Get Growing!

It's that time of year again - the getting-off-my-ass and to Apache Seed to select our fruit and vegetable seeds for the upcoming growing season!  Actually, we are a bit behind, but lets not return to a conversation about our past winter... Apache has a great selection of seeds and plants, as well as everything one needs to get started in the garden from books on how-to to stuff to get-going!  This year, I see some more Mexican plants growing in our patch, especially tomatillos and poblano peppers!  My wonderfully handy and oh so planned husband has already helped out by pre-planting our herb seeds last weekend in hopes of getting a head start!

This is by far the best time of year, if you live in Edmonton!  Time we said goodbye to winter, the snow has melted and guess what I found under some leaves in the backyard last week - chives!  They are far from perfect, but they are green and growing!  Not to mention strawberry shoots and lavender making it's way out of the earth and into our lives for another season.  Yup, something about Spring that puts a kick in your step and releases all that energy we have been storing over the winter.  My husband now spends hours in the garden and we have to decide what to do with the backyard and the impending return of the dreaded fairy rings.  So, if they appear, it's raised beds for more vegetables plus a few more trees and throw in some flagstone walkways for good measure.  If they don't... well, I don't think we will go there!

That means it is time for me to organize my vegetable beds and decide what gets to grow next to what (something like a desk change in my daughter's classroom) and keeping in mind that we need rotate the position of the plants from last year.  Why?  Some plants drain nutrients out of the soil while others provide the nutrients.  Keep circulating them and your soil will remain in good balance.

So, you want to plant a veggie garden this year.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1.  You need to become intimately aware of your planting area, and that means understanding the type of soil in your ground, what direction it faces and how much sunlight the area gets throughout the course of the day.  This information will help you choose the right type of plant to use.   A simple google search will indicate what growing zone your home is in, which removes the mystery of what plants will survive the winter! Because winter cold is, in most regions, the single greatest threat to plant survival, the zones are divided according to the average monthly temperature they experience locally.

2.  From Martha Stewart Living, the importance of crop timing ( vegetable crops fall into two categories): 

Cool-Season Crops: Peas, lettuces, radishes, brassicas (broccoli, kale, cauliflower, collards), and spinach germinate and thrive in the lower temperatures of spring and fall and tolerate light frosts. Many cool-season crops can be direct-sown in the garden around before the last frost.

Warm-Season Crops: Tomatoes, eggplants, summer and winter squash, beans, and corn prefer summer's heat. Plant these only after the soil has warmed. Many warm-season crops require a long growing season and should be started indoors in late winter or early spring or purchased as seedlings ready to be transplanted.

3.  I know it's a bit OC, but consider Mapping Out Your Plants:

Sketch out your plan on paper. Use graph paper and draw to scale, keeping in mind the mature size and habit of each kind of plant. Site larger plants like corn and tomatoes where they won't cast shade over shorter plants. Choose compact varieties if you have limited space. Start small: You can always dig more beds or enlarge existing ones in subsequent years.

Helpful Note #1: The latest newsletter in Goop (http://www.goop.com/) gives some great tips for starting your garden as well as highlighting GrowVeg - a site for garden planners.  This is a fantastic website that not only allows you to design and map out your garden, it will find your home on Google Search, tell you what zone you reside in and cross reference your growing season and the local weather forecast to tell you the optimal time for planting, transplanting, harvesting and concerns like frost.  Brilliant!  Did I mention you can have a 30 day free trial?  Check it out:  http://www.growveg.com/

GrowVeg

At the end of the day, this beginner gardener suggests just do it!  You will have fun and feel a sense of reward harvesting your own crop, no matter how big or small.  It's a great hobby to include the kids and I have to admit, I am spoiled with the help and knowledge I get from my hubby, and couldn't do it without him! my best advice is just do it!    My one recommendation would be to pick up a local book on vegetable gardening that simply outlines the best yield and easiest to grow plants and just become more adventurous as your garden grows!

Helpful Note #2: Here are my pics for some easy peasy veggies to grow and enjoy from your own garden:

Radish and Beets

Lettuce, of several varieties: mixed, spinach, romaine

Cucumbers

Carrots

Peas

Spinach

Tomatoes

And try out some herbs - they add a fantastic smell to your garden and wonderful taste to all your dishes!  I typically plant:

Parsley

Oregano

Thyme

Basil

Sage

Lavender

Epazote (a Mexican herb)

Cilantro

Mint

So, what will our garden look like this year?  Probably the same as last year - the fava beans were a hit, as was the eggplant and variety of peppers: sweet, jalapeno and poblano.  Tomatillos will have the time to form their delicate paper lanterns and produce great green tomatoes for salsa, and I think with the raised beds, we should have enough room to grow additional veggies, maybe parsnip and celery root!  Stay tuned!

Wascally Wabbits - A Garden Post Mortem

(Tomatillos - so close!  Rabbits ate the first batch, this second round just didn't have enough summer - the tomatillo "laterns" are just growing)

So it's early September and feeling more like fall with each passing day.  Believe it or not, Edmonton is still working those arm muscles swatting mosquitoes away (that usually ends the beginning of August, just before the wasp season kicks in) but eerily enough, there was frost on the car this morning!  Bizarre!

In the meantime, our vegetable garden is on it's own schedule.  Done are the sweet peas, the beets and radishes.  The tomatoes are on their last breadth but our fava beans are still going!  By the looks of this week's forecast, best to pick everything tonight - fava beans, eggplant, tomatoes and lettuce.

The squirrels and rabbits helped themselves to our cherries this year so we had no harvest, and those rabbits lived like kings on the argula, edamame beans and a large number of other plants.  Why, we even have a resident rabbit who has taken to our front lawn - barely bothered by us humans at all!

(Resident Thumper and the edible shrubs)

Notice the wonderful coverage he gets from the rain and wind!  I wonder if this is the same rabbit, all grown up, that lived under this shrub last year? Regardless of when he moved in, no one can deny this is his territory, as his body imprint is firmly carved into the wood chips and shrubs in his short absence!  My inventive husband made some cages to place over the plants that were almost completely consumed - roots and all -  and the plants are starting to come back!  YES!

As I have yet to witness wascally wabbits hanging from the branches of our apple tree, I wondered if the apples would be up for grabs to these critters as well.  But much to my delight, the apples seem OK and are still growing!

(Goodland apple tree holding it's own)

I did notice that our neighbours apple trees are completely bare - just like our cherry tree - could rabbits get to them, or more likely squirrels?  I have read that the bee population is decreasing rapidly and also wondering if this will be the fate of our apple tree next year?  Since I am completely uneducated on fruit trees I guess that's something to figure out before next spring!

Has anyone had similar issues this year with their fruit trees?

All in all, our garden, like our summer, was too short and very patchy.  I hope next year brings more stable weather and the City of Edmonton builds a few rabbit shelters in our neck of the woods - I don't know how many more squatters our poor garden can handle!  But until then, our family can feast on the last harvest of the season.  I guess a trip to the Farmer's Market next week.....

K

How's the garden growing?

Well, it's the middle of August and my husband and I have been waiting for summer to come and without hesitation, we now feel that fall has arrived!  On top of the not-so-great-summer-season, Edmonton has been blessed with plenty of rain which has brought a bumper crop of mosquitoes!  Now, I don't mean to complain, but boy, does it ever diminish your need to spend time in the garden!  And increase your need for a beach vacation!

My battle with the rabbit population of our neighbourhood continues and on our first walk of the season last night, my husband and I noticed that the neighbours apple trees (a few houses up) have no apples this year!  What is going on?  My husband says it's 2012, as in the beginning of the end of the world.  I'm already looking forward to starting over in May 2011!

Regardless of my whining, we have had some success in our garden this year.  And I think enough Italian vegetables to support an upcoming Italian-themed appetizer party!  A bumper crop of tomatoes for a crostini with some fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

(I like to grow these sweet 100s variety in containers)

And my first attempt at fava beans has been a success!  I have to say, if you have room in your garden next year, plant these seeds!  Not only are they easy to grow, they are quite beautiful with large and wide stalks with interesting white and black flowers.  Also, if you haven't added fava beans to your plate - why not?  These beans have a sweet, nutty taste and are wonderful in salads as well as pasta dishes, purees or a simply served side.  My love of these beans came from a visit to Bottega restaurant this past spring, where my husband and I shared a pan fried gnocchi dish with fresh fava beans and sweet peas, finished with meyer lemon - heaven! 

(These stalks rest against our back fence and offer beautiful foliage)

We also have a good crop of eggplant this year - I'm sensing some Italian fritto in my near future (Fritto Misto di Verdura)!  Chef Guisi in Montanare showed us a clever recipe for using fresh vegetables and herbs, coating them with a simple batter and frying.  I hope my guests enjoy this Italian take on tempura with the surprise of eating fresh herbs and vegetables from our garden - bueno!

(Our eggplants join our tomatoes in pots in our garden)

Of course a trip to the Italian market cannot be avoided.  Unfortunately, our arugula was not once, but twice the victim of hungry hares, and no animals were raised in our urban osasis!  Bresaola, proscuitto and peach nectar are on the grocery list - we'd have to live in Italy otherwise.  Hmmmm.....

(Poor arugula, happy rabbits)

So, how is your garden doing this year?  I'd love to hear from you and feel free to attach pictures of your crop!

K

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Over the past few years I have been experimenting with gardening (actually, it's just been the past three years I have actually placed my hands in the soil for anything substantial), specifically for the purpose of growing my own food.  Last year, we had a decent harvest and this year I was determined to expand my horizons and even attempt to produce the majority of our food for the season!  On speaking with my pilates instructor and partner-in-crime, they guided me to Apache Seeds on 149th Street, just north of Stony Plain Road.

The day after I passed my motorcycle license exam, I grabbed my leather jacket and wallet and headed over - what a great selection!  The standbys are in full supply: zucchini, carrots, beets and radishes, but also the not-so-conventional for Edmonton's season: tomatillos, poblano peppers and even melons and artichokes!  If you want organic, English seeds, heirloom varieties, they have it all!

So, when my Vespa's seat was full, I returned home full of excitement for my summer's project - planting a garden!  But not only that, by the time I pulled into the driveway, I was determined to journal my seeds: when they are planted, when they germinated and how many harvests I could get out of the full growing season, compacted only by our small patch of land called the vegetable garden.  I think my husband saw a look of determination, and simply moved aside - smart man, did I mention that?

Well, I bought a book on vegetables in Canada, and started mapping out when to plant, keeping in mind we would be in Europe for over half of June and wanted to get the longer-growth plants in and started before we left.  I accomplished it!  I had figured out I could get three whole harvests for simple items like beets and a huge assortment of lettuce (arugula, mesculin, heirloom and spinach) while probably only one harvest for my poblano peppers, tomatillos and onions.  The patch was prepped, extra "meal" placed in areas where certain vegetables needed it, and seeds carefully planted.  Before we left, most of the seeds had germinated and the peas (sweet and snow) and beans (edamame and fava) were well on their way!  I can't tell you how excited I was - until we came back from vacation.


On arrival, 80% of the garden was gone - either by too much rain, drought or more likely, those pesky little rabbits that happily hop through our yard.  Last year we had baby rabbits living under our shrubs to our daughter's delight and my husband's frustration!  I thought it was nice. This year, it became personal.


So, now we have one harvest this year.  The peas and beans survived, the raspberries, strawberries and blueberries were unharmed, but almost everything from seed had to be re-planted!  Two weeks later, our seeds are germinating again, and I am pleased to say the we will have radish, beets, tomatillos, peppers, mesculin, romaine and spinach at least!  I am in the process of creating a fine mesh to protect the sweet berries now coming to light and of course, on full rabbit alert!


The most pleasing on return from Europe was seeing the long awaited apple tree with over 100 little apples starting to form!  In such a complex world, I really get a huge amount of joy out of the simple things in life, like growing food organically.  It comes full circle: I love everything about food, from eating to preparing, so it makes sense to also want to grow it.  It's fantastic to send our daughter out to "harvest" and immediately prepare it on the spot for lunch and dinner!  Now, just to find a way to increase the square footage for next year's crop....

We have apples...almost!

I couldn't wait to get home last night - there in our backyard was our newly planted Goodland apple tree! (Thank you David!) I have always wanted an apple tree - or any fruit-bearing tree to be honest. Growing up in Newfoundland doesn't give you the experience of picking your own fruit from trees in your garden.

Last year my dear husband finally agreed to plant an apple tree, but we had a problem: we live in a new subdivision where apple trees are non-existent. The solution was to purchase a hybrid tree - this is basically an apple tree with branches from different varieties of apples grafted on the trunk, hence pollinating itself. Brilliant! I guess everyone else had the same idea, and about a week earlier than me. But this year I was determined, prepared and blessed to uncover a neighbour a few houses away that had planted not one, but five apple trees!! FIVE!!

I sourced several different tree farms and nurseries around town, determined not to purchase what looked like a broken off branch planted in a small container, but an actual tree with some substance - I did want to enjoy eating these apples in my lifetime. And now that pollination was close at hand, I had options for a larger tree and a specific variety. After much research about the type of apple produced, texture of the product, when to harvest, what the apple could be used for (ornamental, eating, baking, etc) and how long it could be stored, I came up with the Goodland or Honeycrisp apple. Both apples are great to eat or use in baking, they are crisp, sweet and juicy and have a long storage period after harvest. Now to find the tree...

We came across Greenland Garden Centre in Sherwood Park. A little more expensive, but a fantastic selection of branches and whole trees! The place is huge, and almost reminded me of a vacation retreat instead of a store - as far as the eye can see, through pathways and natural landscapes you can view their wares. Although I thought it was a bit odd to sell shoes and jewellery at a nursery (focus, people) we were absolutely impressed by the knowledgeable, courteous and even eager-to-help staff.

http://www.greenlandgarden.com/

Best of all, become a member and receive extras discounts for all your gardening needs! If you are looking for that special something to add to your garden as well as some further education on the topic, I highly recommend a drive to Greenland. Be warned, weekends are a bit crazy! For now, my daughter and I will check our tree daily for signs of our fall treats!

K