Saturday March 26th

Attention Gardeners: We will meet this Saturday, March 26 at 10:00am in the garden. We are going to discuss purchasing a tomato cloche and then do some planting and transplanting. Don't forget to renew your DIGS membership fo 2011. $10.00 singles and$15.00 family.

a bed in the park: the garlic's poking through

this is our bed .. at the moment one third of it is growing .. garlic, that is .. you can see the part we've planted at the back of the bed, covered in straw .. we planted the garlic in late november, if my memory serves me right .. then, we mulched it with straw .. then, we walked away from it .. but not until after saying a little prayer of sorts .. something like "okay, guys, there you go .. do your best" .. that sort of prayer .. then, we waited .. and in the new year, the garlic guys began showing themselves through the straw .. so lovely .. so green .. so young and fresh ..

now, we'll just keep watching it .. i think that helps .. them knowing you're out there rooting for them .. (no pun intended) .. i'm down at the garden at least once a week .. just to check ..

AGM Sunday, February 20th at 1pm

AGM Sunday, February 20 at 1pm at the lighthouse.

Dear D.I.G.S. members and island gardeners,
DIGS will hold its Annual General Meeting on Sunday, February 20 at 1:00 at the Beacon House. After the formal meeting we will be viewing “Dirt – The Movie”.
Popcorn will be served.
Memberships for 2011 will be sold ($10 single - $15 for a family) and a whole new season planned.
All are welcome.

The Hummingbird Story from "Dirt the Movie": Animation


Dirt-The Movie- Trailer- this DVD is in the public library for loan.

a bed in the park ..

i have a pet peeve .. it has to do with the home and garden channel on tv .. in fact, i've written to them on two different occasions to suggest that they take the "g" out of hgtv, as  over the past two years i have seen little .. if any .. gardening shows on this channel .. lots of 'home' .. no 'garden' .. which surprises me, really .. i mean, in these times of 100 mile diets .. and eating locally .. community and allotment gardens .. farmers' markets .. it astounds me that such an important educational tool has not taken up the mantle to educate people about growing veggies ..

so .. there i was ranting about all this to a friend when she, offhandedly, said something like "well, maybe you need to do something about that yourself" .. yikes .. well, i admit it .. the thought had crossed my mind a few times .. but how would i approach such an idea .. could i actually pull it off .. hmmm .. maybe i could start on a small, personal scale ..

then, while i was working away at the pub garden the other day it occurred to me that perhaps there is something i can do .. after all, we rent a garden bed down at the community garden .. i can use our garden bed as an example .. and, we have this website where i can babble about how things are doing in our veggie bed .. it will be a bit like journalling .. a record of gardening in 2011 ..

our bed is beside the greenhouse ..

so .. all that said, please keep in mind, dear reader, that i do not profess that my way of gardening is THE way of gardening .. quite the opposite, really, as i believe that there are as many ways of gardening as there are gardeners .. that once we learn the basics it's up to us to take our garden in whatever direction we choose .. that the most important aspect of gardening is to have fun .. enjoy it .. experiment .. and learn from every mistake .. oh, yes .. and, of course, to take pleasure in the fruits of our labours ..

and so .. the story of 'a bed in the park' begins ..

Saturday Garden Meeting

Saturday, Feb. 5, 10:00 am DIGS report:

What we did:

- mowed leaves to put on compost (for faster breakdown of cellulose you mow the leaves before layering.)
- cleaned out the greenhouse, swept, and removed mouldy pots
- used pro-mix to fill flats for Mesclun (tiny lettuce that you can snip and re-grow) which is to be planted first week of March
- tidied the social shed in ready for interior paint (white) and re-organization of seeds, papers, recycling, coffee and first aid kit etc.
- assessed the success of several winter brassica varieties.
- removed mushy-gushy outside leaves and yellowed leaves from winter brassicas
- restacked compost bins with wonderful layers (thanks Jane!)
- admired the garlic which is about 1-2" high.
- pruned the grapevine. (How do you prune grapes? Answer here.)
- had coffee and gabbed and visited.

Took less than 90 minutes - nice folk, nice sunshine, nice fun.

And here are the local gardeners list of month-by-month tasks for February and March:
(click to enlarge.)
February


March


Best, Jen

Great gardening online resources...

Here are some good new resources:



1. Companion Planting Chart.Help yourself to an incredibly good chart on companion planting in pdf you can print out.





2. Seedliving is a Canadian based online venue for buying, selling and swapping open pollinated seeds and live plants!! Also great articles, gardening information and online resources on all kinds of topics including permaculture, compost, planting in a bag, online courses...

Cate