May Garden Update

We've just had a spell of very nice weather and the garden is all the better for it.  Things are sprouting.  Things are growing.  Things are getting away from me!  As in weeds...

The hummingbirds are at the feeder in full force - in fact one evening we thought there might be as many as 30 all vying for a spot on a perch - but who could count! Now that there are lots of flowers in the garden, competition isn't quite so fierce.  On the deck, my herb pots are doing nicely.

I've even used some of the oregano, chives and tarragon!  All of the parsley seedlings have made it - and I transplanted a lot since parsley doesn't like being moved.

The two cherry tomatoes have been very happy under their hot caps, which I've removed on nice days and replaced at night.  They're bigger than their mates in the potting shed and will soon have grown too much for their hot caps.

In the potting shed, the tomatoes are also growing well.  We are expecting some cool rainy weather for a couple of days, but after that, I might plant them in the garden, protected, of course, with hot caps.

Fruit trees are in full flower and the mason bees are doing their jobs pollinating.  I was worried that there wouldn't be many bees this spring after a bird pierced nearly every straw looking for meals.  We have plenty of bees to go around, however,  and nearly all the holes are full.  This year when the bees have finished I'll turn their houses sideways so they will be left alone.

Lettuces, snow peas, gai lan, radishes - all are doing well and we'll be eating radishes with our next salad.  I've planted sunflowers in the zags this year and all are up.

The Pacific Russet potatoes in one of the new 4x4 beds have been hilled up once and today I added a good 4" of chopped maple leaves.

In the potato grow bags, the German Butter potatoes are sprouting and soon will have more soil added.

And our favourite rose, Abraham Darby, which was transplanted last year to its new location has never looked so good!  All in all, spring is progressing well.

Feed the Birds!

Today is the official start of winter but we've already had a couple of little tastes.  It's pretty mild here in the Gulf Islands, however, we've had one spell of very cold weather and just recently, a bit of snow which is now melting.

There's not much happening in the garden, but our bird feeders are very busy.  We've had to put out a small hummingbird feeder for two Anna's Hummingbird females.  These hummingbirds don't migrate in winter, finding sustenance in small insects, tree sap provided by sapsuckers and the occasional brave flower.  We have a viburnum which starts flowering in November and doesn't stop until spring which must be of some help.  Still, the cold weather must take its toll on them so we help them out with sugar-water feeders.  Usually you make a hummingbird mixture 1 part sugar to 4 parts water but in the winter you can do that 1:3 for Anna's, which is how ours is set up.  Anna's look very similar to Rufous Hummingbirds.  The females are much the same coloration, but without the rusty tones of the
Rufous and they're slightly larger.  We've never seen a male, which has an iridescent red-coloured head.

Chestnut Backed Chickadees

We always have a feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds for birds winter and summer.  We see lots of chickadees, juncos, nuthatches, towhees and purple finches in the winter.  At this time of the year we augment the feeder with a suet block.  The chickadees especially love the suet block as they're very adept at hanging upside down.  I make my own suet blocks following a recipe I found and adapted from the Internet.

Suet Blocks for Birds

1 part lard
1 part crunchy peanut butter
1 part flour
2 parts rolled oats
2 parts cornmeal
various seeds and dried fruits.

Melt the lard in a large pot.  Add the peanut butter and stir together.  Add remaining ingredients and pour into a baking pan.  Since I use a whole pound of lard, I pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan.  Allow the mixture to cool and slice into blocks.  The 9x13 pan makes 6 blocks.  Now put the pan in the freezer and leave overnight.  You can easily remove the blocks by running hot water over the bottom to just melt the outside edges of the blocks.  I place the blocks in large ziplock bags and freeze them until they're needed.

The blocks I made last week have niger seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, currants and dried cranberries added.  I throw in whatever is on hand and since I have quite a bit of it, I used half old fashioned rolled oats and half steel-cut oats.  I've seen recipes with sugar added.  Why on earth would you add sugar?!  It sounds totally wrong.

Lettuces, Mescalun, Kale

Hyacinths coming into bloom

A sunny morning made for another day in the garden and it's time to plant out some of the seedlings in the potting shed.

First on the agenda is preparing the beds.  The bed that was to be planted with a dozen kale seedlings had a barrow load of soil removed which was added to the Three Sisters bed.  Next I sprinkled on some dolomite lime.  Brassicas need the addition of liming to prevent club root which likes an acid soil.  Two barrow loads of SeaSoil went on next and the bed was spaded over and raked.  Six little Winter Blend and six Lacinato seedlings were pressed into the ground.  I'm not sure what varieties are in the Winter Blend and I'm really supposed to plant this mid-summer as it's a blend specifically for growing in the winter, but I'm giving it a try now anyway.  I know the Lacinato will be a tasty kale as well as being a beautiful addition to the garden as the leaves look like ostrich plumes.

Winter Blend kale seedling

The bed that has the zig zag pea fence was targeted for the lettuces and mescalun.  Again, SeaSoil was added and worked into the soil.  I decided to plant some of the lettuces in between the zigs of the fence.  The growing peas will give some shade protection to the lettuces and keep them sweet longer when the warm weather arrives.  Winter Density, a butterhead/romaine cross, was planted there.  West Coast Market Blend mescalun was planted on the other side - I guess you could say in the zags. This blend contains seeds of curly endive, oakleaf lettuce, escarole, chicory, arugula and chervil.  Since I only planted 6 seedlings this time, I have no way of knowing what my plants are! I'll seed some directly in the ground in a few weeks.  Finally Super Gourmet Salad Blend lettuces were planted at the end of the pea bed.  Again, I will seed more in the ground in a few weeks.  Nearly all my seeds come from West Coast Seeds.

Winter Density lettuce seedling

The tomato seedlings are doing well in the potting shed.  So far, all are surviving - and thriving.  I seeded more Principe Borghese as I don't think I have enough.  I also purchased another package of tomato seeds.  Buckerfields didn't have the Stiletz I was looking for so I decided to try Moneymaker.  This may have been a mistake.  When I got home I looked it up in a gorgeous book on tomatoes I have,  "The Heirloom Tomato" as I was sure I'd seen the name in there.  Yup!  Flavour - Fair and under comments, "a commercial favorite much derided by foodies and home growers as being tough enough to bounce off a wall." Oh dear.  Note to self:  research before you buy!

Sweet Baby Girl tomato seedling

Tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting, I'll get the onion bed ready.  There's just so much to do at this time of the year.  There's always, however, time to stop and check out the flowers.  Oh, and the first Rufous Hummingbird appeared today!

Self-seeded Anenome Blanda

Aconite, Snowdrop - and Chicken!

I was out in the garden this morning (February 10th) picking parsley for my latest favorite recipe (to follow!) and couldn't help noticing the signs of spring popping up everywhere.  The earliest in my garden are always winter aconites and snowdrops.  I don't count the viburnum which blooms all winter long!

Galanthus nivalis - the common snowdrop

My favorite snowdrops are the little Galanthus nivalis - the common snowdrop.  There are showier ones, but none in my estimation can beat plain, old common snowdrops.  The best way to get them established in your garden, I've discovered, is to get a friend to give you a clump when they're in bloom.  I've tried many times to get them to grow from bulb without much success.

Eranthis - winter aconite

Another favorite spring flower is the winter aconite.  Like the snowdrop, it's usually in bloom in February.  In my garden, it pushes up through the dead foliage of a Japanese iris (I'm not called The Messy Gardener for nothing!)  The flowers in the picture aren't open because there's no sun today, but the hint of warmth will make them burst into full glory.

A third sign of spring is that the buds on my King Edward flowering currant are starting to open.  These are even earlier than the native currants and always bring the Rufous Hummingbirds.  This year, I won't know if I'm seeing Rufous or Anna's Hummingbirds as the females look so alike.  Today I saw my first male Anna's.  He's unmistakable with his scarlet head, very unlike the Rufous male.

But today I went out to pick parsley.  The flat Italian parsley grows all year long in my garden, so off I went to get some for Chicken with Gremolata Crust.  I count it as a recipe from my garden because it contains the parsley and garlic that I grow.  And it's absolutely delicious!

Chicken with Gremolata Crust

4 whole chicken legs with thigh attached (or any chicken pieces)
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 to 2 large garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, paprika and cayenne in a wide, shallow dish.

Combine the mayonnaise and mustard in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken.  Add the chicken and toss to coat. (I usually just smear the mayonnaise/mustard on with my hands!)

Then coat in breadcrumb mixture.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake 50 minutes or until cooked through.

Tonight I'm serving this with rice cooked in chicken broth and cole slaw with chunks of apple and grated carrot.  Yum!