Mid Sun Messages 2014

 

 February 2014  What's growing on in the garden

 

Spring fever was medicated with education in February on how to successfully garden in a community garden plot by Janet Melrose.  Gratitude from the support received; Mid-Sun Community Association, members of the 138 Community Gardens in Calgary, new gardeners interested in what Community Gardening is all about, volunteers (can’t do this without you), and the CGRN (Community Garden Resource Network) through the Calgary Horticultural Society.

AND

A special thank you our Mid-Sun Community gardener, Kerry, for opening his home to host a garden chat.  We talked about the birds (that’s how the sunflower showed up), the bees (lack of them), the flowers (plant exchange/sale coming), the trees (3 fruit trees being planted this spring) and all of those vegetables and fruit. Hard to get a word in when you have a room full of gardeners, great conversation and company!

More Spring Fever Relief – GET YOUR GARDEN FIX

Mike Dorion aka the Compost Kid from Living Soil Solutions

Topic - IT ALL STARTS IN THE SOIL

March 8^th – Saturday from 10:00-12:00

Cost - $10.00* per person (cash only)

50 Midpark Rise SE

Mid-Sun Community Centre

 

  Join us for a casual talk about soil, composting, the critters in the soil and the ways we can improve it.  Learning about the soil and how to keep it full of life and the nutrients that your plants will need, doesn't have to be complicated and boring.  Learn resources from Permaculture, SPIN farming and traditional skill sets to get your garden producing the best tasting and nutritious food you can grow and to keep it that way.

*Fundraising goes towards the cost of amending the Mid-Sun Community Gardens soil. 

 

ND

Join us for a documentary viewing of And This Is My Garden

Directed by Katharina Stieffenhofer

April 4 – Friday evening from 6:30-8:30

Free

50 Midpark Rise SE

Mid-Sun Community Centre

 

Bring your retired garden books & magazines for exchange after the movie

Don’t have any to bring, no worries, you can purchase garden books for $1.50 or magazines for .25c. (cash only)

You can’t make it to the documentary viewing, but want to donate gently used garden books and magazines.  Drop them off at the Mid-Sun Community Centre by the end of March.   Greatly appreciated in helping the garden out!

 

Set in the small community of Waboden, Manitoba, And This Is My Garden explores an innovative school gardening program that is breaking new ground in education and literally growing a healthier community in the process.  School teacher Eleanor Woitowicz is spearheading an education-based sustainable food movement called the Mel Johnson School Gardening Project.  Woitowicz teaches students how to take care of their own backyard vegetable gardens and reap the rewards of growing their own organic foods.  Over the past four years the teachers have established 58 small vegetable gardens right in their students’ backyards.  The Mel Johnson project has caught the eye of many influential organizations including the David Suzuki    Foundation, Manitoba Conservation and even the United Nations. 

 

 

WINTER SOWING

Trudi Davidoff created the process of winter sowing for lack of money to purchase a grow light and the lack of space on her windowsill that was shared by her cat.  She started growing inexpensive seeds that were traded with people and sowed these seeds in recycled trays placed outdoors IN WINTER.

 Why do I want to winter sow?

·         are you salivating over seed catalogues – order seeds early to garden in the winter and pull out those garden gloves

·         seeds are much cheaper than plants

·         exchange seeds with others

·         versus starting seeds indoors where you will need proper lighting, space, watering and multiple transplanting

·         easy -  you can literally put the milk jugs outdoors and once weather becomes warmer monitor for water

·         versus planting straight in the soil - seeds won’t be washed away, critters won’t eat seeds, you won’t “forget” where you planted, higher germination rate without elements to deal with and general more control

·         damping-off will often happen with seeds started indoors without proper drainage (too wet), lack of air circulation or contaminated soil

·         seedlings will decay and die with a variety of pathogens produced by the above mentioned poor conditions

·         freezing temperatures kill any pathogens in the milk jugs

·         hardening off not required – I am guilty of purchasing plants, bringing them outdoors/indoors and inevitability forgetting that one night to bring them in

·         seedlings in the milk jugs are strong due to germinating and growing in the environment they will live in (minus the jug) producing a stronger survival rate than purchasing greenhouse plants that are in pampered conditions

  All seeds have specific conditions for germinating and survival.  Seeds that you will use for winter sowing require cold stratification.  This is a time frame of a cold period that these seeds need to germinate.  Nature creates a diversity of how and when seeds germinate that is mandatory for plant survival.

Look for these terms when purchasing seeds for winter sowing:

·         Self sows/ self seeds

·         Requires pre-chilling

·         Sow outside in early spring

·         Direct sow early

·         Wildflower

·         Names with “weed” in example joe pye weed

·         Cold hardy

·         Sow late fall for blooming next spring

·         Sow early Spring when soil temperatures still cool

 

Google “extreme climate winter sowing”, you will find an extensive list of seeds that will do well in Calgary conditions.  Many of our gardeners did winter sow vegetables with success, experiment and drop us a line with your results.

 

Supplies

Ø  Soilless mix (seed starting mixture)

Ø  Clean 2 litre milk jugs with label removed

Ø  Clear packing tape

Ø  Seeds

Ø  Marker (permanent) or paint pen

Ø  Cutting tool (that will cut through the plastic or a drill)

Ø  Popsicle sticks/recycled blinds cut/plastic knifes ( to label seeds inside milk jug)

Ø  Water

Ø  Tray

Procedure

§  Cut  or drill drainage holes in the bottom of the milk jug for drainage (4 or more)

§  Cut 4 or more slits in top of milk jug/leave lid off jug – water/snow entry & ventilation

§  Mark line around circumference of the jug just below the base of the handle

§  Leave the handle hinged, cut through the rest of drawn line

§  Fill with soilless mix, 3-4 inches as soil will settle

§  *Saturate soil*  before planting seeds (very important), drain – soil consistency of brownies

§  Seeds need contact with the soil – read seed packet instructions for depth

§  Seeds can be planted closer together as you will be transplanting into a much larger space

§  Mark seed name on popsicle stick and place in container

§  Seal closed with packing tape

§  Mark seed and date on exterior of milk jug

§  Set outside - if getting too warm I will move to the shade of the fence

§  If snow falls – shovel on to the milk jugs

§  Warmer weather – monitor jugs, will require watering, be light handed with water using a fine sprinkle head

§  If they start growing tall and weather warms open containers – hardy at this point

§  If you don’t have the opportunity to plant and they are getting larger, you may want to give a little fertilizer – diluted low number organic 7-7-7. 

§  When ready to plant upturn the base and divide seedlings (can reuse containers next year)

§  Plant to new home

§  Enjoy the beauty!

ARE MY SEEDS STILL VIABLE?

Do you have packages of seeds you discovered from a previous year?  Running out of storage space in your fridge where your seeds are hibernating? How do I know if these seeds packets are viable, will they germinate?  Take 10 seeds from the packet and place in between a folded dampened paper towel (keep paper towel damp).  Place in a plastic sealed bag, mark variety and date and position bag in a warm place.  On top of the fridge is fine, but not in direct sunlight.   Monitor for 7 days and to see how many will germinate.  If 6 out of the 10 seeds germinate you are at 60 percent viability and will need to increase your planting by an additional 66% to account for the failed germination rate, approximately an additional 7 seeds planted. Plant more seeds.

Having said this there are some exceptions, as mentioned for the winter sowing there are seeds that need a cold spell, these seeds require a cool spot to test viability instead of warm.  In the fridge the bag goes instead of on top of the fridge.  Parsnips take 3 weeks to check for viability, give them more time.  For other exceptions view this website www.southernexposure.com/how-to-test-germination-ezp-162.html

Avoid getting in this predicament by trading seeds every year with gardeners.  It is challenging when all those seed catalogues arrive, so tempting to try that vegetable or flower variety you never heard or seen before.   Gardeners understand these impulses and how exciting is to experiment with something you haven’t grown before.  Happy early gardening!

 

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FEBRUARY 2014: WHAT’S GROWING IN THE MID-SUN COMMUNITY GARDEN?

GARDEN PLANNING

December’s average snow fall is 17.5 centimetres, we experienced 52 centimetres of snow alone in December, 2013. This deep layer of protective snow is providing coverage to all of our perennials.  Maybe there will be a bounty of raspberries, strawberries, asparagus and all other perennials in the community garden in 2014 with all that snow protection.

Seed catalogues are arriving in the mail; let the planning begin on what to start growing indoors and what seeds to sow in your garden plot.  Perhaps you want to try winter sowing www.wintersown.org

Making options to consider when planning, our climate is an important variable.  Two Wings Farm offers a warm weather lettuce mix of 3 varieties that is suited for growing in the warm summer weather, slow to bolt and doesn’t go bitter in the heat.  Consider sharing seeds with friends as sometimes the quantity of seeds in a package can be overwhelming, 375 lettuce seeds in above mentioned!

Read the description on seeds that companies provide as often great information on specifics, ex. tomatoes - you may want a variety that is short for containers, look for determinate (produces all fruit at once) or dwarf indeterminate (continues to produce fruit until first frost).  Do you want an indeterminate variety that will grow over 6 feet, requiring staking producing more fruit?  With our inconsistent weather you may want to look for varieties that produce early rather than later. 

Do you want to purchase hybrid or heirloom seeds?  Hybrid seeds are bred with human help for selective reasons; diseases resistance, uniformity, volume, colour, taste (maybe) etc.  Two different parent plants are taken to produce a hybrid third plant.   The seeds from this hybrid plant will not reproduce the same plant as what you started with or may be sterile making it impossible to collect any seeds.  You will have to purchase the seeds again next year if that hybrid is recreated again for purchase.   Heirloom are generally seeds that have reproduced naturally for a 100 years old or before 1940 that reproduce through naturally pollination, creating a new plant same as the parents.  This allows you to collect the seed from these plants to continue to grow year after year.  There are many Seed Banks that are preserving heirloom seeds important to agriculture biodiversity and our future food sources. 

Side note, GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) or GE (Genetically Engineered) seeds are an entire different kettle.  Technology takes two different species that won’t reproduce naturally, by combining spliced genes.  One example is taking a gene from a frog spliced with gene from a tomato to produce tomatoes that can grow in cooler temperatures.

View the dates for when seeds need planting indoors or outdoors.  Average last date of spring frost in Calgary is May 22^nd, read how many weeks that seed need to be started indoors.  Don’t plant your seeds too early leading to growing week spindly seedlings.  Your healthy new seedlings will need protection when put outside from wind, heat and cold.  View chart in article for dates.

Here a few seed companies to view on line or order a catalogue:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds 

Casey’s Heirloom Tomatoes of Airdrie

McKenzie Seeds

Salt Spring Seeds

Stoke Seeds

Two Wings Farm

Veseys Seeds

West Coast Seeds 

William Dam Seeds

 

HAPPY GARDEN PLANNING!

 

VEGETABLE	SEEDING INDOORS	TRANSPLANTING OUTDOORS	SEEDING OUTDOORS
Beans- yellow/green bush and pole beans	1st week in May	1st week in June	May 24
Broad Beans	No	No	As soon as soil is workable
Beets	No	No	Late April to late May
Broccoli	1st week in April	1st week in May	Early April, best from transplants
Brussels sprouts	1st week in April	1st week in May	Best from transplants
Cabbage	1st week in April	1st week in May	Best from transplants
Carrots	No	No	Late April to early June
Cauliflower	1st week in April	1st week in May	Best from transplants
Corn	End of April	Late May	Mid- May
Cucumber	3rd week in April	Mid- May (protect)	Best from transplants
Kale	1st week in April	1st week in May	Early April or late fall
Kohlrabi	1st week in April	1st week in May	Mid-May to mid-July
Lettuce	Mid-April	Mid-May	Early May to mid-July
Onions	March 1st	Mid-May	Use sets, early May
Parsnips	No	No	Late fall or early spring
Peas	No	No	As soon as soil is workable
Peppers	Mid-February	Early June	Early May
Potatoes	No	No	Early May
Radish	No	No	Early spring to mid-July
Rutabaga and turnip	No	No	As soon as soil is workable
Spinach	No	No	Early May or in fall
Squash, summer	Late April	Late May (protect)	No
Squash, winter	Late April	Late May	No
Swiss Chard	No	No	Early May
Tomatoes	Late Feb to early March Move to larger pots as needed	May 24 with protection	no

Chart from - The Calgary Horticultural Society, The Calgary Gardener

 

What activities is the Garden Team planning? 

 

In the works - guest speakers, plant exchange, registration, major plant moving from residential to our community garden, and arrival of 3 fruit trees.

 

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JANUARY 2014: WHAT’S GROWING IN THE MID-SUN COMMUNITY GARDEN?

Lots!  The Mid-Sun Community Garden had a table at the Winter Bazaar where we raised $132.00 to go towards one of our goals of having all the sod removed between the plots with a weed barrier in place.  We have available at Mid-Sun community office for purchase our beautiful note cards representing the 6 first place winners of our first photography contest – 6 cards for $7.00 or 12 cards for $10.00.  Please contact us at midsungarden@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing of a tea cup bird feeder or crocheted rosette pin. 
Upcoming Event – Viewing of documentary, AND THIS IS MY GARDEN directed by Katharina Stieffenhofer.  Come join us in watching this inspirational Canadian documentary on how gardening brings so much to this small community.  We can learn from this and support the Mid-Sun Community Garden in this venture.

When:  Friday, January 25^th

Time:  7:00 – 8:30pm
Location: meeting room at Mid-Sun Community Centre
Address:  50 Midpark Rise Southeast
Admission:  $5.00

Set in the small community of Waboden, Manitoba, And This Is My Garden explores an innovative school gardening program that is breaking new ground in education and literally growing a healthier community in the process.  School teacher Eleanor Woitowicz is spearheading an education-based sustainable food movement called the Mel Johnson School Gardening Project.  Woitowicz teaches students how to take care of their own backyard vegetable gardens and reap the rewards of growing their own organic foods.  Over the past four years the teachers have established 58 small vegetable gardens right in their students’ backyards.  The Mel Johnson project has caught the eye of many influential organizations including the David Suzuki    Foundation, Manitoba Conservation and even the United Nations. 

 We don’t have a set date as of yet, but keep an eye out for more upcoming events through our blog mid-suncommunitygarden.blogspot.ca and Mid-Sun Message, potential guest speakers on potatoes and tomatoes in February.  Also start saving your 4 litre plastic milk jugs for our winter sowing project.  The seed catalogues are starting to arrive in the mail already as we start to get spring garden fever in January.  Start planning!

The Leadership Team is attending a series of community garden discussions through the winter hosted by the Community Garden Resource Network (CGRN).  This is a forum to share and learn on a number of topics that will improve all community gardens within Calgary.  A wealth of resources can be accessed on the Calgary Horticultural Society www.calhort.org  regarding gardening specific to Calgary and community gardening.

A feedback of positive experiences shared by our green thumb gardeners:

·   Met lots of great gardeners!
·   highlight - spontaneous garden donations
·   Meeting other gardeners in the garden - social serendipity!
·   Enjoyed Work Bees
·   Love the Gmail and the Blog