growth explosion

we have been getting a lot of rain the past couple weeks, which has helped the garden catch up to where it should be growth wise. we have been getting some crazy weather, [really hot, then really really cold] which stunted some of the plants, especially the peppers and the eggplants. the peppers went into flower mode immediately and so did some of the eggplants.

now you can actually see the little eggplants hiding amongst the other plants, they're finally more than twice the size they were when i put them in the ground. i was afraid they were permanently stunted. i may still end up with miniature eggplants if any at all, i know a couple of them had already started to flower.

...and check out these figs! i wasn't sure we would get fruit the first year, it is but a tiny tree. but the lady at the farmers market told me as long as it's well watered and fed it should produce something this season. and voila! there's about a dozen fruit started on the tree. how exciting!

the zucchini plant has to be the biggest thing in the garden by mass and volume.. the thing is just huge. the stalks are almost as big around as the finished fruit should be, and there's half a dozen fruits coming through already. the leaves are bigger than my head, and the bush has to be over five feet across. i gave it three, and i also put it in a low spot hoping the extra water accumulation would help it survive the summer heat. it also helped it to take over that entire corner of the garden..

the closely planted food polycultures are proving to work well so far. now that the foliage is almost covering the beds completely it is easy to see that the plants help one another by confusing pests, shading the soil to keep in moisture, and shading smaller more delicate plants from the harsh sun, thus allowing them to thrive in the moist microclimates amongst other palnts. this also crowds out potential 'weeds' from flourishing as there is little room left for intruders.

the first big rain.

it's been a long time since i've been to the farmers' market on a tuesday.. it's usually the most quiet of the market days, but it was especially so today as the rain refused to let up. i'm kind of glad it was quiet, it gave me a chance to talk to the vendors and get the scoop on what's happening this week.

i grabbed another load of plants, as many as i could carry on the city bus. the new assortment consists of blackberry, a fig tree [should be interesting], some bush zucchini, pickling cucumbers, two types of tomato.. black cherry [the purple tomatoes!] and a heirloom variety. there's also an assortment of herbs like sage, rosemary and thyme. i've had a hard time finding eggplant, the assortment won't have as much variety as last year's plot, but it will be a good start.

so back to that rain...

all of the seeds we dropped in the ground have doubled in size since yesterday, the rain has really done them some good. matt and i stood grinning with pride at our little radishes.. we will drop some more seeds in a week or two to have some later for harvest.

tomorrow the digging shall continue, and planting what other plants we have so far. the first batch that went into the ground earlier this week are taking especially well since the rain has come. check out the bok choy!

everything is already looking delicious. the kale is so crisp, the little lettuce sprouts are starting to look like grown-up lettuce, and the pepper plants in the ground look like they will begin to flower. thursday is round two this week at the farmer's market, hopefully the rain will let up and more vendors will show with seedlings. next year hopefully we will be set to start seeds indoors, but for now we take what we can get!

can't wait to taste the rainbow... swiss chard! yay for food!

ground break and earth quake..

so apparently there was an earthquake today. i was at work likely running a machine at the time so i didn't notice. if it was felt here that is.. i know it was felt by a couple friends in Toronto but no word yet this far south. just also happens to be the day we finally start digging the veggie beds. good times!

we had to cut into the meadow.. our landlord had promised since we moved in to bring over a mower. the one here was left out to rot, and the grass is about knee height in the sunniest spot. since i'm trying a 'cardboard garden' i started turning some of the grass right back into the dirt where it stands.. when i lay own the base layer of cardboard over the turned in grass it should keep it down long enough to decompose, and hopefully not sprout through.

on top of that will be layers of topsoil, sheep manure compost and leaf compost..and amongst the veggies while they're filling out will be some white clover sprouted from seed to act as a living mulch. the soil was surprisingly moist and crumbly, like a piece of cake.. i thought it would have been much harder to dig into than it was. my upstairs neighbour is trying a more traditional approach in the back corner, it will be interesting to see the differences between the beds. i can't wait to get back at it in the morning!

it's the long weekend, so i'm sure it will be busy at garden stands and markets for the open of garden season. hopefully i will make it over to the farmer's market to grab seedlings of things i didn't get a chance to start soon enough.. oh! and the lettuce seeds are sprouting! gotta grab some radish and carrots to join them in the planter.

well it's been a long day of work, play and gardening.. time to go relax with a book.

City Farming 2013

the gardening collective here at SOUP central have some big plans for 2013. one of our groups lost access to the biggest urban plot we had started in the city, but we will not let this discourage us. we will be doing some city farming this year at a variety of locations, some plots owned/rented by friends and family, some very urban concrete laden areas will be adorned by planters, and balconies and windowsills decked out with freshness.

 this year will be an excellent opportunity to learn to adapt to these different conditions, challenging us to produce fresh food in full sun, constant shade, and all degrees in between. we will be able to experiment with different techniques and species both in the ground and in containers and track our progress and production as we go along.

it's been a long cold winter, and much of our time has been spent scheming, reading and researching what we will need to make all this happen. our biggest challenge this year will be a school garden here in Niagara, it will be our first time building a garden for public use and learning. in the spirit of public learning we have been hanging out at the new library, soaking up some knowledge and ideas from the ever growing gardening section at the new branch of the public library.

on book in particular has been incredibly inspiring and moving.. City Farmer [Lorraine Johnson] tells a story of her journeys as a city farmer, and her story starts much in the same way as ours does. a very motivating read indeed. as if i wasn't already dreaming of building gardens every night this week.. i can't wait to share plans and outlines for these coming projects, so much to do!