way for, well, pretty much ever. A lot of heirloom plants have been propagated in this way. One term for such plants is “pass-along plants.’” Good to know.

Also in the neighborhood, on Sunday, Apr. 25, Chris is leading Sustainable Flatbush’s 3rd Annual Spring Street Tree Walking Tour. We enjoyed the fall foliage tour, so our hopes are high for Sunday’s. Two tours: 11 am and noon; $5 suggested donation.

Plant Swap: Flatbush Food Co-op, 1415 Cortelyou Rd., between Marlborough & Rugby Rds.; Tree tour: Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Marlborough Rd., between Cortelyou and Dorchester Rds.

Photo by Mike Lieberman.

Your seeds have sprung to life, you’ve composted, you’ve got your soil and you know where to grow (probably in a whole bunch of containers in one supremely cramped space). Congratulations, you’re well on your way to inviting a friend to dinner just to say, “Dude, I grew this.” Here’s how to prep your planting space, transplant your seeds, acclimate your veggies, teach them to share and just put it all together.

Preparing your containers
The next step is preparing the planting bed or containers. If your mission is abundance, then Miracle Gro or other chemical fertilizers might be for you. They produce softball-size peppers and those giant pumpkins you always see, but remember: chemicals > plants > you.

Otherwise, a compost/peat moss is the way to go. Peat moss loosens heavy clay soils, adds body to sandy soils, helps retain moisture and preserves soil nutrient levels. You can mix it throughout your potting soil or plant bed. For container gardening, some even recommend using a 70/30 mix of peat moss to compost.

Transplanting your seeds
From the ghetto greenhouse, seed cell trays, or a temporary pot; your plants are ready for transplant when the first set of true leaves emerge from the seedlings, and you might also see roots peaking through the drainage holes. And it’s never a bad idea to consult a time and temperature chart. Gently loosen any root ball that has formed and plant them into a space twice the size of the roots. Then back fill, softly packing soil around the roots.

Shock therapy
If your plants will be facing the elements, remember to consult the grow calender from part one, especially if you plan to grow from the ground. Even though the weather is beginning to shift, the ground still needs time to warm up, and a swing of the pendulum back to cold might be a fatal blow in your gardening adventures.

It’s important to prepare them for the shock of transplant. When you notice the seedlings getting close to ready, you can begin conditioning them for the outdoors. Be sure they’re in some shade to start. Initially, put them outdoors of short periods and slowly leave them longer and longer. After roughly half a week, they should be ready for a life outside.

If you've got the room, space your veggies like a big-time farmer.

If you’re putting them into the ground, space accordingly. Since part one already covered avoiding space-hogging plants like corn and pumpkin, be sure to give each plant a few inches around the stem.  On the first day of transplant, water generously, especially if it’s a sunny day.

The grand design: companion planting
Plants are living organisms, and they respond to a variety of internal and external factors. One such factor is the surrounding plants. If companion planting sounds abstract, it isn’t; indigenous Americans introduced the concept to our European ancestors by way of the Three Sisters: beans, corn and squash.

Some plants just get along better with others (see chart). Shade-loving plants can be placed under taller full-foliage crops, allowing an ultra-efficient use of space and higher yields. This also can do wonders for pest control. Garlic, for instance, biochemically wards of slugs, ticks, rabbits and many other garden vandals. But companion planting also can improve other nutrient levels. For example, beans, peas and other legumes can be used to fix nitrogen in the soil and spread the wealth to neighboring plants. These are the sort of tricks that can make a dramatic difference.

For deeper study, reference some of the leaders of the Permaculture movement like Toby Hemenway and his home-scale permaculture guide, Gaia’s Garden. And if you want to get really trippy, try planting according to the alignment of the cosmos, where astrology meets agriculture. Just don’t drink the Kool-Aid.

A final take-away
Remember that there are endless methods of gardening. It’s a science, and as such, it requires experimentation. Find what works for you. Our veggie guide should serve as a primer to wet your appetite for the ways of the green thumb.  All that matters is that you’re doing it. There’s a good chance a plant or two will die on you—it can happens to the best of us. But it’s all worth it when you take that first bite of a rutabaga you nurtured from nothing to plate.

Fire-escape pepper photo by Urban Greenscaper. Click on it for lots more inspiration.

Read the rest of the installments in our four-part series on urban vegetable gardening: seeds, soil and putting it all together.

We know, we know… you probably don’t think you have the space or the know-how to grow a measly sprout, let alone the ingredients for a salad. And you might be right. But growing food in tight, urban quarters is not only possible, it’s easier than you might expect. Gardening experts estimate that every square foot of growing space yields almost a pound of food over the course of the growing season. That’s a sizable crop squeezed from even the most meager Park Slope patch of dirt. And if a Crown Heights fire escape is your whole domain, that’s at least a crudité. Here’s how to begin. Where to begin: indoors Since most Brokelynites lack yard access, we’ll start indoors. So long as your radiator isn’t busted, you can start in early March. According to the National Gardening Association, “Almost any vegetable can grow in a container and with a little care can produce abundantly.” So take a look at your containers around the house. If something will hold soil and you can poke holes in the bottom for drainage, it can be part of your container garden. Of course, there’s always something to be said for style points. Gardening indoors requires paying attention to issues like temperature, pollination, light and fertilization. Leafy greens are comfortable at temps into the 60s, while tomatoes, cucumbers and the like require warmer temps around 70 degrees. A south-facing window may be all you need, but if your only view is of a brick wall, then look into buying a UV light. They can run from $30 for spot-grow lights to $300 or more for more intense UV light systems. If you’re blessed with a yard, screw you. Just kidding. But things will be much easier—you can start the seeds indoors, and when they’re ready for transplant (typically when stems are over one inch tall) put them in the ground. Of course, the are some considerations like timing (see calendar below) and finding a spot with the appropriate amount of sun. For those without a yard and who lack the drive to micromanage an indoor project, consider a plot at one of Brooklyn’s many community gardens. Depending on your neighborhood, some may already be wait-listed and some may require a bit of dedication, but others are a matter of sign up and plant. Non-profit groups like More Gardens and New York Restoration Project convert abandoned lots into green spaces every year. See below for a complete list of Brooklyn’s community gardens. So what can I grow and when? Brooklyn falls in Zone 6 of the USDA Hardiness Zoning Map (but you knew that already), so the all-important last frost falls between March 30 and April 30. Beware, transplanting anything into the ground before the last frost is certain death for the crop. Avoid such losses by following suggested start dates. Timing varies, depending on the plant. Some common veggies for Zone 6 include: tomatoes, peppers, green beans, cucumbers, squash, cabbage, beets, collards, carrots, lettuce, peas, turnips, potatoes, melons and so forth. Since our biggest enemy at this point is the last frost date,VeggieHarvest has a helpful calender for tactful growing in Zone 6:

And here are some resources for indoor gardening: GardenGal’s vegetable list and indoor tips WikiHow on Indoor Gardening Garden Guides: How to Grow Indoor Vegetable Gardens How to Buy UV Sun Lamps Keep reading, with all the installments in our series on urban vegetable gardening: seeds, soil and putting it all together.

Feeling the urge to call Moscow? Visit aitelphone.com, and find international rates as low as 1.5 cents/min in comparison $1.70/min at Verizon. So slap on a smile and start saving (and jeeze Louise, we can’t see the fillings in the back of your teeth–so opt for silver instead of white enamel and pay half the price for four-times the strength). For lots more of this sort of thing, check out Real Simple‘s “How to Save On…” guide.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, photo by Dave Shafer.

Does everyone know you can get $20 from the city if you buy a new tree? As part of Bloomberg’s plan to reforest the city, you can download this coupon from milliontrees.org and use it to get a $20 break on a “1-inch caliper or larger” from a participating nursery. There are five in Brooklyn: Chelsea Garden Center, Dragonetti Brothers, Gowanus Nursery, Kings County Nursery and Liberty Sunset Garden; addresses and phone numbers follow the coupon link.