Beds filled and planted

I now have 3 raised beds.
They have been filled with what looks like great top soil from down the road.

Lettuce seedlings, garlic, mache, broad beans and chives have been planted in the first bed along with some field peas for a green manure.

The other 2 beds have been planted in field peas as a green manure crop. The beds have been covered in netting to keep the deer away until we get some fences up.
The garden is being abandoned til Nov., so I'll see then how it all survived.

Building the new garden

We are making progress with the new garden here on Malcolm Island.

This is the area for the future garden. It is one of the sunnier corners. We are dealing with tall cedars along the south boundary and then the buildings. I think there will be little sun here mid winter, but now in Sept it gets sun almost all day. The first thing that needs to go is the sign!

I've been playing around with plans on paper. It'll all take a while but as you can see below we've made a start, and the sign has gone-yeah.

The tall posts at the north end of the bed will have wire attached for future vines.
The beds are 16' long and 4' wide and are made of 2" x 6" lumber two high to give 12" high beds.
The ground is sloping slightly to the west so we've had to dig in the top edge.

To avoid digging I am going to fork through the sod to loosen it then lay down cardboard then these beds will be 2/3rds filled with some screened top soil sourced on the island, and in the spring top dressed with 'sea soil'- a compost made locally from fines(leftovers) from the logging industry that are mixed with leftovers from the fishing industry. This mix is composted for 2 years and hopefully will grow wonderful veges.

September at the community gardens

Gardening in this environment here, in Sointula, is new to me. The cool but long days during the summer will be a whole new experience.
I was excited to visit the local community gardens and see what was happening. A lot as it turned out.

I am really looking forward to building some raised beds in my own garden here over the next few weeks and getting started growing my own stuff.

Salmon Days

We arrived on Malcolm Island just in time to celebrate Salmon days which is one of the 3 big celebrations during the year on this small island.
The weather wasn't great but the sun did come out while the parade wandered down the main street.

Later in the day the salmon was served. Bar-b-qued on a cedar plank and served with  delicious salads it was a meal to remember. All to the music of Valdi who was playing live for us.

Later in the evening there was lots of dancing with the help of a local band.
The next morning  the main street was closed and set up for a big pancake breakfast put on by Victor at the Upper Crust. All to the sounds of local musicians that entertained the breakfast crowd from an open stage.
It was an amazing event for a small community. I'm really looking forward to the next big celebration here in November-Winterfest.