Watertown Community Gardens

Online Webinars and Training Sessions

NOFA Mass 2021 Resilient Gardening Series

Gardening Resources and Articles

Beat Your Social Distancing Woes with Gardening

Soil Resources

Building Healthy Soil

Climate Victory Gardening 101

The Carbon Sequestering Garden - NOFA MA publication

International Year of Soils 2015 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Symphony of the Soil (film) - is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance soil. By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource.  

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

Compost Resources

Composting Basics from Cornell Extension

Detailed Composting Instructions from Cornell Extension

MassDEP Composting Instructions

Instructions to make a wire compost bin

Local Residential Composting Services

Black Earth Compost

Bootstrap Compost

City Compost

Seedling Resources

Assawaga Farm - Plant Sales on May 15 and Sundays until the plants run out.  Order in advance and pick up at the farm. 

City Natives -  Offers a range of seedlings for annuals and perennials. Pre-order for Pickup dates May 6 - 22.

Gore Place - Gore Place in Waltham is selling seedlings. Online store opens April 14, 2021. 

Mahoney's - Locations in Brighton, Concord and other Boston area locations.

Waltham Fields Community Farm - Pre-order site opens April 12, 2021.

Pollinator Resources

Recommendations for Pollinator Gardens

Heirloom and Open-Pollinated Seed Information

Open-pollinated seeds are seeds harvested from plants that have been pollinated by traditional breeding practices, meaning by air, insects and birds. When you plant an open-pollinated seed, the resulting plant shares the genetic traits of its parents. An heirloom seed is simply an open pollinated seed that has been cultivated for at least 50 years. What makes these seeds so special? You can harvest seeds from open pollinated plant and save them for growing in your garden in future growing seasons, something you cannot do with their genetically modified counterparts. Plants grown from open pollinated seeds are higher in nutrition and taste fantastic. And, growing open pollinated seeds helps to preserve our country’s agricultural traditions.

Open pollinated and heirloom seeds can be found at your local garden center, but if you want to see a truly amazing selection of seeds, check out some of these online sources. Many of these websites include information about the history and heritage of plants and provide clear growing instructions.