Got 'em!! Two blueberry bushes ($9.99 each), eight strawberry plants ($1.99 each) and even two Jalapeno pepper plants (I think they were $1.49 each or something like that).
I actually managed to find room in my garden plot for the peppers and two of the strawberries, the remainder of which I planted in pots around the yard. The blueberry bushes I planted by two fences - one at the back of the yard and one at the side.
Now the tough part begins... waiting, weeding and watering!!
Arrrgh...
We were at Canadian Tire today with the car, and I didn't even think to check... I called later and found out that they have strawberry plants and potted blueberry bushes (they should call that place Canadian Everything).
I'm going to walk back there tomorrow while A is in school... I'll take J in the double stroller and load up the extra seat with plants. I could have loaded up the car with the plants today had I known, but the upside is that now I'll get some extra exercise in. See now I don't feel so bad about the ice cream I just ate.
Ah... strawberries!! Yum. I've been wanting to grow them for ages and keep forgetting at the beginning of each season. Supposedly the commercial strawberries have really bad pesticides - more so than average. You can always buy organic of course, but growing your own is, I think, the best option.
Wish me luck... hopefully there are still some good ones left tomorrow!
I'm going to walk back there tomorrow while A is in school... I'll take J in the double stroller and load up the extra seat with plants. I could have loaded up the car with the plants today had I known, but the upside is that now I'll get some extra exercise in. See now I don't feel so bad about the ice cream I just ate.
Ah... strawberries!! Yum. I've been wanting to grow them for ages and keep forgetting at the beginning of each season. Supposedly the commercial strawberries have really bad pesticides - more so than average. You can always buy organic of course, but growing your own is, I think, the best option.
Wish me luck... hopefully there are still some good ones left tomorrow!
Naples and Garbage
When I saw the beginning of this CTV news story about the garbage crisis in Naples, I was expecting to hear that the absence of pick ups were related to some kind of labour dispute or protest. When the news story revealed that it was because the landfills are full, I could not believe my ears...
Don't Water The Weeds
I should have called this "My Gardening Blog" or something...
I thought I'd quickly pass on a tip from a friend re: watering. I LOVE this - it really makes a difference.
Instead of watering the entire garden, via a sprinkler, spray hose or even soaker hose, what I do instead is scoop out watering holes next to each plant, and watering trenches next to rows of things like carrots and radishes, and water only those spots.
It may sound like a lot of work to walk through the garden with a watering can filling the trenches and holes, but the reduction in weeds more than makes up for it. You leave the surrounding soil dry, and the weeds simply can't grow.
I thought I'd quickly pass on a tip from a friend re: watering. I LOVE this - it really makes a difference.
Instead of watering the entire garden, via a sprinkler, spray hose or even soaker hose, what I do instead is scoop out watering holes next to each plant, and watering trenches next to rows of things like carrots and radishes, and water only those spots.
It may sound like a lot of work to walk through the garden with a watering can filling the trenches and holes, but the reduction in weeds more than makes up for it. You leave the surrounding soil dry, and the weeds simply can't grow.
5 Garden Planning Lessons From Last Season
This weekend I'm going to plant my garden.
I think it's finally warm enough, considering the fact that the potato bits in my compost have started sprouting leaves and growing new potatoes! At the moment I have seeds on my counter, plastic take-out knives to use as row markers, and a tray of tall tomato plants just itching for more soil to spread their roots through. I also have some bell pepper seedlings that I've started, which should be interesting (never done those before). All I need now is an hour or so to get it done.
My lessons from last year include:
1) Take it easy on the bean plants. ONE SEED last year produced a MASSIVE stalk that produced more beans than we could eat.
2) Ditto for the snap peas. They're yummy and easy to grow, but you can only eat so many.
3) Have more radish and carrot seeds on hand and plant fewer at a time. I ran out last year, and regretted planting them so densely that I had to thin out (i.e. discard) a bunch. They're both fast growing crops that you can get many of in each season, so you don't want to run out or squander your seeds too early.
4) Don't buy "mixed greens" seeds... I don't know enough about greens, and when they grew I couldn't tell which were weeds and which were edible, so I didn't eat any (that's OK, I'm laughing at myself too ;-)
5) Plant more potatoes. They're easy to grow and a versatile food - last year I was forever wrist deep in soil rooting around, wishing I'd grown more.
I think it's finally warm enough, considering the fact that the potato bits in my compost have started sprouting leaves and growing new potatoes! At the moment I have seeds on my counter, plastic take-out knives to use as row markers, and a tray of tall tomato plants just itching for more soil to spread their roots through. I also have some bell pepper seedlings that I've started, which should be interesting (never done those before). All I need now is an hour or so to get it done.
My lessons from last year include:
1) Take it easy on the bean plants. ONE SEED last year produced a MASSIVE stalk that produced more beans than we could eat.
2) Ditto for the snap peas. They're yummy and easy to grow, but you can only eat so many.
3) Have more radish and carrot seeds on hand and plant fewer at a time. I ran out last year, and regretted planting them so densely that I had to thin out (i.e. discard) a bunch. They're both fast growing crops that you can get many of in each season, so you don't want to run out or squander your seeds too early.
4) Don't buy "mixed greens" seeds... I don't know enough about greens, and when they grew I couldn't tell which were weeds and which were edible, so I didn't eat any (that's OK, I'm laughing at myself too ;-)
5) Plant more potatoes. They're easy to grow and a versatile food - last year I was forever wrist deep in soil rooting around, wishing I'd grown more.
Recycling Batteries
This is something I've never done. I did a quick check and found a local company called Nu-Life Industries that I'm going to check out. I'll let you know what I find out - meanwhile I'm prepping for our trip on Sunday. No time for recycling batteries until we get back, but then I'm going to look into this more closely. Having two young kids we go through a lot of batteries, so this is an area where I can make a difference.
That's all for now!
That's all for now!
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