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.

Old seeds and green manure

I finally got around to sorting through my seeds. I have collected lots over the years and I had way too many to fit in the seed box. So any seeds over 5 yrs old got turfed. I emptied the seeds from their package into a container, then to see what would happen, sprinkled them thickly over some unused garden beds.

The results were rather surprising. The seeds got watered in really well with a couple of days of rain and sprouted impressively well. So my now 'green manure' is full of beans, amaranth, peas, squash and many unidentified flowers and brassicas. I can probably harvest the tips of the veges I recognise as micro greens. The rest will keep on growing til frost or longer with out amounting to much and then die down to feed the beasties in the soil.
It was great to see the old seeds still so full of life. Also a great way to recycle them through the garden.

Off to B.C in a few days to start working on new garden beds there.

New beds to play with

In spite of my usual delayed planting this summer I am harvesting veg from the garden. Not a lot but enough. The lettuce, pak choi and arugala are great additions to the table and shortly there will be the peas and beans.

The big change this summer is I finally put in a permanent back fence on the vege garden. Every year it has been expanding by about the size of the compost bins as I moved them further back each year. Finally this year I said enough.
Three 4 x 4 posts and a bag of sacrete later I had the supports in. A few hours with some chicken wire and staples and it was done. The paths and the new beds were lined with cardboard. The raised beds were formed from some old lumber that I had around and filled with the compost from last winters bins. The paths were then covered with saw dust. A heavy rain a few days later settled it all in.
Now I am dividing some of the perennials and putting the transplants in these new 'nursery' beds ready to take out to my new garden on the west coast later in the fall.

Making progress

After being back for 2 1/2 weeks it seems like I am making progress in my garden here in Ontario.

 From the weed infested bed above to weed free below with a few self sowns - parsley and lettuces mainly left in.

Add a row of beans and peas that are growing at great rates. The pak choi and lettuce are doing well in their starter pots and I notice flowers on the tomato plant I bought.

The seedling lettuce I bought 2 weeks ago are ready to eat along with the self sown lettuce around the compost heap.

Lots and lots of rhubarb to enjoy.

And lots of flowers to admire.

As usual I am off to a slow start but there is still lots going on in the garden and I'm thinking I'm catching up fast.

Great expectations

I am back in Ontario now and trying to play catch up again.
The flower gardens survived quite well without me and a little weeding has them looking great.
The vege garden not so well. It needs a little bit more work!

After a lot of rain in the last few days it shouldn't take much time to clear the beds. After one afternoon in the vege garden I already seem to be making progress.

 It's a bonus when I find self sown lettuce plants amongst the weeds.

I managed to find the last 6 lettuce seedlings at the local nursery so I am on my way. Also bought basil and a tomato plant.
I have planted lots of seeds, so now waiting for them to emerge. Hoping for a warm summer so they all grow quickly.

The rhubarb always does well here. The perrenial herbs are doing well. Great to have these perrenials in the garden that show up even if I don't.

A couple of my apple trees have a good crop on them. though one of my trees looks like it is dying.
It was a tough winter.

Off to weed more of the garden. Got to be ready for when the seedlings emerge and need to be transplanted.