Category: Outdoors

Music, beer and bounce houses

Find fun for everyone in the family at Concord’s annual Market Days

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

The 50th annual Market Days Festival in Concord, put on by the nonprofit group Intown Concord, runs from Thursday, June 20, to Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the city’s downtown with more than 160 vendors, live music, games, food, crafts, goodies and of course beer.

“We have a lot of really interesting, diverse vendors this year,” said Jessica Martin, Executive Director of Intown Concord.

There will be three beer gardens and they all accept cash and cards. The Main Street Beer Tent will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. all three days of the festival and they will have Bud Light, Market Haze, or 603 Summatime ale on tap as well as two varieties of seltzers from 603 and a non-alcoholic IPA from Athletic Brewing Co., with prices ranging from $5 to $9. One dollar from every purchase of Concord Craft Brewing Market Haze IPA will go to support Intown Concord — they made this beer specifically for the festival.

“It’s a delicious, very drinkable, ‘summer vibes’ beer,” Martin said.

Penuche’s Outdoor Beer Garden in Bicentennial Square will be open from noon to 10 p.m. all three days right next to the HomeGrown music stage. They will have five beers on tap, as well as cans. And the Capitol Center for the Arts Beer & Wine Garden will offer a wide selection of local, craft, and microbrewery beers; red and white wine; non-alcoholic beers, soft drinks, and bottled water, with alcoholic beverages ranging from $7 to $11, and water and soft drinks for $3, according to their website.

Music will be blasting all three days from the Main Stage, in front of the Concord Food Co-op; the Home Grown Stage, near Bicentennial Square, and the Eagle Square Stage. Notable performances include Mr. Aaron, Andrew North and the Rangers, Faith Ann Band, R&B Dignity, Mary Fagan and the Honeybees, Heist, Duo Del Inferno, Llava Llama, Superbug, Supernothing, Modern Fools, Donaher and Boomsoss.

“When I first started, the performers were not compensated,” Martin said. This will be the second year when the musicians will be paid for their work through grants and donations. “We’re very proud to be able to do that and support the artists in our community.”

The Eagle Stage will have the Tandy’s Idol Competition every night from 7:30 to 10 p.m., where Concordians will be able to belt out some tunes.

The movie Dazed and Confused will be screened at the Main Stage on Thursday night and there will be a ’70s theme costume parade on Friday at 3:15 p.m. starting at Capitol Street.

“Because this is our 50th anniversary, we’re leaning into the ’70s nostalgia,” Martin said.

Continuing on that theme, the headlining performance of the Festival, taking place on Friday on from 8 to 10 p.m. the Main Stage, is The Ultimate Queen Celebration, a tribute to Queen.

Besides music and beer, there will be plenty of other activities. The KidZone will feature twobounce houses, which require tickets. All other activities on the lawn, like cornhole, hula hoops, and more, are totally free.

There will also be ax throwing, and an arcade on recycling by The Casella Resource Rover. Concord Arts Market will have lots of local artists on Pleasant Street showcasing their wares.

“I’m excited about all the different types of vendors we’ve been able to bring in this year in addition to some of the ones that have been with us for a long time…,” Martin said.

Starting off the shindig on Thursday, June 20, at 10 a.m. will be a music and movement class held by Miss Heather and Miss Heidi from Concord Community Music School for children 5 months to 8 years old on the Statehouse lawn, underneath the tree closest to the capitol, according to the website. This will be followed by storytime in the same location offered by the Concord Public Library, and there will be some iteration of this until 4 p.m., when The Bee Skep Puppet Theatre presents “Marionette Melodies” for kids between ages 3 to 12.

Over by the City Plaza before the arches, The Flying Gravity Circus from Wilton will perform tricks and will also be hosting a circus workshop for novice jugglers and tight-rope walkers in training. They will perform in the street throughout the festival too. “What they are going to be teaching will be cool,” Martin said.

Friday, June 21, starts off in a similar vein with music, movement and story time for the little ones under the Statehouse lawn tree, and the puppet show too, with the addition of reptiles from Tanglewood Hollow, like Clemintine the Snake, around 1 p.m.

Worthy Mind and Movement will be presenting a ’90s music themed yoga class at noon at the Statehouse lawn, and 2 Home Fitness will lead participants through agility and strengths drills by City Plaza before the arches.

Friday also has jazzercise from Thrive Fitness as well as their POP Pilates/UBEAT Barre, which they describe as a powerful fusion of music strength, and choreography fun for all ages. Attendees can also enjoy a Zumba Class with Sindy Chown from Barranquilla Flavor.

On Saturday, June 22, similar events will be held but there will also be new additions to the festivities. From 10 a.m to 5 p.m. local scouts from Scouting America Pack & Troop 90 & Pack 270 will be on the Statehouse lawn for fun activities and classes and the Boys & Girls Club will have kids’ activities on a different area of the lawn from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mr. Matt from Concord Community Music School will lead a drum circle and Miss Audrey will head a folk jam session; those will take place from noon to 2 p.m. at the Statehouse.

At 2 p.m. the 501st and Rebel Legions – The Star Wars Fan Costuming Group arrives at the Statehouse lawn next to the bounce houses from a galaxy far, far away; they will be there until they get their hyperdrive fixed around 6 p.m. There is also a roller derby presentation, balloon animals, and a traditional Newari dance and from 7 to 11 p.m., and the Capitol Center for the Arts will be hosting a silent disco.

Concord is excited for the upcoming Market Days Festival. “They look forward to it. It’s a staple of Concord at this point…,” Martin said. “It’s definitely a beloved community event for sure.”

Market Days
Where: Downtown Concord, Main Street
When: Thursday, June 20, through Saturday, June 22, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day
Info: marketdaysfestival.com

KidZone Bounce House Tickets
$3 for 1 ticket/ 1 bounce
$5 for 3 tickets/ 3 bounces (all proceeds support Intown Concord)

Market Days Eats

According to the event’s website, marketdaysfestival.com, here are some of the scheduled food vendors with the site’s descriptions:

Artisan Hill Treats: Small batch marshmallows, chocolates and sweets
Batulo’s Kitchen: Somali-inspired cuisine
Brother’s Cortado: Coffee and beverages
Buba Kitchen: authentic Asian noodle dishes
Bubble Bee Milk Tea: Bubble tea and dumplings
Bueno Burrito: burritos, tacos, quesadillas and salads
Cali Arepa NH: authentic Colombian street food
Canterbury Kettle Corn
Carolyn’s Creamee: Ice cream
Chubba Wubba’s Sweets, Snacks & Refreshments: bubble tea, slushies organic smoothies, and smoothie bowls.
Curry Leaf: the flavors of India’s many regions
Deadproof Pizza Co.
Dudley’s Concessions: ice cream, fried dough, funnel cake and fried Oreos
Gina Foods: pasta, pizza, paninis, salads, desserts
Holly Fried Dough
Kona Ice
Let the Dough Roll: donut ice cream cones
Live Juice
Maddy’s Food Hub: authentic African flavors, jollof rice, plantains
Phily’s Good Eats: poutine fries, Italian sausage, steak & cheese & gluten-free arepas
Pours & Petals: beverages and desserts
Puppy Love Hot Dogs
Revelstoke: coffee and tea
Roadside Diner
Rubins Hot Sauce
Sandi’s Concessions: cotton candy, candy and caramel apples & more
Sillie Puffs: Gourmet Cotton Candy
Simply Cannoli: cannolis and espresso
Tea Garden Restaurant: traditional Chinese cuisine
Teatotaller: bubble tea and food
Tommy’s Pizzeria
Wicked Tasty: lobster rolls, ice cream sandwich, desserts, sandwiches, burgers and poutine loaded fries
Yankee Farmer’s Market: Buffalo-Buffalo burgers, Buffalo cheesesteaks, Buffalo sausage & more

    Featured Photo: Market Days Festival in Concord. Courtesy photo.

    Kiddie Pool 24/06/13

    Family fun for whenever

    Bees!

    • Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center (928 White Oaks Road, Laconia, prescottfarm.org) will host a workshop called “Inside the Beehive” on Saturday, June 15, at 1 p.m. The workshop is open to youth and adults, will involve a local raw honey tasting, and costs $15 for nonmembers, according to their website.

    Get out, get artsy

    • Manchester City Library will hold an Escape Room on Tuesday, June 17, at 9:30 a.m. for children between grades 3 and 12, according to their website. There is a different style of escape room every week and registration is required, according to their website. Visit manchester.lib.nh.us.

    • Studio 550 (550 Elm St., Manchester) is offering week-long art and clay camps that run Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 5 p.m. this summer and are taught by studio staff who have over 30 cumulative years of experience working with kids, according to a press release. Teen/Tween Clay Camps are open to kids 10 or older focusing on pottery wheel skills. There are three sessions: Session 1 from June 24 to June 28; Session 2 from July 22 to July 26; Session 3 from Aug. 12 to Aug. 16. Teen Illustration Camp explores character design through drawing and watercolors and is also open to kids 10 or older; there is only one session and that runs from July 29 to Aug. 2. And Art Explorer Camps are open to kids 8 or older and will include drawing/painting projects, clay sculpting and a chance to try the pottery wheel. There are two sessions: Arts Explorer Camp Session 1 from July 8 to July 12, and Arts Explorer Camp Session 2 runs from Aug. 5 to Aug. 9, according to the release. Visit 550arts.com.

    Movie day

    • Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester, chunkys.com) has some special screenings on the schedule. Trolls Band Together(PG, 2023) will screen at Chunky’s on Tuesday, June 18, at 11:30 a.m. Reserve a seat with a $5 food voucher (plus fees).

    On Wednesday, June 19, at 12:30 p.m. Chunky’s will hold a sensory-friendly screening of Inside Out 2 (PG, 2024), the newest Pixar movie which is opening in theaters this Friday, June 14.

    • The Park Theatre (19 Main St., Jaffrey, theparktheatre.org) kicks off its summer kids movie series, which will run through the end of July, with Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (PG, 2022) on Tuesday, June 18, at 1:30 p.m..

    A day of celebration

    Music, a party and more at the Manchester Pride Parade and Festival

    By Zachary Lewis
    [email protected]

    Manchester True Collaborative, in partnership with fiscal sponsor YWCA New Hampshire and community partner Queerlective, will present the 2024 Manchester Pride Parade and Festival on Saturday, June 15, in Manchester.

    James Dzindolet, Director of Development and Co-Chair of the Pride Festival and Parade from Manchester True Collaborative, said, “This year we’re bringing the parade back down Elm Street and we’re very excited. We have 135 artists and vendors participating at the festival [and] a full day’s worth of entertainment, including some exciting drag queens, some musical performers.” This is the second year of the festival for them; last year’s parade was canceled due to inclement weather.

    The Pride Parade and Festival falls under the organization’s mission statement: “Manchester True Collaborative strives to maintain a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for the LGBT community in greater Manchester. We accomplish this through collaborative community partnerships, fundraising, and events.” These partnerships help put on the Pride Parade and Festival. “We invited Queerlective in to partner on it,” Dzindolet said.

    Many businesses and community members are joining the festivities.

    “We have over 20 local area, small and large, business sponsors that will be joining us and currently we have over 1,000 participants that are either driving or walking in the parade,” Dzindolet said.

    The parade starts at the parking lot of Brady Sullivan Tower (723 Elm St.) at 11:15 a.m. and journeys along Elm Street to arrive at Veterans Memorial Park at noon for the start of the Manchester Pride Festival. The outdoor party will run until 6 p.m. in Veterans Park, where there will be musicians, drag performers and more.

    “We are doing face painting again this year. That’s always in our youth area. So we have a youth tent area for LGBT youth that’s going to have face painting and arts and crafts,” Dzindolet said.

    DJ REKLSS is opening the festival, and then, “We have about 10 local queens that are going to be performing,” Dzindolet said. “The drag queen hour is being put on by Big Gay Events, which is another local LGBT-owned promotion company that we’re working with….”

    Later in the afternoon, there are more musical acts slated to perform with half-hour sets. A dunk tank will be on site too.

    “The Hooksett Area Rotary Club is going to have a drag queen dunk tank, so you get to go donate money toward their great Gear Up for School backpack drive they run annually and you can try to dunk a local drag queen in the dunk tank,” Dzindolet said.

    Several other nonprofits, such as 603 Equality and the Human Rights Campaign, will have tables at the festival as well.

    Afterward, with a two-hour intermission from the Festival, the Official Pride After Party starts. This year the party is circus-themed and will be held at Jewel Music Venue ( 61 Canal St., Manchester). VIP admission begins at 8 p.m., general admission starts at 9 p.m., and the whole soiree will last until 1 a.m. It is only for those 21 or older. Ticket prices range from $25 to $50 for VIP admission.

    “We’re taking the 2024 edition to the next level! Call it queer fusion, we’re weaving some of our favorite elements of Cirque with the beautiful color of the NH Queer community! Join us for NH’s very first, Queer Circus!” said Chloé LaCasse, Director of Community Outreach for Manchester True Collaborative.

    Other Pride events will be going on throughout the month; see manchestertrue.org for details.

    As for Saturday’s big event, “Last year we had a couple thousand people in the pouring rain; this year we are hoping the weather is going to be on our side,” Dzindolet said, with hopes to double last year’s numbers. “It’s going to be a huge event.”

    “For me personally,” Dzindolet said, “I get involved because I really enjoy connecting with people in the community and utilizing my professional skills to further the community and make sure that everyone gets equal representation.”

    2024 Manchester Pride Parade and Festival
    Saturday, June 15, from 11:15 to 6 p.m.
    Parade starts at 11:15 a.m. at Brady Sullivan Tower (732 Elm St.) and ends at noon at Veterans Memorial Park. Festival begins at noon and ends at 6 p.m.
    Official Pride After Party, 21+, admission $25, at Jewel Music Venue (61 Canal St.) 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (VIP admission at 8 p.m., $50)
    Visit manchestertrue.org.

    Nashua Pride Parade and Festival
    Saturday, June 22, from 2 to 6 p.m. in downtown Nashua
    Visit nashuanh.gov/1217/Nashua-Pride-Festival.

    The Capital City Pride Festival
    The Capital City Pride in Concord has events including (according to its Facebook page):
    – Art in the Park Celebrating Pride on Saturday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Concord Arts Market, Queerlective, and Capital City Pride in Rollins Park in —Concord featuring more than 60 artists, food, music and more.
    – Pride After Party on Friday, July 19, from 6 to 11 p.m. at BNH Stage featuring drag performances, a vogue ball, local vendors, refreshments and more.
    – A Pride Picnic at Eagle Square on Saturday, July 27, from noon to 5 p.m. featuring live music, performance art, food, vendors and more.

    Featured Photo: Previous Manchester Pride Festival. Courtesy of Manchester True Collaborative.

    Kiddie Pool 24/06/06

    Family fun for whenever

    Bugs!

    • Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen) will be offering a free Little Ladybug Make & Take on Saturday, June 8, between 1 and 3 p.m., at which kids can learn how to make an adorable paper ladybug, according to a press release. All supplies will be provided to make this paper craft, according to the same release. The gallery is handicapped-accessible. Visit TwiggsGallery.org

    • NH Audubon and Steve Mirick, an avid birder and expert butterfly enthusiast who has guided birding and butterfly communities, will lead an exploration of butterfly habitats in the capital area on Tuesday, June 11, starting at 11 a.m. A similar program on Tuesday, June 18, at 11 a.m. will be led by Mike Thomas, a retired entomologist and butterfly enthusiast. Both will be at the McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, nhaudubon.org). Participants will learn how to identify butterflies in various habitats. All skill levels are welcome. Space is limited and registration is required.

    On stage

    • The Community Players of Concord with their Children’s Theatre Project will be holding auditions for Charlotte’s Web, which is based on the book by E.B. White, by appointment only on Sunday, June 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or on Monday, June 10, from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Community Players Studio ( 435 Josiah Bartlett Road, Concord) for those between the ages of 8 and 18. Kids ages 6 or 7 can audition to be baby spiders or baby Wilbur. To schedule an audition slot, contact Director Karen Braz at [email protected]. For more information visit communityplayersofconcord.org.

    Library fun

    • Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua) will allow kids in grades K-5 to explore simple printmaking techniques using everyday materials on Monday, June 10, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in their Activity Room. Objects include apples, leaves, Legos and more, and participants will dip, press and create their own prints on paper or fabric in this interactive art activity, although supplies are limited, according to the website. Visit nashualibrary.org.

    • The Children’s Room staff at Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., Manchester) have announced a storytime program in collaboration with the SEE Science Center where once a month kids between the ages of 2 and 6 are invited to join Ms. Yvonne and Ms. Helene from the SEE Science Center for Storytime Science, with hands-on activities afterward the story-reading, according to their website. This month’s reading will take place on Wednesday, June 12, from 10 to 11 a.m. with I Am Not A Fish by Peter Raymundo. Registration is required to ensure enough materials for everyone, according to the same website. Storytime Science is a program of the SEE Science Center’s First Steps in Science Initiative presented by Dartmouth Health Childrens, according to the same website. Call the library at 624-6550, ext. 7628.

    Have improv, will travel

    Colin Mochrie takes the show on the road

    By Zachary Lewis
    [email protected]

    Described as a hardworking and imaginative mammal in his bio on the show’s website, Colin Mochrie (Hilaritycus smoothius, as it says), known for his improv expertise on Whose Line is it Anyway? will be taking the stage in Portsmouth with Brad Sherwood, a fellow Whose Line-er at the Music Hall on Thursday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m. as part of their “Asking for Trouble” tour.

    “It’s like a live version of Whose Line,” Mochrie said. “There’s a lot of games that would be familiar to a Whose Line fan … some games that we just made up ourselves…. We don’t have a host, we don’t have other people to work with. It’s just two hours of goofy fun.”

    Audience members will have a good idea but will never know exactly which improv games to expect at the unscripted show.

    “We do start off with a basic foundation but it can easily change…,” Mochrie said. “We do a new one that’s kind of fun, just because it scares me; we do sort of a musical tribute to the town that we’re playing, so it’s going to be a musical about Portsmouth, we’re hoping.”

    Mochrie and Sherwood met on the hit television show.

    “It was actually his idea to go on tour,” Mochrie said of Sherwood.

    Every Super Bowl Sunday, Drew Carey, the former host, would take the cast to perform in Vegas in multiple shows leading up to the big game. Sherwood popped the question during one of these marathon improv sessions.

    Afterward, they gave the idea a test run, and it worked. The tour has been running over 20 years.

    “We’ve been friends, God, over 30 years now. It really helps when you’re working with someone, especially in improv, somebody you trust and you like. We both have sort of the same viewpoint on improv and what we like to do with it,” Mochrie said. Although nothing lasts forever. “So far. It could always turn, of course, because, you know, he has problems, but so far, so good.”

    The Scottish-born Canadian improvisational comedian was drawn to the craft at an early age and referenced comedian Jonathan Winters and Robin Williams, as improv influences.

    “I just saw this demonstration … that had been invented by this Englishman in Calgary called theater sports, and it was improv in sort of a sports setting where this referee would issue challenges and then you would improvise. I thought, ‘Oh, well this could be fun.’ It was something I enjoyed doing. I never thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be my career,’ just because there wasn’t an outlet.”

    If Mochrie isn’t producing laughs on stage with Sherwood, he most likely will be on another stage doing the same.

    “I improvise with a lot of different improv groups around the country,” he said. He also does an improv tour with his wife, Debra McGrath, as well as a tour with a hypnotist called Hyprov. “The beauty of improv is you’re kind of open to everything.”

    Mochrie was open to the idea of a Whose Line live tour and noted that they had shot enough so that another season with host Aisha Tyler will be able to air: “It’s just a show you can’t kill, it keeps coming back.”

    Mochrie is quite fond of the television show.

    “I think the beauty of it was, we only shot two weekends a year so … unlike shows that go on forever and ever, we didn’t have a chance to get on each other’s nerves, so everybody still really enjoyed each other…,” he said. “We’re all good friends. We’re constantly tweeting and emailing and keeping in contact with each other. It is a good group.”

    Not only has Mochrie been on both British and American versions of Whose Line is it Anyway; he’s also performed in numerous film and television roles and most recently in the film Villains Inc., which came out in April. He is also an award-winning writer , performer and producer.

    “I do have fun doing scripted stuff on film and television. What I enjoy about stage more, I think, is that we are the architects of our own fate,” he said. That sense of autonomy is a driving force behind his work: “Doing improv and doing our show, we’re in charge. If the show sucks, it’s because we suck. If it went great, it’s because we were good. There’s no one else to blame and I like having that pressure.”

    “I just love [that] every show is different. Every show is for that audience. No one else will ever see it again,” Mochrie said. “So it keeps it fresh for us. I think that’s part of the reason we’re still enjoying each other and the show after all this time.”

    Asking for Trouble
    • Thursday, June 13, 7:30 p.m. at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, themusichall.org
    Tickets $44 to $88

    • Sunday, Oct. 6, 5 p.m. at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org
    Tickets $49 to $75

    colinandbradshow.com

    Featured Photo: Colin Mochrie. Courtesy Photo.

    Getting the garden ready

    As the saying goes, “spring has sprung.” In my garden, daffodils are blooming and tulips are on the way. My peas are planted. But how do you know when to plant your veggies and tender annual flowers? It’s not just about the last frost of the spring. You need to think about which plants can survive and thrive in cold, wet soil and which would rather wait to get planted until late May or even mid-June.

    In the vegetable garden, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are the prima donnas. I generally wait until June 10 at 9 a.m. to plant them. Or something like that. I shape up my wide raised beds well before I plant, allowing the soil to dry out and get warmed up. I rake off the straw or leaves I used to protect the soil from erosion over the winter. I like to work in aged compost well before planting time.

    Peas and spinach are very cold-hardy and can survive frosts. Root crops like carrots, beets, onions and potatoes prefer warm soil for growing but will tolerate cool soils and won’t get killed by a late frost even if their leaves are up. But in my opinion almost any plant would prefer to grow in soil that is at least 50 degrees.

    Whether you start your tomato seedlings indoors or buy plants from a garden center, you should “harden them off.” They need to be introduced to sun and wind in small doses at first so they don’t get sunburned or dehydrated after being pampered for weeks in a greenhouse or on a kitchen windowsill. This process will take five days or so, but if you don’t do it you will either kill your baby peppers or stunt their growth for two weeks or more while they recover.

    Start by putting your plants outside in a place protected from the wind that only gets morning sun. Give them two hours of morning sun the first day, then bring them back inside or well out of the sun’s rays. Increase the time outside each day and by Day 3 give them some afternoon sun too. On Day 5 they should be OK outside all day, and after that you can plant them.

    What about fertilizer? I generally don’t give annual flowers like cosmos or zinnias any at all. Soluble nitrogen found in chemical fertilizers will make them grow tall but delay flowering. Of the vegetables, only peppers need no fertilizer, but in my opinion no vegetables should get chemicals of any kind, including fertilizer and pesticides.

    Newly planted seedlings and seeds need to be kept in lightly moist soil. A seedling that cracks open its husk to send up a shoot may not make it to the soil surface if the soil is too dry. So check your garden every day. And if your tomato starts to look limp or drooping, water immediately — even if it means going to work late. Just email me; I’ll send an excuse to your boss to keep you out of trouble.

    There are many ways to keep your plants lightly moist in the vegetable or flower garden. One way is to set up a drip irrigation system. I’ve had good luck installing soaker hoses — rubber hoses that leak slowly through pores. I’ve bought the “Snip and Drip” system from Gardener’s Supply.

    The basic kit comes with the hose and T-junctions and fittings to install it. Then, if you buy a watering timer the system will come on a schedule you determine. I’ve used many types of timers during my time as a garden designer and installer. My advice? Get the simplest one you can get.

    What about rototillers? Should you rent or buy one, or not? I used one for years until someone more knowledgeable than me explained why he didn’t: Rototillers seriously disturb the microbes in the soil. They break up useful fungal networks that support your plants. They make a bed clean and neat, but in fact have only sliced up the weeds and buried them. One invasive root becomes multiple roots and can move them farther from their initial location. I have a friend who rototilled a small patch of horseradish and turned the bed into a large bed full of horseradish he could never eliminate.

    I no longer recommend rototillers. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

    So how do I prepare my soil? I use a five-tined old-fashioned potato rake that loosens the soil as I pull it through the soil. Or you can use an ordinary garden fork to loosen the soil if it is a heavy clay, and then finish it off at planting time with a good hand tool like a CobraHead weeder. You can use a hoe to pull soil from the walkways up to form mounded beds. And as you improve your soil with compost each year it will get easier to prepare nice, fluffy beds rich in organic matter.

    Gardening is fun. It is rewarding, too: Tomatoes and lettuce taste better when eaten the day they were picked. The exercise will make you healthy, too. Just don’t work so hard you get blisters and sunburn. Ease yourself into gardening — just like you harden off your plants.

    Henry is an organic gardener who has been fussing around in gardens for about 75 years. He is the author of four gardening books. His email is [email protected].

    Featured photo: This kale was started indoors on Feb. 22 and needs to be hardened off before going in the ground in early May. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

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