Signs of Spring

Temperatures have been mild the last few days (5 degrees right now!) and a lot of snow has melted.  I strolled around outside this afternoon, trying to focus on how nice things will look once the yard has dried out and been raked, rather than on how mucky and gray things look now.

I did find some early signs of Spring, which does my heart good.  :-)


Green onions are coming up in the little patch behind the house.

New Creeping Thyme is growing, and the Wooly Thyme looks great!

More Creeping Thyme...

Karl came along to see what I was doing...

...then ensured the garden beds were still in solid condition...

When I turned to go back to the house, I spotted Butters (the other neighbour's cat) sitting on our doorstep! 

The leeks I started last month are doing well, and my marigolds have begun to sprout.

True confessions...  I couldn't wait any longer, and started my eggplant seeds yesterday while nobody was home.  They apparently do best when allowed to germinate on a heating mat.  I don't own one, but read yesterday that they will also do well sitting on top of the refrigerator.  Once they have germinated, they can be moved to a sunny location.

So I merrily soaked my coir pellets, popped the seeds in, covered them, labeled each type, and cleared off the top of the fridge so there would be room for the seed tray.  Except the top of the fridge was not warm.  At all.  Nor was the top of the upright freezer.  Both are relatively new, energy efficient appliances.  I guess that helps reduce our power bill, but it does nothing for my eggplant seeds.

The tray of eggplant seeds is now covered with a plastic dome and is sitting by the sink in our tiny bathroom, the warmest room in the house.  They'll stay there until R. gets home from Burnaby and looks at me like I'm crazy.  *LOL*

Rosa Bianca, Black Beauty, Ping Tung, and Vittoria (hybrid) eggplants

The Air Hurts My Face

It is -38 degrees this morning.  My leeks might be sprouting, and I might have received bubbles for my birthday, but Spring is a long way off...

Staving Off The Winter Blues – My Latest Seed Stash

A few days ago, I spent my online survey payments on an order from Salt Spring Seeds.  I do not need more seeds, but browsing seed sites and placing the occasional order helps me get through our long winters and focus on the Spring weather to come.  Healthier than Prozac, and cheaper than a Caribbean holiday!

My latest seed stash arrived today.  Some I will grow this summer:  Bloomsdale Spinach, Ruby Frills Red Mustard, and the Heritage Bean Mix (containing their earliest dry bush beans of 2013: Navy Bean, Green Hutterite, Swedish Brown, Purple Gnuttle Amish, and Mitla Black).

Some things I bought more for my SHTF collection (Google this acronym, if you are lost…).  They include Bronze Amaranth, 6-Row Purple Barley (apparently, quite easy to thresh), and Multi-Hued Quinoa.  My SHTF selections will go with a few other grains, beans, and unusual herbs I’ve bought over the last few years, into a large jar with a few oxygen packs.

If I have space, I might try to grow some of the quinoa this summer just to see what it looks like.

Field of multi-coloured quinoa plants - by Johanna Bjork

Some things I bought just because I wanted to have them, whether I grow them or not.  Rational?  No.  These include Munstead Lavendar (I have had trouble growing lavender here, not for lack of trying) and Bayberry.

I also bought Garden Asparagus seeds.  I am not sure what I was thinking when I did this.  I was probably feeling very optimistic and imagining how wonderful it would be to cut fresh asparagus from one’s yard and steam it for lunch.  Now that I have it in my hands, I’m thinking, “Neat!” and “How the hell do I grow this?”  I have heard it is a tricky vegetable to grow, very finicky about location, sunlight, and temperature.  I’m sure it will love zone 2.  Asparagus and eggplants.  I must be out of my mind.

What I wished I had bought, after the fact:  the 20 Lettuce Blend pack, Buttercrunch, and Epazote.

 

As I was about to take a picture of my new seeds, Karl hopped up on the gutter outside the plantroom window to see what I was doing.  We have a length of gutter underneath the window in which we grow herbs and lettuce.  In the winter, it is Karl's favourite place to sit outside.

I'm pretty sure Karl is looking forward to summer days, green grass, and butterflies, too.

Storing and Organizing Seeds

There are countless videos and articles online describing different ways to store seeds.  Here are a few I've found helpful.

The seed spreadsheet mentioned in the above video can be downloaded HERE.  





This is how I currently store most of my seeds.  (That is not my binder, though!)   It took a while to organize, but now it is so much easier to quickly flip through what I have and find what I need.  Larger seeds, like peas and beans, are stored in their original packets in a shoebox.  Large amounts of any given variety of bean are stored in plastic tubs or glass jars with an oxygen absorber or two.  Many sites recommend storing seeds in the refrigerator or freezer.  I don't - we simply do not have the room!





This is not a particularly scintillating video to watch, but it gives you the idea...  

 
Here is a simple method for long term seed storage.  Unfortunately, the video will not embed.  Please click HERE to view it.  














And Martha Says...

A great article from the Homestead Revival blog illustrating the author's favourite way to organize seeds.  I really like the form she created to keep track of the varieties of vegetables she grows.  The form is downloadable and available HERE.










Other ideas...

Garden List 2014 – What I’m Planting…

 …or at least, what I'm planning to plant.  Early days yet.
 

   It is an unseasonably mild (11 degrees) and sunny January day in the thriving metropolis.  The driveway is a skating rink under a half inch of water.  Getting the mail this morning was an adventure.  Even Karl, our neighbour’s cat, took a tumble walking with me to the mailbox.

   The warm weather has resulted in early-onset Spring Fever and with it, the desire to garden.  Now.  I decided to root through my binders and boxes of seeds to sort out what I will grow this summer.

   "The Plan", as it stands.   Anything new for this year is red.  Everything is heirloom or open-pollinated unless otherwise specified.

Tomatoes

Cherry – Green Doctors Frosted, Sweetie Red, Black, Pink Bumblebee

Paste – Mazarini, San Marzano, Opalka

Other  - Emerald Evergreen, Eva Purple Ball (pink), Moskvich (red), Northern Lights (orange/yellow marbled), and Paul Robeson (black).

Carrots

Scarlet Nantes

Jaune Obtus du Doubs

Turnips –  An Amish heirloom variety received from my online friend, Michael, in Arkansas

Beets 
Detroit Dark Red

Cylinder

Detroit Golden

Beans 
Dry Bush – Vermont Cranberry (can also be a shell bean),Beka Brown, Kenearly Yellow Eye, and Marrowfat if I have room!

Snap/Wax Bush – Buerre de Rocquencourt, Topcrop, Royal Burgundy, Provider

Pole - Snowcap (dry)

Greens 
Spinach - Bloomsdale

Kale - Lacinato, Red Russian

Lettuce - Romaine lettuce “Baby Star” (hybrid), Mesclun mix, Black Seeded Simpson
Mustard - Ruby Frills Red

Swiss Chard - Fordhook

Peppers

Nardello Italian

Sweet Chocolate

Early Sunsation (yellow bell hybrid - thanks, Sharon & Eddy!)

Peas – Green Arrow 

Cabbage - Red and green, from the local greenhouse

Broccoli - From the local greenhouse

Cauliflower - From the local greenhouse

Potatoes – A Russet of some sort

Leeks – Giant Musselburgh

Eggplant

Ping Tung

Vittoria (hybrid)

Black Beauty

Zucchini – Unsure what kind, I received the seeds in a trade

Herbs

Borage

Dark Opal basil

Summer Savoury

Lemon Balm

Italian Parsley (flat leaf)

Sweet basil

Flowers

Nasturtiums

Swiss Giant Pansy

Zinnias – Polar Bear (hybrid), Starlight Rose (hybrid)

Sunspot Sunflower (hybrid)

Dwarf Hollyhock, Majorette Mix (hybrid)

   Hoping the calendula, Scarlet Flax, gomphrena, and rose mallow that went to seed at the end of last summer comes up again!

   I think I might forgo trying to grow winter squash this year.  It takes up so much space.  If I do, I will probably try an hybrid variety because our season is so short.  If I really cave, I'll grow an heirloom: Red Kuri.

...and maybe, just maybe, some multi-hued quinoa...!

(updated February 11/14)

Bad Ass Gardening

Ron Finley - Guerilla Gardening in South Central L.A. 
(I love this presentation.  No wonder it went viral!)

Stephen Ritz - Green Bronx Machine 
(Have a cup of coffee before watching and listen closely - this guy speaks quickly and is a riot!)

Guerilla Gardening - East End of Downtown Calgary

Hi-Tech Guerilla Gardening in London.  The real fun starts at 1 min 38 seconds!


James Jiler - A Sentence of Transformation. 
Prisons, gardens, restoration, and inspiration.
(For some reason, I am not able to embed this video in my blog.  To watch this TEDx presentation, click HERE). 

Frost Bite and Gas Fumes

I woke up this morning and instantly knew it was bitter outside.  The smell of car exhaust hangs close to the ground on days like this, burning your lungs (as it the cold doesn't do that on its own) and sticking to your clothes.  I walked to the end of the driveway at 8:00am to leave something in the mailbox for a friend to pick up.  By the time I got back in the house, I was wheezing and had a lopsided headache.

Yep, bloody cold.  -34, "feels like -40", according to The Weather Network (and my body).  

I am so glad I don't have to walk to work every morning in this frigid hell anymore, at least not for the time being...