Started Harvesting the Garden

Well I had intended on keeping record of my garden planting etc on this blog........well, l am also a soap maker and have been very busy making and selling soap at Farmer's Markets and Festivals this summer.  So the garden has been doing okay, but probably hasn't received the attention it should.  My husband seems to have taken over and this week has harvested peas, chard, beet greens, kale, and brocolli.  It's been pretty hot lately so the peas have stopped flowering.  They really like it cool so I don't think we will have a bumper crop this year.  The potatoes planted in straw are coming, but got hit bad with frost a few times in the beginning of the season so they have been slow to grow.  We will see what happens by the end of Aug. 

Planting

Tilled up and planted almost all of the remaining garden yesterday.  The peas, lettuce, carrots and turnips planted previously are all coming up.  Yesterday I planted more peas, beans, chard, turnips, cauliflower, red cabbage, broccoli, dill and celery.  Dill and cabbage do well together as do cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage.  I have left a few rows unplanted to plant more peas and beans in the next couple of weeks.

Next.....plant tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse.  I'm really late this year but the plastic is up and the watering system will be hooked up tomorrow, then will add peat moss and mushroom manure to the beds and get planting.

Potatoes grown in Straw

A few years ago I thought I'd grow potatoes in straw.  Well it didn't work out as well as I thought it would, I have since done some more research and have decided that I planted them in a spot that held to much moisture.  Today I decided to try another spot, outside of the garden.  I put down a black biodegradable cover, covered that with some soil mixed with compost, place my potatoes, added a little more soil and then covered the row with about 6 inches of straw and watered them really good.  From the research I've done I should only have to water them once a week.  So we will see what happens this year. 

I planted one row of Red Chieftens that should be ready in about 65 days.  They are a high yield potatoe.  The second row I planted  Russets, they should mature in 80 days and this variety is know to store very well.  I will update as the potatoes grow.

Shopping for plants

Today I picked up peat moss to till into my garden.  I bought this at well know store, along with the peat moss I purchased some mushroom manure to add to my flower beds. 

While shopping I noted that the store had heather plants for sale.  Now being the granddaughter of grandparents that grew and sold heather all over North America, as well as having a plant named after my grandmother KNOW that heather does not grow in the north.  So be careful when shopping for plants.  These stores purchase the same products for all stores regardless of location, and when looking at the tags for these plants there are no climate zone numbers on the tags.

Not only were they selling heather, but I noted about 5 other plants that do not do well in the north.  So beware.

Planting in the Vegetable Garden

This week I tilled and planted about a third of the garden.  I've done allot of reading and experimenting with companion planting and am a firm believer.  If you are just getting started with companion planting I would recommend the book "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte. 

Onions, Beets, Carrots, Peas and three varieties of Lettuce is what got planted so far.  Only one row each of carrots and peas to start. (I want to make sure I've got some earlies - only 4 bags of peas left in the freezer)  It seems I never plant and freeze enough peas.......or is it never freeze enough because they get eaten right from the garden?

Carrots and Peas grow very well together, onions help to repel the carrot fly.  Beets grow well with onions and lettuce, they also grow well with bush beans but not pole beans.  Onions grow well with the cabbage family and like beets, tomatoes and lettuce but do not like beans or peas.

All the above can be planted before the last frost.  The beets usually 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost, if it looks to be iffy I will just cover the rows.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get the plastic on the greenhouse.
Hoping for a warm sunny day tomorrow....................

Snow in May in the Cariboo

Well the last few days it's been rain, snow and hail.  That seems to be the norm for the Cariboo this time of year, and Lord knows we really need the moisture this year.

I'm waiting for a nice warm day so I can put the plastic back on the greenhouse.  Had it been on things would be growing in there already, but every so often it's time to change the plastic and this is the year.

I found the big garden was a little to dry last year so I've picked up some peat moss and will rotatile that into the ground along with some compost before planting. My goal is to do some of that this week, well at least get the rotatiling and maybe my onions and lettuce planted. Lettuce really does well in cooler weather, and really any root vegetables can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked.

Well happy gardening to all..............

Working in the garden today

This morning the strawberries got weeded, the plastic came off the rest of the garden.  Transplated to the big garden raspberries, tarragon, and half the rubharb.  Lovage is coming up as well as the chives, garlic, tarragon, chard, and asparagus.  I even have a couple onions that must have got missed last year.

Looking around

Had a little walk around today, checked out the garden.  The strawberry plants and chard are starting to grow.  Rubarb is breaking thru the soil.  I'd be in the greenhouse getting things ready but we took the plastic off last fall and it hasn't been replaced yet.  Hopefully this weekend. 

Stevia

I grow stevia every year, dry the leaves, and use the powder for sweetener in drinks such as coffee and tea. My son uses it in a sports drink he makes consisting of water, lemon and stevia.

So, what is Stevia? It’s a shrub native to Paraquay where the Guarani Indians have been using it for over 1500 years. It is a natural sweetener with no calories and is diabetic safe. The stevia leaves are 10-15 times sweeter than sugar.

This plant is nontoxic and has been found to repel some insects; this may be due to the sweetness, which may act as a natural defense against aphids and other insects.

Stevia can be grown in containers, the greenhouse or out in the garden. Do not plant outside until all danger of frost is gone and the soil is warm. Young stevia plants are sensitive to low temperatures and all plants like to be moist but not to wet. Applying a layer of mulch around the plant will help to keep the soil moist in-between watering.

Harvest your stevia plants before the first frost. To harvest you can cut the whole plant and hang it upside down to dry or pick the leaves and use a screen, net or food dehydrator to dry them.

Once the leaves are dried, you can easily crush them into powder with your hands.

You can make your own stevia liquid by soaking crushed stevia leaves in water for a day or so, or by pouring hot water over the powder using a coffee filter.

Here is a wonderful Blog I came across that is dedicated to Stevia Recipes. It’s a wonderful site.

http://steviarecipes.blogspot.com/

Lovage - a herb we grown in our garden

Lovage is an ancient herb grown in English gardens and monasteries for hundreds of years, but originating in the Mediterranean. Europeans used it for treating minor stomachache, kidney problems and headaches.

I found lovage after a few failed attempts at growing celery. Lovage is far easier to grow, requires little to no care and comes back every year. It likes deep moist soil and sunshine or partial shade and grows as high as six feet tall. (Mine has gotten as high as 4 feet)

This herb looks and tastes like celery, although it has a much stronger taste it can be used in place of any recipe using celery – just use a little less.

Lovage is one of my favorite garden herbs; we use the leaves in salads and greens and the stock in soups, salads and stews or just raw. I have yet to use the root, but it is also edible – something we will have to remember to try this year.

One plant is definitely enough for a family.

Cream of Lovage Soup

Pea and Carrot Salad with Lovage

The resident deer

Writing my post last night it got me thinking of a time when one of the 5 or so neighbourhood deer was in our yard pruning one of the trees a little more than we liked. My husband tried to shoo it away and it just stood there looking at him. He picked up one of the dogs tennis balls and thru it toward the deer. The ball landed not far from where the deer was standing and it just walked over to the tennis ball and pushed it with it's nose.

The picture is not perfect but this is what I got.....needless to say we had quite a laugh over that one.

Cariboo Gardening

Well I thought it might be a good idea to create a blog on Cariboo Gardening, not only for information but to keep some kind of a record for myself.

It seems every year I start out great guns, making a map and writing the dates down when I've planted and when seeds have sprouted, and then.............I stop.

I've been planting a vegetable garden in the Cariboo for 20 years now, experimenting every year with something new. Last year we managed to grow 3 lovely honeydew melons that my grandson insisted on planting in my greenhouse. Other years it's been corn, cantaloupe, grapes, blackberries and more.

I guess the first thing to think about is deer proofing, we have tried all kinds of things and now have a 7' fence around the garden. I'm not sure what happened, maybe the weather, the climate but up until the last 5-6 years the deer and I had an understanding. They left the vegetable garden alone until I'd finished my harvesting and then they could have what was left, but that ended one year with all the broccoli being devoured before we got a chance to even taste it.
Since then the deer entered not only the garden, but also one year got in the greenhouse and ate everything but the stems of the green pepper plants.

We now have a 7' high fence around the garden and bright flagging tape hanging from the greenhouse doorway.