Vegetable Gardens
- Garden Plot Envy
- Benefits of Mulching with Straw
- Gardening Isn't Just a Hobby
- How to Wash Lettuce
- A Container of Catnip for Farley
- Attending a Local Plant Auction
- Magazines Snub Vegetable Gardens
- I Support Bill C-517
- Lee Valley's Row Greenhouse
- Local Farmer Seeks Gardeners
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
As a member of a community garden, I have the privilege of seeing the creative plantings other gardeners are growing.
I try to visit my community garden plot every evening, especially if there has not been any rain during the day. At the garden there is peace. Sometimes I bring my mp3 player and listen to music while I weed, water and tend to the vegetables. Sometimes I enjoy listening to the simple songs of birds in the field, the far away drone of a lawn mower or the laughing of neighbourhood children.
Because my plot is in the corner furthest away from the garden gate, my visits to the garden begin with a tour of the other plots. Some of the gardeners who grow food in the plots surrounding mine are so fabulously talented and creative with their plantings that I almost want to turn around and go back home, I am so filled with envy. Other days their uniqueness is what inspires me to put more work into my garden.
This year I actually planned out a little design for my garden, placing a path down the centre of the space, bringing in rocks to edge the path. I’ve brought in lots of items for holding up the plants that need vertical support, such as tomatoes, peppers and cantaloupe. I’ve planted marigolds, basil and parsley along the edges of the path, to make harvesting these frequently used herbs easy.
I’ve mulched with straw so that my garden’s weeds won’t be quite as evident as they have been in the past. I’ve tried to plant vegetables that display an interesting blend of colours, shapes and sizes. Happily, a large sunflower arrived on the scene without any sort of help from me, and I’m allowing it to grow smack dab in the middle of the plot, adding an air of casual disarray that I’ve grown to love in a garden.
Because my plot is in the corner furthest away from the garden gate, my visits to the garden begin with a tour of the other plots. Some of the gardeners who grow food in the plots surrounding mine are so fabulously talented and creative with their plantings that I almost want to turn around and go back home, I am so filled with envy. Other days their uniqueness is what inspires me to put more work into my garden.
This year I actually planned out a little design for my garden, placing a path down the centre of the space, bringing in rocks to edge the path. I’ve brought in lots of items for holding up the plants that need vertical support, such as tomatoes, peppers and cantaloupe. I’ve planted marigolds, basil and parsley along the edges of the path, to make harvesting these frequently used herbs easy.
I’ve mulched with straw so that my garden’s weeds won’t be quite as evident as they have been in the past. I’ve tried to plant vegetables that display an interesting blend of colours, shapes and sizes. Happily, a large sunflower arrived on the scene without any sort of help from me, and I’m allowing it to grow smack dab in the middle of the plot, adding an air of casual disarray that I’ve grown to love in a garden.
Benefits of Mulching with Straw
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
Mulching prevents weeds, helps retain moisture and adds nutrients to the soil. Straw is an excellent, inexpensive material for mulching.
During a visit to my community garden plot last week, I was astounded to see how quickly the weeds had taken control of the garden. I had systematically worked my way through the entire plot, which measures in at about 200 square feet, ridding the plot of weeds.
After a few days of warm, humid temperature, sunny skies and nightly rainfall, everything was doing very well—including the weeds. It was time to take more drastic action.
Most of the gardeners at my community garden use straw to mulch their plots. Like good little gardeners, they arrive on the scene early in the gardening season, turn their earth, work in a layer of mushroom compost, and mulch well with straw. This has not been my routine. I’m usually late to the plot, although this year I was earlier than last year. Although I had cultivated some fantastic-looking weeds in my plot, I decided I was going to find some straw to mulch my plot. I would not let another weekend go by without finding it.
I dragged my patient husband out into the country and we were fortunate to find a farm nearby that featured a sign out front, reading “Hay 4 Sale.” We pulled in and bought two bales of straw from the farmer, who charged a mere two dollars a bale for the stuff.
It took me a couple of days to get the sweet-smelling and ever-expanding straw onto the vegetable garden in our back yard as well as the community plot, but already I feel like the straw is worth the trouble. It will keep down the weeds, keep moisture in, and as it breaks down, it will add much-needed nutrients to the soil. I’m just wondering why it took me so long to figure this out?
After a few days of warm, humid temperature, sunny skies and nightly rainfall, everything was doing very well—including the weeds. It was time to take more drastic action.
Most of the gardeners at my community garden use straw to mulch their plots. Like good little gardeners, they arrive on the scene early in the gardening season, turn their earth, work in a layer of mushroom compost, and mulch well with straw. This has not been my routine. I’m usually late to the plot, although this year I was earlier than last year. Although I had cultivated some fantastic-looking weeds in my plot, I decided I was going to find some straw to mulch my plot. I would not let another weekend go by without finding it.
I dragged my patient husband out into the country and we were fortunate to find a farm nearby that featured a sign out front, reading “Hay 4 Sale.” We pulled in and bought two bales of straw from the farmer, who charged a mere two dollars a bale for the stuff.
It took me a couple of days to get the sweet-smelling and ever-expanding straw onto the vegetable garden in our back yard as well as the community plot, but already I feel like the straw is worth the trouble. It will keep down the weeds, keep moisture in, and as it breaks down, it will add much-needed nutrients to the soil. I’m just wondering why it took me so long to figure this out?
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
On a recent vacation, it became evident to me that my husband actually does understand just how important gardening is to me.
My husband and I recently took a week-long trip to a lake that is situated about an hour’s drive from our home. Before we left, I made sure that our back yard vegetable garden and all of the containers on our deck were was thoroughly watered. I had visited the community plot and felt confident that everything would grow along happily until we returned. I made arrangements for a family member to visit our house and make sure nothing dried up and died while we were away.
While we were out boating on the lake, my husband and I slowed down to a mere drift, allowing our small boat to coast close to the shore where there were several summer cottages and year-round waterfront homes within sight. We agreed that our favourite home was the natural-looking wooden one. There was a deck on the upper level of the home that surrounded the entire building. Along the railings were lovely planter boxes containing trailing, brightly coloured annuals.
“It’s so pretty,” I remarked.
“There isn’t a whole lot of room for a vegetable garden, though,” Graham pointed out.
“That doesn’t matter. I could grow just about everything in containers,” I said.
It was then that I saw that Graham really understood just how important this whole gardening thing is to me. He understands that it is no longer simply a hobby for me, but a very important aspect of my life. Any home we will live in must have some sort of garden space for me to grow our food in, whether it be a balcony or farmland. It is such a relief to see that my better half understands this!
While we were out boating on the lake, my husband and I slowed down to a mere drift, allowing our small boat to coast close to the shore where there were several summer cottages and year-round waterfront homes within sight. We agreed that our favourite home was the natural-looking wooden one. There was a deck on the upper level of the home that surrounded the entire building. Along the railings were lovely planter boxes containing trailing, brightly coloured annuals.
“It’s so pretty,” I remarked.
“There isn’t a whole lot of room for a vegetable garden, though,” Graham pointed out.
“That doesn’t matter. I could grow just about everything in containers,” I said.
It was then that I saw that Graham really understood just how important this whole gardening thing is to me. He understands that it is no longer simply a hobby for me, but a very important aspect of my life. Any home we will live in must have some sort of garden space for me to grow our food in, whether it be a balcony or farmland. It is such a relief to see that my better half understands this!
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
Using a salad spinner to clean the leaves of freshly-picked salad greens makes it super-easy to enjoy homegrown salads every night!
A fresh salad will be part of my Father's Day menu, so this morning I harvested the first salad of the season, made up of several lettuce greens grown from seed, including a butterhead lettuce, a romaine, some spinach leaves and even a few baby chard leaves.
One of the perks of growing lettuce from seed, especially if you grow it organically without the use of any chemicals, is that the only thing that needs to be washed from freshly harvested leaves is dirt, along with the occasional ant or earwig that comes along for the ride.
Washing lettuce is easy if you have a salad spinner, and a good quality spinner is available at most department stores for less than $20.00.
One of the perks of growing lettuce from seed, especially if you grow it organically without the use of any chemicals, is that the only thing that needs to be washed from freshly harvested leaves is dirt, along with the occasional ant or earwig that comes along for the ride.
Washing lettuce is easy if you have a salad spinner, and a good quality spinner is available at most department stores for less than $20.00.
- Harvest the salad greens from your vegetable garden or community garden plot.
- Fill the basin of a salad spinner or a clean bowl with cold water.
- Add the leaves a handful at a time, swishing them around with your hand, and allowing the silt to wash off of the leaves. Don’t allow the silt to settle, or some of it will settle back onto the leaves. Keep the water moving.
- Pull the washed leaves out of the bowl of water and place them in the salad spinner basket.
- Run the spinner. Open the spinner lid, shake the leaves so that they are evenly distributed in the basket once again, and run the spinner a second time.
- Remove the leaves from the spinner and place them in a clean salad bowl.
- Pour excess water from the spinner, and rinse away any silt that may remain.
- Continue cleaning all of the salad greens in batches until they are all squeaky clean.
A Container of Catnip for Farley
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
Catnip, or nepeta cataria, is enjoyable to cats when fresh. We've added a container of catnip to our back deck, where our cat enjoys it daily.
What garden is complete without a cat? We own two cats, Farley and Rudy, and both of them greatly enjoy spending time outdoors. I’ve spent many mornings outside watering and wandering around in the back yard, coffee in hand, investigating the vegetable garden with Farley close at my heels.
I had a cat several years ago who was attacked by a dog, and for that reason I am nervous about letting the cats wander the yard on their own, given that the yards around us are inhabited by at least a dog each. Rudy rarely goes out, but Farley rules the yard, roaming and lying in wait for birds hooked up to a twenty-foot long leash, which provides him with a wide range in which to wander.
I’ve planted some catnip in the garden, and as catnip is prone to do, it has thrown seed around the back yard, and lovely, lush catnip plants have sprung up in random spots all over the garden, including the perennial border and the vegetable plot. I dug up a chunk of catnip in order to donate it to the plant auction, and set it on the deck where I could water it regularly. In no time, Farley had discovered it and made it his own.
Although catnip doesn’t have quite the same effect fresh as it does dried, Farley loves his new catnip plant on the deck. I potted it up into a larger pot and watered it well, placing it in a location that is accessible to him on his leash. He sits and licks at the plant, bending a stem down to his little face with a rather dexterous paw, rubbing his face against it, sniffing it well.
I had a cat several years ago who was attacked by a dog, and for that reason I am nervous about letting the cats wander the yard on their own, given that the yards around us are inhabited by at least a dog each. Rudy rarely goes out, but Farley rules the yard, roaming and lying in wait for birds hooked up to a twenty-foot long leash, which provides him with a wide range in which to wander.
I’ve planted some catnip in the garden, and as catnip is prone to do, it has thrown seed around the back yard, and lovely, lush catnip plants have sprung up in random spots all over the garden, including the perennial border and the vegetable plot. I dug up a chunk of catnip in order to donate it to the plant auction, and set it on the deck where I could water it regularly. In no time, Farley had discovered it and made it his own.
Although catnip doesn’t have quite the same effect fresh as it does dried, Farley loves his new catnip plant on the deck. I potted it up into a larger pot and watered it well, placing it in a location that is accessible to him on his leash. He sits and licks at the plant, bending a stem down to his little face with a rather dexterous paw, rubbing his face against it, sniffing it well.
Attending a Local Plant Auction
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
I recently attended a plant auction held by a nearby garden club. Lots of cool plants at great prices were up for offer, and I managed to score lots of great deals!
Earlier this week I attended a plant auction, held by the local chapter of Canadian Organic Growers that I belong to. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I carpooled over with two other members, and I didn’t anticipate there being too many edible plants up for auction that evening.
The auction was held in a meeting room at a local school board building, and the place was packed! The turnout was really excellent, with many members of the organization, as well as simply interested individuals from the community who had seen signs posted in local libraries and at the intersection nearby.
I brought several plants with me to offer up for auction, mostly perennials I had divided from my own garden, including one of my favourite herbs, Anise-hyssop.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were ten long banquet tables filled with plants for the auction, and many of them were vegetable and herb plants. Perfect! As the auction got underway, I could see that most of the attendees were on the prowl for low-maintenance ornamental plants, but the competition was less fierce for the edible plants that were up for grabs.
Most of the plants were priced low to start. One attendee had provided 27 San Marzano tomatoes for the auction, and they went for a quarter a piece for whoever was willing to bid. I ended up taking two of them home. I also scored some other edible plants, including:
The auction was held in a meeting room at a local school board building, and the place was packed! The turnout was really excellent, with many members of the organization, as well as simply interested individuals from the community who had seen signs posted in local libraries and at the intersection nearby.
I brought several plants with me to offer up for auction, mostly perennials I had divided from my own garden, including one of my favourite herbs, Anise-hyssop.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were ten long banquet tables filled with plants for the auction, and many of them were vegetable and herb plants. Perfect! As the auction got underway, I could see that most of the attendees were on the prowl for low-maintenance ornamental plants, but the competition was less fierce for the edible plants that were up for grabs.
Most of the plants were priced low to start. One attendee had provided 27 San Marzano tomatoes for the auction, and they went for a quarter a piece for whoever was willing to bid. I ended up taking two of them home. I also scored some other edible plants, including:
- Emerald Evergreen heirloom tomato
- Brandywine heirloom tomato
- Black Beauty eggplant
- Butternut squash
- Starburst squash
- Chocolate mint
- Sweet cicely
- Broccoli (variety unknown)
- Red currant
Magazines Snub Vegetable Gardens
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
As gas prices rise, the cost of food will rise, also. Back yard vegetable gardening is going to become a necessity, and gardening magazine content should reflect this!
I recently renewed my subscription to a popular national gardening magazine in the hopes it would provide me with some more inspiration. While the magazine is lovely, and contains beautiful ideas for back and front yard landscaping and flower gardening, I find that I am continually disappointed in the lack of representation of vegetable gardening ideas and articles focused on growing edibles in mainstream gardening magazines. Earlier this spring, I wrote about how happy I was to see vegetable gardening featured in Martha Stewart Living’s annual gardening issue.
I have a small prediction to make, however. With the rising costs of gasoline, food is going to become more expensive, especially things like out-of-season produce. For instance, in Ontario we all enjoy eating strawberries in January, even if that means they were trucked in from California.
The home grown food movement is quickly expanding, and as more and more back yard gardeners begin to inject a little food into their perennial gardens, the appearance of a tomato plant growing next to some daylilies will become more than trendy; it will become necessary.
Let’s jump the gun, shall we? If you’re interested in seeing more vegetable gardening resources in gardening magazines and books, there is something you can do. You can write the editor of these magazines. Tell them you want to see a greater balance between edible and flower gardening in their publications. Tell local bookstores you want to buy more books about vegetable gardening and growing food.
Click on these links to send an e-mail!
It’s a small effort, but one worth making.
I have a small prediction to make, however. With the rising costs of gasoline, food is going to become more expensive, especially things like out-of-season produce. For instance, in Ontario we all enjoy eating strawberries in January, even if that means they were trucked in from California.
The home grown food movement is quickly expanding, and as more and more back yard gardeners begin to inject a little food into their perennial gardens, the appearance of a tomato plant growing next to some daylilies will become more than trendy; it will become necessary.
Let’s jump the gun, shall we? If you’re interested in seeing more vegetable gardening resources in gardening magazines and books, there is something you can do. You can write the editor of these magazines. Tell them you want to see a greater balance between edible and flower gardening in their publications. Tell local bookstores you want to buy more books about vegetable gardening and growing food.
Click on these links to send an e-mail!
It’s a small effort, but one worth making.
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
Those concerned about eating food that includes genetically modified organisms can encourage their MP to support this bill, requiring labeling of all GMO food in Canada.
A private member’s bill supporting mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food in Canada was selected randomly for debate in the House of Commons this month. If Bill C-517 is passed into legislation, Canadian manufacturers of food containing genetically modified ingredients will be required to label their products as such.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) don’t occur naturally, since they are created through the process of genetic manipulation, to prevent plants from being affected by a herbicide or pesticide, for example. The genes from one organism are inserted into the genetic code of another. According to Greenpeace, “In Canada, up to 70 per cent of the processed foods found in grocery stores contain GE ingredients. The most common GE ingredients come from crops like corn, soy, canola and cotton.” They produce an electronic guide revealing which products do and do not contain GMOs.
This issue is also of concern to vegetable gardeners and farmers because genetically engineered food:
I wrote an e-mail to my Member of Parliament asking her to support this Bill. You can, too!
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) don’t occur naturally, since they are created through the process of genetic manipulation, to prevent plants from being affected by a herbicide or pesticide, for example. The genes from one organism are inserted into the genetic code of another. According to Greenpeace, “In Canada, up to 70 per cent of the processed foods found in grocery stores contain GE ingredients. The most common GE ingredients come from crops like corn, soy, canola and cotton.” They produce an electronic guide revealing which products do and do not contain GMOs.
This issue is also of concern to vegetable gardeners and farmers because genetically engineered food:
- Destroys biodiversity,
- Benefits rich, large agri-businesses instead of small farmers,
- Destroys family-owned farms whose operators can’t afford to buy seeds, pesticides and fertilizers,
- May have long-term effects on our health that are not yet known, and
- Are not sustainable.
I wrote an e-mail to my Member of Parliament asking her to support this Bill. You can, too!
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
Using a row greenhouse in my back yard vegetable garden has allowed me to extend my growing season into early spring, while protecting seedlings from hungry rabbits!
A few years ago, one of our good friends gave to us as a wedding gift a $300 gift card for the mecca of all garden shopping destinations: Lee Valley.
While this store sells woodworking and hardware items, its main draw for me is the unique and very useful gardening tools and gadgets their catalogues frequently feature. I had been wishing for a greenhouse ever since we had started gardening together, and this was my chance to get one!
What I purchased was not a traditional greenhouse, but a row greenhouse, one that sits directly on the soil in the vegetable garden. This product covers 76 square feet of my vegetable garden from early spring right into summer, and cost just $62.50CAD. It is assembled in much the same manner as pitching a tent, with the use of steel anchors pegs that fit through metal-lined holes along the edge of the plastic cover.
The advantages to using a row greenhouse are many. Perhaps the most significant “bonus” to using the row greenhouse in my yard, in addition to extending the growing season, is that the rabbits that visit our back yard buffet rather frequently don’t seem to be able to penetrate the sides of the greenhouse, keeping the small seedlings and tender spring greens safe inside.
The major drawback is that, although vegetable seedlings do very well inside the row greenhouse, so do weed seedlings. The soil inside the row greenhouse is currently covered with a very fine covering of tiny clover seedlings. The row greenhouse also prevents rain from penetrating the soil inside, so watering is necessary.
A product such as Lee Valley's row greenhouse is a great addition to every vegetable garden, especially for those who battle bunnies!
While this store sells woodworking and hardware items, its main draw for me is the unique and very useful gardening tools and gadgets their catalogues frequently feature. I had been wishing for a greenhouse ever since we had started gardening together, and this was my chance to get one!
What I purchased was not a traditional greenhouse, but a row greenhouse, one that sits directly on the soil in the vegetable garden. This product covers 76 square feet of my vegetable garden from early spring right into summer, and cost just $62.50CAD. It is assembled in much the same manner as pitching a tent, with the use of steel anchors pegs that fit through metal-lined holes along the edge of the plastic cover.
The advantages to using a row greenhouse are many. Perhaps the most significant “bonus” to using the row greenhouse in my yard, in addition to extending the growing season, is that the rabbits that visit our back yard buffet rather frequently don’t seem to be able to penetrate the sides of the greenhouse, keeping the small seedlings and tender spring greens safe inside.
The major drawback is that, although vegetable seedlings do very well inside the row greenhouse, so do weed seedlings. The soil inside the row greenhouse is currently covered with a very fine covering of tiny clover seedlings. The row greenhouse also prevents rain from penetrating the soil inside, so watering is necessary.
A product such as Lee Valley's row greenhouse is a great addition to every vegetable garden, especially for those who battle bunnies!
Posted by
Amy Urquhart
Amy Urquhart
Community gardens are starting to draw the attention of land owners in the Province of Ontario. One farmer in the Village of Kendal hopes to start a garden on his land.
This week I attended the monthly meeting of the local branch of Canadian Organic Growers. Every month the chapter's publicity co-ordinator makes several announcements about organic gardening and community gardening at the beginning of the meeting. As usual, this week she had several announcements about garden tours, open houses, plant sales and new products available to organic gardeners. This week, however, there was one announcement that stood out as exceptional.
There is a farmer who lives in a rural area of Ontario called Kendal, and this farmer has 10,000 square feet of land he’d like to donate for the use of growing food. It sounds like what he is envisioning is a community garden. He says there is enough space for 40 plots! He’ll even supply the water.
This man has his heart in the right place. Unfortunately, his farm just isn’t in the right location for this initiative to be successful. Kendal is quite a drive out of the way for most of the people in this community to make use of the land in this manner. It quite defeats the purpose, when the rising cost of fuel is factored in, to drive a vehicle to a community garden that is 45 minutes to an hour away from home. Out in Kendal, most people have space for gardening. The nearby cities of Oshawa and Whitby are more in need of community gardening space.
Perhaps this farmer should consider looking for a couple of people who would like to make a go of market gardening? With 10,000 square feet, a lot of vegetables could be grown and sold in many of the nearby summer farmer’s markets, and making the trip out to the garden would be much more realistic.
Interested individuals can e-mail me for this farmer’s telephone number.
There is a farmer who lives in a rural area of Ontario called Kendal, and this farmer has 10,000 square feet of land he’d like to donate for the use of growing food. It sounds like what he is envisioning is a community garden. He says there is enough space for 40 plots! He’ll even supply the water.
This man has his heart in the right place. Unfortunately, his farm just isn’t in the right location for this initiative to be successful. Kendal is quite a drive out of the way for most of the people in this community to make use of the land in this manner. It quite defeats the purpose, when the rising cost of fuel is factored in, to drive a vehicle to a community garden that is 45 minutes to an hour away from home. Out in Kendal, most people have space for gardening. The nearby cities of Oshawa and Whitby are more in need of community gardening space.
Perhaps this farmer should consider looking for a couple of people who would like to make a go of market gardening? With 10,000 square feet, a lot of vegetables could be grown and sold in many of the nearby summer farmer’s markets, and making the trip out to the garden would be much more realistic.
Interested individuals can e-mail me for this farmer’s telephone number.
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