let the seeds begin...

happy spring!

what better way to celebrate than to start some seeds?! what an exciting time. we found out recently that we will be moving our HQ closer to the core of the city, and we aren't sure how many things we want to start before the move.. being the long weekend there were many desserts purchased by family and friends, and i managed to scoop up a few of their containers to recycle as seed starting domes and trays. i decided first to start some lettuce in a cookie container. it's a quick crop that can stand a small container, and we can trim and eat and let it re-grow.

i put the container together just a few days ago, and already some of the seeds have sprouted. it brought a smile to my face for the rest of the day to see the new life next to my window.we have accumulated a huge amount of seeds mostly given to us, so we have many varieties to choose from this season. hopefully we can get away with starting some of them a little late as we will have far more space for seedlings at the new place.

tonight we are starting another tray of peppers and tomatoes, and also we will be testing some of last year's seeds to check if they are still viable. they may not have been stored in the most favourable conditions,and we will have a chance to see if they will work or if we will have to get more before planting season begins. we will also have to test some of last season's white clover seeds to make sure they're still good. we will be using clover as a living mulch for the third year in a row, only this time at our new homebase.

2013 has been an exciting year so far, and is sure to be a busy one. stay tuned!

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!

you say tomato, i say..

 delicious!

if there is one type of produce that i insist on having homegrown or local grown it's definitely tomatoes. the ones you find in the grocery store just don't cut it. they're too acidic, the texture isn't right, they're certainly not ripened on the vine. tomatoes are so easy to grow and i swear you can taste the sun if you take a bite straight off the vine.

i love how there are so many different species each with their own unique flavours and uses. with a dozen or so plants, a few ripe ones can be picked almost daily to be used in salads or sandwiches. Mmmm fresh toasted tomato is a classic favourite.

 last year we tried some 'tiny tim' tomatoes, and they were... well.. tiny! we put them in the ground but they most definitely would have done well as a potted plant on a balcony or in a window. some of their fruits were fully ripe at just over a centimeter wide. they were so sweet!

..and of course the classic beefsteak tomatoes. yum... during the second garden year i was working down the street at the garden center, and i had enough time to come home for lunch and pick something from the garden to eat. i'd go for one of these and toast up some fresh thick sliced bread and sprinkle with pepper and a little sea salt. yuuum!

though tomatoes are usually planted as an annual in this part of the world, we had a couple random plants successfully seed and regrow the next season two years in a row. they were both smaller varieties, cherry and grape tomatoes. it was accidental, the plants from the previous year had been tossed into the wood pile, and they grew back as enormous bushes behind the garage. these are some species we hope to help naturalize in our 'forest gardens' in the future.

...all this tomato talk has me horribly excited for planting season.... hurry spring!

Second Time Around

though we had the space to garden three seasons in a row, 2012 was only the second year for the urban permaculture test patch. year one was but a sorry attempt at 'conventional gardening', which was overtaken by pests and rot. we had so much to learn... the next year was much more bountiful, where we employed some permaculture tactics in our garden.

the addition of on site composting and water barrel were two key components, as well as using a 'living mulch', in our case white clover. not only does clover fix nitrogen into the soil, but it keeps the surface of the garden shaded from the hot sun thus retaining moisture for the surrounding plants.

for the first year of the test patch we chose as many perennial species as we could incorporate into the garden, augmented with our annuals. we also did as much companion planting as we could, and tried to position plants to help one another get the sun/shade/moisture they need.

 
the herbs that came around for year two included the evergreen rosemary, sage, basil, summer savoury, oregano, mint, catnip and lemongrass. we also had planted raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, which we were pleased to see some fruit appear on in year two. the chives exploded the second time around, the lavender flowers smelled amazing, and i was surprised to see that the red lettuce and chamomile went to seed and came back dispersed together amongst the clover. also, from the very first garden year we had some grape and cherry tomatoes reappear along the garage where the original plants were tossed in the woodpile.

 
i'm grateful for the opportunity to see a garden in it's second year to see how well things weathered the winter, and with little care and pre-winter maintenance. i may not have much space to garden in this coming season, so i hope to find some other places to plant including other people's yards, balconies and some small guerrilla plots around the neighbourhood. seeing what types of things naturalize easily and which survived with little care will help me choose what to plant in plots that are further away, and what types of microclimates they thrive in.

2012 Review

2012 has been a year of many changes. it was the biggest year for the Permaculture test patch at The White House [on the Corner], a community house that is no longer [Dec.2008-2012]. the garden expansion gave way to try new things, and left the opportunity to see how the previous year's patch would come back on it's own.

winter '11-'12 was exceptionally warm, we have become used to waiting for our big snowfalls, but last winter we barely saw the white stuff. there were a few things that stayed green all winter in the patch, some of the herbs and berry leaves hung around.. it was interesting to see how the plants adapted to the warmer winter.

spring was an exciting time with an opportunity to expand, experience the second year cycle for half of the garden, and build some new planter boxes in the yard. the lettuce did well in the planter boxes, and last year's greens came back strong in the polyculture patch in the first phase of the garden. seeing the berry bushes produce fruit in year two was a satisfying experience, anyone who tasted these blueberries couldn't help but smile.

the summer was long, hot and very dry. learning from last year's grow season some plants were better placed for shade and moisture control, but new lessons were learned this season also. we had planned to put in a fruit tree or two and never went so far, regrettably. the next step from a permaculture test patch to a true food forest is just that... trees!

despite the scorching summer there was a very fruitful bounty this year. many species of lettuce in early sping, a variety of tomatoes, eggplants and an abundance of peppers, which did very well this season. especially the hot ones. the squashes were exciting to grow as well, though the bigger species didnt make it through the heatwave, the smaller bush variety did pretty well.

after trying for half the year to permanently acquire the house and land to keep the permaculture test patch, the deal fell through and we were forced to abandon the garden. sad as it was to experience, it gave us an opportunity to see what survived without any human interaction. these things are important to know for the next style of gardening we intend to try.. stay tuned for the 2013 blueprint, err.. map?!

The Food Garden

 2012 is year two for the Permaculture Test Patch here in Niagara. we have recently expanded, from 12x18 feet to 19.5x18, plus a 3 foot wide space along the entire back fence, all connected. so far, we have approximately 452 square feet of garden space, with further room to expand by late spring.

in 2011, we successfully planted many species of vegetables, fruits and herbs, using white clover as a 'living mulch' or ground cover on the garden bed. the clover helps to keep the bed moist and shaded from the sun, and returns nitrogen to the soil.

our bounty last year included 8 different species of tomato [heirloom, cherry, grape, roma, beefsteak etc.], green, red and purple bell peppers, jalapenos, opo squash, eggplant, cucumbers, raspberries, strawberries, and many herbs such as sage, savoury, chamomile, rosemary, lavender, 3 different species of mint, sweet basil, and one or two more. we also started blackberries and blueberries, they didn't bear any fruit last year, but we're hopeful they will produce this season.

 we spent the day in the yard building planter boxes, and creating hanging baskets for the herbs that we plan to bring in and keep alive and fresh for the winter. a lot of this year's garden expansion will be started from adopted seedlings as we don't have much indoor space to start seeds. next year we plan to have a room dedicated to do so.

our next post will be the step-by-step process of using old shipping pallets to build planter boxes.