Winters coming

Arriving back in Sointula I was pleased to see that the green manure of field peas and the broad beans that I planted early September were doing well.
In fact they were growing through the covering of netting that covered the beds, and there were signs that the deer were trimming them off as they poked through.

The fence we had planned to build around the garden this October was put on hold as through some misfortune our lumber provider couldn't provide.
So it was plan B for deer protection. A 2 x 4 temporary post in the far corners of the beds and netting stretched between is now forming a near invisible but I hope deer proof fence around the perimeter.
The dormant plants and herbs that I brought out from Ontario are now saftely in the ground. Next spring we'll see how they settled in.
I also planted a small bag of daffodils and crocus so that on our return in March we can experience the first spring flowers.

Winter appears to be on its way as we watch the snow on the far mountains creep lower and lower- just in time for the big winterfest they have here on the island.
We are off to Thailand in a few weeks so shouldn't experience too much of that.

Travels across Canada

We hit the road about a week ago now. We are now in Nelson BC spending a few days with friends before heading to the coast. It has been a great trip. We've experienced the whole range of weather from warm and sunny to snow.

When we left I loaded the truck with a box of dormant roots and a couple of smaller boxes of non dormant plants-mostly herbs. All destined for my garden in Malcolm Island BC.

Looking forward to getting them all in the ground in their new home.

Woodpeckers and snow

A few days ago I heard these pileated  woodpeckers working a wood pile in the garden.

They must have been there for an hour and didn't seem to mind me watching them.

Then a few days later the first snow. Yikes!

Fortunately tomorrow we start heading west. Hopefully to warmer weather.

End of summer in Ontario

Back to Ontario and to a neglected garden. I'm always surprised at what has survived with no help from me.
The big surprise was the bed that I scattered all my old seeds on in August. Obviously many were still in good shape as lots of beans, peas. amaranth and sunflowers are clamoring for space. There are a few things in that jungle I can harvest for the table, but mostly it will act as a green manure crop.

 I've been harvesting the last of the peas and beans along with lots of lettuce and pak choi and the odd tomato.

The sunflowers are looking great.

The peas and beans that are too mature will be picked and used dried.

We had our first frost 2 nights ago so the beans are no longer with us. But still lots in the garden that didn't get hit.
I'm here for only a couple more weeks. Just enough time to put the garden to bed,
 We then drive back out to BC, so I am wondering how many plants I will be able to dig up and take with me...

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.