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| ON THE COVER: RECYCLED WOOD DINING TABLE | |
Here is the Get Ready for Winter part:
Do you have all the seeds you need for fall and winter crops? As local garden centres are increasingly tuned in to mid-summer seed demand it has been getting easier to find seeds later in the season. However, in past years seed suppliers have run out of some of winter varieties so don't leave it too late to order seeds.
Right now is a good time to sow the hardy fall and winter cabbage varieties that take the longest to grow (Danish Ballhead, Melissa Savoy, Embassy, etc.). These take a long season to produce large, heavy heads.
Next week is a good time to start Brussels sprouts. I start them the first week of June so the plants begin to form sprouts in late September. This timing avoids the period when cabbage aphids are most active and can really mess up the sprouts. If you have already planted Brussels sprouts, be vigilant in August for the first sign of aphids attacking the sprouts. Blast them out with water and keep the plants well watered (aphids thrive on drought stressed plants).
If you are starting your own plants, you will need seeds for winter broccoli and winter cauliflower ready to sow in mid-June.
By July 1 you will want plenty of carrot and beet seeds on hand for the crop to be eaten over the winter. Other seeds to have for fall through spring harvests: winter lettuce, leaf beet, kales of all sorts, Chinese cabbages, leaf mustards and other leafy greens, Komatsuna, spinach, corn salad.
Cool Spring: As often happens a warm winter hasn't led to a warm spring. In fact, there has been some pretty cold weather this month that will have those who have already put out their tomatoes, beans, corn, squash and other heat-loving crops worrying. Root diseases are the biggest problem in wet, cool weather and if infected, the plants usually die.
If you have plants under cloches or floating row covers they will fare better in this weather. My favourite cloche for individual plants is a gallon milk jug with the bottom cut out. Set it over the plant and push a stick through the handle of the jug to keep it in place. Put the lid or a flat stone on the mouth of the jug at night to keep the heat in and take it off during the day to allow ventilation. For seedlings in beds use floating row covers to warm up the crop (also useful to keep birds from pulling up small seedlings).
If you haven't set out the most delicate plants (cucumbers, melons, peppers, sweet basil), I would wait until next weekend when it sounds like temperatures will be higher. I just gave my seedlings a good dose of fish fertilizer to see them through a few more days in their pots. If you planted beans earlier this month, it might be a good idea to sprout more beans in vermiculite indoors to fill in gaps in the rows. The new seedlings will quickly catch up to earlier sown plants that have been struggling outdoors in cool weather.
"Direct seeded carrots (nantes, baby finger and danvers ....didn't use row cover and found that some of the birds were pulling out the little carrot sprigs. weve got tons of seeds so re-planted and will hope for the best.
Planted onions (that I had pre-grown inside the house) and onion sets that we bought. Planting onions around the carrots is a way to prevent the carrot rust fly.
Planted early potatoes...yukon gold.
Planted peas (sweet and shelling), once, twice, three times....birds love the little spoutlets....they look like little worms. They're netted now and seem to be coming up slowly but surely.
Last week we put out the leeks (grown inside first) as well as planted celery seed. I usually buy celery starts but have seen good results here in Tofino using seed so thought I'd try it out. Celery takes a long time to germinate and there are so many adversities ....birds, slugs, etc that starts are desirable. However, the very fragile tap root can be damaged while transplanting starts so direct sowing seemed like a good idea.
Planted lots of edible flowers...calendula, borage, nasturtium. Some parsley and cilantro too.
Transplanted some sunflower seed sprouts. I sprout seeds and grains in the winter/spring and these sunflower sprouts were some that didn't get eaten and just kept growing.
Transplanted another bed of strawberries. Also, planted 3 blueberries this spring.
Planted swiss chard (rainbow and a white stemmed variety ...can't remember the name). We have some pre-sprouted red russian kale babies that we will be transplanting with the chard. The kale sprouts came from a plant that exploded with seeds ....some of the seeds landed inside the greenhouse and started growing on a piece of wet wood. Kale grows anywhere and is the best edible for Tofino!!
In the next week, will be transplanting artichokes (greenglobe & imperial star). Also, we'll be planting under row cover, broccoli (including gai lan, a chinese variety), cauliflower and cabbage. We had terrible army worms and a few cabbage worms last year so hope to prevent with the lightweight row cover.
We've got tomatoes (mostly early varieties and cherries), eggplant, peppers (including jalapeno) & basil inside the house and some in the greenhouse.
In pots I have baby finger carrots and onions and tons of lettuce blends. Can't get enough of them!!
Later this month....gold rush zucchini, gold nugget squash and queensland blue squash (seeds from a friend in Duncan) as well as cucumbers and a cantaloupe (in the greenhouse).
We are going to be intensively growing a number of plants in the greenhouse so will be feeding them heavily (lots of fish fertilizer!!), EM and aerated compost tea."
Although not specifically related to this coast, I've found another book that I am really enjoying — You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening by Gayla Trail. There are many things I like about this book, but it appealed to two qualities in particular that I cherish: quirkiness (with a good dose of sarcasm) and thrift. Although it is certainly aimed at the younger hipster demographic (of which I am not) who is likely gardening on a balcony or in a rental, the book is full of practical information and it is well-written, cheeky and funny. This bit, from the introduction, gives you a sense of Gayla's style when she relates how her passion for growing things had morphed into a "Godzilla-sized hobby." ...it was time to pick up a book or two. Boy was I in for a shock. I discovered that there were few publications in any media that appeals to my perspective as a young, frugal urban gardener with no permanent space and only a sweltering hot deck to my name. The gardening world focused on a very specific demographic—older suburban ladies—and I wasn't part of it. Gardening books took it for granted that I had a sprawling backyard and an eager bank account and wasn't it all so deathly boring! Where was the fun, the childlike wonderment, the cheeseball sense of pride and accomplishment? Everything was so hyperperfect, organized and restrained. My plans for world domination were suddenly looking awful meager. I quickly went online to find like-minded individuals and found that even in the world of geeks and freaks there was no space for renegade gardeners to commune. And so in early 2000 YouGrowGirl.com was born.
