urban Gardener: April 2009

If you are wondering

Considering That Less Than 6 % of the food we consume is grown on Vancouver Island means that we are neither “food secure” nor “food sustainable”. Alarmingly, that number has steadily declined in past years and leaves our island communities vulnerable to food shortages, if there is ever an interruption in the food delivery system. This column is designed to encourage people who have never gardened to begin their first steps in growing a few herbs and vegetables in small spaces. As our understanding of food production deepens it will hopefully lead to a social and environmental awareness of the need to support local food producers and to purchase what we eat close to home.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING

The phrase, Square Foot Gardening keeps popping up wherever people are discussing growing food in very limited areas. Small space gardening is what this column focuses on so I keyed in to Google and up came a puzzling array of sites. I wanted to read what Mel Bartholomew, the originator of this concept, had to say about the subject and I located his site at http://www.squarefootgardening.com/. Mel, who lives in the eastern U.S., was a traditional gardener until he became fed up with having to manage such a huge spread with its accompanying weeds. He invented the concept of planting in a raised bed measuring 4ft. by 4ft. and discovered that using a formula for planting, he could produce a season’s supply of fresh veggies for his family of four by gardening in four raised beds. He has a video on his web site showing the step by step process. I’m excited by this idea as he developed the plan 25 years ago and it has been tested thoroughly by a generation of gardeners. For those of you with large pots and balconies you can still adapt his ideas to your limited spaces. If you are planning Cut & Come Again plantings, it is possible to replant the pots at the end of the summer growing season and have herbs and fresh greens throughout the winter, as well as a few root vegetables.

West Coast Seeds Catalogue 2009 is an excellent reference booklet and provides a chart and simple directions for when to begin your seedlings, when to transplant them outdoors, when to harvest and when to plant for winter eating. The booklet is free and the only garden shop I know of presently that has the catalogue is C.R. Garden Centre. As well a book that is strongly recommended is Year Round Harvest- Winter Gardening on the Coast, by Linda Gilkeson.
To locate my past 2009 columns in Google please go to www.islandfocus.blogspot.com

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

CLIPPING FRESH HERBS

You Can Capture that “Mother Earth” feeling just by growing a tub full of herbs. They are easy to raise and aren’t too fussy about the condition of the soil in which you plunked them. You can clip fresh herbs all season long or leave them for harvesting in the autumn. Drying out the leaves and grinding them in a pestle and mortar will give you that cozy feeling that you have just fulfilled the first steps in providing for the family table.

Herbs like heat, about six hours of sun a day, so leave your shady spaces for the Cut & Come Again (C&CA) plants. As these ideas we’re writing about in this column are targeted on small space gardening we should work our projects around tubs on the patio, balcony or deck. A wide tub would be ideal for a pungent selection of herbs tucked in together and maybe a few nasturtiums or rockery plants tumbling down the sides of the tub for a splash of colour.

Start by planting some hardy faithful herbs such as oregano, sage, rosemary, lemon thyme, tarragon, sweet majoram, savoury, and lemon scented geranium. That mix is generally referred to as a “chef’s blend”. For a bit of sophistication try adding a few lavender blooms and that transforms the humble mix into an “herbes de provence”. It’s easier to pick up starter plants at the garden shops for perennials such as rosemary, bay leaf, and lavender. Later on this summer I’ll come back to the subject of herbs as we move into harvesting our precious little crops.

There Are Wonderful starter trays with clear plastic elevated lids in the garden shops. They are inexpensive and create an immediate greenhouse on your windowsill . Just add three dozen small peat moss container cups, fill them with organic potting soil and your chosen seeds. In a couple of weeks or less those seeds will be peeping up at you and ready for transplanting in mid May. In fact, if you leave the lid on you could gradually acclimatize the plants to the outdoors by setting the tray on the deck during the days.

How Cool Can You Get? The provincial government employees’ union BCGEU newsletter has a column in the spring publication called Cool Communities. They are interested in the position that municipal councillors are taking on food security related issues as well as protection of agricultural land, preserving the UBC Farm and supporting the infrastructure for farmer’s markets. In fact, they did an online questionnaire to gather opinions of candidates prior to the last election and forwarded the results to environmental and food security groups. Good show BCGEU! That’s what rethinking the use of our Island land is all about… gradually shifting our understanding of how fragile our food supplies are…remembering that only 6% of the food we eat is grown on the island. Herbs grown in pots, replacing flowers in tubs with edible plants, supporting the local outdoor food markets, asking the store mangers to bring in more island grown food is how we can each begin to take those small steps towards creating food security.

There Are Endless Sites on the web that provide you with the specifics of food gardening as well a couple of excellent west coast magazines that deal with all the vagaries of growing stuff in our climate. Check the list of linked blogs that I've posted and you will be surprised at the garden information that is available. A Powell River writer’s new blog examines in detail the issues surrounding the food movement and posts an interesting selection of topical blogs. Some enthusiastic citizens kicked off a campaign a couple of years ago called The 50-Mile Diet and it has been a great stimulus to the number of Powell River people who are now operating small farm gate markets and others who are throwing themselves into the joy of growing food for their own families and sharing their experiences on-line.

Did you know?

… if you google Campbell River on your computer the arrow that pops up shows the entrance to town is located at 14th Ave. Now picture a first time visitor to Campbell River heading north on the Inland Island Hwy., then turning right at 14th and driving past the Eagles Hall. Then the route takes them along an industrial strip leading to the Maple St. left turn bend. No wonder the hapless driver ends up in Campbellton asking for directions! The recently formed Campbellton First committee has identified its initial outdoor task is to clear garbage, groom sidewalks and improve landscapes. A Campbellton First Clean-up is being held on Saturday, March 31. The energetic new committee welcomes volunteers from all points of town to join in the effort. Watch The Mirror for further information on the clean up.

… it is probably the furthest thing from your mind in the middle to this hot spell but it’s now time to prepare the soil for your winter garden. If you want to eat fresh, organic, local food all year round for the price of a few seed packets then check out West Coast Seeds Winter Gardening Guide. So far the booklets are available at Campbell River Garden Centre. It advises, for example, sowing arugula from June to the end of August for harvest in fall and through winter into spring. Carrot seeds can go in the ground the first two weeks of August for winter harvests. Other winter vegetables include beets, Brussels sprouuts, kale, lettuce, parsnips, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips. When choosing seeds for winter gardening check the package as it should indicate whether it is a hardy, winter variety. You might have to experiment the first year but that’s part of the fun in learning about your garden’s potential.

… garlic, chives, cilantro, fennel leaf, parsley, sorrel, bay leaf, chervil, rosemary, sage, thyme and winter savoury are available year-round. Harvest them fresh or dry them out in a warm room and grind them up in with a mortar and pestle or processor. They make much appreciated gifts for friends and of course for use in your own kitchen.

… it is possible to raise worms in a small container or tote box on your back deck. My experiment is turning out well and all I did was fill the tub full of soil, spade in a handful of red wiggler worms given to me by a friend, and enough water to keep the soil lightly moist. Feeding the soil with finely chopped left over vegetable peelings, the worms receive a steady supply of food which they convert into nutrient-rich castings. Two or three pounds of green kitchen refuse including tea bags and coffee grinds a week is all that’s needed to keep them happy. To create the perfect environment I really need to find a tote with air holes and a spigot to drain off excess water. The compost they create is considered “black gold” as the castings are far more beneficial to plants than any man-made fertilizer, according to a website called WormWatcher.

… there is always something new to learn when setting up a food garden and my friend Lance Klassen recently revealed an amazingly easy method of seed-starting for transfer into pots. Lay your various seeds on a damp tea towel. Sprinkle the seeds loosely and cover with a second damp towel. Leave them on the kitchen counter or somewhere indoors. For the next three days make sure the towels stay damp. By the fourth day the seeds should have sprouted. At that point you can very gently transfer each seed that has produced a strong root into small containers full of potting soil. I tried this successfully with 12 different seeds and five days later I now have trays of happy seedlings arrayed on the window sills and peeping out of their pots. This method sure beats sprinkling the soil with seeds and then having to thin out the weaklings once they have struggled up through the earth.

... that those tough little veggies like arugula, chard and kale which survived the winter can be tenderized successfully by placing them in the freezer for 30-40 min. and then quickly steamed or stir fried. It is a year since this column was first published. Those of you looking for guidance on how to start a veggie garden in small spaces just Google Campbell River Urban Gardener and my blog will pop up to display all the archived columns.

... that I have a cooking technique for turning sprouts into a culinary triumph. Prepare to be amazed! You may be able to convince your entire family to munch a few sprouts after trying out this idea. Heat up your frying pan and melt a large dollop of butter in the pan. Add half a teaspoon of brown sugar. Cut the sprouts in half, lengthwise. Arrange them face down in the pan and cover with a pyrex see-through lid if possible. Don't add water. Cook them at medium heat for about five minutes. You'll know they are ready if the sprouts turn intensely bright green and can be pierced with a fork. Remove immediately and serve with a smile. The U.S. President said publicly that he hates sprouts. I think I will send this recipe to Michelle. It may change the course of history.

... that fresh cilantro can be frozen in the same way that you have learned to freeze parsley. Place in a plastic bag, unwashed, and snip or slice off whatever you need and then return it to the freezer. It keeps its intense flavour despite being frozen and sure beats finding a half decayed bag of your favourite kitchen herb decomposing at the back of the veggie container.

... that stinging nettles make fabulous fertilizer juice? Well, that’s so, according to a local friend who told me to cut down the huge stinging nettle growing at the back of the property and chop it up into small pieces. Then I am to place the pieces in a bucket and cover with water. After about six weeks, according to my advisor, it will turn into a dark green slurry. Then it’s time to strain it and place in a lidded container. I can then add a few tablespoonsful to a watering can and it makes an outstanding liquid fertilizer.

... that there is a technique for harvesting veggies called Cut & Come Again so that the plants can continually reproduce. In fact there are two systems. Either take a pair of scissors and clip off the top of the plants...like giving the plants a hair cut...or the other choice is to clip only the outer largest leaves from the plants. Whichever way you choose is provides you with an endless supply, especially with spidly plants like chives, mizumi, arugula and lettuce. It takes a leap of faith to shave off alll those leaves but it works. The next crop will bounce up in a couple of weeks. Basil needs a different approach. Pick from the top of the plant down to the next set of leaves. That's where the growth is renewed.

... that you can keep a pot of fragrant basil on your kitchen window sill and, even if you continuously clip leaf clusters from the top of the branches, the plant will produce new leaves within a week. I’ve been doing this for ages and it still amazes me. I can purchase a sturdy looking little basil plant for $3 at the grocery store, even in the dead of winter, and it will keep producing for months on end. Eventually the plant will exhaust itself and need to be replaced. But, in the mean time there is a supply of one of the most favored herbs. In the summer it thrives when planted out doors in a very hot spot, tucked in under the spreading leaves of a large tomato plant. Try a thickly sliced home grown beefsteak tomato, sprinkled with shredded basil leaves and a teaspoon of organic olive oil. It’s a humbling experience. One should only consume such an offering on bended knees…with your head bowed.

... food grown on Vancouver Island has steadily declined and is currently less than 6%!! So when you sow a few seeds and start your very own food garden you are taking the first steps in making us and our children “Food Secure” in our beautiful island home. You will hear more and more about the issues of food sustainability. It means eating close to home and supporting farm markets and local producers in the mid-North Island.

... that you can enjoy your home grown parsley all year round by filling a small plastic bag full of fresh green leaves and storing them in the freezer. When you need a sprinkling of parsley to top up an omelet or a fresh salad, grab your kitchen scissors and slice off some frozen parsley.You'll be surprised to discover that it still retains that lovely pungent smell of fresh cut parsley.

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