Diaries of a Hopeful Gardener - Salt Spring Seeds

Gardening connects me to what is real, (as do my small assays into animal husbandry, building, kitchen endeavours, and knitting) add heritage seeds and seed saving, and real gets even better. I'd just like to share my happy endings regarding growing seeds from Salt Spring Seeds. You can read more about the company and their philosophy, here: www.saltspringseeds.com

The Seven Top Turnips are reminiscent of octopuses. Don't you think? The plan was that these would be animal feed, and the chickens did love the tops. The roots have been stored in sand and are being fed slowly so my dear poults continue to have fresh food now that the garden is packed up for winter. 

In the photos the turnips are about 60 days from direct sow, and when I pulled the crop for harvest at 90 days the roots were more developed, those crazy taproots had aerated my soil (they were a tad difficult to get out of the soil) and the extremely bushy tops were dying down ever so slightly. Planted June 18, in very poor soil, had excellent germination, were quick to make the garden look green and alive, left in the ground for a few light frosts and one hard frost, about 90% reached a good size. I might instead try a smooth cultivar next year, known for keeping well. Just to mix things up. 

The amaranth was one of the most attractive plants in our garden. The stocks grew tall and the 'flowers' were colourful and fun. Sadly in our short and far too cool and wet season, and week early frost, they didn't have the chance to develop seeds. I'd happily try these again next year, but start them earlier. 

Two interesting facts: the roots are the same colours as the stalks and flowers and they stayed upright and tall after a 30 hour wind storm that even the chickens wouldn't go out in. 

Both the phacelia and borage grew well, were very popular with bees and could be used as attractive bouquet fillers. The blossoms of the borage were featured floating in drinks, on cakes and just about everything else as they are edible and perfect for such applications. The phacelia is curled a bit like a fiddlehead and unusual. I've attempted to save seeds from both - they are drying out now. 

The cosmos were white through the deepest fuchsia, have a single row of petals, and bloomed profusely at the very end of August. I've also attempted to save some seeds, though the frost may have thwarted my efforts. 

The calendula was really beautiful. I'd have liked to collect the blossoms for essential oil, but of course I was not home at the prime moment to do so. Next year perhaps as I'm sure I've been able to save these seeds. They were vibrant orange with some variations in the centre colour and petal fluffiness. These lasted well into the frost looking cheerful and were the final plant to be removed for winter. 

Since we were so happy with the seeds I am now experimenting with garlic and shallots. I've planted this fall 50 garlic (Music), 25 garlic (Red Russian) and 50 French Grey Shallots. I might have preferred more of the Red Russian garlic but since my mom was kind enough to bring them all the way out to me from Salt Spring, I cannot complain about order mistakes! ;) 

Speaking of what is real, check out this cool woman (Megan Samms) here: http://megansamms.com/. We dyed the samples above in Indigo with her. (Let double dipped, right single dipped). We met her at our local wool mill (Custom Woolen Mills) where she was the artist in residence.

(Sorry no photo just yet of the calendula - it will arrive with the rest of my very tardy posts😉)

Diaries of a Hopeful Gardener - Reene's Seeds

The other (much larger) company to supply our garden with seeds was Reene's Seeds. I initially turned to this company to purchase a large package of mustard to use as a cover crop. We planted and watered, and it germinated and grew! It was taller than me. We may have waited longer than we really should have to till it under, so we cut it all at the base, mulched it, and replaced it before tilling. Next time we'd simply till when it reached a foot or two tall... We really did wait too long, but the schedule in the summer was limited, and we managed the confines of vacation, deployment, flights and training.

While I was looking at the rack of seed packets at the garden supply store when I went for the mustard, I couldn't resist purchasing carrots, Swiss chard and a three sister's collection. The carrots were sweet and crunchy exactly how they should be. And they were a success. We ate carrots mid summer on and have stored 22 lbs in our new cold storage.

The thing about our basement is that it's a good temperature for potatoes, onions, and garlic, (and hopefully sunflower heads but I've not heard much for direction on those) but it's really too warm for beets, carrots, turnips, cabbages, etc. We have a perfect spot in a stairwell for now, but the temperature will have to be monitored as we pass into colder weather.

The chard was not only beautiful, tasty, and healthy, it was robust, quite light frost resistant, and a heavy producer. We ate it as soon as it was ready, gave about 30 'bouquets' away and continued to eat it until I pulled it all out over two days to wash, chop and bag for the freezer. There are 20 lbs waiting for us to use over the winter! Of course one can grow green and white, but the rainbow stalks are just so much fun. They do sometimes turn your sauces (like say you're making a green curry) interesting colours (maybe unappetizing) but I don't mind mine getting a bit purple or brown.

Sadly our weather didn't see any bean, pumpkin, or ear of corn to maturity, so I can't comment on the sisters. Then again I shouldn't feel so badly about the loss since the field north of our house, planted entirely of corn, didn't see one finished ear, either.

Although I really loved these seeds, I'd rather buy Canadian, and focus on what works best in out short season. That said, I may need to plant the same carrots and chard next year, we loved them so much!

Did I ever mention our potatoes? Gift of our neighbours, we named them Wayne's Giants, a red-brown skin with white smooth flesh. Ours weren't extra-specially enormous, (the parent eyes did come from potatoes larger than I'd ever previously seen) however just as tasty. Our wee harvest from 60 square feet was 50lbs. I'd like to try them again, plus a few other varieties... (Linzer and German Butterball to be exact).

Milchkaffeefarbenes Leben

If I had to choose one reason to love my job, it would be that I have more opportunities than I might otherwise, to see the world. Gladly when given the chance I escape to have look. Most recently I visited my family on what has become one of my yearly rounds. (I hope this pattern is repetitive) There is nothing annual I look forward to in the same way.  

"When you look you see, when you see you think, when you think you've really been somewhere."

But when I look, do I see what you see?

Like a camera with different filters and lenses, people do see the identical sights or situations and have different interpretations, anywhere from mildly to substantially unalike. Since my trip was laced with coffee, as a trip to Austria should be, I chose to tint my afterthoughts (photos) with caffeine. Look at them how you want, because you will anyway. 

We got to talking and discussing and so forth. I love all the ideas and passion I find in these hobnobs over a hot beverage or a cold raddler, around the table with a bench or along a trail to a mountain peak. Interesting people make for thoughtful times. And absorbing and intriguing things to fill my future. One of the subjects were the documentaries of Erwin Wagonhofer ("Let's Make Money", "We Feed the World" and "Alphabet"), the sort of exposés that force profound consideration, and ultimately conscious discourse.

What is ethical? Can the making of money (tonnes of it) be ethical? Is that concerning? Do you trust, for example, investors of your money (national funds, your pension fund, your personal wealth, etc.) to act responsibly? All questions for which we might not all agree upon the answers, but certainly provoke a pause for thought. 

Would anyone care to guess at what nations are at the head of our world economy in 10 years? In 20? Economics on the grand scale aren't my area, but I would also be interested in any insight into (my favourite thing about Americans) making economy within your own country or region. So 'buy local', the '100 mile diet' and 'farmers markets' have been examples of this everywhere (in western culture), albeit recently and for reasons non-economic, but the Americans have been supporting 'Made in the USA' as long as they have been able to, and they are, undoubtedly one of the current superpowers. Your thoughts? 

I also just finished devouring Bill Bryson's "At Home, a short history of private life", for the second time, and I note the final phrase on which he leaves the reader (after talking about all the fast paced changes during the nintienth century that together built the ease of current daily life): "The greatest possible irony would be if in our endless quest to fill our lives with comfort and happiness we created a world that had neither." 

Hummmm...

On a more comical note, do you ever feel like this wee mädchen? 

I am convinced in order to learn a language as an adult or an older child, you must try to learn just like a baby does, at every opportunity. Practice, pronounce, try and don't be shy to seek the help from everyone willing. That is easier said than done, I agree, but there's nothing more embarrassing than simply not being able to say anything. 

Greetings from Warsaw

Dzień Dobry

And Happy First of September. What does that mean? Nothing tangible, but somehow there is this small feeling of change. August is over and Autumn is approaching, there's some scramble from deep inside where I'm parting with the summer and preparing for arrival in the land of obligation and reality. After this weekend it's back to school, and if it isn't anymore, it once was. Does anyone else feel this way? It's maverick to Mother Nature (this is the season of ends rather than beginnings) and impossible in practical terms to have two beginnings to each year. 

Perhaps, it's just time I review my goals for the year. Perhaps I'm getting off track, waylaid by all sorts of things useful, unexpected and unnecessary. Maybe I can organize myself to focus on a few forgotten ideas and finish up current projects. But I'm lounging in the luxury of summer where everything is warm and languid and bohemian with bare toes and no one has to cart around jackets, mitts and toques..

September's all about organization, though isn't it? It's not exactly winter yet. And, honestly I like organization. In fact, people might even call me organized. I might disagree. I believe it requires more follow-through than I often give it, which is essentially key. It's sort of a cycle of assessment, plans according to time, doing/being/going, review, and re-assessment which just brings the process back to the start. Continue like a slinky on stairway to forever.

My favourite ways to keep myself on track are: a proper agenda (which I lost in March, maybe?), reviewing and planning the evening before (and who wouldn't rather just jump in bed and cuddle their puppy?), getting up and at it early to get a kick start on the day (but cuddling the puppy is so comfortable... and it's not even light out yet!), and taking a coffee break early afternoon to both wake up and take a mini review. Well, it's a challenge. I also think a regular work schedule is helpful, but unfortunately that isn't my life. What are yours? 

Somewhere on the great expanse of the internet I heard someone's suggestion to do the biggest, most crucial or worst jobs of the day first. It might prevent that item from sliding all the way down your week without ever doing it, and postponing it even further. 

I should maybe find my agenda, or if I can't try the bullet journal (see boho berry) revamp our terrible coffee situation at home, and find the disipline. And the willpower. I might have to make some cookies. (Adventures of Frog and Toad anyone?) "Yes Miss Rose, you can have your will power!"

Does anyone know of governmental agencies in Canada supplying planting dates? Apparently this exists in the US and I am hopeful we have a similar resource in Canada. Just another area of my life I'd like to be organized about based on more facts than just May 23-September 13 as my frost free growing season. 

Out of interest, the first meaning of maverick listed, by MWs, is a motherless calf. So, Maverick and Goose were both animals after all. 😉

Ship Lap for the Barn

Let's catch up on the barn's progress. 

In July Jordan made the forms and we poured concrete for a new wall on the north side of the barn where the existing foundation had toppled leaving the wall hanging from the roof. You can see that in the photo above. It's not because it was pushed into that position. 

Much easier to see from the outside in the daylight, but apparently I'm still not taking proper 'before' photos. Maybe it's because I prefer the during and completed stages?

August was for building a new wall on the new foundation. It worked out! Jordan prepared the framing including windows, which are from a school bus. Can you tell? We ordered ship lap from the local lumber yard for the siding, giving a sample of the original to copy. When the so called ship lap arrived it turned out it was different... This peeved us to some degree. It's not as if it were inexpensive. Custom orders are not. Maybe we could have been told in advance, and been able to decide for ourselves? 

The horizontal pieces below are how it's meant to look. That's from our rustic sitting room between the Coop and Rabbitry.

Or here, partly repainted, partly not, on the east side of the barn. (Minus the door of course, that we rebuilt in February.)

And here's another modern usage to create a similar look which the previous and meticulous owners used on the coop:

(Yes, those are our hens busily munching on mustard we grew. They love treats of all kinds, but were pretty darn excited and gluttonous about the 50 or so slugs I removed from my pumpkin patch. Did some one say permaculture? It works for me!) 

We tried to see the silver lining and found of course there were some pros: we were doing an entire wall so that wall will look uniform (though we ordered extra to make fixes on other walls), the quality of the boards is very high - no seconds or thirds here - resulting in a very tight fit of the 'lapping' edges, this also means painting is easier and faster, while an inside wall covering is probably not even necessary. We would totally recommend the mill! 

Of course I'm very pleased with the all over job, but my favourite part is the door on the corner. There are things that could have been done differently, yes, like there always are. Despite the 'ship lap' the barn sure looks in ship shape! 

I helped, but credit is mostly given to Jordan, who has even painted a second coat of barn red and fashioned the other door since I've been gone. You can see that best below:

I realize we could have just ripped the whole thing down and started from scratch, however, we like the history of the barn, and although it has been added to over the years (both side wings and height of the hay loft) and those additions are actually in the worst repair, we have got a new roof, albeit undulating, but the space is good space and furthermore the original and 100+ year old structure is as strong as ever. 

It turns out the Burns knew a few things about building. As usual. 

Oink

An ode to Babe. 

We often think of pigs with a negative connotation. But there are different types of pigs. Some are cuter than others, and the well known and all time cutie-pie, Babe, certainly comes to mind. Others are less personable. The choice is obviously mine if I wish to practice the husbandry of pigs. And I might. I love bacon! And ham! 

My cake hasn't got any bacon in it though, just banana cake and a layer of cream cheese frosting, covered in a fluffy chocolate icing - perfect for fondant pigs to roll in. 

I was back on the farm again, for a second vacation, with a new arsenal of farm cookie cutters (I guarantee you'll see the rest in action before too long) and ideas for making and baking all the scrumptious things I cannot create in my Warsaw kitchen. Life didn't exactly play out that way. Time in the chef jacket was limited. We had a whirlwind on our hands. Figuratively speaking, the lists of chores we had conceived and the other tasks that we found lurking everywhere. But also literally: after our first glorious week of prairie summer - we definitely picked the perfect week to be home together - we had a 30 hour wind storm. I was stuck inside. I couldn't watch what was becoming of the garden and the yard. Bananas were overripe. So I had an excuse. Until it stopped. 

Then I had one heck of a mess to tidy up. And more work still to finish up losing a whole day to weather. 

I'll do my research on pleasant pigs and then encourage any pig I get, to be nice. Maybe raising a piglet is the way to go. After all that's what Almanzo does, and isn't that also the plan for Wilbur? It's a farm thing I gather. We have a farm, so what are we waiting for? What are you waiting for? A new blog post? Yes. Me too. It's just this whole farm thing is a lot of work on its own, and I didn't have my camera in Warsaw. I'm taking the Canon this time, and retracting my excuses and getting on with it. So I'll talk about cake first, then we will get to the juicy meat of summer. 

I also thought banana could go with poppy seeds and cream cheese icing so I sneaked in a few cupcakes in a summer shade. I love those paper pots I baked them in. They really make a cupcake.

I couldn't have been happier to come home to plants that had been watered, because they all grew and came to life. I never knew how nice dill could be as a backdrop. I might not have let it go to seed if I'd been home, but obviously I was MIA. Great farm-scaping I say.

For the record I'm not really complaining about the chores on the farm, and impressed with how much we accomplished because many are fun, exciting, and rewarding. Those that aren't, or become a bothersome chore due to the amount you must do (20 hours of weeding for example) often can be done whilst thinking, listening, chatting, making phone calls and getting a suntan. There are exceptions. But since I'm on such a positive note, they're not worth mentioning. ;)  Unfortunately I've not yet managed roping anyone into helping me, however I've been learning... We did enjoy our Didsbury Rodeo. I saw lariats and lassos there in action. Watch out!

Our chickens continue to be champion egg layers. I could eat egg salad every day. 

I continue to bake bread. Oh how we love home made 'artisan' bread. Or so I like to call it. We eat our egg salad on it. I used to make baguette shaped loaves, but we enjoy the boules and braids the best. Épis is also a fun shape and an easily torn apart baguette alternative. 

And it appears we also had a red velvet blackberry cake. I almost forgot about that! I think it was because I needed to make Swiss buttercream because I used yolks for something else. Needed to, of course. I assure you we also eat vegetables and both cakes were small. Not those double/triple deckers I often make. Yeah right, you say. 

See. Swiss chard. Even the Swiss have sweets and vegetables. ;) That mountain became 2 kg of processed chard for the freezer. However we enjoyed lots more fresh. We like it in a curry. We shared lots of chard, too. Very, very pretty in the garden. (More photos when I talk more about gardening.) Like the zinnias below, which make superb cut flowers. I will be growing them again next year. 

All this salivating talk of pork brings me to take a Keiłbasa break. 

Good thing there's plenty just a hop skip and a jump from my door! 

Diaries of a Hopeful Gardener

How the garden delighted and amazed me. A million thank yous to Jordan for watering, though he assures me it has been a rainy summer and he didn't need to water as often as we originally thought he'd have to water. But, with his help and a moderately sunny week before I came home, I was able to return to plants as tall as me! A garden forest if you will :). Which is even more amazing since the plants were so tiny and attacked by hail just five weeks prior. (And a tad less amazing knowing I'm elf-sized and the plants are cheating a wee bit standing on their raised beds, but still.) 

The weeding was a chore, a 20 hour chore... So if I still have dirt ringing my nails in a month you'll know why. But it does look well tended now. And there were vegetables (and flowers) to harvest! Quite my favourite part, the harvesting. A self-perpetuated summer bounty. I analyzed what to wait for in consideration of the possibility of a hard frost before I'm back, and what must or could be done now. The question is more of what to do with it all, and where to find the time. Like with my 3.5 lb zucchini. It became Libby's canned salsa, of course! But I also stored 8 lbs of beets, puréed some more, processed 2 lbs of chard, stored 2lbs onions, 2lbs carrots and 2lbs turnips. Plus I made pesto from beet tops and we ate a lot of chard and zucchini during dinners. The rest will be awaiting my return in late September because it must still grow, ripen or mature. Alas the short growing season! 

I'm sure I've said before, and I will say again, this summer, being our first on the farm, is really a trial. Trial for gardening - the efforts, organization, soil acquaintance, composting, climate and the seeds. The season isn't even over and I'm already able to draw some conclusions that will steer my planning for next summer.

It's hard to believe, but I can actually grow things! I did actually doubt this initially. Which is why I did substantial research. This proved helpful in garden organization and in choosing appropriate plants for the short season. Being knowledgable also promotes positivity from confidence. Luck and a lot of wishing, too. 

 

Not being certain I had a green enough thumb was also why I initially purchased seeds from Home Hardware. I figured, if I couldn't be a gardener, at least it would only cost $25 to try. No big loss. And if it worked, all the better. But, later when we expanded our garden space, I purchased seeds from reputable non-GMO organic, or nearly-so growers, and I saw intense results in improved germination and strength of plant. So rather, no gain. Except in regards to zucchini! 

I can tell where my soil needs amending. Good thing I've been composting, properly. Only I wonder how much I can produce by the end of the season when we put the garden to hibernation. More dry leaves come autumn to aid the effort.

I've made numerous mistakes and now I know better. Though I'm sure there are many more future hiccups to discover. It's nice to know things I'd rather do differenty next time. For example I'll be starting indoors with a different method (and keep George from eating all my sprouts. Bad cat.), I'll choose better radishes and plant successions. (Apple sized radishes aren't anyone's favourite.) This could be said in part about carrots, beets, lettuces, etc. I'll plant about four times as many carrots so I can have little juicy morsels as well as still have bigger carrots for the winter, too. 

Zinnias

It turns out hilling potatoes doesn't just mean growing them in a mound, though I think we will still might have a good harvest. Sometimes I'm too literal... 

There are so many other totally viable plant choices I like which I didn't try, and want to try next year. The good thing about living in zone 3a is that my seed selection is narrowed (annuals: days until maturity) which makes choosing easier. I'm sure I'd be like ants on sugar looking at a seed catalogue otherwise. No doubt I'll be pouring over all the beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuces, new pumpkin varieties, corn, tomatoes and herbs. I think I'll try carnations, different turnips, fingerling potatoes, cabbage, butternut squash, garlic... I'd like to use Salt Spring Seeds and Renée's Seeds again as I had so much luck with them. They both deserve their own posts! 

For now here's the rundown on the least expensive seeds:

Zucchini, bachelor's buttons, zinnias, nasturtiums, beets, and Swiss chard all worked rather well.

However, the chard was my comparator. I also purchased rainbow chard seed from Renées Seeds, and despite the inexpensive seeds grew fine, the specialty variety outperformed them. And who doesn't like rainbows? 

Beets! 

Bachelors Buttons

Zucchini 

Not a single cucumber (though I heard other people had the same trouble this year) or lavender seed germinated. I'd still like to try them again. Cucumbers are a fair candidate for our area, though lavender likely wouldn't make it through the winter. 

The Sweet Williams never flowered, and the African Daisy, carrots, round onions were under developed. I can live without either of those flowers, but carrots and onions not so much. Again there was a noticeable difference between the first carrot seeds I used and those from Renée's (also a specialty variety), in both taste, appearance, ease to remove from the earth, and germination rate. We will see how they store. 

Unfortunately those orange carrots pictured above are also the total harvest we got from an entire packet of seeds. Not exactly many. The yellow one I accidentally pulled out and is one from the other packet. 

I did get a few thyme, dill, and sweet pea seeds to germinate, though none were vibrant plants.

Both herbs and sweet peas are important for me in my garden so I'll be using different sources for these next year for sure.

I was somewhat successful with pumpkin, calendula, bunching onions, radish, and sunflowers. I'd really like to get more creative with pumpkins especially in cooking, so I'll need some other varieties anyway, but I rather prefer my very healthy and vigorous calendula plants from Salt Spring Seeds. I'll try another type of bunching onions but also try to continue on with some of my saved stock, and I'll definitely be using different radishes completely. We did well with the black oil sunflowers we grew from our rabbit feed, but... I'm not sure the season will stretch enough to harvest them. 

In this category of seeds I'm most pleased with the zinnias (wonderful cut flower), beets (for growing to the correct size and being a root and leaf food) and nasturtiums (because every seed sprouted and the colours and mounds are gorgeous). 

I love my garden :)