When I lived in White Rock for nearly 50 years, I was an avid gardener. Everything that I could grow was in my yard, from Turkish figs to Kiwi fruits. There were grapes of different varieties, large cherry trees, and flowers galore, especially roses. I love flowers and at one time was a florist with my own flower shop.
But here, it is different. It is hard to garden right where I am. The early and late frosts in my little valley microclimate make my growing season extremely short, and it has taken me a long time to figure how to get some results. The tomatoes must be picked green. There is no alternative and although who doesn't love vine ripened in the sun tomatoes, we just do not get a long enough season for that to occur. I think this year I have found a corm variety that will actually give me corn. It is 70 days from seeding to harvest, an ancient variety of squaw corn that can be eaten young and fresh or dried for corn flour and such. I cannot wait for some of those fresh cobs off the stalks! The corn comes in different colours and is quite small, but if I can actually grow it here, I am still delighted.
Today I planted some herbs, Kabocha and spaghetti squash, swiss chard, beets, two varieties of carrots, scarlet runner beans, lots of flowers, some roses, and nasturtiums. I have cucumbers, zucchini, potatoes, and that corn left to plant, and more flower seeds to scatter. I used to do lots of hanging baskets, but bedding plants are two arms and a leg here. At home they were 99 cents and here the same plant is $3.99, so I only have a few baskets planted. Later in the season, the local grocers sell their baskets for under ten dollars, but I buy some and plant them in the ground. They are already overgrown and do not do well as baskets, though look lovely and grow well in the ground.
I have to fence off everything I grow from marauding chickens and geese, not so much the ducks, and the dogs. The dogs love to dig in the cool moist soil, huge large holes and plant themselves in them. I use electric net fencing and did not electrify it last year. It worked fine, but this year I may have to electrify it because of the rabbits. We shall see.
I brought the sheep in when I saw the storm clouds approaching, around 9 pm and called it a day. A little shower was expected and the clouds began to roll in. I managed to get in the house just before the first raindrops fell. How timely it was for my freshly planted garden! Hopefully tomorrow will see the garden completed and fenced in and then I can start painting the bed and breakfast house. There is a screw up there with the drywall and the new shower, but the drywallers do not answer calls on the weekends, so tomorrow they will have to rip out and repair the mess they made. That will only delay painting the bathroom, but I can complete the rest of the house without worrying about anything more. I cleaned it up yesterday and got ready to paint, but thought the garden should come first. Once it is complete, the painting can start in earnest.
There is a pot of Kabocha squash chicken (actually a rooster) soup, with garlic and ginger, on the stove waiting for me. Then a nice warm bath and finally around my usual bedtime, midnight, I will turn in and tomorrow will be another day. Hope you are here then.
But here, it is different. It is hard to garden right where I am. The early and late frosts in my little valley microclimate make my growing season extremely short, and it has taken me a long time to figure how to get some results. The tomatoes must be picked green. There is no alternative and although who doesn't love vine ripened in the sun tomatoes, we just do not get a long enough season for that to occur. I think this year I have found a corm variety that will actually give me corn. It is 70 days from seeding to harvest, an ancient variety of squaw corn that can be eaten young and fresh or dried for corn flour and such. I cannot wait for some of those fresh cobs off the stalks! The corn comes in different colours and is quite small, but if I can actually grow it here, I am still delighted.
Today I planted some herbs, Kabocha and spaghetti squash, swiss chard, beets, two varieties of carrots, scarlet runner beans, lots of flowers, some roses, and nasturtiums. I have cucumbers, zucchini, potatoes, and that corn left to plant, and more flower seeds to scatter. I used to do lots of hanging baskets, but bedding plants are two arms and a leg here. At home they were 99 cents and here the same plant is $3.99, so I only have a few baskets planted. Later in the season, the local grocers sell their baskets for under ten dollars, but I buy some and plant them in the ground. They are already overgrown and do not do well as baskets, though look lovely and grow well in the ground.
I have to fence off everything I grow from marauding chickens and geese, not so much the ducks, and the dogs. The dogs love to dig in the cool moist soil, huge large holes and plant themselves in them. I use electric net fencing and did not electrify it last year. It worked fine, but this year I may have to electrify it because of the rabbits. We shall see.
I brought the sheep in when I saw the storm clouds approaching, around 9 pm and called it a day. A little shower was expected and the clouds began to roll in. I managed to get in the house just before the first raindrops fell. How timely it was for my freshly planted garden! Hopefully tomorrow will see the garden completed and fenced in and then I can start painting the bed and breakfast house. There is a screw up there with the drywall and the new shower, but the drywallers do not answer calls on the weekends, so tomorrow they will have to rip out and repair the mess they made. That will only delay painting the bathroom, but I can complete the rest of the house without worrying about anything more. I cleaned it up yesterday and got ready to paint, but thought the garden should come first. Once it is complete, the painting can start in earnest.
There is a pot of Kabocha squash chicken (actually a rooster) soup, with garlic and ginger, on the stove waiting for me. Then a nice warm bath and finally around my usual bedtime, midnight, I will turn in and tomorrow will be another day. Hope you are here then.
This is my heritage squaw corn, an old variety once planted by the North American first nations peoples.
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