urban Gardener: 2013

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, May 28, 2013

Growing Food Year Round

Mastering Cold Frame production takes more than enthusiasm for food gardening to produce a winter crop. A friend built me two cold frames in early autumn. The resulting excitement over the newest project exceeded my knowledge of how to plan a winter garden. Having mislaid the copy of “How To….” by Island garden guru Linda Gilkeson it was necessary to fall back on my own resources. So, the planting began in early September and I choose kale, collards and cabbages. It was a very warm month and by early October the plants had shot up to three feet in height with unusually broad leaves…green veggies on steroids. By December they were pressing against the glass roofs of the cold frames.
None of the plants really developed into recognizable vegetables, just lots of deep green leaves. The next months have been spent giving away bundles of crisp garden produce to anyone who comes by to peer at my monster plants. Determined not to waste any of this crop I have relied on my signature dish of chiffonaded greens, seasoned with ginger and garlic. Every meal served with a steaming heap of unidentified glistening greens has been a pleasure. What’s been gleaned from this experience is that the amount of fertilizer should be reduced and the glass roofs removed in the heat of day. A greenhouse thermometer might also be a good idea!

This season the cold frames, which are built on top of my raised beds are being cleared of the winter’s stubble, refertilized lightly and planted with cool season veggies. These are starter plants such as spinach, lettuce, arugula, baby bok choy and green onions purchased at the nursery. That will keep me supplied with some salad greens until it’s time to replant with the traditional summer fare. The two cold frames are a humble collection of discarded wooden posts, scavenged storm windows with a skirting of greenhouse quality plastic. The only expense was the skirting. Each pane is independent so all one needs is to lift up the pane in order to gather whatever one needs for the meal.

I have a very small greenhouse and summer season plants can be started there and will be ready for transplanting in early June. My goal is to succeed as a year round gardener and to share this enthralling experience with emerging gardeners who read this column.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Making Maple Syrup

Learning To Tap Syrup from our Bigleaf Maple is a fascinating process and many islanders are successfully producing maple syrup for home use and for sale. It has become a small cottage industry in the Cowichan Nanaimo area. The annual Bigleaf Maple tapping demonstration will be held tomorrow, Saturday Feb. 2 at the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan. Here’s an opportunity for readers to learn the secrets of extracting gallons of maple juice from our handsome Western Maples and converting the sap into rich tasting maple syrup. The program includes a tapping demonstration, syrup tasting, luncheon with maple flavoured treats, talks with syrup vendors and of course a demonstration on boiling and syrup making. It may be a bit chilly outdoors but there will be a large wood burning evaporater filled with hot sap. You can bundle up and keep warm while enjoying a bit of maple syrup therapy and sipping on a cup of maple sap mint tea. There will be steam train rides to delight the youngsters. It is short notice for Up Islanders but if you are going call 250-715-1113 Ext. 4 for info or go to www.bcforestmuseum.com. There is a modest entrance fee for the family and the demonstrations continue all day. This rapidly growing industry started on Vancouver Island and has spread to Washington, Oregon and California.

While In Duncan you may want to include the second annual Islands Agriculture Show held on both Friday Feb. 1 and Saturday Feb. 2. It is located in the Cowichan Exhibition Centre and is a unique opportunity to showcase the agriculture industry on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. There will be more than 60 exhibitors plus farm seminars that will be of interest to the general public as well as the farm community. For further info go online at http://iashow.ca/ or call 1-250 748 0822.

Many Of My Readers experimented with planting the root end of green onions in order to regrow them. My trial worked well and I was able to “harvest” the next generation of greens. However, when I left the root ends in the soil for a another attempt at regrowing them again all I got were a few exhausted stems struggling to stay upright so I gave them a quick and merciful end. However, I learned that organic onions are the only type that will produce a second crop. As this was an experiment performed on my kitchen windowsill it will be interesting to see if a set of green onions, grown outdoors, can reproduce a second crop if the roots are left in the ground. That really will be sustainable gardening.

Did You Know that North Island College has a course on Feb. 10 called Edible Landscaping. You can have your garden and eat it too! Learn everything you need to know from expert Helena Hartwood about variety choice, bed preparation, planting and harvesting.

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.

urban Gardener

Urban Gardener