Notes From The Garden

All of my tomato seedlings I planted February 10th have finally sprouted and are really starting to take off. I was a little worried when only half of the seeds sprouted in the first couple of days after planting and even a week later many had not yet broken through the soil. My seeds are quite old but they all finally popped out of the dirt and their true leaves have appeared. In the next couple of days I'll get them transplanted into larger containers, burying their stems deeply so new roots can grow where the stem is now covered.

The last four inches of snow that fell last week has finally melted and I can get out into the garden and start digging again! I can't complain though. The freezing and thawing helps lift the soil and loosen all of the weeds making the job so much easier :) I'm about half way there. Little by little I'm getting it done *grin*.

This weekend was Seedy Saturday and I found all sorts of goodies :)

There were loads of organic and gmo free seeds, mason bee cocoons and their houses, potted plants, fungi plugs, fruit and nut trees, seed potatoes, worm castings and bins, informational seminars and booths and so much more! I love seedy Saturday. I came home with new sprouting seeds, all my favorite salt spring island seeds, garlic heads for spring planting, organic seed potatoes, some really interesting magazines from the Certified Organic Association of BC and more.

Now I just have to map out my garden plan and figure out what I want to start next :)

If you're curious about what other gardeners are up to right now check out Ginny's garden journal link up and I'd love to know what you are planting, digging or dreaming of right now to *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Weekending

Somehow we were spared the deluge of rain that was supposed to hit our end of the island and instead we had nearly two full days of sunshine!! So out we went to enjoy seeing our shadows and exploring what was left in the garden :)

As the kids ran through the secret pathway and tromped through the knee high grass that has taken over a neglected flower bed they found some fairy lanterns. Well poppy seed heads actually but the winter had left nothing but their skeletal innards and my daughter thought they would be perfect little lanterns for fairies to use to light their way through the long winter nights *grin*.

Their next exciting find was the 'Ice Whales' swimming in one of the frozen buckets of water :) The thick piece of ice covering one of the pools of water had formed some mysterious shapes that we could think were none other than the dorsal fins of miniature ice whales that were visiting our garden :)

As the kids continued to poke around and dance around the giant mullein stalks still standing in the garden I thought I would get busy and take on the mega job of digging up and turning the soil in the garden for spring planting.

I usually have it rototilled but as I was plucking some of the weeds I noticed how many wriggly fat worms there were just under the surface layer of soil mulching and fertilizing and I made up my mind that this year I would take it upon myself to save those precious little workers from being chopped up in the tiller tines and turn it all by hand.

I only got a quarter of the way finished today and my shoulders and back are aching a bit from the strenuous activity after a lazy winter but if I can get it all finished I'll actually have it ready for planting even earlier than usual since I usually have to wait longer for the soil to dry for tilling so it doesn't cake up to much as it is turned.

I think I'm going to see if I can get my strapping young teenager to help me out though when I return on the next sunny day *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Let's Get Planting!

It's that time of year. The days are slowly getting longer, the sun is peaking out a wee bit more and I feel the bloom of spring just itching to burst forth from the soil *grin*.

I know, it's barely the middle of February and we could get snow and frozen temperatures at any minute but I can't help myself but want to will spring to come now. So to fill the time until it finally does appear I pulled out my box of seed packets to see what I had, what is needed and to sort out all of my tomato seeds because it's time to get planting :)

Our growing season is wet, cool and rather short so anything I can do to help things speed along a little quicker before it's time to get things in the ground outdoors is always welcome. Last summer you probably remember that Hubby built me a little greenhouse and it will be perfect for growing an early crop of tomatoes in. So I pulled out what I had left of my little jiffy seven peat pots and soaked them in some nice hot water to puff them up for planting.

I planted Bonny Best, Italian Paste, German Red Strawberry, Polish Paste, and Rocket so far but I also need to start some Black Krim which is a wonderful meaty heirloom variety that we love for sandwiches.

You can find some of them in my favorite seed catalogues like West Coast Seeds, Seeds of Victoria, Salt Spring Seeds and of course all of the wonderful ones I find every year at the various Seedy Saturdays (click for listings) scattered over the island :)

With my little seeds tucked away in a nice dark spot itching to sprout they will be all ready to harden off in the greenhouse nice and early so we can make the most of this summer. I can't wait!

Hugs,
Rosina

Planting and a Greenhouse Update

We're finally getting down and dirty *grin*.
My oldest and I shoveled all of the rows in the vegetable garden and hauled in manure to dress the beds with. I've been working this spot for nearly 10 years now and the soil is really starting to look super healthy. It was terribly poor sandy soil when we started and everything refused to grow in it but as we turned the soil this year it was loaded with big fat earth worms, was darker and it just looks better so I can't wait to see how everything grows!



I'm trying something new this year and using floating row covers over the newly planted seeds. Last year the birds took a lot of the seed right out of the ground as soon as we planted and I even had my first crop of broccoli stripped of every green leaf and had to start over. So this should keep everything safe!

You should have seen the robins sitting on the fence posts watching us as we put the beans in. You just knew that as soon as you turned your back they were going to swoop in but we quickly covered the bush and pole beans with the cover and foiled their plans *grin*. It's actually keeping the little seedlings warmer to! It's been only two days and they are already starting to sprout and they never germinate that fast.

Oh and check out my greenhouse!!
This is the back wall and it has two giant windows and just a foot and a half of solid wall at the bottom maximizing the early morning sun that comes over the mountain first thing in the morning...

and here is one of the side walls with another big window that will go in. I just love the smell of the cedar and the chunky size of the hand milled lumber that my dad milled :)

Only one more wall to go up in the front which will have two more giant windows and I have an old solid glass door for the front so it is going to be awesome! Oh my I can't wait. It is smoking hot out here all summer so it's going to be perfect :)

It's taking a little longer than I had planned for it to be completed as Hubby comes and goes between work but I've waited years for this to happen and even if I don't get to utilize the full summer growing season I'm going to do some winter crops in it this fall and next spring it'll be ready to go right away. Yay, I can't wait *grin*.

How's your week going? I hope you all are enjoying some sunshine, time outdoors and maybe even some time getting your hands really dirty in the dirt :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Transplanting

It was a perfect day to sit outside and do some much needed re-potting of my tomato plants :)

I can't believe how fast they have grown! This will be the last time I re-pot them until they make their final trip out to the greenhouse which I hope is very soon. I'm so excited because hubby and I found some great big pieces of glass for the new greenhouse he is building me and I'm hoping that when he comes home he will be here long enough to maybe nearly finish it *grin*.

So with all of my tomato babies packed outside I got busy pinching off all of the leaves that were going to be buried underneath the soil in the larger one gallon pots...

and then filled each pot up with potting soil and a really healthy dose of cow manure. I think I must have filled each pot more than half full with manure *grin*. Mama wants some BIG tomatoes LOL.

When I started packing them all back inside I had just enough room on the bay windowsill to fit all of the pots. I guess it's the next best thing to having a finished greenhouse :) Maybe it will be good incentive for hubby as he really doesn't like it when I turn the dining room into an indoor jungle *grin*.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Hugs,
Rosina

Dirt

I just finished watching the documentary Dirt! The Movie about the destruction of the earth's living skin... the dirt. It's a wonderful film that takes you all around the world talking about how dirt is a living breathing entity and how it is essential to our lives. Scientists, professors, farmers and others share with you all the different ways that dirt is used and abused. From the traditional earthen homes that are still built today and the important part dirt plays in many cultures to how 1/3 of the earth's soil has been lost in the last one hundred years. I love what one of the farmers said... Sometimes he feels like a father to the soil as he takes care of it. Other times he feels like the soil is his mother as she provides food for him and at times he feels he is in a relationship as they 'care' for each other :)

It's definitely an eye opening view to how agriculture has ravaged the soil over the years with the practice of monoculture planting which leads to massive pest infestations and heavy pesticide use that kills the vital microorganisms in the soil. All this leads to sick soil and the overuse of nitrogen fertilizers which in turn have adverse effects on the surrounding life.

But of course these aren't the only things that are harming the soil that we have left. It also touches on strip mining, desertification and more, but the movie isn't all doom and gloom! There is so much good going on around us as others try to replenish the earth's dirt :)

In Los Angeles an organization called Tree People has a goal to plant one million trees in the city. Schools are tearing up the concrete and blacktop that surrounds their buildings creating green space and student gardens. I thought it was quite interesting as at one point they mentioned that some people were concerned that without all of the concrete play areas at the school, where would the children play?? Have we really become this disconnected with what is below our feet?

Even though we get out in the garden every year using organic methods, compost and recycle what we can I still watched with my children as I thought it was a great way to really get them thinking more about how important it is that we treat mother earth well :)

Even if you think the problem is just to big and there is nothing you can do to fix it, you can! I love this short little animated folktale by Dr. Wangari Maathai below. It tells of a forest fire and a little tiny hummingbird that felt he just had to do something to stop the fire. As the other animals of the forest helplessly looked on they tell the hummingbird that he is just to small to do anything as he takes one drop of water at a time and drops it on the fire. So he turns to them and says "I am doing... the best... that I can". So simple and so smart. Let's all be hummingbirds together and do the best that we can :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Weekending ~ Garden

What a wonderful weekend!

The sun was shining and it was so gloriously warm today that for the first time since last fall we were able to take our jackets off while outdoors and just soak up the rays :) It probably won't last long so we took full advantage of it and hit the vegetable garden to get it ready for rototilling and planting.

There wasn't to much to do. A few leftover stalks from the broccoli and cabbage plants, some wayward pots and the stakes from the row of peas needed to be pulled up. The ground was nice and soft so I worked around the perimeter of the fence yanking out the creeping grass that always winds itself in and out of the wire and transplanted some of the fuzzy mullein that were growing in the middle of the garden so they wouldn't be turned under when everything gets tilled :)

We filled a couple of wheelbarrows full of grass which were taken to the compost.

After a while everyone got tired of helping mama pull grass so the boys went off to pretend sword fight and L sat on the lawn with her care bear for some girly play time :)

I know it doesn't look like much now but I'm so excited to think of all the vegetables that I want to fill this space with this year :)

One day I'm hoping to convert the whole thing to raised beds like I used to have years ago at our old house. I used to love coming out in the spring and just turning the dirt in each of the beds by hand. It was just somehow simpler... this spot always seems so unruly to me in the spring *grin*.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend to :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Chicken Coop Remodel

There are so many things that need tending to every spring and poor Hubby's 'honey do' list is growing by leaps and bounds *grin*. This year getting new chicks is high on my priority list as I miss having our own eggs SO much so the coop was the first place we hit as soon as we had a break in the rain :)

I normally raise our baby chicks, geese and ducks in the garage as it's the easiest place to get the heat lamp plugged in but this year Hubby is in the middle of building another new bed for the kids so there just isn't room for my brooding pen.

So I needed to come up with a new spot that was easily accessible but our old coop is really really hard to get into unless you're about a foot tall and covered in feathers. The only solution was to cut out part of the wall :)

We assessed the situation, made mental notes of what we wanted to do and then when it was time to frame in the door we found out just how crooked everything was *grin*. None of the walls or the floor were level LOL. The original shed was built sometime in the early sixties and over time it has begun to sink making everything slightly wonky :)

Once the wall was opened up I could get a good look inside to see what sort of clean up job was needed before the chicks can go in. The floor was surprisingly clean actually but there was some leftover chicken manure that need shoveling and my little guy was more than happy to help out.

He didn't really get much of it out of the house but had a lot of fun trying. At one point though he had a huge chunk of it in his hands as we were all telling him to drop it. Nothing like packing around poo! At least it was good and dry, and sadly that wasn't the only time I had to tell him to drop it that day LOL.

I love watching the kids muck around in the dirt :)
If you don't have enough arm power to push the shovel down when digging then you RIDE it down *grin*.

Next to the new door is an old single pane window and it was just thick with cobwebs and dust so I got the windex and some cloths so that L could shine it up.

I was a little worried about letting her wipe away on the old panes as they are so fragile but the window made it through it in one piece and she was so pleased with herself :) I actually don't remember the last time that we could even see through the glass!

Who knew that opening up the wall could be so much fun :)

With the wall back up around the door frame all that was left was to cut down the door to make it fit and get some hinges so that we could hang it.

Now I just need get the floor cleaned out nicely, give the whole thing a good bleaching and then I think I'm going to white wash the walls with lime :) The lime helps inhibit the growth of any harmful bacteria and it will brighten the whole place up real nice.

We're back to pouring down rain again though so I'm going to have to wait for a nicer day again so that everything can dry out nicely after I get it good and wet *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

A Rather Dirty Surprise

Haha, got you with that title *grin*.

My garden is on a hill and over the past 8 years the dirt has slowly migrated to the bottom of the garden leaving the soil at the top rather shallow. My dad has been mentioning for a while now that he might run his backhoe over with a few loads of topsoil and today was the day :)

I now have a giant pile of new dirt to contend with and I think it's going to take quite a bit of muscle power on my part to get it spread out! Thankfully after being dropped from the bucket most of the grass turf and weeds were knocked loose from the soil so it shouldn't be to hard to pull them all out.

Maybe I should just turn the boys loose in there. They could probably play, build roads, throw it around for a bit and move most of it by the end of summer LOL.

Wish me luck!
~ Rosina

Mysterious Mushroom & Giveaway Link

I think that I've spent way to much time watching and reading Alice in Wonderland with the children lately! When I spotted this mysteriously beautiful mushroom that had sprouted up in the potted primrose flower I couldn't help but wonder what it might feel like to be ultra miniature like Alice and have it towering over my head!

Oh boy do I have one heck of an imagination *grin*.

I have no idea what kind it is but it has the most intriguing edges around the cap. Not quite scalloped, more pointed with white pointed tips. I'd love to know what it is if you happen to know :)

Since I'm on the topic of the mysterious marvels of nature I wanted to share a little giveaway that I learned about on Natural Papa's blog. He is giving away a copy of Dirt! The Movie.

Dirt feeds us and gives us shelter. Dirt holds and cleans our water. Dirt heals us and makes us beautiful. Dirt regulates the earth's climate. Dirt is the ultimate natural resource for all life on earth.Yet most humans ignore, abuse, and destroy our most precious living natural resource.Consider the results of such behavior: mass starvation, drought, floods, and global warming, and wars. {via Dirt the Movie}

I don't think that any of us actually think about the dirt beneath us quite as much as we should and this movie is going to shine the spotlight on it and bring it to the forefront of our attention! To find out more about the giveaway and to watch a short trailer on the movie head over to Natural Papa and leave a comment about why you think dirt is so important :)

~ Rosina

Attacking the Weeds

We're starting to get the gardening bug around here. The kids and I decided that we would attack the front flower beds and kick out the lawn that decided to grow in them *grin*. It was definitely no small feat! Who knew3 little helpers wielding mini spades could be so dangerous LOL. There was flying dirt, wiggling worms and some not so lucky grubs that got squished so their guts could be examined :) But we got it done!

Two beautiful beds of freshly turned soil ready for planting. Since we never really get very far in the flower department I think we'll use them for vegetables this year! It might prove to be a very good place to grow a couple of tomatoes since it gets all day sun and is a lovely warm spot.

For now we're going to sow in some radishes and maybe some spinach or chard which just love this mild cool weather and wait for the rest. Did you know that every yard has its own micro climate? When the dandelions start to bloom in your grass it's time to start planting :) We've been following that rule for the last couple of years and have been successful but if you don't trust me you could always test the soil temperature by sticking your elbow in the dirt. I kid you not! If the soil feels warm on your elbow it's time to stick in the beans *grin*.

How about you, are you starting to plant anything yet?

~ Rosina

Garden Fever

It has finally warmed up enough here to start planting the garden, hooray!! It's hard to believe that we have only been snow free for 3 weeks but the bitter cold frosty mornings are still hanging on :) My oldest two are really into the garden this year and want to help out with ever aspect which is wonderful. I hope the enthusiasm holds out through the weeding season! LOL.



When we were down island last week I cheated a bit and picked up some veggie starter packs to plant along with our seedlings to give us a bit of an earlier harvest on some of the veggies. The kids picked out cabbage, broccoli, artichokes, lettuce and some sweet peas to grow up the garden fence.



Teamwork, you gotta love it! One to scoop the horse manure into the holes and another to plunk in the plants :)

And what would a day of digging in the dirt be without worms! Thank goodness there was no taste testing. Well there may have been a little dirt munching at one point, but definitely no worms made it into my 3 year olds mouth :) Now we just have to keep the slugs at bay until we can plant our warmer crops after May 24th. The danger of any frost will have passed by then and I am so looking forward to beans.

~ Rosina