Fertilizer Friday- Flaunting the May Garden

Here it is Friday once again and I am linking up with Glenda over at Tootsie Time. How was your week? Mine was as busy as usual with the greenhouse still full of plants. Of course, I have barely touched my garden but I did get about 30 feet weeded. Yes, I can finally get down and get my fingernails dirty after waiting so long after hip surgery. Well, its only been about four months but to this die-hard gardener it has seemed like forever. Of course, my friend Morning Glory was not happy to see me. She has already grown up and twisted around my plants, grrrrr. Now that I am back in the swing (or kneeling pad) of things she will be gone in no time flat.

This weekend is my last sale of vegetable plants.That should get about 20 flats out of the greenhouse. I need room for more tomatoes! Plus I have to do up a few containers for the yard. With such a large garden we don’t do too many containers. Remember all that watering they need, yes. I will be playing around with a few ‘new to me’ found treasures over the next few weeks. I have been on the hunt for the perfect piece of bling to pretty up an old toolbox. Guess what, I found my bling today at the local thrift shop! Hubby kind of looked at me and rolled his eyes, you know the look.

Lets get on with the plants this week. There is so much in bloom but the Irises still are the best this week.

This Iris just opened a couple of days ago and I was so busy I hardly noticed. Bad me!

I love the way this pale lilac coloured Iris looks with Allium. Not that it was planned like that.

Still trying to figure out what to do with this tiny garden smack in the middle of the lawn. It was a disaster of old herbs when we moved in, has been in flowers, a square foot garden for veggies and now its back to flowers. This clay soil just doesn’t grow vegetables well. The garden may just be removed soon and replanted with lawn. We still havent decided.

If the garden stays this fairy is in need of a good coat of paint.

The Peonies are in full bloom and are surrounded by Centaurea montana. As much as I love blue flowers, the Centaurea is a thug in the garden moving a bit too rapidly for my liking.

The Weigela is full of pink flowers and it will continue to bloom for many months. It always has a second flush of flowers later on during summer.

Here ye, here ye, the Roses are blooming! This is early for the Roses to bloom. The shrub Roses are just covered in flowers. Can you say we are in the pink?

The first of the climbing Roses is just about to open. Soon the arbor will be a mass of blooms and the scent, oh, the scent. Can you tell I love my Roses? What I love about my Roses is they all have fragrance and that just makes them even more special.

Who Was Your Garden Mentor?

For a week I have pondered this question. I must have the worst memory because I can’t recall any particular one person that inspired me to start gardening. My mom and grandmother always had a few flowers but were so busy raising children that little time was spent outside. Over the last few days I have been looking through old photo albums to see how my gardens were way back when.

I bought my first home in the late 1970s and remember building a small rock garden in the backyard and having a row of Sweet William to grace the path leading to our front door. Then children and working full time got in the way for a while.

 

Its wasn’t really until 1987 when I purchased a home on my own that a real garden started to develop. It’s funny to look back now at what I planted then. My gardens were full of the usual Marigolds, Alyssum  and Sweet Peas with a few perennials thrown in. One thing that did inspire me during these years was the fact that I signed up for a subscription to Gardens West magazine. I would read them from cover to cover and learn more and more about gardening. This magazine was just right for a new gardener.

As I learned more, my garden grew, I used different plants and three years later I decided to take a master gardener course at VanDusen Botanical Gardens. What was I thinking!? Not that the course isn’t wonderful with speakers from all over to teach you about gardening but now I could diagnose every pest in the garden. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I was out noticing everything that was going wrong in the garden instead of enjoying it.

Obviously I must have been outside a lot. Her my daughter, Julie, was already starting to help. She now has her own garden and grows on a condo balcony, bless her.

After doing the course to become a master gardener, I found it wasn’t enough. I decided to  go to university and get my diploma in horticulture. Of course, I did it the hard way through distance learning from University of Guelph while working and raising four children. The professors I had really inspired me in my studies. They were always open to any questions I had.

Life has evolved a lot since then. I have moved twice and now garden on half an acre. I  garden organically and the birds take care of my pests. I don’t stress if a plant dies.That just means it didn’t pay the rent and I can buy a new one. I no longer subscribe to garden magazines. I enjoy learning from design experts by attending seminars at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. I joined a local garden club and they have mentored me. So it isn’t just one person that has been my inspiration, its been many. From the books, gardening friends and gurus, they have shaped my garden world.

Today I am writing as a link to the Grow Write Guild over at You Grow Girl. Thank you Gayla for initiating the prompts. Its fun to look back.

Everything Looks Delicious!

May has been a busy month in the greenhouse. As soon as I got the first 150 tomatoes sold and some potted up, the shelves were filled with new plantings.

This is how it is this morning, packed with tray after tray of healthy plants waiting for a home in a garden somewhere. There is  way to much food growing in here for just hubby and I so I decided this spring to sell some. I am new at this and found out quickly how much work it is. It involves planning weeks ahead to get stuff at the right size to sell.

My tomatoes that I am growing for a private seed bank in Vicotoria are thriving.They are all in five gallon pots and have doubled in size since I potted them up. Check out the first flowers!

The other side of the greenhouse is just as full. I kind of went crazy and started planting all sorts of vegetables. I have beans, kohlrabi, cucumbers, squash, eggplant and  zucchini.

The beans are thriving and need to get outside tomorrow to harden off. Its time to plant them outside by the middle of May here in the lower mainland.

My biggest lesson learned, never plant Basil too early. Finally in early May the Basil germinated. I thought I was a complete failure at this or maybe the seed was too old, who knows? I have lots of pots of Basil ready to go outside at the end of May. I can’t wait to make pesto this summer.

The Halona melons are new to me. I will try them out this year and hopefully I can sell some to see how they perform. They are a pretty good size now which is important to ensure a timely harvest. Here with our short growing season, we need to start our melons indoors in order to have a harvest.

I have three different kinds of pumpkins growing in the greenhouse. It literally took just three days for these babies to germinate. They can be planted out next month.

For my friends who wanted celery, I now have lots just waiting for a home. I found out last year that six plants are too many for us. Celery doesn’t freeze well and is best used fresh but six plants ready at the same time are too many. I had to make pear celery soup to use all my harvest last year. Of course, if you have a big family then go for it.

 

I have Red Russian Kale looking so healthy and ready to go in the garden. I love this new super food. Did you know its high in vitamin K  so if you are taking any kind of blood thinners, you should consult your doctor before eating it?

This weekend will be my last veggie plant sale. I will be outside with the plants on Friday and Saturday morning from 9-noon.

What Plants Make You Swoon?

I feel bad as I have been so busy that its been almost a week since I have posted. Between community garden happenings and plant sales, lets just say, I need a holiday from spring. Today I am joining Glenda over at Tootsie Time and sharing the blooms in my garden. Last week I shared my peach coloured Azalea  but now its fully open and looking wonderful. It’s hard to believe we actually considered taking them out.

The Allium are sporting their globe shaped flowers. I have planted large groupings of them  behind a sitting area where you can’t miss them in bloom. This is one bulb that comes back year after year .

The first of the Peonies are starting to open. I am looking forward to bouquets of Peonies in a vase soon.

Swoon! I must admit I have a bit of a thing for Hostas. The contrast they provide in the garden is always welcome. Their large leaves alway look great paired with narrow leaved plants.

I woke up to see this Iris from my kitchen window. I have been waiting in anticipation all week for it to open.

That made me walk the garden once again and there was one more Iris open with many more to come.

The Rhododendrons and Azaleas continue to bloom each taking a turn with the last still to come in June.

The Viburnum is so tall I had to hold my camera up high and try to take this photo. This is one of the white blooms in my shady front yard. I love using white and golds to brighten up a shade garden.

Well that’s it for today. I am off to get ready for yet another plant sale tomorrow. One thing I love about holding my plant sales are the people I meet. They are all wanting to learn about gardening. They have come to the right place!

How To Take Care of Your New Tomato Plants

Did you buy your tomato plants yet? Many people came to buy my heirloom tomato plants over the weekend. They also came with lots of questions about growing tomatoes. One main question was whether or not the tomato plants needed sun. Definitely yes, tomatoes need as much sun as you can give them since they are a heat loving plant. If you are growing them in containers, it allows you the flexibility to move the pot to a sunnier location if needed. Many people live in smaller homes these days with little growing space so containers are usually the way they garden.

For containers, you can grow any kind of tomato as long as you have supports in place.Most heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate meaning they can grow quite tall and will need staking. Many of the cherry type tomatoes do well in containers as their fruit is not as large weighing the plant down. Myself, I grow all my tomatoes in containers and stake them all.

So what do you do with your tomato plant once you have taken it home? It can’t stay in the tiny 4″ pot for long. The sooner you pot up a tomato the sooner it will mature bringing you fruit. Be sure to buy a lightweight potting mix to use as your soil base. Everyone has their favourite. I like to use a potting soil from West Coast Seeds and add a bit of Sea Soil. You can add compost to your new soil and blend them together as well.

Okay, let’s get started. First decide on your new container. Here I am using a five gallon container and I would suggest not going any smaller than this. The plant needs room for root growth. I have so many tomato plants that decorative doesn’t come into play in my garden. I am sure you can find prettier pots than my black plastic one. Just make sure your new container has drainage holes.

Next gently squeeze the pot containing your new plant to loosen the roots. Do not pull the plant out by the stem or leaves as it could easily break. Once the soil is loosened, place one hand across the top of the pot like in the above photo and carefully tip the plant out.

 

Look at the great root system on this plant and it isn’t root bound. If you see roots circling around and around the bottom of the plant, be sure to tease the roots out or they will continue to grow in this way. Breaking a few roots will only stimulate new root growth.

Fill your new container with soil leaving enough room to plant your tomato plant. Make a hole for your plant in the soil in the center of the container. You will notice that your tomato plant may have a bare stem up to its first set of lower leaves. Check out the above photo and see how I have the stem marked. I will be planting the tomato up to this point. The stem of the tomato has the ability to form new roots along the stem giving you a sturdier plant.

 

There you have it, a newly planted tomato. Be sure to water your plant well after transplanting and keep an eye on it for a few days. You will be amazed at how fast it grows now that it has the room. When placing your tomatoes outside be sure the night time low temperature doesn’t go below 10C. Placing your tomatoes outside too early will only set them back.

Do You like Tomatoes?

I had my first ever tomato plant sale. Yes, the 200+ tomato plants were put out for sale this morning and people arrived before 9am looking for whole flats of tomatoes. I must thank everyone for supporting my first sale today. It was a fun day talking to everyone about the plants I love to grow.

I was up at the crack of dawn getting the flats all ready, watered and on to the shelf in the driveway. Then I tagged them all just to make it easier to find each variety.

 

I set up the chart I had made showing photos and descriptions of the tomatoes I was selling. People were surprised to see the white and purple tomatoes. One customer just couldn’t understand why I would grow anything other than a red tomato. Shall we say it is all about taste. I have lots of tomatoes for sale from the purple of Indigo Rose to the creamy white of Snow White. My favourites are Yellow Pear and Brandywine. The Yellow Pear is great for snacking on the go and adds that punch of color to any salad. The Brandywine is so full of flavour. It reminds me of sun-dried tomato flavour, strong and rich.

In the first hour I had all my sales for the day. I think everyone likes to get to plant sales early. I still have some plants left over so I think I will continue the sale tomorrow. I sure don’t want to plant my lawn with hundreds of tomatoes. Hubby sure wouldn’t go for that.

It’s not just tomatoes that I have grown. I also have yellow crook neck zucchini, basil, beans, kale, melons and a whole bunch of flowers are on the go. As I entered the greenhouse to check on my plants tonight, there is still not enough room in there!!!! No wonder, I potted up two more flats of vegetables and I have many more to go. The greenhouse is still bursting. You know how it is. Give a seedaholic a few seeds and they go crazy. Thats me.

The rest of the garden is looking great considering I havent had time to weed yet. Heres my plan. Plant so much that your plants shade out any potential weeds. I don’t believe in having any bare soil in the garden. Every year I think each garden gets edged just a bit wider. The gardens are really starting to perform this week.The Rhododendrons are in bloom with their showy flowers.

The Tovara has reseeded all throughout a dry shade area. Lets hope I have lots of this plant to fill in where nothing else likes to grow.

In total we have about forty Rhododendrons and Azaleas in the yard with blooms starting in early March and continuing until the end of June. Someone came by and wanted to take a quick look at the garden today. She looked at me and asked, ” Your yard doesn’t end way over by that fence does it?” When I said yes, she asked when we would sell it. “Not quite yet” I said.

I always like this combination of the white flowers of the Dogwood with the brilliant Red of Rhododendron. I have been so busy I almost didn’t notice that the Lilac was in bloom. Each day warrants a walk around just to see whats new in the garden.

As I sit here writing the sun is setting, the greenhouse is put to bed for the night and I am preparing for another busy day in the garden tomorrow.  Today I am linking with Tootsie Time so be sure to see what Glenda has growing this week.

 

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast…..

Where did the last month go? Is it just me?  As I age the time seems to fly by. April was a busy month with growing in the greenhouse and helping with the annual startup of the Ladner Community Garden. My garden is already needing some tender loving care. That bad morning glory just won’t stay away. She is back to visit once again this year and mocking me as I still cannot bend over to garden.

If you don’t look too closely the garden is doing its thing. Its full of perennials that don’t need any help. They just keep on giving. The winds of last week knocked the Magnolia flowers down but the Rhododendrons are out in full glory. I love this time of year but things are growing so fast I can hardly keep up.

The Irises just came into bloom. Irises are so easy to grow and are like the orchid of the garden in May. This is the first of many. When gardeners offer their Irises, I never say no.

For the last few days, my 200 plus tomato plants have been coming outside for a bit of sun. I am trying to prepare them to stay outside and the nights are now warm enough for them. I had to borrow the shelf hubby put together for my daughter’s new home. It’s perfect for plants! I will have to show you about the shelf project another day. It’s a whole other post.

 

Finding a bit of shade for the tomato plants can be a challenge. I spend more time moving them around and actually have to watch the clock so that they all get a turn outside. I don’t want them to get sunburned before they go to a new home. Did I tell you I am having a tomato plant sale tomorrow? I pretty well had to have a sale with so many plants. Its my first sale so keep your fingers crossed that I don’t need to dig up my lawn and plant tomatoes. This will be interesting as I didn’t advertise at all. I used social media as a selling tool so we will see how it goes.

The Kale babies also came outside today.  These babies grow to about four feet high so I have just one plant to a pot. Two plants are enough for any garden.Whats odd where I live is Kale is hard to find at local garden centers. If you buy seed, you will have enough for years and years of plants.

 

This is a very old Azalea but I love it.Every year we contemplate taking them out. The older branches have been dying back and it has left them pretty unsightly when not in bloom. Last year we pruned a lot of the dead growth off and to our surprise the plants have sent new growth from the base. Looks like they were listening and smartened up.

The Dorinicum or Leopards Bane is amazing this year. People walking by are asking what it is. I always liked daisy like flowers. They seem to attract the beneficial insects with their landing pad flowers. I actually dug this clump up a few years ago but its back again. I know what I will be sharing soon.

Isn’t that what gardening is about? The sharing of plants, a shared story , a conversation between two like-minded souls. You have to love this time of year. Mind you, it could slow down a bit. Just one more plant sale, out-of-town company arriving and 350 tea cups to plant next week. Maybe next week, I will put my feet up. Ya right!