Here we go again...

Oh Mother Nature, what a sense of humour. Last year you throw snow at as, and we chugged on through; this year rain of biblical proportions.

I must say I was feeling a little down in the mouth having seen the lake that was created in Harvest Gardens the day before our scheduled spring planting and work sessions were scheduled. Good thing we have an amazing group of dedicated gardeners, otherwise I would have called it a couch day.

Instead I was able to meet some new people and learn a little bit more about veggies (like everyday when I go to the garden), and the best part of all I got to play in the mud. Sometimes it takes a little rain to bring you back to the good old days of jumping in puddles and making mud pies. It was a day that has energized me for the season. Below are some great pictures of everyone hard at work and play. Looking forward to greening my thumb. See you at the garden.

Planning a garden plot...

Even though the snow is still knee deep, being at the garden a few days ago has me in the mood for all things gardening. So I planned out what I'm going to plant. It's a small variation on last year. More of things I loved and that grew well, but a little less variety (some things just didn't work for me). I have a 4' x 12' plot so lots of room to play. I'm going to try mixing the beans and potatoes this year as they are supposed to like each other and my beans were rather dismal last year. More carrots because it seemed like I hardly got any last year and they were one of the best tasting veggies that came out of my plot. A little more lettuce, and a little less spinach, just to change it up. And about the same amount of peas.

I don't want to jinx our chances of a nice weekend, but i have a feeling that we may be able to see grass by Easter Monday. One step closer to real spring.

Attempt #1 at 2011 Plot Plan

Milk Jug Planting...

One of our more experienced gardeners has tried Milk Jug Planting in the past (it was recently mentioned in the Calgary Horticultural Society article on February 25th) and says it works great. Brenda does it slightly differently and has outlined her process below. Thanks for the tips Brenda.

Sowing in milk jugs definitely works.  I had great success last year with a couple of differences from the article. 

1.  A starter mix tends to work better than potting soil -- less damage to roots when transplanted.

2.  Don't keep the lids on the jugs -- moisture builds up and can cause mold/rot the plants.

3.  Don't worry about punching holes in the bottom - the slits and open top are plenty of ventilation and you don't want roots to grow outside the container or your new plants may be damaged when transplanting.

4.  I use packing tape rather than duct tape -- easier to open when ready to transplant.

5.  Be sure to label the jugs -- a black felt marker worked fine for me.

6.  Place jugs in the snow in any area of the yard that gets the most sunshine.  I put these along a fence or building (protected area) rather than out in the middle of the yard.

7.  Sow seeds as suggested on packages (ie. some take 6 weeks to germinate and some take longer) so bear in mind when you want to plant these out. 

8.  Don't worry too much about checking for moisture.  The jugs are unlikely to need additional water for 6 weeks or so unless the weather gets unusually warm.

9.  Use a utility knife to cut the jugs -- easier than a kitchen knife.

10.  Milk jugs work great but you can use other plastic jug as long are they aren't opaque.  For instance, I use windshield fluid jugs too.  Rinse all jugs well.

Planting seeds for the future...

The weather appears to be getting better for the Northern Hills Community Garden members. It only rained one of the days on planting weekend. But as usual spirits were high and people were eager to get planting, especially since Kate offered refuge during the rain on Saturday. The orientations for all gardeners went well and now everyone is ready to watch for their first sprouts.

That is if you were patient enough to plant only seeds, some just couldn’t wait and needed to see some colour in their beds; Sunny’s plot definitely has a head start (I may have to beg for some scraps while I wait for my own veggies). All in all the area looks great, and there already has been an overwhelming response from residents of the area.

The variety of plants is amazing, and I can’t even tell what they are since most are still in the ground; I can’t wait to see what pops out of the earth. But word going round is that Michael’s plot will be one to watch as he has sewed some heritage grains.

Lisa’s son has what I call the perfect recipe for gardening; equal parts planting and sitting back in a lawn chair enjoying the park (I probably add in a little extra sitting myself). Carla and her son were driven by their rabbit concerns and have constructed a fence that I’m sure if they marketed in the neighborhood could keep them busy for years. I may have to ask for the blueprints as my wife seems to lose a third of everything she plants every year.

Elizabeth seems to share this same fear of rabbits. She returned on Sunday to check on her Saturday’s hard work only to find that every single plant had been eaten…Oh no wait! The rabbits were only playing a trick on her; instead of eating everything they just moved all her plants two plots over. That seems odd, maybe it wasn’t rabbits after all; could it be that someone (name begins with the letter E) had a little trouble reading the garden map (that she made) and planted the wrong plot? Either way the garden looks great and everyone had a great time.

Hope to see you at the garden.

The community garden would also like to extend their thanks to the following organizations which supported our construction through donations or discounts. Without their generous contributions we would have been challenged to get this off the ground.

City of Calgary, Parks
Sobey’s
RONA
Home Depot

Planting and orientation weekend...

A mandatory orientation session designed by the City for all users of the garden as well as potential volunteers (ie. food bank beds) will be covered off this weekend. This will only take a half an hour. There are three sessions set up for this weekend - please attend one of these. Please bring a lawn chair and mosquito spray. An information package has been developed for all of us gardeners - especially those of us that are new to vegetable gardening - which has been emailed to gardeners that have signed up. If you didn't get one and are interested please contact cmroy@yahoo.com.

Orientation Time Slots
Saturday at 9:00 AM Sunday at 9:00 AM Sunday at 1:00 PM

At that time we will also be taking any outstanding user agreements and payments (please bring along a copy of the user agreement previously sent to you). A bed will be assigned to you once this is received. Each bed has a name (a herb or spice). Have fun everyone, it should be a great weekend.

There was also some damage to the grass surrounding the plots during their filling with soil. This was due primarily to the soggy weather. Our gardening team is currently discussing options regarding repair. Any comments or concerns please contact Chris Roy cmroy@yahoo.com.