If you have limited space, try growing vegetables in containers this spring. Root crops such as carrots will grow long and full in a deep pot if kept watered. Tomatoes also do well in containers. In extremely limited sites such as balcony gardens, grow tomatoes upside down. Poke a hole in the bottom of a clean 5-gallon bucket and put your plant through. Fill the container with soil, and plant some herbs or flowers in the top. Make sure to add calcium in the form of lime to prevent blossom-end rot. Water and fertilize your plant . It should produce plenty for you.
Some annuals need longer than others to get going. Begin sowing them this month. Lobelia, petunias and vinca all fall into this category. Also take cuttings of easy-to-root indoor plants like begonias for use outside this summer.
Trim branches of early-flowering trees and shrubs for forcing indoors. Forsythia, witch hazel, quince and pussy willow work especially well. Make sure you get them in water immediately after cutting.
Despite having the fewest days of the year, February can seem like the longest month to a gardener. Take some time to warm your gardening spirit by looking through catalogs and ordering seeds and plants for the spring. Be bold this year and try some varieties that you haven't before. Also look up some new recipes so you can use your garden produce. Having a few new squash recipes on hand will make sure you are ready for the summer's bumper crop.
A warm, satisfying healthy winter treat is poached fruit. Take about 2 pounds of dried fruit (I like figs, dates, apples and golden raisins), and add 2
1/2 cups of apple cider and 3/4 cup of spiced rum. Throw in a cinnamon stick and some orange zest, then let soak overnight or for 24 hours. Bake in a shallow dish at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Serve on its own or with vanilla ice cream.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Going to pot
Use a fresh soil-less potting medium, ideally one designed for starting seeds. Fill the containers, then water the mix before planting one seed in each cell. Check the seed packet for planting depth.
Check to see if the seeds require light to germinate. Most don't, so they should be kept out of bright locations until they begin to germinate. (An electrified mat or cable that provides bottom heat will result in faster, more uniform seed germination.)
If your seeds need light, don't plant them too deeply. Place them on top of the potting mix and barely cover them with a little fine vermiculite.
Mist the soil, then cover the entire container with clear plastic. Keep the plastic in place until the seeds sprout. Keep the potting soil evenly moist, but be sure to drain off excess water that collects beneath the containers. Soggy soil can lead to rotting and damping-off disease; it also encourages the presence of fungus gnats.
After seedlings develop several sets of leaves, fertilize them very lightly once a week. Use an all-purpose liquid fertilizer mixed to one-fourth of the strength recommended on the label.
Good timing
Seed packets list the average number of weeks it takes to grow seeds to transplant size. Some seeds (including geraniums and begonias) need more than two months' head start. Others (tomatoes and marigolds) need only four to six weeks.
Don't start your seeds too early. It's best to transplant sturdy, compact plants into the garden rather than larger, more mature ones.
For a good seed-starting primer and a chart on when to start specific seeds, go to www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1245.html.
Deb Brown is a garden writer and former extension horticulturist with the University of Minnesota. To ask her a gardening question, call 612-673-7793 and leave a message. She will answer questions in this column only.
Check to see if the seeds require light to germinate. Most don't, so they should be kept out of bright locations until they begin to germinate. (An electrified mat or cable that provides bottom heat will result in faster, more uniform seed germination.)
If your seeds need light, don't plant them too deeply. Place them on top of the potting mix and barely cover them with a little fine vermiculite.
Mist the soil, then cover the entire container with clear plastic. Keep the plastic in place until the seeds sprout. Keep the potting soil evenly moist, but be sure to drain off excess water that collects beneath the containers. Soggy soil can lead to rotting and damping-off disease; it also encourages the presence of fungus gnats.
After seedlings develop several sets of leaves, fertilize them very lightly once a week. Use an all-purpose liquid fertilizer mixed to one-fourth of the strength recommended on the label.
Good timing
Seed packets list the average number of weeks it takes to grow seeds to transplant size. Some seeds (including geraniums and begonias) need more than two months' head start. Others (tomatoes and marigolds) need only four to six weeks.
Don't start your seeds too early. It's best to transplant sturdy, compact plants into the garden rather than larger, more mature ones.
For a good seed-starting primer and a chart on when to start specific seeds, go to www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1245.html.
Deb Brown is a garden writer and former extension horticulturist with the University of Minnesota. To ask her a gardening question, call 612-673-7793 and leave a message. She will answer questions in this column only.
GARDENING
Starting seeds indoors isn't terribly difficult, but is there any reason to do it? Yes. In fact, there are several:
- You can choose from a wider variety of flowers and vegetables than you'll find at even the best garden centers.
- Seeds are much cheaper than plants, so you can save money, especially if you have a big garden.
- Starting from seed allows you to get a jump on the season. In spring, you'll be able to put out seedlings rather than just sowing seeds.
- You'll experience the sense of accomplishment that comes from nurturing tiny seeds into healthy, productive plants.
- And starting seeds indoors can help banish the winter blues.
You can pick up seeds in plenty of places: catalogs, online and in garden centers. As spring approaches, you'll be able to find seeds at grocery, hardware and building supply stores. Even though seeds will be plentiful, don't buy more than you can use in two or three years. The longer you save them, the less likely they are to germinate.
The right light
Don't be tempted to start seeds using natural light, unless you're home during the day and have the time and patience to move your seedlings from window to window to keep them in bright sunlight. In Minnesota, our days are short and the angle of the sun means that the light coming through most windows is rather weak. Most seedlings that rely on sunlight will grow tall and spindly rather than developing the more compact form they need to thrive when transplanted outdoors.
For good growth, use fluorescent lights to provide the intensity and light spectrum seedlings need. You don't need special plant lights; most standard fluorescent lights will be fine. Position the tubes just 4 to 6 inches above the plants. As the plants grow, you'll need to raise the lights, but keep them 4 to 6 inches above your seedlings. If the lights are too high, the plants will get spindly.
Keep the lights on 12 to 16 hours a day. Putting your lights on an automatic timer will ensure that the seedlings get the light they need every day.
Contain yourself
Garden centers offer a wide variety of containers, some complete with trays meant specifically for seed starting. Containers that are divided into cubicles or cells make for easier transplanting because roots from one seedling won't become entangled with those of its neighbors. Compressed peat containers may be planted directly in the garden, though it's best to score the sides at transplanting, so roots can grow out freely. You can re-use containers from previous years as long as they're clean and free of debris. (Soak them in a 10 percent chlorine bleach solution for 30 minutes, then rinse them well.)
- You can choose from a wider variety of flowers and vegetables than you'll find at even the best garden centers.
- Seeds are much cheaper than plants, so you can save money, especially if you have a big garden.
- Starting from seed allows you to get a jump on the season. In spring, you'll be able to put out seedlings rather than just sowing seeds.
- You'll experience the sense of accomplishment that comes from nurturing tiny seeds into healthy, productive plants.
- And starting seeds indoors can help banish the winter blues.
You can pick up seeds in plenty of places: catalogs, online and in garden centers. As spring approaches, you'll be able to find seeds at grocery, hardware and building supply stores. Even though seeds will be plentiful, don't buy more than you can use in two or three years. The longer you save them, the less likely they are to germinate.
The right light
Don't be tempted to start seeds using natural light, unless you're home during the day and have the time and patience to move your seedlings from window to window to keep them in bright sunlight. In Minnesota, our days are short and the angle of the sun means that the light coming through most windows is rather weak. Most seedlings that rely on sunlight will grow tall and spindly rather than developing the more compact form they need to thrive when transplanted outdoors.
For good growth, use fluorescent lights to provide the intensity and light spectrum seedlings need. You don't need special plant lights; most standard fluorescent lights will be fine. Position the tubes just 4 to 6 inches above the plants. As the plants grow, you'll need to raise the lights, but keep them 4 to 6 inches above your seedlings. If the lights are too high, the plants will get spindly.
Keep the lights on 12 to 16 hours a day. Putting your lights on an automatic timer will ensure that the seedlings get the light they need every day.
Contain yourself
Garden centers offer a wide variety of containers, some complete with trays meant specifically for seed starting. Containers that are divided into cubicles or cells make for easier transplanting because roots from one seedling won't become entangled with those of its neighbors. Compressed peat containers may be planted directly in the garden, though it's best to score the sides at transplanting, so roots can grow out freely. You can re-use containers from previous years as long as they're clean and free of debris. (Soak them in a 10 percent chlorine bleach solution for 30 minutes, then rinse them well.)
Moss or Compost,
If you are just starting out, Maple says to wait until the soil is "friable" or it will fall apart after you clench a handful in your palm. If it sticks together in a ball, the soil is too wet. The next step is to get all of winter's leaves and debris out of the vegetable garden. He adds them to the compost pile.
After tilling the soil down to about six to eight inches, Joe will rake the soil and pile it up into mounds two to three inches high. He will stand up in the bed and rake the soil back to the center to get a good hill because this will provide better drainage. Then he is ready to plant.
In the beginning, Maple says there were no earthworms anywhere on the property, but now you cannot dig without unearthing worms. He spent every year tilling two inches of soil conditioner. Soil conditioner is finely milled pine bark, with a small bit of gypsum in it for drainage. Gypsum has the ability to break up hard clay and is also reasonable in cost. One of this area's biggest problems is early blight (brown spots on tomato plant leaves that wind up turning yellow and falling off). Maple says putting mulch down stops this disease from spreading by preventing it from splashing back up onto the plant from the ground.
Maple's prize tomato plants are planted in holes filled with compost from his own pile.
"My compost is the very best 'brown gold' I can give to my tomatoes. All of these good habits I have developed over the years has paid off because at 83, I can still turn over the soil with just a shovel."
If you think you are finished after turning up that soil and adding amendments, then think again. The final touch to the perfect garden soil is mulch.
"Having the right soil is the key to growing anything," said Lee Bristol with Southern Mulch in Boiling Springs. "Our red clay soil won't let any of the water in. It rolls right off."
He agrees that mulch keeps the moisture in, the weeds out and the roots of our plants cool.
Bristol is a fan of organic topsoil that is 75 percent top soil and 25 percent Gardener's Choice. Gardener's Choice starts out as recycled leaves and goes through a decomposition process that ends up as 100 percent organic material.
When it comes to mulch, Bristol favors the triple- ground hardwood mulch because it is smaller pieces that will disintegrate into your soil and improve it every year. In addition to mulch, Bristol says having your bed mounded up or raised up is another key to success. Like Maple, Bristol believes raking the soil into the center of the bed will prevent the roots of the plants from being buried too deep in the clay.
Bristol says adding mulch and soil to your property is a priceless value because of curb appeal. It always takes care of the plants, and it looks good too. With the current housing market like it is, mulch matters.
Bob Powell will teach a twig identification class at Hatcher Garden from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 19. The cost is $20 and is limited to 20 participants. Call 574-7724 to sign up.
There will be a shiitake mushroom class at the Clemson Extension Office from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Call 596-2993 to sign up. The fee is $30 per person.
There will be a Bee Keeping Class lasting five weeks from Feb. 19 through March 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Class will be at the Clemson Extension Office. You can call 596-2993 to sign up. The fee is $50.
After tilling the soil down to about six to eight inches, Joe will rake the soil and pile it up into mounds two to three inches high. He will stand up in the bed and rake the soil back to the center to get a good hill because this will provide better drainage. Then he is ready to plant.
In the beginning, Maple says there were no earthworms anywhere on the property, but now you cannot dig without unearthing worms. He spent every year tilling two inches of soil conditioner. Soil conditioner is finely milled pine bark, with a small bit of gypsum in it for drainage. Gypsum has the ability to break up hard clay and is also reasonable in cost. One of this area's biggest problems is early blight (brown spots on tomato plant leaves that wind up turning yellow and falling off). Maple says putting mulch down stops this disease from spreading by preventing it from splashing back up onto the plant from the ground.
Maple's prize tomato plants are planted in holes filled with compost from his own pile.
"My compost is the very best 'brown gold' I can give to my tomatoes. All of these good habits I have developed over the years has paid off because at 83, I can still turn over the soil with just a shovel."
If you think you are finished after turning up that soil and adding amendments, then think again. The final touch to the perfect garden soil is mulch.
"Having the right soil is the key to growing anything," said Lee Bristol with Southern Mulch in Boiling Springs. "Our red clay soil won't let any of the water in. It rolls right off."
He agrees that mulch keeps the moisture in, the weeds out and the roots of our plants cool.
Bristol is a fan of organic topsoil that is 75 percent top soil and 25 percent Gardener's Choice. Gardener's Choice starts out as recycled leaves and goes through a decomposition process that ends up as 100 percent organic material.
When it comes to mulch, Bristol favors the triple- ground hardwood mulch because it is smaller pieces that will disintegrate into your soil and improve it every year. In addition to mulch, Bristol says having your bed mounded up or raised up is another key to success. Like Maple, Bristol believes raking the soil into the center of the bed will prevent the roots of the plants from being buried too deep in the clay.
Bristol says adding mulch and soil to your property is a priceless value because of curb appeal. It always takes care of the plants, and it looks good too. With the current housing market like it is, mulch matters.
Bob Powell will teach a twig identification class at Hatcher Garden from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 19. The cost is $20 and is limited to 20 participants. Call 574-7724 to sign up.
There will be a shiitake mushroom class at the Clemson Extension Office from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Call 596-2993 to sign up. The fee is $30 per person.
There will be a Bee Keeping Class lasting five weeks from Feb. 19 through March 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Class will be at the Clemson Extension Office. You can call 596-2993 to sign up. The fee is $50.
Gardening? Start with a good soil as foundation
There are many things that go into making your garden a success. One of the most important is your soil, which is the foundation of any garden. Just as no building can stand without a good, solid foundation, the soil in your garden is sometimes more important than any plants you add to the
garden.
If you are scratching your head and asking why, then you need to remember that all those plants get nutrients from your ground as well as ventilation, protection and moisture.
The South is home these days to many transplanted families from across the country. When they step outside to garden, be it flowers, shrubs or vegetables, they are in for a rude awakening.
Try stepping into the yard to plant something. You might be stunned when the shovel won't even break the dirt. Southern soil is like cement.
"Soils in the Piedmont of South Carolina typically contain very small particles, otherwise known as clay," said George Dickert, Spartanburg County horticultural extension agent. "It is recommended to add organic matter to the soil to improve the physical properties as well as increase drainage."
Typical Southern soil is hard red clay. The extreme summer heat bakes the ground into cement. The red clay soil base tends to clump together without retaining water, so it needs some soil amendments.
When it comes to gardening, there are about as many opinions as there are plants available. One of the most standard soil amending techniques is common knowledge among gardeners. Upon examining the area needed to amend, add one-third peat moss or compost, one-third sand (any kind, builder or play) and then one-third existing soil or red clay that is already on the ground. Then till up the ground about 8 to 10 inches deep. Consider this a very simple formula that will produce soil that can grow flowers, shrubs, plants, and vegetables.
When it comes to vegetable gardening, master gardener Joe Maple is an expert.
At 83, Maple is going strong each and every year. He has taught more than 1,000 master gardeners the right way to grow plants. He has been tending his vegetable garden in the same spot for 22 years.
"Soil is the life of the garden," he said.
And he thinks anyone starting out should always have their soil tested by the Clemson Extension Service, at 142 S. Dean St., Suite 216 in Spartanburg. The cost is $6, and you can take a pint of soil down to the office. If you do it now, it will take two to three weeks to get the results. Clemson will tell you what to add to the soil and will give you the PH of the soil.
garden.
If you are scratching your head and asking why, then you need to remember that all those plants get nutrients from your ground as well as ventilation, protection and moisture.
The South is home these days to many transplanted families from across the country. When they step outside to garden, be it flowers, shrubs or vegetables, they are in for a rude awakening.
Try stepping into the yard to plant something. You might be stunned when the shovel won't even break the dirt. Southern soil is like cement.
"Soils in the Piedmont of South Carolina typically contain very small particles, otherwise known as clay," said George Dickert, Spartanburg County horticultural extension agent. "It is recommended to add organic matter to the soil to improve the physical properties as well as increase drainage."
Typical Southern soil is hard red clay. The extreme summer heat bakes the ground into cement. The red clay soil base tends to clump together without retaining water, so it needs some soil amendments.
When it comes to gardening, there are about as many opinions as there are plants available. One of the most standard soil amending techniques is common knowledge among gardeners. Upon examining the area needed to amend, add one-third peat moss or compost, one-third sand (any kind, builder or play) and then one-third existing soil or red clay that is already on the ground. Then till up the ground about 8 to 10 inches deep. Consider this a very simple formula that will produce soil that can grow flowers, shrubs, plants, and vegetables.
When it comes to vegetable gardening, master gardener Joe Maple is an expert.
At 83, Maple is going strong each and every year. He has taught more than 1,000 master gardeners the right way to grow plants. He has been tending his vegetable garden in the same spot for 22 years.
"Soil is the life of the garden," he said.
And he thinks anyone starting out should always have their soil tested by the Clemson Extension Service, at 142 S. Dean St., Suite 216 in Spartanburg. The cost is $6, and you can take a pint of soil down to the office. If you do it now, it will take two to three weeks to get the results. Clemson will tell you what to add to the soil and will give you the PH of the soil.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A look at the movements gaining ground in 2011
You say trends. I say top 11 gardening movements for 2011.
In my view, gardening trends are often seen as short-lived, much like the roll out seed carpet, upside-down tomatoes or the Fruit Cocktail tree.
Fads and gadgets come and go in the gardening world, but I would suggest worthwhile changes usually take place over time and are better characterized as movements rather than trends.
Here are my 11 picks for the coming year that will continue to gain momentum.
New plant introductions
Black petunias, early blooming day lilies and a march of shrubs sporting new colours and more compact dimensions are all coming to the marketplace. Some will prove themselves over time and others will fall by the wayside. But whatever their ultimate benefit, yearly introductions are here to stay.
Hassle-free planters
Plants like ornamental grasses, succulents and other coddle-free offerings (think no dead-heading, cutting back, heavy fertilizing or replacing) are now becoming the first choice for planters.
Urban farming
Visiting farmers' markets in town gives a glimpse of what's being grown on the fringes of the city. However, many resourceful individuals are turning vegetable growing into an urban business. Consider Jesse Payne's brainchild, Vegetable Patch, where he encourages homeowners to donate a portion of their garden so he and his team of volunteers can grow organic and seasonal produce that is then sold (and donated) to customers throughout Ottawa's core. Visit them at vegetable-patch.ca
to be inspired.
No lawn-front gardens
Not the high maintenance cottagey gardens of the past, but nevertheless, homeowners continue to look for alternative ways to cover the ground in their front gardens. The lawn continues to shrink.
Aging gardener-friendly gardens
As we get older, the dream of spending our retirement lavishing attention on our gardens has been replaced with creaky knees and lazy afternoon naps. The search for easy-care perennials, polite shrubs and trouble-free container plantings has begun in earnest.
For tips, take a look at longtime gardener and writer Sydney Eddison's newest book entitled, Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older, available in paperback this spring.
In my view, gardening trends are often seen as short-lived, much like the roll out seed carpet, upside-down tomatoes or the Fruit Cocktail tree.
Fads and gadgets come and go in the gardening world, but I would suggest worthwhile changes usually take place over time and are better characterized as movements rather than trends.
Here are my 11 picks for the coming year that will continue to gain momentum.
New plant introductions
Black petunias, early blooming day lilies and a march of shrubs sporting new colours and more compact dimensions are all coming to the marketplace. Some will prove themselves over time and others will fall by the wayside. But whatever their ultimate benefit, yearly introductions are here to stay.
Hassle-free planters
Plants like ornamental grasses, succulents and other coddle-free offerings (think no dead-heading, cutting back, heavy fertilizing or replacing) are now becoming the first choice for planters.
Urban farming
Visiting farmers' markets in town gives a glimpse of what's being grown on the fringes of the city. However, many resourceful individuals are turning vegetable growing into an urban business. Consider Jesse Payne's brainchild, Vegetable Patch, where he encourages homeowners to donate a portion of their garden so he and his team of volunteers can grow organic and seasonal produce that is then sold (and donated) to customers throughout Ottawa's core. Visit them at vegetable-patch.ca
to be inspired.
No lawn-front gardens
Not the high maintenance cottagey gardens of the past, but nevertheless, homeowners continue to look for alternative ways to cover the ground in their front gardens. The lawn continues to shrink.
Aging gardener-friendly gardens
As we get older, the dream of spending our retirement lavishing attention on our gardens has been replaced with creaky knees and lazy afternoon naps. The search for easy-care perennials, polite shrubs and trouble-free container plantings has begun in earnest.
For tips, take a look at longtime gardener and writer Sydney Eddison's newest book entitled, Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older, available in paperback this spring.
COMMUNITY GARDENS
Did you know that there are 25 community gardens in Ottawa, with the largest of these boasting 355 plots? On top of this, the Ottawa chapter of Canadian Organic Growers operates a number of school teaching gardens throughout the city. Go to www.justfood.ca/community-gardening-network/gardensto find one in your neighbourhood.
8 URBAN FARMING
Visiting farmers' markets in town gives a glimpse of what's being grown on the fringes of the city. However, many resourceful individuals are turning vegetable growing into an urban business. Consider Jesse Payne's brainchild, Vegetable Patch, where he encourages homeowners to donate a portion of their garden so he and his team of volunteers can grow organic and seasonal produce which is then sold (and donated) to customers throughout the city core. Visit them at www.vegetablepatch.cato sign up.
9 RECLAIMING UNWANTED LAND FOR ORNAMENTAL GARDENS
Amid shrinking government coffers and few willing to take up their cause, gardens in public spaces are often left to languish. But there are signs that this is shifting. With the help of passionate advocates and funded with the help of a business plan that promised profitability, New York's impressive new promenade, called the High Line, opened in 2009 (and is being extended in 2011) on an abandoned railroad platform 30 feet above the streets in west Manhattan. Read about its history and be inspired at www.thehighline.org.
10 GREEN/LIVING ROOFS AND WALLS
Green roof technology has actually been around in Canada for many years, but it has only recently been catching on for residential applications. There are certain important considerations (i. e. roof pitch, load-bearing capacity, and maintenance provisions) but there are many energy, ecological and beautifying benefits. An indoor green wall was recently unveiled at Minto Place in downtown Ottawa and there is an outdoor living wall at the Vancouver airport.
11 CREATING AND MANAGING BACKYARD ECOSYSTEMS
We are increasingly resisting sanitizing our gardens. The result is that the vibrant cycle of life encompassing good and bad bugs, disease, visiting creatures and unpredictable weather is teaching us valuable lessons about backyard ecology and life.
8 URBAN FARMING
Visiting farmers' markets in town gives a glimpse of what's being grown on the fringes of the city. However, many resourceful individuals are turning vegetable growing into an urban business. Consider Jesse Payne's brainchild, Vegetable Patch, where he encourages homeowners to donate a portion of their garden so he and his team of volunteers can grow organic and seasonal produce which is then sold (and donated) to customers throughout the city core. Visit them at www.vegetablepatch.cato sign up.
9 RECLAIMING UNWANTED LAND FOR ORNAMENTAL GARDENS
Amid shrinking government coffers and few willing to take up their cause, gardens in public spaces are often left to languish. But there are signs that this is shifting. With the help of passionate advocates and funded with the help of a business plan that promised profitability, New York's impressive new promenade, called the High Line, opened in 2009 (and is being extended in 2011) on an abandoned railroad platform 30 feet above the streets in west Manhattan. Read about its history and be inspired at www.thehighline.org.
10 GREEN/LIVING ROOFS AND WALLS
Green roof technology has actually been around in Canada for many years, but it has only recently been catching on for residential applications. There are certain important considerations (i. e. roof pitch, load-bearing capacity, and maintenance provisions) but there are many energy, ecological and beautifying benefits. An indoor green wall was recently unveiled at Minto Place in downtown Ottawa and there is an outdoor living wall at the Vancouver airport.
11 CREATING AND MANAGING BACKYARD ECOSYSTEMS
We are increasingly resisting sanitizing our gardens. The result is that the vibrant cycle of life encompassing good and bad bugs, disease, visiting creatures and unpredictable weather is teaching us valuable lessons about backyard ecology and life.
Pot-luck gardening will help beat those escalating food prices
We have been warned.
Floods, famine, heatwaves and an ice-age type winter in the Northern Hemisphere are likely to have a big impact on the price of food in our supermarkets.
Add to that apocalyptic visions of birds falling from the skies and fish floating belly-up on to our beaches, and the year is off to a disturbing start.
Never fear, there is one thing we can rely on to combat the perils before us, and that's to indulge in a little bit of the good life in our own quarter-acre plot.
Before you venture into chooks, beehives and a humble house cow, it may be best to start with a kitchen garden.
Some people will get excited, start up the rotary hoe and turn the kids' cricket pitch into a corn patch.
Others will adopt the precautionary principle and start more modestly - perhaps with a patio garden. And that's a lot simpler than you may think - all you need is a container, growing mix and plants.
In fact, you could be into backyard gardening within a matter of hours and be dining on delicious and free home-grown produce within weeks.
Here are some simple tips for a patio garden:
Almost any vegetable that will grow in a typical backyard garden will also do well in a container - and almost any container with drainage holes will do.
One reader says they use 10-litre paint pails (which they have collected free, of course) as planters. They drill drainage holes in the bottom, place about 25mm of coarse gravel in the bottom to prevent the holes from blocking, then fill with nutrient-rich soil. Others use flowerpots, wire baskets, wooden boxes, bathtubs, plastic bags and sacks.
One oily-ragger from Whangarei uses fish trays. He says they already have drainage holes and cost only a few dollars at variety stores.
The downside to growing vegetables in pots is the same as with any potted plant. They need a bit more care and attention because they have limited soil from which to draw their nutrients, and the soil dries out faster.
It is therefore necessary to fertilise and water the plants regularly.
Here are some more tips for space-challenged oily-rag gardeners:
Don't grow plants that take up lots of space - like Jack and the Beanstalk runner beans - or ones that have a long growing season.
Small is definitely beautiful, so go for compact veges like finger lettuce, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, spinach and silverbeet.
Avoid using dark-coloured containers - they absorb heat, which may dry out the soil.
The easiest way to add fertiliser to plants growing in containers is to prepare a nutrient solution and pour it over the soil.
There are many good commercial liquid fertilisers available, but a reader has this tip: "Don't throw away your plastic milk bottles. When they are empty, fill with cold water. Place lid on and shake. There is a good milky residue. Use the contents to water your pot plants. It acts like a pick-me-up. My indoor plants thrive and it saves you from having to buy costly fertilisers."
Use a potting mix, not regular garden soil, as some types of soil don't drain well and can become heavy and set like concrete in warm weather.
Floods, famine, heatwaves and an ice-age type winter in the Northern Hemisphere are likely to have a big impact on the price of food in our supermarkets.
Add to that apocalyptic visions of birds falling from the skies and fish floating belly-up on to our beaches, and the year is off to a disturbing start.
Never fear, there is one thing we can rely on to combat the perils before us, and that's to indulge in a little bit of the good life in our own quarter-acre plot.
Before you venture into chooks, beehives and a humble house cow, it may be best to start with a kitchen garden.
Some people will get excited, start up the rotary hoe and turn the kids' cricket pitch into a corn patch.
Others will adopt the precautionary principle and start more modestly - perhaps with a patio garden. And that's a lot simpler than you may think - all you need is a container, growing mix and plants.
In fact, you could be into backyard gardening within a matter of hours and be dining on delicious and free home-grown produce within weeks.
Here are some simple tips for a patio garden:
Almost any vegetable that will grow in a typical backyard garden will also do well in a container - and almost any container with drainage holes will do.
One reader says they use 10-litre paint pails (which they have collected free, of course) as planters. They drill drainage holes in the bottom, place about 25mm of coarse gravel in the bottom to prevent the holes from blocking, then fill with nutrient-rich soil. Others use flowerpots, wire baskets, wooden boxes, bathtubs, plastic bags and sacks.
One oily-ragger from Whangarei uses fish trays. He says they already have drainage holes and cost only a few dollars at variety stores.
The downside to growing vegetables in pots is the same as with any potted plant. They need a bit more care and attention because they have limited soil from which to draw their nutrients, and the soil dries out faster.
It is therefore necessary to fertilise and water the plants regularly.
Here are some more tips for space-challenged oily-rag gardeners:
Don't grow plants that take up lots of space - like Jack and the Beanstalk runner beans - or ones that have a long growing season.
Small is definitely beautiful, so go for compact veges like finger lettuce, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, spinach and silverbeet.
Avoid using dark-coloured containers - they absorb heat, which may dry out the soil.
The easiest way to add fertiliser to plants growing in containers is to prepare a nutrient solution and pour it over the soil.
There are many good commercial liquid fertilisers available, but a reader has this tip: "Don't throw away your plastic milk bottles. When they are empty, fill with cold water. Place lid on and shake. There is a good milky residue. Use the contents to water your pot plants. It acts like a pick-me-up. My indoor plants thrive and it saves you from having to buy costly fertilisers."
Use a potting mix, not regular garden soil, as some types of soil don't drain well and can become heavy and set like concrete in warm weather.
Gardening guerillas target barren land with seeds of love
AN undercover gardening movement has arrived in Nottingham.
Armed with "ammunition" of seeds, the group Guerillas of Love aims to transform derelict public spaces into beautiful and productive gardens.
Known as guerilla gardening, the national movement started in New York in 1973 and has spread across the world, with the practice of secret cultivation first being recognised in the UK in London in 2004.
It has now appeared in Nottingham for the first time and the Guerillas of Love group is planning to turn rundown spaces in the city into fruit and vegetable gardens.
The group's actions are technically illegal because it is transforming land it does not own. But Guerillas of Love founder Chris Tomlinson, 40, of Forest Fields, said he would challenge anyone who tried to arrest him.
"I have been stopped by police two or three times before because they said that I was trespassing," said Mr Tomlinson, who, before moving to Nottingham, concentrated on creating gardens in Hastings. "It is trespassing but I'll challenge anyone who says they are going to arrest me because how do you make it stand up? "What I'm doing is in my heart and that is creating a really nice area to live in."
He has already planted seeds in some of the barren areas of Forest Fields but said the results would probably not be seen until spring.
His first big plant will take place within the next few weeks, with the arrival of fruit trees bought with donations of Pounds 300 from cosmetics firm Lush and Pounds 200 from green electricity company Ecotricity.
"We can live on a planet of colour and life if we choose and it only takes a pocket of seeds to do it," said Mr Tomlinson, who has been gardening since the age of 12, when his grandfather taught him.
"I'm not on a political movement or anything. People do see it as that but I try to live my life through following my heart and I do it because I love doing it. It's as simple and mundane as that.
"There are also a lot of other benefits.
"A lot of areas which I choose to plant are deprived, so I'm enhancing the wildlife, feeding the community and, while I'm doing it, I've got people coming up to me and asking what I'm doing, so through it I'm also building communities."
Anyone interested in becoming involved in Guerillas Of Love should contact Chris Tomlinson on 0845 458 95 95.
We can live on a planet of colour and life if we choose and it only takes a pocket of seeds to do it Chris Tomlinson
Armed with "ammunition" of seeds, the group Guerillas of Love aims to transform derelict public spaces into beautiful and productive gardens.
Known as guerilla gardening, the national movement started in New York in 1973 and has spread across the world, with the practice of secret cultivation first being recognised in the UK in London in 2004.
It has now appeared in Nottingham for the first time and the Guerillas of Love group is planning to turn rundown spaces in the city into fruit and vegetable gardens.
The group's actions are technically illegal because it is transforming land it does not own. But Guerillas of Love founder Chris Tomlinson, 40, of Forest Fields, said he would challenge anyone who tried to arrest him.
"I have been stopped by police two or three times before because they said that I was trespassing," said Mr Tomlinson, who, before moving to Nottingham, concentrated on creating gardens in Hastings. "It is trespassing but I'll challenge anyone who says they are going to arrest me because how do you make it stand up? "What I'm doing is in my heart and that is creating a really nice area to live in."
He has already planted seeds in some of the barren areas of Forest Fields but said the results would probably not be seen until spring.
His first big plant will take place within the next few weeks, with the arrival of fruit trees bought with donations of Pounds 300 from cosmetics firm Lush and Pounds 200 from green electricity company Ecotricity.
"We can live on a planet of colour and life if we choose and it only takes a pocket of seeds to do it," said Mr Tomlinson, who has been gardening since the age of 12, when his grandfather taught him.
"I'm not on a political movement or anything. People do see it as that but I try to live my life through following my heart and I do it because I love doing it. It's as simple and mundane as that.
"There are also a lot of other benefits.
"A lot of areas which I choose to plant are deprived, so I'm enhancing the wildlife, feeding the community and, while I'm doing it, I've got people coming up to me and asking what I'm doing, so through it I'm also building communities."
Anyone interested in becoming involved in Guerillas Of Love should contact Chris Tomlinson on 0845 458 95 95.
We can live on a planet of colour and life if we choose and it only takes a pocket of seeds to do it Chris Tomlinson
'365-DAY GARDEN'
Garden author and blogger Margaret Roach (awaytogarden.com) will give the Berkshire Botanical Garden's winter lecture Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. at Monument Mountain Regional High School, Great Barrington, Mass.
In her slide-illustrated talk titled "At Home in the 365-Day Garden," Roach will discuss her experiences creating a beautiful year-round landscape at her home in the Hudson Valley. She also will talk about her new book, "And I Shall Have Some Peace There."
Tickets are $42, $35 for members. Call 413-298-3926, or go to www.berkshire botanical.org.
FLOWER AND GARDEN SHOW
The theme is "Capture the Magic," and advance tickets are already available for the 30th annual Connecticut Flower and Garden Show Feb. 24 to 27 at the Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford.
The show features 25 gardens and more than 250 booths in nearly 3 acres of space, 80 hours of free seminars, free soil testing, and the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut's Advanced Standard Flower Show. Go to www.ctflowershow.com, or call 860-844-8461.
GARDENING SYMPOSIUM
The Connecticut Master Gardener Association will hold a daylong garden symposium March 26 at Manchester Community College.
Speakers include Janet Marinelli, former director at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and William Cullina, director of horticulture at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
In her slide-illustrated talk titled "At Home in the 365-Day Garden," Roach will discuss her experiences creating a beautiful year-round landscape at her home in the Hudson Valley. She also will talk about her new book, "And I Shall Have Some Peace There."
Tickets are $42, $35 for members. Call 413-298-3926, or go to www.berkshire botanical.org.
FLOWER AND GARDEN SHOW
The theme is "Capture the Magic," and advance tickets are already available for the 30th annual Connecticut Flower and Garden Show Feb. 24 to 27 at the Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford.
The show features 25 gardens and more than 250 booths in nearly 3 acres of space, 80 hours of free seminars, free soil testing, and the Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut's Advanced Standard Flower Show. Go to www.ctflowershow.com, or call 860-844-8461.
GARDENING SYMPOSIUM
The Connecticut Master Gardener Association will hold a daylong garden symposium March 26 at Manchester Community College.
Speakers include Janet Marinelli, former director at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and William Cullina, director of horticulture at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.
ANTIQUE SHOW
The Glastonbury Exchange Club will hold its 31st annual Gala New Year's Antique & Collectible Show Jan. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Glastonbury High School on Hubbard Street. The show features 138 dealers from New England and New York, with booth chats on restoring antique lighting and on Oriental rugs.
Admission is $7. Call 860-342-2540.
ANTIQUE NEEDLEWORK
Carol and Steve Huber, guest curators of an exhibition on schoolgirl embroidery from the Connecticut River Valley, now at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, will give an illustrated lecture Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. The fee is $7. Attendees are invited to bring a work of needlework for identification and discussion. For reservations, go to FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org, or call 860-434-5542, Ext. 111.
Before the lecture, from 10 a.m. to noon, the Hubers will hold an open house at their gallery at 40 Ferry Road in Old Saybrook.
LOOKING AHEAD
Spring and a new gardening season will be here before you know it. Some events to mark in your new 2011 calendar:
GARDEN LECTURE SERIES
The Friends of Elizabeth Park will hold their winter garden lecture series, with eight lectures, beginning Jan. 19 at 7 p.m., when Ron Aakjar, horticulturist with the Sharon Audubon Center, discusses pruning techniques.
Future speakers and topics are: garden writer and photographer Steve Silk, on crazy mixed-up borders (Jan. 26); garden designer and coach Deborah Kent, on "What the nurseries don't tell you" (Feb. 9); legendary Avon gardener Chrissie D'Esopo, on her own four-season garden secrets (Feb. 16); Margery Winters, educator at the Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, on "Saving Our Wild Areas, One Yard at a Time" (March 2); rosarians Marci Martin and John Mattia, on the business of roses, including how new roses are created and propagated (March 9); Bill Duesing, executive director of CT NOFA, the Northeast Organic Farming Association in Connecticut, on organic gardening (March 23); and Louis Lista, chef and Pond House owner, on cooking garden bounty (March 30).
All lectures are at 7 p.m. at the Pond House hall at the park.
The full series, including a dinner buffet on March 30, is $85. The fee for individual lectures is $10, $40 for the March 30 dinner lecture. Go to www.elizabethpark.org to purchase tickets (and for snow dates).
RELATING TO SOIL
Michele Owens, a gardening writer from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and co-founder of Garden Rant, a popular gardening blog, will talk about good garden soil - what it is and how to attain it - Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at a meeting of the Connecticut Horticultural Society.
The society's education committee also will hold a swap of horticulture-related books at the meeting, which will be held in Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford.
The fee for nonmembers is $10.
Admission is $7. Call 860-342-2540.
ANTIQUE NEEDLEWORK
Carol and Steve Huber, guest curators of an exhibition on schoolgirl embroidery from the Connecticut River Valley, now at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, will give an illustrated lecture Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. The fee is $7. Attendees are invited to bring a work of needlework for identification and discussion. For reservations, go to FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org, or call 860-434-5542, Ext. 111.
Before the lecture, from 10 a.m. to noon, the Hubers will hold an open house at their gallery at 40 Ferry Road in Old Saybrook.
LOOKING AHEAD
Spring and a new gardening season will be here before you know it. Some events to mark in your new 2011 calendar:
GARDEN LECTURE SERIES
The Friends of Elizabeth Park will hold their winter garden lecture series, with eight lectures, beginning Jan. 19 at 7 p.m., when Ron Aakjar, horticulturist with the Sharon Audubon Center, discusses pruning techniques.
Future speakers and topics are: garden writer and photographer Steve Silk, on crazy mixed-up borders (Jan. 26); garden designer and coach Deborah Kent, on "What the nurseries don't tell you" (Feb. 9); legendary Avon gardener Chrissie D'Esopo, on her own four-season garden secrets (Feb. 16); Margery Winters, educator at the Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, on "Saving Our Wild Areas, One Yard at a Time" (March 2); rosarians Marci Martin and John Mattia, on the business of roses, including how new roses are created and propagated (March 9); Bill Duesing, executive director of CT NOFA, the Northeast Organic Farming Association in Connecticut, on organic gardening (March 23); and Louis Lista, chef and Pond House owner, on cooking garden bounty (March 30).
All lectures are at 7 p.m. at the Pond House hall at the park.
The full series, including a dinner buffet on March 30, is $85. The fee for individual lectures is $10, $40 for the March 30 dinner lecture. Go to www.elizabethpark.org to purchase tickets (and for snow dates).
RELATING TO SOIL
Michele Owens, a gardening writer from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and co-founder of Garden Rant, a popular gardening blog, will talk about good garden soil - what it is and how to attain it - Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at a meeting of the Connecticut Horticultural Society.
The society's education committee also will hold a swap of horticulture-related books at the meeting, which will be held in Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford.
The fee for nonmembers is $10.
Workshop offers tips on gardening during cold weather
From the gardening novice to the natural green thumb, every gardener found a little something at CAC Beardsley Community Farm on Saturday.
The farm along with Knox Heritage held a workshop for gardeners looking for ways to keep their crops growing during the cold seasons.
"We are just trying to teach other gardeners how to extend their season," said Khann Chov, manager of CAC Beardsley Community Farm.
More than 20 gardeners of various skill levels attended the workshop. Liz Moniz, a volunteer at the farm and organizer of the workshop, detailed the methods for cold-weather gardening, ranging from cold frames to high tunnels.
"None of it is an exact science," said Moniz. "The main thing is to try to repurpose as many materials as you can."
Repurposing materials is the foundation of the relationship between the farm and Knox Heritage. Although the main goal of Knox Heritage is to save historic structures, the organization has been getting more involved with restoring natural spaces, said Beth Meadows, head of salvage sales for Knox Heritage.
The Knox Heritage program allows people to donate their unused or salvaged building materials, and then Knox Heritage is able to sell these items to be repurposed. CAC Beardsley Community Farm, located off Western Avenue, was able to find use in some old windows, creating cold frames that helped extend the season for their greens.
Although the event started as a lesson in cold-weather gardening, it turned into a question-and-answer session among the fellow gardeners. The more experienced gardeners were able to give the beginners tips on how to better maintain their gardens, while also exchanging general insight on their gardens.
"Gardening can be tricky," said Chov. "So we're just trying to help make it easier."
The farm along with Knox Heritage held a workshop for gardeners looking for ways to keep their crops growing during the cold seasons.
"We are just trying to teach other gardeners how to extend their season," said Khann Chov, manager of CAC Beardsley Community Farm.
More than 20 gardeners of various skill levels attended the workshop. Liz Moniz, a volunteer at the farm and organizer of the workshop, detailed the methods for cold-weather gardening, ranging from cold frames to high tunnels.
"None of it is an exact science," said Moniz. "The main thing is to try to repurpose as many materials as you can."
Repurposing materials is the foundation of the relationship between the farm and Knox Heritage. Although the main goal of Knox Heritage is to save historic structures, the organization has been getting more involved with restoring natural spaces, said Beth Meadows, head of salvage sales for Knox Heritage.
The Knox Heritage program allows people to donate their unused or salvaged building materials, and then Knox Heritage is able to sell these items to be repurposed. CAC Beardsley Community Farm, located off Western Avenue, was able to find use in some old windows, creating cold frames that helped extend the season for their greens.
Although the event started as a lesson in cold-weather gardening, it turned into a question-and-answer session among the fellow gardeners. The more experienced gardeners were able to give the beginners tips on how to better maintain their gardens, while also exchanging general insight on their gardens.
"Gardening can be tricky," said Chov. "So we're just trying to help make it easier."
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