My Ignored Garden

Lovin' the kale!

I've been stealing as much time as I can to work in the garden, but I still have plenty to do! It's amazing how quickly 2000 sq feet fills up.. This year, I've got a few crops that I've never grown before or haven't grown in years - quinoa (new), amaranth (years ago), chickpeas (years ago) and giant limas (new) to name a few. Some of those crops seem to suck up a lot of room! Plus, one of my soon-to-be tomato beds is still full of spinach and kale. The cool/wet weather has prolonged their harvest and I'm trying to use up the spinach as fast as I can (spinach/feta pizzas, pasta with garden asparagus and handfuls of shredded spinach, etc.), but I have a hard time pulling out the blooming kale as the bees are loving it so much! Who knew that such small creatures could make so much noise! They go crazy in the golden blooms.. 

Here's a few photos from Friday and today.. yesterday was a total washout with the 70 mm of rain we received, but I just snuck up before dinner and put in 3 more 'Fairy Tale' eggplants.. yum! 

Blue skies, golden kale

Where did you come from?? This popped up
on the edge of the veggie garden. 

The bees love the catmint too.. 

Catmint, mache and garlic.. 

Planted for 2 1/2 weeks now and these little plants have
quadrupled in size!

Hello sunflower.. where did you come from?

I love the chive blooms.. so cheerful!

It's almost tea time! The chamomile is
starting to open.

Book Review - Maritime Fresh by Elisabeth Bailey

Ok, let me start by saying that I'm slightly biased.. I have met Elisabeth Bailey on a number of occasions and she also joined me on the The Weekend Gardener radio show last summer and will do so again this Sunday. She is an avid gardener, as well as being a talented food writer and through our conversations I have learned that she is passionate about growing and preparing local and homegrown food. Plus, she's a hoot!! (Sorry, the Maritimer in me had to say it!) 

In 2011, Elisabeth's first book, A Taste of the Maritimes was published by Nimbus Publishing. I immediately bought a copy and can honestly say that it is now well speckled and splotched with the results of my cooking! I loved it so much that I've also given it as a gift on - at least - a handful of occasions. Therefore, I was very excited when she told me last autumn that she was working on a new cookbook.. We discussed recipes and I shared a few of my own using garden ingredients.. so imagine my surprise when I picked up her latest book - Maritime Fresh - and saw that she actually mentioned me!! So cool.. 

Anyhoo, I am asked at least twice a week what I do with all my garden veggies. 'Eat them' is my usual, semi-sarcastic answer.. and many folks have told me that I should write my own 'from the garden' cookbook.. Listen, I'm an OK cook, but I'm no food writer! :) That's why I'm grateful for Elisabeth's books.. 

Maritime Fresh divides itself by various garden vegetables, fruits and herbs. So.. if you have just found yourself picking a few bushels of beans, flip to page 32 and make her Bean and Cheese Burritos (and then bring me some, they are divine!).. or what do you do when all 20 of your broccoli plants are ready to harvest at once? How about some Broccoli Jack Soup (page 52) and then freeze the extras for autumn. 

Does dad love to garden or cook? Check out Elisabeth's book and tune in to The Weekend Gardener on News 95.7 FM in Halifax (www.news957.com) this Sunday to ask her your questions on cooking from the garden - 11 to 1 pm - and her segment will be from noon to 12:30. 

Today on The Weekend Gardener!!

Some of my new Proven Winners plants.. I will blog about
this soon too!! 

Just up drinking tea and getting a few notes together for today's radio show.. It's been crazy hot for the past few days, a nice change from the crazy cold/wet weather that we've had for weeks.. It's amazing how a few days of sun will really make plants grow!! I promise to do a chickpea post soon (my plants are almost a foot tall!), but for now, here's a glimpse of today's radio show:

Jane Rostek will join me to offer a preview on the upcoming and super popular, YWCA Over the Garden Gate garden tour that takes place Sunday June 9th.. It's the 21st year for the tour and tickets are available at FRED, Halifax Seed and a few other locations. I have seen a few of the gardens on the tour and they are AMAZING!!

Then, Robert Baldwin, plantsman extraordinarre, and the owner of Baldwin's Nurseries will be in studio to talk plants!! From shrubs to trees to perennials, Robert will talk favourites, deer-resistant and whatever else our listeners want to learn about. I encourage you to call in with your questions and comments!! 1-877-801-8255

Also coming in studio today, Jayme Melrose, project co-ordinator for the Common Roots Urban Farm in Halifax. She's bringing in Sara Burgess, the farmer for the project and Rob McNeish, a volunteer. We'll find out what's happening at the farm, about their new community garden plots and how you can volunteer!!

Hope you can join us!! 11 to 1 pm Atlantic time (10-noon EST) on News 95.7 FM in Halifax, News 91.9 FM in Moncton and News 88.9 FM in Saint John or listen live anywhere at www.news957.com.  

Today on The Weekend Gardener!

I LOVE this book - and I have one to give away on today's
show!! Call w/your questions & comments 1-877-801-8255

Today on The Weekend Gardener.. it's going to be a busy action-packed show!! (action packed?) .. whatever.. All I know is that we're going to have fun and I hope you can join me.. 11 to 1 pm Atlantic time (10-noon EST) on News 95.7 FM, News 91.9 FM and News 88.9 FM or listen live anywhere at www.news957.com

Sunday May 26th:

Beckie Fox, the editor of Garden Making magazine to chat about their outstanding new issue.. (Canadian bred roses, haskap berries and the Garden Making On Tour cross-country garden tour!!)

Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz, the authors of Fine Foliage: Elegant Plant Combinations for Garden and Container.. (http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/fine-foliage-elegant-plant-combinations/9780985562229-item.html) A seriously excellent book!

David Baldwin, local apple and pear expert to chat about growing these fruits in the Maritimes. Best varieties, pollination, pruning, trouble-shooting and more!

Trish Fry, Manager of the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens! We'll check in about their upcoming events and what's in bloom!

Finally, Angelique Reddy from the YMCA Moncton to talk about their new Community Garden Expansion..

Gardening in the Rain!

I've been waiting for a break in the weather to get more seeds and seedlings in the ground.. but since I don't see any sun in the 5 day forecast, I've decided to get out and plant anyway! The lack of sun makes it rather difficult to properly harden off and prepare my tomatoes, peppers and other seedlings for 'real life' in the garden, but when (if!) the sun does come out, I'll just toss a row cover overtop the plants for a few days to get them used to the bright yellow thing in the sky.

Ok, lunch break over.. time to get back to the garden.. I have more kale, celeriac, kohlrabi, more onions (where to put them!), parsley, leeks, 2 apple trees and 3 more highbush blueberries.. and I should probably cover some of the garden with a row cover since my deer fence is down.. ack!

My 2014 Proven Winners plants arrived
yesterday - in the rain of course.. They're
now on my front porch de-stressing
from their Fed-Ex trek. Once I've take the
boxes apart, I'll take more photos and
preview some of these soon-to-be-released
beauties!

Unlike me, spinach loves this crappy weather.. 

I've got baby kales popping up all over the pathways of my garden beds..
Time to dig up and share!! 

Hmm, probably shouldn't have left these Kossak kohlrabi
seedlings sitting in the garden for 3 days in the rain and in
a tray with no holes.. Opps! They're rather waterlogged. 

Planting lettuce.. started these beauties inside
in a plug flat and have now planted them
in a checkered pattern with a lovely
red leaved variety. 

Red leaf lettuce ready to plant.. dirty fingers!

Lettuce planted - check! Next up comes my heirloom
Italian endive.. this endive makes an
excellent cut-and-come-again crop. 

Tomorrow - The Weekend Gardener Returns!

Holy smokes, I can't believe tomorrow is the kick off to Season 7 of The Weekend Gardener.. Season 1 doesn't seem that long ago, but here we are 6 years later! I've been working hard on our 2013 line up (feel free to comment with your guest/segment ideas) and tomorrow offers some old favourites as well as new guests! Tune in live from 11 to 1 pm Atlantic time (10 - noon EST) on News 95.7 FM in Halifax, News 88.9 FM in Saint John or News 91.9 FM in Moncton. Or listen live online at www.news957.com.

I'm also please to announce that we'll have podcasting this year, so if you miss an episode, they will (finally!) be available online after the show!

Here's tomorrow's lineup:

11 to noon - I'll welcome back local expert Cathy Oulton from Bloom Greenhouse and Garden Center in Halifax to talk new plants for 2013 as well as some of her favourite woody shrubs and trees. Cathy and I LOVE to answer questions, so I hope that we'll have plenty of callers during this segment.

noon to 12:30 - Joel Karsten, the author of the excellent new book, Straw Bale Gardens will join me to talk about his unique and productive techniques.. I love this book - and have 2 copies to give away to listeners! - so I can't wait to talk to Joel. 

12:30 to 1 pm - Best-selling and award-winning author, speaker and journalist Sarah Elton, whose book Locavore took Gold at the Canadian Culinary Book Awards, was named one of Amazon.ca's top 50 books of 2010 and is a David Suzuki Foundation Book Club pick! She'll join me again to talk about her brand new - but already best-selling - new book Consumed: Food for a Finite Planet, which made the national best-seller list in its first week! A must-read!

I'm hosting #groundchat!

If you're on twitter, join me tomorrow at 3 pm Atlantic time (2 pm EST) for #groundchat, a weekly discussion on topics that pertain to soil and soil health. To participate, just go to Twitter at the start time and add the hashtag (#groundchat) to all your tweets.. and search for that hashtag and you'll be able to follow the discussion, ask questions and make comments.

Additional details about #groundchat can be found here, and it's hosted by the always awesome (and fellow Canadian!) Cristina da Silva.. She and I, along with a few other garden writers shared a panel at the recent Garden Writers Meeting at Canada Blooms in Toronto. Cristina is also the blogger behind The Real Gardener and I was thrilled to finally meet her in person at Canada Blooms..

My visit to #groundchat tomorrow will focus on crop rotation and how that can affect soil health.. and how to keep soil healthy and productive when you are growing year round. Hope you can take part!!

All Season Growing Workshop - Tomorrow in Tantallon

Transitions St Margarets Bay is hosting an all day workshop tomorrow at the Tantallon library from 10 am to 5 pm. If you want to learn more about using season extenders like mini tunnels, cold frames or unheated walk-in polytunnels, as well as what are the best veggies and herbs for a cold season harvest, this event is a must!! For more info, click here

Just released - the cover of my next book!

To celebrate this, my 499th post, I am very exited to share the cover of my next book with you..  I was thinking  that perhaps I should wait and make this my 500th post, but I'm too impatient!! :)

So, without further ado, I'm pleased to introduce Groundbreaking Food Gardens! (coming to a bookstore near you in Dec/Jan).. Preorders are now being accepted in the US here and Canada here.

As the release date nears, I will give you previews of some of the AMAZING designs in the book - I can say that without ego as 72 of the 73 designs were created by experts from North America and beyond. The contributors include fellow bloggers, garden writers, home gardeners, professional horticulturists and a whole bunch of awesome food gardeners who are as passionate about growing veggies, fruits and herbs as I am.

Nova Scotia Plant Sales - 2013 Edition

Ok, my head is swimming! So many plant sales, so hard to keep track of when/where/who! I've started a list of the upcoming plant sales in the Halifax area and beyond.. and if you have any to add, please comment below.. I highly recommend checking out some of these sales - great varieties and great prices. An easy way to add new plants to your gardens and an opportunity to talk to some experienced gardeners who are happy to answer gardening questions!

Plant Sales:

UPDATE - Here's another one that has come in since yesterday.. and see the comments below as well.

2013 SPRING PLANT- SALE

AT "THE WILLOW GARDEN"

#407 Old Maryvale Road, Antigonish Co., NS
Saturday, May 18th & Sunday, May 19th, 10 AM - 4 PM 

Look for:  Perennials, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Shrubs, Peonies, herbaceous & Tree, Specialty Trees, Begonias, Flowering Dogwood

For INFO on the availability of specific plants contact us by e-mail: willowgarden_ns@hotmail.com

Happy Gardening from Bill & Sharon Wilgenhof

(Niki's Note - If you are in the area, you definitely will want to get to the Willow Garden sale.. seriously amazing gardeners with extensive knowledge and wonderful plants)

Native Plant Sale (Support pollinators!) - Saturday May 4th, 9 am to noon at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens, 32 University Ave, Wolfville, NS. More details here.

Atlantic Rhododendron & Horticultural Society Annual Plant Sale - Saturday May 11, 1 to 3:30 pm at LeMarchant-St.Thomas School Gym at 6141 Watt St, Halifax. One week prior to the sale, a listing of the plants (many unique and rare!) will be listed on their website.

Dahlia Society of NS Annual Plant Sale - Saturday May 4th, 9 am to 3 pm or until sold out. At Micmac Mall, 21 Mic Mac Drive, Dartmouth, NS

Fall River Garden Club Plant Sale - Saturday May 25th, 9 to 5 pm at the Waverly Legion on Rocky Lake Road.

Rare and Unusual Plant Sale - Saturday May 11th, 1 to 4 pm, Farmers Market in Annapolis Royal, NS which is across from the wharf in downtown Annapolis Royal.

Halifax Westmoor Horticultural Society Annual Plant Sale - Saturday May 25, 9 am at St. John the Baptist Parish Hall, 26 Purcell's Cove Road (indoors!).

And more from the Nova Scotia Association of Garden Clubs website on plant sales:

May 11/2013, the Nicholsville Garden Club will be holding its annual plant sale and exchange in the Nicholsville Hall (413 Victoria Rd. Nicholsville, NS) from 09:30 a.m. till noon.

May 11/2013, the Great Village Garden Club will be holding a Giant Plant Sale at 10 a.m.at the Great Village School gymnasium.

May 11/2013, the Valley Gardeners will be holding a plant sale at the New Minas Fire hall on commercial st., New Minas.  

May 18/2013, the Wilmot Garden Club will be holding its annual plant sale at the cornner of Stronach Mountain Rd and Highway #1 in Wilmot, NS from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

May 18.2013. the Bedford Horticulture Society, will be holding its annual plant sale at  Scott Manor House, Bedford  10 am

May 23/2013, the North Sydney Garden Club, will be holding a plant sale at the Cape Breton Exhibition, Regent St, North Sydney at 6:30pm.

May 25/2013, the Bible Hill Garden Club will be holding a plant sale at the Bible Hill Fire Hall, 69 Pictou Road in Bible Hill from 8 a.m. till 12 p.m.

May 25/2013. the Musquodoboit Valley Weeders will be holding a plant sale at the Halifax County Exhibition grounds from 10 a.m. till noon.

May 25/2013. the Village Garden Clubs will be holding a plant sale at the Rawdon Gold Mines Community Hall from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

May 25/2013. the Country Garden Clubs will be holding a plant sale at the Elmsdale Fire Dept. from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

May 25/2013. the Stewiacke Valley Garden Club will be holding a plant sale at the Upper Stewiacke Fire Hall from 10 a.m. till noon.

May 25/2013. the Dartmouth Horticultural Society’s Annual Plant Sale will take place at St Peter’s Church Gymnasium, 5 Crichton Avenue Dartmouth, on Saturday May 25 at 9:30 am.  As this is a very popular event come early. 

May 25/2013. the Dartmouth Eastern Shore Annual Plant Sale will take place at the Lions Club, 89 Chezzetcook Rd. 10am till noon

June 01/2013, the Hilden Garden Club will be holding a plant sale at the Hilden Fire Hall from 8:30 a.m. till noon.

June 8/2013, the Stewiacke Garden Club will be having a plant sale at the Royal Canadian Legion, Stewiacke from 8-11 a.m.

June 15/2013, the Westmount Garden Club will be having a plant sale at 100 Parkwood Dr. Sydney River at 8:30am

Sunday in the Garden

A few of the seeds I'm planting today.

Ok, this is going to be a super short post, but one that I will expand on soon.. It is gorgeous outside - sunny and 15 C in my backyard and I'm digging, weeding, seeding and sighing. So nice to be finally in the garden. I would take post photos of my progress, but the sun is so bright, the colours are very washed out, so I'll wait and take some more later in the afternoon when it's not so glaring. I hope you're getting out in your own garden today as there is plenty that can be planted now - salad greens, turnips, beets, peas, carrots, kale, kohlrabi, onion sets, etc.. I keep my row covers handy for those night when the temp dips, but for now, the extended forecast is mild and sunny.. 

Back to the garden.. just came in for a quick water break, but wanted to share these photos.. :)

A 3 by 4 foot bed of Rocky Top Lettuce Mix
from www.rareseeds.com It's a new mix for me
and I can't wait to start picking salads!

My latest blog post for Proven Winners

One of my favourite new container plants is
Superbells ^® Lemon Slice. It looks
good enough to eat! (but don't, not
edible!) :)

The long-awaited arrival of mild spring weather has given me 'garden brain'.. I can't think about much except all the plans I have for this year - new shrub/perennial beds, a deer-proof fence (is that even possible?!) and a pot-scaped deck with a mad tangle of annual flowers, herbs and veggies. I'm also keeping a sharp eye out for unused or old items that I can 'upcycle' into fun and functional garden pots.. read all about it in my latest blog post for Proven Winners - click here!

Also, tune in to Information Morning on CBC radio 90.5 FM tomorrow morning (Thurs, April 25th)) at 6:45 am to hear Part 1 of my chat with Margot Brunelle on growing seeds. Part 2 will air Friday at 6:45!

And one last reminder that you can still register for my FREE online seminar with Horticulture Magazine. It's tomorrow at 2 pm ET (3 pm Atlantic) and you can pre-register here.

A Peek Under My Grow-Lights

Ah it's spring.. and the space below my grow-lights is quickly filling up. Well, truth be told, it's already filled up and I have so much more I want to plant! The gardeners lament, eh? Book and magazine deadlines as well as work travel delayed my seeding (and blogging - sorry!), but I'm happy to say that I've caught up and I have flats of tomatoes, peppers, onions (my latest obsession) and assorted other seedlings happily growing in my basement. In fact, Margot Brunelle from CBC radio was here this morning poking around my seed lights and chatting about the pro's and con's of growing your own plants from seed. Tune in on Thurs and Friday of this week to CBC's Information Morning for my two segments!

I've got a lot of variety beneath my seed racks - about 2 dozen tomato varieties, 6 heirloom onion varieties, 6 cucumbers, 4 gourds, some herbs and flowers, and even quinoa! I bought my Cherry Vanilla quinoa seed from Baker Creek in the US, but they don't have a photo of the plants on their website, so I found this one if you're curious. I don't expect to actually get a huge quinoa harvest (or even a modest one) from my 2 dozen plants, but I am excited about how ornamental they are. Spectacular spires of cream and pink flowers.. Can't wait!

If you're in Halifax, join me tomorrow night at 7 pm at the Keshen Goodman Library in Clayton Park for my free talk on growing veggies and herbs in pots/pallets/and more! Plenty of easy ways to grow some of your own edible plants this year.

And, this Thursday at 3 pm ET (or 4 pm Atlantic time), you can join me for a fun and visual webinar at Horticulture Magazine on growing food year round. Space is limited to 1000 and you can sign up here!

Here's a sampling of what's under the lights..

Quinoa.. my first attempt.. The plants were spindly
at first (my fault), but have thickened up nicely.

Can't wait to follow the progress of the quinoa.
I may even try to grow some in containers.. anyone
tried that?

Some of my beloved tomatoes.. Sungold, Costoluto Genovese,
Persimmon and more! 

The low position of the light helps keep the plants compact and
well branched. 

Zaatar.. a staple in our house. I make manouchie (a Lebanese flatbread
spread with olive oil and spice) for breakfast at least 3 times a week. I grew
this about 5 or 6 years ago, but it was time again to grow some of our
own. The flavour is outstanding when compared to store-bought zaatar
spice mix.  See the tiny plants.. Potential!

Giant Kossak Kohlrabi from Halifax Seed.
 A new offering from our local seed company with huge stems
 - up to 8-inches in diameter and perfect for fresh eating, stir-fries
or whatever! The seedlings are nice and stocky and I'm going to replant again
in early July for an autumn/winter crop.

Zinnias! C'mon, who doesn't love old fashioned annuals.
Last summer our garden welcomed dozens of Red Admiral
butterflies on a daily basis and they loved our zinnias. 

Purple kohlrabi - a smaller version than Kossak and a family
favourite. Quick growing too - ready in about 4 weeks from
transplanting.

The Spring Ideal Home Show - Seminar Schedule

It's HOME SHOW weekend!

JOIN GUEST SPEAKER NIKI JABBOUR WHILE SHE DISCUSSES:

No Garden? No Problem! - A dynamic and inspiring talk on how to grow vegetables and herbs without an in-ground garden. From pots to pallets, window boxes to wine boxes and hanging baskets to salad tables, Niki will offer a wide range of fun and easy ideas on how to add more homegrown food to your landscape.

Fruits, Berries and Beyond! -  In this visual presentation, Niki will profile some of her favourite fruits and berries for the home garden, focusing on low maintenance and easy to grow crops like highbush blueberries, haskap berries, strawberries and raspberries.

Seminar Times

Friday 7:00pm - “No Garden? No Problem!”

Saturday 1:00pm - “Fruits, Berries and Beyond!”

Saturday 3:00pm - “No Garden? No Problem!”

Sunday 12:00pm - “Fruits, Berries and Beyond!”

My latest blog post for Proven Winners

The weather looks quite mild this weekend with temp's rising above freezing - finally, a hint of spring! For a bit more spring inspiration, check out my latest blog post for Proven Winners - all about hanging baskets.. click here to read more!