Kitchen Garden Company

Happy first day (and evening) of s p r i n g ! Can you believe it's here at last? I'll be spending our spring break with the fam, exploring the outdoors and of course, in the garden! Taking a wee break from this space but will be back soon for all the garden fun!

Reaping What You Sow: A Pep Talk for the Discouraged Gardener If you're like me, or any other gardener- you know that for every garden success story there may be anywhere from a few "meh" results to many flat-out fails! It can feel disappointing of course, but an adjusted expectation can go a long way in persevering and enjoying the gardening journey! There are SO many variables in the kitchen garden and every season we do our best with what we've got!... Soil & seed quality, weather & timing of planting, and the presence of pests are just a few of the key players to consider! We can't control it all BUT we can learn the general principles & rhythms that create bountiful harvests for at least some of the plants, some of the time! And those wins are absolutely worth celebrating! Over the seasons & years we learn more about the needs of our own microclimates (a really big factor when you live on an island on the westcoast!), the plants that thrive in our conditions and about tending in general. We become more comfortable with knowing how to support a struggling plant or when it's time to move on and grow something else. I share these two pics as a reminder of the *time* it takes to grow, and the value in pushing through to try new things. Planting more seeds when my garden already felt huge last July (slide 2) was hot & tiring work- many didn't germinate due to the high temps, and several other seedlings were sun scorched. I started more in the greenhouse, I moved a few plants around & determined to have a successful overwintered garden for the following spring. And here we are with a bed full of tender kale, broccoli & swiss chard! Maybe you didn't have great success last season & are reluctant to try again. Can I encourage you to recall your wins and thank yourself for showing up anyway? And then: do it again! Find some good quality compost, write down a few attainable goals for the year, determine what to plant & when-and have funnn with it! Gardening is a lifelong journey of learning,and I believe- an absolutely worthwhile pursuit that benefits our health, our communities & our planet! Reach out if you need help! You've got this!

It was a garden clean-up day around here! Swipe left for pics from last July- it's so helpful to have vision and anticipation or what's to come when everything is looking a little tired & messy! I focused on tidying up my overwintering beds today: here's what I do! 1) Gather:... garden pruners tarp or container for garden waste baskets for collecting fresh greens 2) Cut back the dead or frost-damaged leaves of plants that are still productive. I plan to keep some of my tuscan kale for another month or so to allow it to flower for the bees, and for seed collection later. As well, the new growth is quite tender & tasty! Same with the broccoli, cabbages, and swiss chard that still have some growing to do. 3) To clear out a bed, gently gather debris, and cut down plants to the soil level. Try to leave the soil as undisturbed as possible to allow the soil microbes to remain. Harvest any remaining fresh greens and enjoy for dinner! 4) Once cleared, add 1-4" compost to the top of each bed. Add the clippings to your compost pile or if you're like us, toss them to the chickens and watch them enjoy their feast! That's it! I'll be planting peas, lettuces & spinach later this week, check back for more details!

Microgreens Nothing like a tray of *fresh* to offer a hint of what's to come in just a couple months or so! Pea shoots are my family's favourite microgreen and they are so easy to grow! There are variations on the methods but the principles are the same-here's how I do it:... 1) Soak your peas for 24 hrs to soften and improve the germination time. 2) Prepare a shallow tray with 2-3" of pre-moistened organic potting or starter soil. 3) Sprinkle peas across the soil surface- I find spacing them about 1-2cm apart is ideal for a dense supply. Touching another pea is generally too close 3) Keep them damp with a light misting, or use a dome to retain moisture and heat until they sprout. 4) Move near a sunny window or under grolights once sprouted to help them green up and grow! 5) Trim at the base to eat- and enjoy! That's it! They take anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks depending on how warm your environment is and how tall you like them! What's your favourite microgreen?

Indoor Seed Sowing This is my first wave of indoor seeds, and I'm excited to try and my fill my kitchen garden borders with annuals & perennials! I have never started most of these from seed as they need a good long time (6-8 weeks prior to last frost)...but I'm wanting more pollinators, more cut flowers & more beauty out there this year- so here goes! Grow lights are recommended, and I'm using heat mats to help them germinate as its pretty cold right now- but I have had ...some success with very bright, full-sun windowsills too. 1) Fill seed trays of choice with premoistened soil, to not disturb seeds with excess watering after. 2. Follow seed spacing & depth directions on each package. 3. Lightly mist the soil surface to keep it moist. 4. Have plant labels ready & insert immediately! 5. Place on seed heat mats and/or under grow lights. Use domes if you have them too! 6. Watch and lightly mist to keep soil damp- don't let them dry out. It's such a joy to get some seeds started on these dark winter days. Let me know if you try some indoor sowing this winter!

Greetings from our sunny kale orchard, I mean, garden . The lacinato kale is going strong and the brussel sprouts & purple sprouting broccoli are not far behind. These were started from seed indoors, planted out last April and we have been eating from the garden ever since. Our growing season is amazing and if you want to learn how to improve your spaces for nearly year-round gardening, I'd love to help! I offer virtual consults (a call to help you choose a location & get started with a garden) and coaching sessions (a call to help plan and maximize your existing garden). Message if you'd like more information- and we can start with a 15 min bite-size call to answer any questions you have .

It's that time of year to start bringing the outside in- and forsythia is one of my favourite buds to start with! It won't bloom outdoors for another month or so, but I love to "force" the issue a little earlier. Simply trim branches, place in water and enjoy the early pop of colour! Magnolia, camelia & fruit tree branches are some other beautiful choices. Do you like to force buds and enjoy some extra early spring colour too?

Tuscan Kale These plants are clearly the top performers of the '20/21 kitchen garden! They have now persevered through snow, ice, and a couple windstorms- and though some appear uprooted in their new horizontal stature, they are still going strong with vigorous growth & now tasty new leaves! I have always appreciated the flavour & leafy goodness they provide- but I planted so many mostly because I love the deep green colour & structure they offer in the beds. They've been bordering on ridiculous for the past several months but how can I pass up all this food? I've got some planning to do for this coming year (ie, plant less kale )- and some kale chip-making in the meantime! Whose gardens are still pumping out greens?!

Pretty excited to add this deliciousness to the kitchen repetoire! I'm a little late to hop on the sourdough train but after a few false starts over the years I decided 2021 was to be the year, pandemic project or not! Big thanks to @sourdoughschoolhouse for the clear, detailed instructions, learning over the past couple weeks has been so fun- and I can't wait to develop this more using our local flours from just a few kms away. And maybe even grow some of our own this year for the full urban homestead experience! Do you make your own sourdough? Tell me about it!

The great seed reboot of 2021 is complete! So- after muchhh deliberation (and I mean *many* hours) I hopped on the "photo box" train for seed storage as I've seen so many rave about this system. This was a titch hard for me as I have not bought new plastic-anything for more than 3 years, and re-use whatever comes in the door as much as possible. But I have invested alot in my seeds, and really want to preserve their viability- and this method makes it so easy to sort, find, a...nd keep them dry as well! The second bin is for bulky seeds like peas & beans. I sorted them according to planting times (left is cool season, right is warm- plus herbs & flowers) which I think will be so handy! It was so good to take stock...now I can shop the seed catalogs and dabble in some new varieties! How do you like to organize & protect the life of your seed stash? See more

We're at the "gets-worse-before-it-gets-better" stage of Seed Inventory 2021! Afternoon coffee required - but this is the kind of controlled chaos I can handle! So many garden dreams happening now as I sort, label, organize & plan...before ordering any more of course! Are you taking stock of seeds yet for this year's garden? Such a fun time!