Environmental News, Notes, and Events
By Meg Muckenhoupt
Well, it’s spring, sort of. The average last frost date in Belmont is somewhere between May 1 and May 11, depending on which website you believe—the Old Farmer’s Almanac? Plantmaps.com? But my grandmother in Newton never planted her tomatoes before Memorial Day.
Warmth-loving plants such as tomatoes and peppers are sensitive to soil temperature as well as air temperature. They can suffer “transplant shock” and become stunted and grim if roots are a bit too chilled. Seeds are more secure in their identity, and will simply sit and shiver in the soil until they’re warm enough to sprout.
Your best bet for growing summer vegetables is to wait until the local garden club plant sales to get your green on. Those plants are generally dug from club members’ gardens, which means they’re far more likely to thrive in your garden than Home Depot weaklings trucked in from a thousand miles away—and far less likely to carry contagious plant diseases like the deadly tomato late blight, aka Phytophthora infestans, the same microbe that produced the Irish Potato Famine.
In 2009, Phytophthora infestans was spread throughout New England by tomato plants from Lowe’s, Walmart, Home Depot, and Kmart, destroying plants on thousands of farms and garden plots. Those stores all got their tomato plants from a single mega-grower, Bonnie Plants of Alabama. When plant production is centralized, it’s easy for diseases to spread far and wide. Buying local cuts your risks—and the garden club members who run these sales are very happy to share helpful advice.
If you find your plants are still puzzling after a week or two in the ground, you can also ask garden club aficionados how they grow their most charming plants during the Belmont Garden Club’s June 9 garden tour.
Annual Waltham Garden Club Plant Sale
Saturday, May 11
215 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham
walthamgardenclub.com
Annual Arlington Garden Club Plant Sale
Saturday, May 18, 9 AM–1 PM
7 Jason Street, Arlington
arlingtongarden.org/programs-events
Gore Place Plant Sale
Friday & Saturday, May 17 & 18, 8 AM-4 PM
Sunday, May 19, 8 AM–12 PM
Gore Place, 52 Gore Street, Waltham
Offerings feature vegetable garden transplants, including hard-to-find hybrid and heirloom tomatoes, heirloom annuals, herbs, and beautiful perennials! See a list of the 32 types of tomatoes on offer at goreplace.org/event/gp-plant-sale/2019-05-17/ or call 781-894-2798.
Grow Native Plant Sale 2019
Saturday, June 1, 9 AM–2:30 PM
UMass Waltham Field Station, 240 Beaver Street, Waltham
A complete list of available species will be posted on May 15 at grownativemass.com. Help support birds, pollinators, and other beneficial insects by adding more natives to your landscape! Pre-order available for Grow Native Massachusetts members. For more information, call 781-790-8921.
Belmont Garden Club Cultivating Community: A Tour of Gardens
Sunday, June 9, 11 AM–4 PM
Locations around Belmont
See how local gardeners create beautiful spaces and encourage local pollinators. Tickets on sale at Westcott Mercantile in Belmont Center and Cushing Square. For more information, see belmontgardenclub.org or call 617-484-4889.
If you don’t have your own gardening or landscaping projects, Habitat could always use a few more hands to pull up bittersweet and buckthorn. These plants are selfish European and Asian imports that crowd out the American plants that have lived here since the glaciers melted and the forest grew anew. Resist botanical gentrification! Pull them, and make room for the little guys.
Citizen Science: Survey of Insects at Habitat Sessions 1-4
Tuesdays, May 14, May 28, June 11, June 25, 9:30–11:30 AM
Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont
Connect with nature, and gather data on the insects and other arthropods (spiders, mites, etc.) visiting plants at Habitat. The data will be used to develop a virtual guide and to discover trends in pollinator and wildlife populations. Free. Register separately for each date at massaudubon.org, call 617-489-5050, or write to habitat@massaudubon.org.
Phenology Citizen Science Project
Wednesday, May 15, 8–9:15 AM
Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont
Phenology is the study of timing in nature. Join Wayne Daly for a walk to observe trees and other species that are emerging, blooming, and singing, and record measurements to compare with past and future years. Register at massaudubon.org, call 617-489-5050, or write to habitat@massaudubon.org.
Plants and Pollinators at Lyman Estate
Saturday, May 18, 10 AM–12 PM
Lyman Estate Greenhouses, 185 Lyman Street, Waltham
Join Habitat and Historic New England for guided walks at the Lyman Estate. Tour the estate and greenhouses and join in activities for all ages on relationships between plants and their pollinators! Mass Audubon members $10, nonmembers $15. Register at massaudubon.org, call 617-489-5050, or write to habitat@massaudubon.org.
Invasive Plant Removal
Sundays, May 19, June 8, 8:30–10:30 AM
Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont
Come help remove plants including buckthorn and bittersweet that have invaded Habitat and are making it difficult for native plants to thrive. Tools and gloves provided. Children under ninth grade must be accompanied by an adult. Free. Register at massaudubon.org, call 617-489-5050, or write to habitat@massaudubon.org.
A volunteer removes a buckthorn plant at Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Habitat is currently seeking volunteers for invasive removal efforts on Sunday, May 19 and Saturday, June 8. (Erika Harimoto photo)
Fell’s Biobliss: Phenology & Botany at Long Pond
Sunday, May 26, 9:30–11:30 AM
Middlesex Fells, Long Pond Parking Lot, S. Border Road, Winchester
Join Earth Aware for a botany walk in the Fells. Help collect data about the impact of climate change on the synchronicity of fauna and flora phenophases. Participants may record information from study sites to be shared on global platforms. Registration required. Contact tinyurl.com/ewa-citizen-science or citizenscience@earthwiseaware.org
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Maybe you’d just like to get away from it all . . . perhaps by bike or kayak?
Bay State Bike Week
Saturday, May 11–Sunday, May 19
Sites around Boston
Enjoy bike commuter breakfasts, recreational rides, bike repair workshops, and more! A full list of events is available at baystatebikeweek.org, or email bikeinfo@massbike.org
1st Annual Waltham Charles In-River Cleanup
Saturday, May 18, 9:30 AM–2 PM
Woerd Avenue boat launch / Moody St. Dam, Waltham
Have a kayak, canoe, dinghy, dory, skiff, scow, yacht, or ship? Then mark the date and get ready to clean up the Charles River in Waltham. Don’t have a watercraft? Paddle Boston will be supplying canoes & rowboats to help with the effort. Volunteers with their own boats will meet at the Woerd Ave. boat launch and folks who need boats should meet at Paddle Boston’s location at the Moody Street Dam, on the Waltham Riverwalk. Volunteers will be provided with garbage bags, nitrile gloves, and grabbers to reach far objects. Free, but registration is recommended. Register at crwa.org/events or contact 781-788-0007 or charles@crwa.org.
Mystic Herring Run and Paddle
Saturday, May 18, 8:30–11:30 AM
DCR Blessing of the Bay Boathouse, 32 Shore Drive, Somerville
Join over 400 runners and paddlers at the 23rd annual Mystic Herring Run and Paddle—a race for everyone! Select from the 5K road race and/or the three-mile, nine-mile, or twelve-mile paddling races. Compete in both the paddling race and running race and be eligible for the Iron Herring Award! Canoe, kayak, and paddleboard rentals available. Race registration costs $25–$35 depending on event. Register at mysticriver.org/herring-run-paddle, or contact 781-316-3438 or contact@mysticriver.org.
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No matter how far we travel, most of us end up back at home. Your home could probably use some spring cleaning. Perhaps, after you’ve trucked all your scrap metal, textiles, and extra building materials to the DPW on May 11, you will see that your house might be a good candidate for historic restoration and next year’s Belmont Historical Society preservation awards. Or perhaps you’ll decide to get off the grid altogether with a new energy source. It may even be the same energy source your tomatoes are using. Enjoy the sunshine, everyone.
Belmont Recycling Day
Saturday, May 11, 9 AM–1 PM
37 C Street, Belmont
Drop off items that you can’t put in your recycling pick-up, including scrap metal, textiles, eyeglasses, books, DVDs, and building materials. Secure mobile paper shredding available. Belmont residents only—bring your ID. For more information, see belmont-ma.gov/dpw-highwaydivision/pages/recycle-events or call 617-993-2689.
Belmont Historical Society Annual Meeting and Historical Plaque Awards
Wednesday, May 15, 7 PM
Assembly Room, Belmont Memorial Library, 336 Concord Ave., Belmont
The Belmont Historical Society’s annual meeting will include presentation of the 2019 historical house plaques. Free. For more information, call 617-993-2878 or write to belmonthistory1859@gmail.com.
Sustainable Belmont Meeting
Wednesday, May 29, 7–8:30 PM
Check sustainablebelmont.net for location
This meeting date is held as an alternative to the first Wednesday in June, due to Town Meeting conflict.
Stepping Up: Business In The Era Of Climate Change Part 5—Energy Transitions
Tuesday, June 4, 6:30 PM
WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
This panel is part of a WBUR series, in collaboration with Harvard Business School and Boston University Questrom School of Business. What companies are leading the transition to fossil-fuel-free energy, what barriers are they facing, and how are they tackling those barriers? How are traditional electric utilities shifting their business strategies to accommodate or even promote new, cleaner sources of energy? And how are new entrants to this old sector disrupting the electricity industry with clean energy innovations? Tickets $15. Buy tickets at crwa.org/events. For more information, contact 781-788-0007 or charles@crwa.org.
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