The Garden That Didn't Grow

We are having a hot dry summer here along the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. Today we had temperatures around 30C and had a late afternoon thunderstorm which brought high winds and a bit of hail. Our yard received one inch plus two tenths or rainfall, while 4 miles away my parents had about half an inch. We are glad to have had the moisture and all my rain barrels are overflowing. 

The hot dry summer has had me asking, what would I do 100 years ago if it were this dry and my garden didn't grow? Surely it happened from time to time. Did families go hungry? Absolutely. Were some forced to town or onto the generosity of family? Undoubtedly. Back then if a person in the country could not or did not produce their own stores of food they could not last. Growing and storing enough food for one's family and one's livestock was the real difference between success and failure on the prairies. Nowadays, if you have a total crop failure such as I have had with carrots, peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, SIGH, you might trade with a neighbour for some of the things you have plenty of (so far, that would be onions), try the farmer's market, or you just say to heck with it and count on the grocery store for your missing produce. But this all has me thinking, 100 years ago on this piece of land I would be starting to feel a bit desperate.

There are some factors that would be different, of course. I would likely have quadrupled the amount of potatoes I had planted. I would have relied heavily on crops like turnip, pumpkin, squash and cabbage, and I would have a root cellar in which to keep them all. But here in my 2015 first-world-home, I have an entire area dedicated to water and heat loving tomatoes and peppers. I reserved one raised bed for my children to plant, and I have large spaces that are purely ornamental. My apple tree has 2 apples on it this year and the pear pollinator has died. I put in 10 raspberry canes last year but they immediately filled in with weeds and I have decided if they die it is probably a good thing. Something has eaten the strawberries before I can get to them, and I have 4 or 5 varieties of sunflowers planted for the birds and our pure enjoyment. It is obvious that this garden is not meant to sustain us through our cold 6-7 month long winter. But what if it had to?

Above, one raised bed that has produced nothing besides a couple sunflowers, some nasturtiums, and a couple bean plants. 

Below, sunflowers bent over from the driving wind and rain. I'm sure they will bounce back, but I must rethink how much of my garden is used to grow things not specifically meant to feed this family through the winter. 

I did plant carrots and greens and peas and I reseeded cucumbers, beets and peas when it didn't look good. The carrots and greens seem to be a write-off and there are so far only enough beets for a couple meals. The cucs are up but I am wondering what my yield will be, and I am thinking that this should be my last year of using the grocery store as my back up plan. Next year I hope to have space prepared to plant more and harvest more than I need, with the aim to get my family through the year on what we can grow ourselves. Of course this is not a revelation to many who garden. But for me it is time to step up and grow/harvest/preserve as though it is my only option. I am lucky enough to have the land, I am healthy enough to do the work, and I want to be able to make it happen in case the day ever comes where we must be totally self-reliant. Do you grow your annual supply of any one fruit or vegetable?

A Garden Update, of Sorts

For some reason I'm having a hard time believing we are halfway through June. I have the odd sensation that we somehow missed spring, but I think I know why. Last year in the spring we had no lawn to speak of, just topsoil, and our driveway had exposed clay in places. We got extra gravel and our lawn grew last year so the mud and mess being tracked in was so much more manageable this year. It felt like the season of mud didn't happen, in a way :) add to that the fact that May was unseasonably hot and dry, and it just feels like spring didn't happen. Thankfully, things are growing although we have had minimal rain. We have our big totes in place to use as rain barrels so we can catch every drop of rain possible for use in our yard. 

I got a 6 pack of dahlias at a greenhouse. They are among my favourites but I've had no luck buying and planting the tubers. We had a touch of frost after I planted them out so 5 of them in the apple tree bed look scraggly and forlorn. But this lovely is on my sittin' porch where I can enjoy it everyday. 

My mom has had some success with her incubator, despite power outages and other mishaps. Unfortunately the day after things started to hatch the cord wiggled out of the incubator and the rest of her eggs were lost, including guinea eggs that we were so excited about. 

Lambo. 

Suzy. Our lambs are in our little pasture here and are a constant source of amusement. 

As for the garden, potatoes and onions are doing great and I planted 4 or 5 varieties of sunflowers that have all come up. It will be so much fun to watch them get taller than us, along with my first ever crop of corn. I started pumpkin plants early and managed to plant them out successfully. That is actually the first thing I've started indoors that survived hardening off and transplanting, so I'm excited to have grown our own jack o lanterns and pumpkin purée. 

My spinach, kale, lettuces and carrots are slow to appear and I dread a year without a fresh supply of beets. Our elderly neighbour plants a big garden and usually offers us part of his excess. This year we may be counting on his generosity:) likewise, I've replanted cucumbers which simply didn't germinate and my next crop has not come up either. It's a bit discouraging but I've had slow starters before, replanted, and ended up with everything coming up at once and being too crowded. So I guess I'll give things more time and concentrate on what is doing well. 

I also planted a row of asparagus and some tiny shoots have appeared in my straw mulch. I'm nervous to keep the weeds out of that row but we have really enjoyed the asparagus out of my brother's garden. It is definitely worth a try to grow my own. 

Last year I planted 5 grape vines and 3 survived the winter. I don't have a picture but I do need to come up with a trellis idea that works. Perhaps a post on grapes will be in order. I am never sure if I should jump the gun and blog about something before I know it will survive. But if I stuck to that around here I may never blog at all ;) how's your garden growing?

Patience and Self-Control in the Springtime Garden

Ah, spring. There is so much possibility, so many plans...so much work!

When you begin from scratch in a new yard, it can be overwhelming to plan where things should go, or where to begin. Each job seems to rely on something else being completed first until you have turned in a 360 degree circle in your yard, done nothing, yet feel exhausted. This year is our third summer here and it is becoming easier to begin and finish jobs here and there, but plans for sheep and chickens and a greenhouse have me stumped at the moment. I can't decide on the best spot or most efficient system of pens and buildings. So I have focused instead on other pressing jobs and I know that the choice will become clear if I give it some time.

Some other jobs I am working on in the yard:

• stack all remaining fire wood that was dumped by the garage all winter
• water 120 spruce trees (almost finished!)
• fish pond: mostly complete except for the pump and extension cord, and the fun part...plants! I have solar lights to put down the path and around the pond but fear the dog will break them off. So they may be put out for photos and the occasional BBQ, but kept safely in the garage until the playful pup has learned some manners!

• path to the pond: I need to re-level many of my stone steps that have settled and tipped, and remove lawn grass that has encroached into my stepping stones. On the bright side, many of my ground cover plants between stones made it through the winter and I look forward to seeing how the perennials in the yard look with a full summer of growth. Most everything was planted last year and did not have time to completely flourish.

• weedless garden: this is a big one. My dad came with their old garden tractor and roto-tilled an area for an expanded garden. We will likely have trouble with quack grass and encroaching lawn. I am working on a number of paths through the garden in hopes that the soil won't become compacted and I may never need the use of a tiller again. I am hoping I can control the grass problem with cardboard and straw mulch borders, and keep my weeding limited to the actual planted area of the garden. For a great illustration of what I am attempting with a series of mulched paths, enjoy this post by Sherri at Little Home in the Country.

• turn one raised bed, build pea trellis out of saplings and plant peas
• cover paths between raised beds with deep cardboard and mulch with straw to eradicate (hopefully) the grass
• turn and amend soil in 2 remaining raised beds, prepare one for asparagus and the other for my 2 boys to share with their own choice of flowers and vegetables

• tomato bed behind garage: I hope to get away with having my tomatoes in the same patch as I did last year. I need to dig out lawn and quack grass (do you sense a theme here?)  and empty the nearby compost into that space, roto-till and build paths for another no-till weedless system. 

I am considering fencing the garden area on the south side of our garage to keep the cats and dog out, and create a potager-type garden. As the title of the post indicates, though, there is a need for self-control when planning each spring. I can come up with unlimited projects but the fact is there are not enough hours in a day to complete them all. I must prioritize the jobs while considering time and money, of course. Right now, weed control is on the top of the list because I want to make our lives easier by doing things right the first time. If I can minimize the time I have to spend weeding it gives me time to do the other (long) list of jobs here at home. It might even free up some time to go camping and see friends;)

Spring is a time of much promise and enthusiasm after a long Canadian winter spent cooped up. We are enjoying our yard and the lambs and chickens at my parents' farm. We have a lot of planning and, yes, a  pile of work ahead of us. But I am determined to make it fun, as close to stress-free as possible, because we are building a lifestyle that we want to have last--not fizzle out with exhaustion and dashed hopes. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you face in your springtime garden plans?

Fish Pond: The Stone Work

Last April my boys and I began digging a fish pond. Other jobs around the yard eventually took precedence, and once the garden was in it was too hot to work near the black pond liner. So the job got left for spring. This week I have spent a couple days working to edge the pond with rock, build up flower beds and create a level stone area for a bench.

This is how it looked this spring when the snow melted. 

This is how it looked this afternoon:

Actually, since that photo, I moved a few rocks around and my nephew stopped by to bring one of the biggest rocks down where I wanted it. Otherwise, I've done all the heavy lifting myself, and man am I tired! I truly enjoy working with stone and am lucky to have so many rock piles to choose from. It's also great that Husband brings me tonnes of flat rocks from work. 

The rock work is not yet done but I've been planting perennials from my moms yard almost every day. Once every stone is in place I have solar lights to add, and I'm excited to buy a few plants too. I will definitely be posting more about the pond but for now, just a few more shots of the job in progress. Have a great weekend!

Phew!

After a whirlwind few weeks home, Husband has returned to work. This time he took the camper and his nephew and will be about a two hour drive away. We have stayed at the campsite before--it is clean, has a playground and kids' swimming area. The boys are super-excited to go visit Daddy in the camper.

We worked hard while he was home, and we also all came down with a cold. Despite being under the weather we accomplished much of what I had hoped:

• 3 raised garden beds built, soil amended with compost, and planted
• all excess lumber stacked and mess from garage-build tidied 
• topsoil leveled behind garage and small garden area tilled
• countless hours picking rocks, twigs, glass and metal out of the topsoil so we could seed lawn. We got over half done and seeded. I still have a patch to finish. Which I dread.
• apple tree bed built (ringed with rock)
• planted 2 apple trees, hydrangea, hazelnut, pear and pollinator trees, flowering crabapple, raspberries, moved hedge rose
• planted sunflowers and potatoes
• harrowed the road to smooth out winter's ruts
• seeded blossoming clover as cover crop on the west half of the yard to keep down weeds and add organic matter to the soil
• new 3 compartment compost bin 
• planted out chokecherry trees and cedar from my mom
• watered 120 blue spruce along our road
• flowerbed alongside the shed, planted 1 mugo pine, a peony, reed grass, phlox, burning bush, and other things from seed packets which I forget

We have finally had some warm weather and the leaves are back, our lawn is growing grass and weeds, and some of the garden is up. We spotted sunflowers, onion tops, radishes and a few potatoes. It was a real relief to see that things are going to grow (it would be my luck to have a gardening blog and a garden that doesn't grow)!

Yesterday I was able to sneak off to the greenhouse with my mom, where I bought some annuals and my tomato and pepper plants. I've never had much luck starting tomatoes, but I have a small indoor greenhouse and a heated tray so next year I would like to try. We had a bit of rain last night so I will plant the tomatoes, peppers and herbs when it is dry. Until then I think we can stay busy doing up flower pots. 

What is growing in your garden?

In the Garden

Today we had a major find in the garden--not as epic as coming across a new marble, but remarkable nonetheless.

By noon we had roto-tilled a potato patch and planted 3 rows of red potatoes (so much for keeping better records this year as I already forget what type and I threw out the bag before writing down the name). Also planted 10 raspberry canes, one apple tree and a hydrangea. I moved 6 hedge rose from where I planted all the extra trees last year, placing them downhill from my swale in hopes that their roots will bind the topsoil and prevent more erosion.

Before it began to rain, I turned the soil in two of the raised beds. I worry that one has too much clay, but I will try to amend with compost before planting. I am waiting to plant the rest of the garden until closer to June--it has been a cool spring and I don't want to lose anything to frost this year. There is much more to plant but rain is welcome. In the past few days of rain we have done more work in the basement and been pleased to see our lawn begin to grow.

Wherever you are this weekend, may you dig a hole and find an awesome rhinoceros (or the happy equivalent thereof). 

Fish Pond: The Dig

Last fall, I was fortunate to have my dad show up one day with a tractor. All the topsoil that had been stripped away in order to dig our basement and haul in the house was in a big pile at the south end of my yard. We had already rented a bobcat to do some landscaping and had done some sloping and leveling. However, the dirt was in a pile and winter approached.

If you knew my dad, you would know that taking a day to go landscape a yard would be considered "a day off" when there are too many other farm chores to be done. It was a surprise, and an honour, to see a tractor whistle past my kitchen window one morning (just a guess, but I think it has a bit to do with the two little helpers that he adores).

The house is on a hill and try as we might we ended up with a low spot on the south-facing slope. Luckily, the low spot was in the perfect place for a fish pond. In the last two weeks we had a few days of nice weather, so my boys and I have been busy with the ground work for a pond. In our first day of digging, we stripped the topsoil down to clay, except for a few places that were still frozen.

Those rocks spent the winter in that spot.
The ground was still completely frozen
 beneath them, while I was able to
 dig down to clay almost everywhere else.

child labour...my favourite!

The pond is deeper than these photos show. It got too cold and windy and I haven't made it back there to take a more recent picture. I'm excited to get back at it and show more pictures as we do the rock work, install the liner and (yay!) plant some pretty things. For now, it is snowing and miserable so we have turned our attention back to indoor projects.

hugging...not fighting...I had to get a picture

I intend to plant one of the shrubs that I recently ordered beside the pond, along with reed grass and ostriche plume astilbe. I also have a peony ordered--one of my favorite flowers. I'm looking forward to it warming up. Every day that we spend outside seems like a dream. Before I know it, it is time for lunch and a nap for the little one while 4 year old and I return outside to do more. We have explored the yard, played in the mud, checked on our trees and had all kinds of adventures. I can only hope that the 4 year old will remember this summer working in the yard and the part he played in digging the pond. Did you help in the garden as a kid, or do you have little helpers in your garden now?

Tree Update

This summer, before our house even arrived, we planted a shelter belt of trees along the main grid road approaching our acreage, and along the lane way to our yard. If you have been following the blog you might remember that I had ordered 180 one-year-old maple, 200 one-year-old poplar and 120 three-year-old spruce. This chunk of land is extremely rocky so it felt like we had to dig 3 holes for every tree we planted. It might not have been that bad, but by the time 500 trees were in the ground we were T.I.R.E.D. We had a lot going on at the time--if you're interested you can read more here.

We rented a post-hole auger for the weekend and Husband dug the holes. I followed with a bucket o' trees while we kept the boxes of trees moist in the shade. It is important to not let the roots dry out.

We began by staking a twine out in a straight line and using a measuring tape to space the trees. But our land is so rocky we ended up pacing off the distance and doing our best to keep things straight and evenly spaced in spite of the rocks.

You can faintly see the row of dark circles--holes waiting for Colorado Spruce

Spruce trees were spaced 10-12 feet apart, with a 16 foot spacing between the next row of trees (Northwest Poplar). We checked that the roots were loose and not bound up in a coil, and planted them to the depth that they had been at the nursery. In the picture below, you can see the darker line on the tree stem. Once it was planted and the hole filled I stepped all around the tree to ensure there were no air pockets in the hole. Then on to the next tree.

The trees are hard to see, but the row
 goes beyond the orange pail in the distance

The trees needed a deep watering once they were planted. It took almost 4 days to do all the planting and watering--in part because of the rocky terrain and also because we were using a long trailer to haul the water tank for watering. It was awkward to get into position so that the gravity-feed tank and hose could even reach the trees. I'm very thankful that we now have a water tank in a small trailer that I pull behind our quad. Once we were living at the house and had running water it was much easier to care for the trees.

We tried to water every couple of weeks during summer. It is recommended to water once a week during the first year, every two weeks the second year, and so on. For deciduous trees, give one last deep watering in August, and then stop. You do not want new growth to begin before winter. For evergreens, water late into fall and a generous final drink after deciduous trees have lost their leaves. The Government of Canada had a very helpful site, but since the prairie shelter belt program was cancelled the website no longer exists. You can still find plenty of information on line; I use the Alberta Ag and Rural Development site if I have any concerns about our trees.

All of the trees in these photos were purchased at treetime.ca. I was very pleased with the condition of the trees when they arrived, and I was especially happy that delivery was free. The trees arrived in 3 very large boxes, so delivery was an issue for me. Along with the poplar, maple and spruce, I also ordered Amur Maple, Siberian Larch and Paper Birch. I planted all of these in a plot so it was faster to water them. This year we will decide where to put them as we work on landscaping the yard. As of the fall, all of the larch had been eaten off by insects or animals, but the maple and birch appeared to be doing well.

birch trees in the summer

We have had some extreme winds this winter. In a two-story house it can seem especially windy, so I am considering where to plant trees this summer in hopes of blocking the west winds in the future. I don't want to block my view so will strategically place trees along the edge of the lawn. More on that when the time comes! This is an existing yard site so we have mature spruce and lilacs to the east and a hillside and bush to the north and somewhat to the west. Along the north, as well, our shelter belt trees curve along the lane and along the hill. When those trees grow up we will have wonderful shelter.

This winter we had enough snowfall to bury our little spruce trees in a nice insulated blanket of snow. Around Christmas things warmed up and a lot of that snow melted, and I got concerned that they would be exposed to the cold and wind--and there has been plenty of that! We have had more snow now, though, and the trees are once again tucked into a snow bank.

 Above, a spruce tree in the snow. Below, you can barely see the top of the next tree over. It is the little point to the left of the center of the picture.

I am looking forward to seeing how our trees fared over the winter. There are a few spruce that have browned off, so I might get a few replacements when I can assess how many I will need. I would also like to find some native trees in ditches and out in my dad's pastures to see if they do better than nursery-grown seedlings. But I will leave that post for another day!

Tree Planting

Well, perhaps I have a lot on my mind. I left a loaf of bread in the oven for over two hours the other day (it was well done!) and I used facial cleanser as toothpaste the other morning (I noticed in the nick of time!). So it doesn't surprise me that I forgot I had used my parents' address on our tree application (in case we had already moved when the letter came out). So for two months I've been assuming that we didn't get trees from the shelterbelt program which is finished this year. Instead, the letter has been riding around in my mom's vehicle and she forgot to give it to me (she probably has a lot on her mind too, this can't be hereditary!). At any rate, the letter was delivered to me yesterday and I was tickled to find that we will receive free trees after all. The program ran out of trees so I didn't get all of the types I requested, but beggars can't be choosers. I'm happy to get any at all.

Including the trees that I purchased, we will have to plant:

150 Hedge Rose
250 Scots Pine
300 Mix Poplar Cuttings
50 Mix Willow Cuttings

120 Colorado Spruce
200 Northwest Poplar
180 Manitoba Maple

I will have to pull out the drawings I made this winter to decide where everything will go...we are going to be busy! As we go, I'd like to get into more detail regarding the use of trees in wildlife habitat and as part of an overall permaculture approach to yard design (as my very beginner perspective understands it!). For now, back to the drawing board as we get nearer to beginning work in the new yard!

Walk Before I Run

Like many gardeners out there, I have received some seed catalogues in the mail. Flipping through the pages and admiring the bright colours has my head spinning. Just a picture of a juicy red tomato makes my mouth water!

As I've read here and here, it is wise to live somewhere and observe for a year before going too overboard landscaping. So while I enjoy imagining what some of the beautiful perrenials would look like in our yard, I have to proceed slowly this year and get the structure right.

I've been reading Toby Heminway's Gaia's Garden, along with various other gardening books:

• The Year Round Vegetable Gardener by Niki Jabbour
• New City Gardener by Judith Adam with Tim Saunders
• Landscaping With Stone by Tom Wilhite and Editors of Sunset
• The Back to Basics Handbook by Abigail R. Gehring, editor

I've got some great plans that need installed long before I get to the pretty part: flowers and vegetables. I am itching to get my yard started, but there is alot of planning, measuring and building to be done before I spend much money plants. I think this year we will concentrate on trees, building raised beds and doing our stone walkways and borders. I want to get some perrenials in place, and allow them to get a good start and next year will be a year of filling spaces and picking out the pretty parts.

While we are staying at my parents' I plan to ready some containers that can be moved over when the house arrives. Nothing like a little instant garden! If all goes well I will have alot done when the house gets there, so that it looks less like a sore thumb. A friend has also offered to throw a "perrenial" house warming where all guests bring a plant they have divided in their own yard. What a great way to build some memories!

Record Keeping

It didn't occur to me to keep track of what I planted and what my garden yield was until I got into reading gardening blogs. It makes sense, though, to keep a file of some kind so that you can remember where all your efforts are going!




Those blueberries died. Sometimes record keeping is just a reminder of past failure!

My record keeping leaves alot to be desired (I actually lost the binder for an entire year, go figure) but I still find it interesting to look back and remember how things turned out. I like to compare rainfall from year to year and also when things were planted and came up. Because I'm busy with small kids it has been easiest for me to jot down the daily occurrences (how much it rained, what day I planted etc) on the calendar, then when if I get time I can go back to the gardening journal and go into more detail. Possibly due to my frugal nature, but I like to remember the names of veggies I didn't like or that didn't grow so that I don't plant them again!

I've been doing so much research this winter, it would be helpful for me to make a section in the binder for my notes on "how-to" grow things. For instance, I read recently that onions need copper in the soil (totally forget where I read that, sorry!). That might explain the golf ball sized onions that I've peeled and cursed for the last 4 years...I best get that little nugget into the binder before I forget!

Have you got a system for keeping track of what you plant every year? Do you weigh and record how much your garden produces?

Ordering Trees

Well, I've ordered several hundred trees, in addition to any that I might receive from the shelterbelt program. (Unfortunately, the program is almost out of trees and I'm sure my application is getting there late to be considered for trees. I'll be lucky to get a few hedges methinks. So sad about that!) Alas, my purchased trees should arrive just before May Long Weekend so that we can toil away Husband's days off. He just doesn't know it yet ;)

I ordered:

120 (3yr old) Colorado Spruce
200 (1yr old) NorthWest Poplar
180 (1yr old) Manitoba Maple

That quantity is for shelterbelt on the 200 or so metres into our yard from the grid road. For some colour and visual interest in the yard, I also ordered:

10 Siberian Larch
5 (3yr old) Amur Maple
5 Paper Birch

I plan on posting once the trees arrive, and doing several posts on tree planting and care once they are in the ground. I can't wait to update on how they are growing! I so look forward to the brilliant spectacle of yellowing larch against birch and blue spruce. The reds of the amur maple are going to be a show for miles around, now to be patient and watch them grow (and water, water, water!) I am going to give the yard a year to take shape and then order more trees, possibly a flowering crab for spring colour and a weeping willow or two. Even placing the order has made the February blahs dissipate somewhat....I can almost feel the sun on my back and the dirt under my nails!

Drawing and Dreaming

I spent a romantic valentine's evening hovering over graph paper, imagining the view from our covered porch (imagining the covered porch, even, as it won't be built for awhile yet), and picturing a stone path that wanders down the gentle slope, lingering by a pond, then continuing to a firepit adjacent to two, let's make it three, raised beds for vegetables. Ah, 'twas a fulfilling evening of drawing and dreaming.

Right now dreaming is the best I can do. Somewhere beneath five feet of snow is a garden and many, many rocks that will be hauled out to the acreage. Husband is able to scavenge and bring home rocks for me--we have huge ones, pink ones, interesting ones, flat ones, perfectly round ones....of course I didn't think to take pictures before snow covered the yard. Although it will take many years of collecting stones to complete the many projects I'm dreaming of, we have a few to start with and a clean slate to work with.

Until spring arrives there will be much reading and scheming, and posting here so that I don't forget what my plans were!

Are you planning any new beds this spring? What kind of research and planning do you put into a new project?

Lost in the Details

I'm really looking forward to being on our acreage. It's where I plan to live out my days...watch my children grow...see seedlings turn into towering trees. On one hand it gives me a feeling of peace, stability, continuity...on the other hand, it's frickin' terrifying.

Right now I'm battling fear of the unknown. So much of what we have yet to do, and plan, is dependent upon some other thing falling into place first. We can't dig the basement, or get the power or gas out there, until spring. I can't really plan my yard until I know where the basement will be. But I do have a rough idea, so I'm trying to draw and dream and not get lost in the details.

When I sit down to make a list of plants, or draw my yard, I feel intimidated and that it is all too daunting. I don't know where to start and I'm afraid of wasting money on the wrong plants and ending up with an embarrassing mess. It is such good timing, then, that I came across the blog http://www.northerngardenersalmanac.com . I've spent two days devouring the information available there (to the point of child neglect, in fact) and I am just so darn thankful for people that share their knowledge just for the sake of it.

Author and master-gardener Melanie J. Watts says in her July 13, 2010 post "Designing a Garden":

To lessen the amount of work or to avoid undoing mistakes it is better to approach garden design slowly, letting it evolve naturally. Take time to see where the sunny spot is in the morning where you drink your coffee and the shade where you escape to on hot afternoons. Notice how the path to the shed takes the quickest route and how the children's ball...always seems to end up in the flowerbeds. Design your garden for the life you have now. You can always make the sandbox into a flowerbed after the children have grown out of it".

Aaaaaaand....exhale. How silly that I was worrying about putting plants in the wrong places rather than enjoying the opportunity to learn and dream now and tinker with design throughout the seasons. I'm in this for the enjoyment, after all. So nice to have been reminded of that!

Before and After: The Garden

It's February and if I can't be in the garden, I find myself thinking about the garden! We will be leaving this one before planting time this year, and will have to break new ground for a garden at our acreage. As a sort of send off to this yard and house, I'm going to do a small series of before and afters to show off some of the work we did in our four years here.

This was taken the day we made an offer on the property, 2009

While going through pictures I came across one of our first garden. I was pregnant with baby number one and didn't end up working in it as much as I wanted. I was also working shiftwork and the overnights were very hard. But I do remember eating beets almost everyday, and green beans by the pail, so the garden was a success and I have a healthy little boy to prove it.

The first thing we did was build a compost bin (you can glimpse the blue tarp to the right rear of the garden). When we had a little extra money we made the garden just a bit bigger and edged it. That sure helped to keep the grass from invading, but we do still dig out a bit of encroaching lawn every year.

Two years ago we added a second compost bin

As far as yield goes, I would end up with enough potatoes for a couple months when it was just the two of us. I would blanch and freeze beans, make a couple batches of pickles, and we would eat onions and beets to our heart's content. The potatoes and onions were small and the carrots especially started out a failure. After adding compost each year I noticed a great improvement in the carrots and onions this past year. The garden is partially shaded most of the day and the spruce trees steal moisture and shed needles and cones everywhere. Attempting to make more room for vegetables at the "good" end, we cut the raspberry bush back to the point that we didn't get any fruit from it last year. From this little garden I have learned that placement is everything. In the new yard I won't put raspberries or spruce trees so close that they compete for moisture and nutrients. 

Do you have competing interests in your garden and, if so, how have you managed?  



Making Plans

As I've mentioned, my family and I are making a move back to where I was raised. There are so many posts I could write on the subject, and I intend to, but for today my focus is what I've been working on in spare moments recently.

Western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Peace River Region of British Columbia) has a prairie shelterbelt program available for rural landowners of 5 acres (2 hectares) or more. More information on the program (along with excellent planting and care resources) is available on the website www.agr.gc.ca/agroforestry 

Seedlings are provided free of charge (landowner pays shipping) for the following planting purposes:

Farmyard: for protection of a yard, residence or other buildings
Field: for soil erosion control of cultivated fields or protection of crops
Roadside: primarily for snow control along roads or lanes
Livestock: primarily for protection of livestock or livestock facilities
Wildlife: for improvement of wildlife habitat, including enhancement of shelterbelts
Riparian: to buffer between agricultural land and bodies of water, including flood plains and wetlands
Replacements: stock ordered as replacements to seedlings planted in recent years

The application requires a sketch of where the trees will go, including spacing and distance from roadways, buildings etc. I've put alot of time into the application and my drawing and it has helped me visualize what I want our yard to look like, and what we hope to accomplish for wildlife and shelter on our land. The effort of applying (not to mention the work of planting and watering!) will be well worth it in years to come when, hopefully, the trees protect our yardsite and provide food and shelter to wildlife in the area.

Is there a shelterbelt program in your area, and have you accessed it? Have you planted trees for wildlife habitat and shelter?