kalegrower

When the kids were really small, we used to live in a basement suite in Kitsilano, underneath a super-wholesome family of Nature People. They wore only natural fibers, engaged only in wholesome pursuits and ate only natural, organic foods like cane sugar, carob and tofu. Whenever my neighbor would see me without my kids (for example, at naptime or when they were out with their grandparents) she would shake her head and ask  “But, but vhere are your children?“*. If I was a little less sleep deprived I might have come up with a snappy answer like “Sold ’em on Ebay!” or “Left ’em at the mall!” or “Locked ’em in the closet!” but instead I would get defensive because her question always felt like an accusation.

Today I looked at my garden and asked in that same accusing tone of voice:  “but, but vhere are the peas?”   It has now been more than a month and the peas are not yet peaking out. Because of the wire mesh on the beds, they have no excuses like “eaten by moles or squirrels”. The kale that I planted two weeks ago has already started to come up as little blue and green sprouts.  The spinach and radishes are growing enthusiastically, tempting me to plant more in some of the still empty beds, and even the rhubarb is finally growing. But no peas….

Other big news: the stone wall guys started early this morning and in a mere 9 hours managed to: (1) remove all the stones and boulders and some of the steps; (2) dig a huge 5 meter long trench in the wet much and transport the dirt (about a tonne) to the upper yard; (3) create most of the forms for the concrete; (4) have two loads of gravel dropped on the driveway; (5) transport much of the gravel into the trench. On the weekend I dug out most of the plants in the rock garden which are all waiting around in pots to get transplanted again.

Okay, I need a new picture for the blog banner….

( *We actually use this phrase all the time now. After I finished this entry, I was showing the Man a photo of our kids playing in the waves. The Man asked “But, but where are the parents?”  It made me laugh, because when we were on the beach watching our two kids in the waves, I overheard another parent saying “Wow, kid’s shouldn’t be left unsupervised in waves this size!”  As our kids were the only ones playing in the waves, we figured that he was referring to our negligent parenting. “But, but where are the parents?”).

This is a “here is everything I did this week, I deserve a gold star” posts.

Weeding. On Thursday, my brain was full from work, so I spent an hour pulling weeds from the three central beds in the front yard, and lots of crabgrass from the south side of the yard.

Potatoes. Yesterday I planted one pound of sieglinde potatoes in bed B.  I planted them in four rows, about 10 cm keep, but in trenches so that they can be “hilled up” as per instructions. I also mixed in a little bit of bone meal. They may be planted too close together (15 cm apart), rather than the recommended 30 cm apart.  The instructions mentioned that they are companions with parsnips, so they will be planted in April.

Kale! Planted three rows of kale in bed A.  Two rows of curly blue kale with seeds collected in 2009 and purple kale with seeds gathered last year.  These need to be thinned out when they sprout. Last year I left them too close together and they didn’t really thrive.

Snowdrop transplant. The snowdrops from around the base of the maple were transplanted to the blank place on the other side of the walk.

Dead tree removal. Removed the dead maple.

Manure. Spread 250 lbs off manure (7 – 40lb bags).  Two in each of the three central beds and one dug into the future moon garden location.

Mulch. Mulched some of the trees in the front yard to protect them from drought.

Mosiacs. Installed one near the raised beds and the other in front of the hydro meter so that the hydro readers won’t have to step in the dirt.

Many things are up now. Rhubarb, crocus, alliums (my favorite) and the radishes and arugula planted a few weeks ago are all sprouting.  All the bulbs, some of the pink rhodos, the hazelnut and the heliobores – both big green and small red are blooming.

All winter I looked at my raised beds and felt slightly intimidated – it seemed like SO much space. Now that two beds are planted, I am worried that I don’t have enough space for everything that needs to be planted.

Inspiration for the potato dance.

1. Respond to unexpected arrival of Canada Post courier by accepting a mysterious mid-sized brown box.

2. Place box on kitchen counter, and open to find a smaller brown box inside containing the forgotten back-ordered bean and squash seeds along with a free packet of wild flower seeds.

3. Open the medium sized box to find seed potatoes (see photo at right).

4. Feel a sudden overwhelming rush of spring excitement. This, despite the rain, the cold, the earthquakes, incipient nuclear meltdowns, and massive time-change sleep-deprivation.

5. Give in to inspiration: dance around the kitchen to celebrate the arrival of the seed potatoes. Work in a few “stirring the pot of love” moves along with the “I dig you” shuffle. Imagine what it feels like to be a seed potato – full of promise and potential.  A happy spring seed potato.

6. Get back to work. 10 minutes spent, spirits lifted.

Another cold rainy Sunday, the perfect day for a date at Southlands Nursery. I managed to find double tuberose bulbs (sold out last time) and the Man selected more ferns and a funky shrubby evergreen.  We found a replacement for the dead Japanese maple: a red-barked bush that is less of a tree and more of a bush. Not only is it visually appealing, but the label said “hardy” and “easy to care for”.

The instructions for the tuberoses describe how to remove the corms after blooming and how to store them in sawdust until the next spring.  This made me panic and so I checked the fine print instructions on the rest of the moon garden bulbs. Both the freesias and the orchids have special requirements as well – not likely that they will last more than one season in my garden. Luckily, the lily of the valley and the bleeding  hearts are more robust and low maintenance.

Both the Man and myself like anything that can be described as “hardy”, “reliable”, “easy to care for”, “easy to grow”, “comes back year after year!”.  I am so adverse to drama that when I read plants or seed descriptions that say “adds unexpected drama to rock gardens and secluded corners!” I put down the plant/seed packet and walk away. Our affection for hardy, reliable and easy to care for entities extends to people as well as plants; luckily our kids are fairly robust and low maintenance.

Planted all the “cold-weather” veggies today, including Sugar Lace snap peas, spinach (space), arugula, radishes (easter egg blend and french breakfast) and parsley (hardy Italian and curly moss).

Plot C: peas, spinach, arugula, radishes planted on March 6. Garlic planted in late October 2010, has already started to sprout.

I soaked the peas for about an hour in water until they started to swell, then added the package of seed inoculant and let that mix with the peas for about an hour. Planted the entire package of peas (300 seeds) in about six rows down the center of the planter. These are tall plants and will need trellises later.

One one side of the peas I planted half a row of arugula and half a row of spinach, and on the other side I planted a row of radishes (two varieties).

Also planted a row of parsley in the small (flower) bed.

Next week: kale!

Feb 26 purchases from the Winter Farmer Market at Nat Bailey

Yesterday I went to the Winter’s Farmers Market at Nat Bailey. I was really impressed by the number of different vendors and the fabulous selection. Not sure how much of this is organic, but most of it was local – if you count southwestern BC local. Here is what I purchased:

(1) six pounds of organic gala apples ($10)

(2) one spaghetti squash covered with authentic dirt ($3)

(3) two types of mushrooms – oyster and crimini ($8).  These are going to be made into mushroom sauce.

(4) four pounds of yukon gold potatoes ($8)

(5) two dried cobs of corn ($3). I popped one by putting the entire corn cob in a paper bag and then microwaving it for two minutes. Most of the kernals popped, except some at the ends of the cob.  I tried to re-pop the cob by putting it back in the microwave for two more minutes but it started to smoke in a BAD way and had to put it outside so that the fire alarm didn’t go off.

(6) several pounds of baby beets ($5).  These have already been roasted and the skins peeled off, ready to be used in a salad.

(7) one dozen large eggs ($5).

(8) two frozen halibut steaks ($23.96). These were from Prince Rupert.

(9) four and a half pounds of parsnips ($11).

(10) one jar of guacamole mix ($8). This is a jar of spicy tomatoes and onions that  you mix with mushed avocado. Tested that out yesterday too, and it was fabulous.

Total cost: $84.96. I think that this is a pretty good price for the amount and the quality of food purchased. I know that someone is going to read this and think  “WHAT!?!??! A DOZEN EGGS FOR HOW MUCH???!!! YOU CAN BUY ALL THIS STUFF CHEAPER AT COSTCO!!!!” I shop at Costco too, but have much more fun at the farmers market.

By demonstrating what local stuff is available this time of year, the market gives me some idea of what I might be successful at growing next winter. I haven’t had much success so far with winter farming, so I might try parsnips and beets this year.  I was surprised that there was no kale.

On a different front, here is a photo of Gimli covered in a blanket of snow:

Gimli the Garden Gnome covered with snow.

The seed package for my peas says that peas can be planted in February.  Although this seems early, I planted last year’s peas in February and they grew well. This year I am going to try using some inoculant – Rhizobium bacteria –  to increase the yield.  This last week has been bright and freezing, my favorite weather, but the temperature has discouraged me from getting out there and planting anything, because I just don’t want the peas to freeze.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac astrological timetable (http://www.almanac.com/bestdays/timetable) the next best days to plant above ground vegetables are March 13 and 14.  I don’t think I will wait that long.

Although the temperature was close to freezing all weekend – as evidenced by frost on the windshield and ice on the  ground – the sunshine made it feel like spring.

Stopped in to purchase six more bags of bark mulch at Southlands Nursery.  While I was there I chatted with one of the guys who works there about daphne.  He said not to move the plants because once they are established, they won’t resettle well in another location.  GOOD TO KNOW… I was planning to relocate one of them because it is near the centre of the luge run in our back yard.

While I was looking over the bulbs, I remembered an article I read last year about moon gardens, which are areas planted with pale flowers and foliage that can be seen on moon-lit nights.  So, I bought a few packages of lily of the valley, white freshias, bleeding hearts and an orchid that the package described as “robust”.  My garden friend pointed out that even if these plants only grew one year, it would be worth it.  Anyway, I am thinking that I would plant them in the area between the lilacs (white) and the hydrangea (pale pink) and see how that would work. It is a full-sun area, and near the sitting area planned for the back of the garden.

Finally spread the three bins of compost around the base of the raspberries and then covered the compost with the bark mulch.  The rationale for the compost is to provide nutrients, and the mulch to lock in moisture and prevent weeds from growing.  Our raspberries last year were rather sparse and tasteless – I think that they may have dried out too many times. Already, the canes have started sprouting small, pale leaves.

Finally (and I am going on and on and on today), the garlic has started to sprout.  I think I may have planted them too far apart.  I intend to plant the peas later this month in that same bed. I notice that our yard is a little behind the rest of Vancouver – based on when some of our plants bloom compared to the plants in kitsilano, so I might wait a little longer than usual to plant them.

I was emailing with my neighbor today and I told her that there were probably about 2000 snowdrops in the backyard and 2000 kids running around my house.  Okay, I was exaggerating about the kids part – there were only four – but I could have sworn there was a riot happening in the basement.  (Important note to self: make sure to dilute sweet fizzy drinks with vodka before serving, otherwise guests get too hyped up).

Snowdrops? I  wasn’t really exaggerating (much) about their numbers.  There are probably at least 500 of them, or more,  scattered throughout the yard, in big patches and small bunches. I think I photographed every single one of them – most of the pictures didn’t turn out that great, but here is one bunch that is growing against one of the raised beds.

While I was outside I noticed that the daphne was blooming. Easy to miss as they are small, intense flowers blooming against bare sticks.