Tip toe in the garden

The garden is beginning to take shape and almost everything is covered in greenery. We decided to poke around and have a few visitors over to the garden for the first time...

This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing                    
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,                         
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:
Radiating kindness over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

Metta Sutta

 

"Gardening is civil and social,
but it wants the vigor and freedom
of the forest and the outlaw."

-Henry David Thoreau

While we were poking around in the lettuce we found a bright yellow coloured slug (could it be a young banana slug?) and are now debating on whether or not to take some kind of action against the slimy gastropod. So far only one has been spotted but I've read they like to come out at night and they lay eggs in the soil. On a bright side they could attract some good garden predators so maybe it will be worth sacrificing some lettuce leaves. We have used the companion planting method when we could around the garden and we have marigolds planted around the lettuce to help deter pests such as slugs.

I'll take this opportunity to talk about pests. Companion planting is a method we use in our garden to avoid pest problems without using chemicals. It involves mixing gardening fact and folklore of simply growing certain plants together for their mutual benefit. As I've mentioned before we've grown White Clover as a ground cover because if you leave bare soil weeds will grow and clover adds nitrogen to the soil.

I've also mentioned before about beneficial insects in the garden. The Clover also provides refuge for the beneficial insects.

There are insects we want to attract in the garden because they hunt and eat other common garden pests. We've planted herbs and flowers amongst the vegetables in our garden to create biodiversity. It may seem like our garden looks rather "unkempt" but the purpose is to confuse the pests so that they have a harder time finding the plants they like to eat. A farmer once told me to "think of insects as the pulse of your garden" and on a hot summer afternoon you can sit and just be still and listen to the buzzes and hums that come from your garden. It's so peaceful to just observe the insects; they are working so hard along side of you.

The bird bath is for the birds and bugs. Birds are great at pest control and so they are always welcome visitors in our garden. It's great to watch them stop for drink and a quick dip !

We have also planted Dill close to the Cucumbers, Wild Strawberries, and Nasturtiums.

Speaking of companions yesterday we noticed that there is a Robin that has decided to build a nest on top of a light fixture at the edge of the house. And of course Bella who is always excited to work in the garden with us.

The Tomato plants are planted in close proximity to the Queen Anne's Lace that was already established on the outer boundary of the garden.

If you walk through the garden one of the first things you would notice is that we have Marigolds planted all throughout. Marigolds have a strong odor (as do Basil, Chives, Onions, Garlic) and they in turn confuse and repel insects.

garden update & "Permaculture" what do you mean ?

The Cilantro is up and looking healthy

 

The Cucumbers are growing slowly after needing to be re-planted

  

The Dill looks delicious and I'm curious to find out what plants are growing around them is it Stinging Nettles ?

The potatoes are coming up nicely

Kale is growing bigger can't wait to try some delicious toasted Kale

Our Lettuce heads are much bigger

"Permaculture" what do you mean ? 
 
“Permaculture is an integrated, evolving system of perennial and self-perpetuating plants and animal species useful to man.”
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren – 1st definition of Permaculture

I found an interview with one of the co-originators of the permaculture concept online with David Holmgren for anyone who is interested in reading more about it. 

And another interview with the other co-originators Bill Mollison.

Permaculture is a system of design principles that include,
zones- This involves the division of areas on a farm based on movement and the amount of human attention required for different areas.
sectors- This is another method of arranging the location of farming activities, this time based on the flow of necessary energies or resources from a given point, such as a farm house. Imagine the farm as a pizza. Each triangular slice is a sector radiating from the center. Permaculturists attempt to arrange farm activities so that each area has easy access to the center.
relative location- This principle involves the thoughtful planning of both zones and sectors based on where they are in relation to each other. Permaculturists aim to position these elements in a way that maximizes energy usage and minimizes waste.
biological resources- Whenever possible, leave farm work to more efficient, non-human elements. This involves the use of animals for tasks like weed control, pest control and fertilizer production. Using wasps to control plant parasites and manure to nourish crops is an example of this principle.

nutrient recycling- This involves using the ecosystem within the farm to replenish nutrients instead of relying on imports. A good example would be composting organic matter and using manure as fertilizer.
diversity- Permaculture encourages raising multiple crops and farm animals to prevent farmers from becoming dependent on one product. This way, fluctuating market prices or breed-specific illnesses are less likely to have catastrophic results.

I'm only listing a few principles but if you want to learn more here are some books to read:
• How to Make a Forest Garden ~Patrick Whitefield
• Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture ~Toby Hemenway
• Forest Gardening: Cultivating an Edible Landscape ~Robert A. De J. Hart

 Here on these photos you can see our attempt at adopting the design principles in our garden. The bird feeder attracts birds into the centre of the garden. The lettuce and kale plants are planted close to the front edges for accessibility while the tomato and cucumber plants are along the back edge. The two half circle rows around the bird bath have onions and herbs as well as flowers.

 "Adopting permaculture in your garden could be the first step towards limiting your personal consumption and planning your life to become more creative as time goes by”
Graham Bell, ‘The Permaculture Garden’

Allow the forces of nature to roam

                         By Melanie Waters

 "In the corner of his garden, there's a patch he used to keep
All to himself, to allow nature to creep
There are no trimmed edges
or prim, proper hedges
He left his earth still and alone
Allowed the forces of nature to roam
He said that you don't always have to be tidy and neat
Just watch the beauty of opportunity grow at your feet
He said just watch the earth produce its own glory
And I watched...and held on to his story
My grandad was right
Add water and light
Behold the sight
There are poppies and flowering weeds
Buttercups and oat coloured reeds
Daisies gingerly lift their heads
Dandelions roar from muddy beds
Purple thistles and strange grasses
Colours that alight and ignite masses
Dark ferns and heathers
Dandelion clock feathers
Birds foot trefoil, a four leafed clover
My grandad's story is not over
He may have gone, I may have cried
But the beauty he predicted never died"

Before the last freak snow storm we had in march Ian and I decided on sprinkling the wildflower seeds we bought at the entrance of the garden. I was pleasantly surprised to find that those little seeds had survived ! Wildflowers attract beneficial insect and lure them into the garden.

Some people consider many wildflower species to be weeds and they remove them or even worse spray them with pesticide. The problem with this is that some of these so-called weeds are in fact native plants that are a part of the area's ecosystem and removing native plants simplifies said ecosystems. Desertification is often a result of spraying an area. Most people don't have a weed problem they have a people problem. Weeds have often been classified as 'a plant that interferes with the management objectives of a given area of land at a given point in time'. Personally speaking, I find one of our species biggest problems is one of perspective, we see the world as a landscape of natural resources for our exploitation. With this perspective we see that weeds get in the way of our efficient use of natural resources.

Gardening with the principles of permaculture ultimately means trying to keep in harmony with the land and trusting that there's a consciousness there. I'm glad that our garden isn't purely about survival or profit because it gives us so much flexibility in experimentation. We can choose to leave the "weeds" and see if they have a significant impact on surrounding plants. So far the only weeds we have really been plucking out are grass.

Native vs. non-native

It's difficult to identify native plants and wildflowers to non-native ones. Even defining what is non-native is hard because some plants we are used to seeing year after year are in fact invasive, non-native ones. An example is Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense). Non-native plants are seen as a danger to an area because often times animals won't eat or use the plants because they are unfamiliar with them. 

Now that our garden has so much growth I can walk around and spend much of my time trying to figure out most of the plants that weren't planted from our seeds. This is a great website if you are ever interested in finding out what plants are what when they catch your eye.

Another amazing thing about "weeds" is that some common everyday ones you see are edible ! Here's just a few:

Chickweed (Stellaria media): Delicate and high in vitamin C, chickweed leaves taste like spinach. Steam young leaves, or use leaves and flowers in soups, salads and stir-fries.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): Best harvested in early spring before the plant flowers, young dandelion leaves have a tasty, mildly bitter flavor. With high levels of iron, potassium and beta-carotene, dandelion stimulates digestion and aids the liver. You can also eat the roots—scrub and slice them, then sauté in sesame oil and soy sauce. 

Lamb’s-quarters (Chenopodium album): The leaves taste like spinach and are supernutritious—they’re loaded with calcium, beta-carotene and vitamin C. Eat them raw or cook them into casseroles, grain salads and egg dishes.

Nettles (Urtica dioica): This classic spring green, known for its stinging hairs, sounds intimidating to eat (and gloves are necessary when collecting), but the leaves lose their sting when cooked. Usually added to soups or steamed like spinach, nettles are high in immune-boosting iron, beta-carotene and vitamin C, and help alleviate allergy symptoms.

Happy growing !

The scoop on poop!

Last month we traveled down to one of Hamilton's best garden supply stores nestled minutes away from the downtown core. I'm talking about Tregunno Seeds Co.!

We've heard that this place used to sell all their own seeds that they saved and then got bought out by OSC. 

The purpose for the visit was to pick up some bulbs of Tracie's favourite flowers.

Dahlia's attract an amazing variety of insects and are also incredibly beautiful flowers. What's even better is that with proper care and storing you can dig up the bulbs in the fall and save them for next year!

While we were in the store we spotted a bag of Hen manure and decided to try using it in the garden as a natural fertilizer. Natural manure and compost materials add organic matter that helps soil retain moisture which in turn helps decrease soil compaction and having nutrients leach away.

Hen manure offers a high percentage of nitrogen and phosphate. Using organic matter as manure is far superior to any chemical counterpart the reason being that it both feeds and builds the soil while it nourishes the plants. Hen manure is the richest animal manure in N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash) at the ratio of 1.1 .80 .50. All very important nutrients for plant growth. Now, we have also planted White Clover as a crop cover to help with our nitrogen levels as well as the fact that white clover is great for choking out most weeds but we can talk about weeds another time...

OH! Almost forgot it works great at keeping animals away from your plants.

Signs of life.

So things got off to a good start, wet weather meant a slow start, but a start none-the-less.  As seeds turned into seedlings, and seedlings turned into plants, we soon realized that we had a real garden on our hands.

 

The multiplier shallots were the first to thrive and we even thought at one time that our garden would be entirely made of Alliums! 

  

Our first attempt at growing tubers resulted in these potato pits, Tracie comes from a long line of potato farmers on the east coast.  POMME DE TERRE!

We were given a wild strawberry plant and mint as well from Ian's grandmother, according to her the strawberries need to be contained or they will spread over large areas, this is exactly what we hope happens!

Adjacent to the garden is a fruit bearing peach tree, we were pleasantly surprised to see fuzzy signs of life.  

Flowering peach trees are a wonderful sight to see and we neglected doing any de-budding to see what kind of fruit yield the tree would bring. Since determining the age of a fruit tree is very hard, we have no idea how many years it's bore fruit for but we did find many pits when we dug the trenches for the garden months ago.

We're lucky to live in southern Ontario's fruit belt and visiting the annual Winona Peach Festival was a must in Tracie's household.

Re-Planting.

Well it's been some time since the last post and a couple of things have changed.  One thing is that our seedlings didn't fare too well, another is that we sewed new seeds directly into the soil. Unfortunately we used the wrong soil for our seedlings, a mixture too dense for the tiny roots to properly penetrate and set in.  But this didn't discourage us!