February - and the garden gets going

It's been an eventful past 6 months.  What with family emergencies, urgent business and some illness thrown into the mix, the garden has gotten short shrift.  However, hopefully now things are going to get a little more manageable!

Today I set aside some time to start seeding for this year's garden.  Four 6" pots were seeded with leeks and onions.  This year, I'm trying another leek in addition to my trusty Bandit which holds through the winter so well and is just now finally getting past its prime.  Chinook F1 is the variety I selected especially for summer, fall harvesting and there were only 25 seeds in the package!  I only found it on West Coast Seeds' website - not even in this year's catalogue.  Since I'm growing 2 varieties, I only seeded half the amount of Bandits I usually do.

A full package of Copra onions were seeded in 2 pots.  Last year's onions were outstanding, the biggest I've ever grown and I only lost 2 plants.  Copra is the only onion I grow as it's an excellent keeper and stores extremely well in addition to having great flavour.  Last year I just had to buy about half a dozen when I ran out of my own.

Pots of onion and leek seeds in the house under lights

I brought the pots back into the house and settled them in my lighted tray under a window.  Once they've sprouted, they'll be moved out to the unheated potting shed.

Siberia Kale doing well in the garden

This winter has been quite mild.  We've only had one decent snowfall and one good cold snap.  This doesn't augur well for bugs!  And things are budding very early.

Crocuses peeking out of dead iris foliage

Crocuses are up and wide open when the sun shines (it wasn't today) and narcissi are almost open.  The King Edward currant bush has flowers starting to extend from the buds so we could have an early influx of hummingbirds.

Fuchsia coming back to life

By the pond I found a forgotten planter with a fuchsia plant in it.  I'd assumed it was an annual, but there is green growth on it, so I whisked it into the potting shed to protect it from the cold - it is only February after all!

In a couple of weeks it will be the turn of the tomatoes to get seeded.  The garden never waits!

The Winter Bed

This has been an awkward year for the garden.  Just when it was starting to kick into high gear, life got in the way.  What with one thing or another, there just hasn't been the time to devote to the garden.  And this year, the name Messy Gardener really applies!  The vegetable beds have not been weeded properly and I haven't been able to take full advantage of the produce.

Today, however, it was time to start thinking ahead.  Time to get the winter garden in gear!  The bed that had the onions has been designated as the winter bed.  After the onions were harvested, I turned over the bed - and discovered that the cedar trees around my garden have managed not only to find a way in, but have widened those cracks and taken full advantage of the lovely soil in the bed!  It took a lot of hard work to cut the roots away and pull them from the soil, but it was finally done.  The combination of a very dry summer and cedar roots had left the soil very dry, so I've been watering this bed to prepare it for the plants to I'd planned to install in it.  A lazy woman's purchase 6 Red Russian Kale and 6 Red Sails Lettuce were bedded in as well as multiplier onions from this year's crop.

Kale and lettuce plants for winter use

This bed was also designated for garlic.  I went in with my daughter to buy fresh garlic bulbs to augment three of the best bulbs from this year's harvest.  First the soil was prepared - a good litre of my homemade fertilizer was worked into the soil.  Then the cloves were planted with the new varieties - Spanish Roja, Leningrad and Czech - being labeled for future reference.  There are now 52 potential garlic bulbs nestled down in the soil.  Then the whole bed was mulched with what is left of the SeaSoil and watered well.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

In spite of my neglect, a number of things are doing well.  This has been a good year for the Swiss Chard.  From only about a dozen Bright Lights and Silverado, we've had lots of meals and it should do well through the winter as well.

Cantaloupe

There's one enormous cantaloupe and a number of smaller ones.  I won't be growing them again, but we'll enjoy what we have for this year.  I'm not sure what I'll grow in the compost bin next year - perhaps squash.  The Waltham Butternut has been excellent this year and if it gets the benefit of a compost bin next year, it should be even better.

Liberty Apple

Now that we're in September, the apples are coming ripe.  Our favourite has always been the little Liberty tree.  Beautiful crisp, tart little apples with brilliant red skins.  This tree was originally nearer the house.  Overshadowed by big trees and well nibbled by deer, when my husband suggested moving it, I didn't give it much hope.  It's thrived, however, and every year is so loaded with apples that the branches touch the ground, even after rigorous thinning in the spring.

And finally, on the flower side, the autumn crocuses are in full bloom.  They are always such a surprise!

I'm hoping that next year's garden with be able to benefit from more care than this year's garden got.  And with gardening it's always, "Next year, I plan to......"  With a garden, there's alway hope.