In the Garden with 'The List'

Bring on the rain

2016-06-01T22:18:00.001-07:00

So after 6 hours of weeding and turning soil I finally have a garden to call my own. Two actually. My lonely rhubarb now has a friend and two more on the way. I planted some yellow and green zucchini on the left and some donated mint on the right with room for a few peppery plants.

The side garden is where I'm housing my herbs and tomatoes. Gold heirloom (left) and cherry tomatoes to go along with blue spice and cinnamon basils (from seed) and cilantro (seed), some donated oregano and lemon thyme from the neighbor, and what I expect will either be garlic or spring onion. The tenant planted what she said was chives but it is clearly not.

Also the baby maple has sprouted it's first leaves of the year and I found a pine cone that sprouted in the back so I planted that too.

More work than I've ever done. It's nice not having a job sometimes.

24C in Ottawa today.

Update: chicken wire added to thwart the digging squirrels!

Horbz

That's the crappiest greenhouse ever

2013-09-03T10:58:00.001-07:00

What tipped us off was finding one of our tomatoes in a tree. Closer inspection proved that something was plucking the rapidly reddening tomatoes at an alarming rate. What started as a trip to buy some chicken wire turned into one crappy greenhouse. The extra measure was to protect what promises to be a bounty of tomatoes from evening frost, as well as squirrels. The now flourishing, albeit late blooming zucchini also benefitted.

The well protected tomato and zucchini plants.

A bounty of Swiss chard for Monday night dinner

Recent bounty from the garden

2013-08-08T16:01:00.001-07:00

Peas vs horseradish

2013-07-20T20:18:00.001-07:00

I returned from Sweden to find an epic battle between the peas and the horseradish, each vying for supremacy in the garden. The peas with their constricting vines try to crush the life from the horseradish, while the spicy root has responded by growing broad fan like leaves to block out the precious sunlight.

The peas have also sprouted pods which get plumper by the day. I take this as a sign they are confident in their victory.

It was also amazing to see how many giant weeds had sprouted in my absence. The green onions are all but decimated after they were eclipsed by a particularly large weed.

Peas and horseradish do battle as the lettuce and pansies bear silent witness to the fury.

A pea vine attacks a hapless horseradish leaf

A plump pea pod.

Balcony Blooming

2013-06-01T14:57:00.001-07:00

Everything seems to be quite happy on the balcony despite my recent 10 day trip to the Kootenays; without arranging for home visits for the flora. Tomorrow I depart for another 8 days away. Will I be punished for my lack of care?

Torill brought lupin seeds back from Nova Scotia two years ago and we now have two very nice plants to show for it.

One plant has decided to change colour from white to purple and has produced some nice blooms already. Now it shows signs of returning to its original colouration. Weird.

The lilys are attracting little bastard aphids; they are proving to be a competant foe:

Hopping into Action

2013-06-01T14:53:00.002-07:00

The hops have been growing rapidly, first photos below taken one each day:

Starting to climb

2013-06-01T09:15:00.001-07:00

Last weekend while preparing what passes as our backyard for sod, the Swede and I cleared out the fire pit and got the bright idea to put the ashes in the garden. We had no horticultural knowledge to back this up, only the vague idea that plants thrive after a forest fire.

After a week of steady rain, the garden continues apace albeit without conclusive proof that the ashes did anything.

The peas remain the stars of the show, tentatively reaching for the climbing structures we installed with viney tendrils

The thriving horseradish now towers over the pansies.

New dill makes an overdue appearance

Shoots of Hope

2013-05-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Why am I nervous about my first post to the Garden blog? Perhaps because the quality of the gardening and photography has been set so high by the well established posters. Or perhaps the Shitty Basil is just looking at me funny...

Mills Manor is blessed with a beautiful outdoor space, surrounded by mature landscape, planted many decades ago when this Stucco clad building was first constructed. Combined with our northwest ground floor orientation, I was quite concerned about the amount of sunlight that might reach my new veggies.

Layering of soil and compost

I decided on some hearty, shade friendly species: Swiss Chard (Silverado & Pink Flamingo), Scallions, Bush Beans and herbs.

On May 1, the Scallions and Swiss Chard were deposited into planters with soil from a local nursery and compost from our food scraps.

Meager beginnings

After two weeks, shoots of hope have emerged!

Leggy Pink Flamingos all in a row

Scallions push past eggshell trap doors

So far the dainty sounding Pink Flamingo is proving it is far superior in growing capacity than the rock-like performance of the heavy Silverado.

Stay tuned for Bush Bean planting in the next post...

Rise of the Peas

2013-05-10T10:49:00.002-07:00

The future of the peas had been uncertain. Not long after I planted the plump little orbs did the magpie and crow onslaught begin. Many a pea was cruelly plucked from the earth on a daily basis, leaving doubt as to whether any remained.
Luckily it appears as though the casualty count may have been overestimated: this morning numerous sprouts appeared in the pea patch.

Could these be peas?

SHITTY BASIL UPDATE: It has become even shittier. Water has been applied. Odds of survival have dropped.

even shittier basil

The gnarly leaves of a young horseradish

The Prefect hOpportunity

2013-05-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

Torill purchased some hop rhizomes (roots) from Crannog but unfortunately she was shipped off to Nelson for the summer before we were able to plant them. So it was all on me to prove my green thumb. I bought a number a new planters from the crazy kitchen place on 4th and got to work planting the hops as well as repotting a number of our other plants in roomier digs.

So far things seem to be coming along very fast; the recent hot sunny weather providing the boost we needed. The Maple we potted last year is looking really nice. Might be wanting a much bigger pot soon. The herbs are also coming along nicely.

A new year....an unplanted garden

2013-05-06T19:17:00.001-07:00

Here is the garden, all ready to go. This year we are trying garden boxes withs at his between them.

The boxes should be a bit more aesthetic. We'll see if they're better. Boxes are currently a work in progress.

A new season!

2013-05-06T15:38:00.002-07:00

Having purchased the "Slanty Shanty" in November 2011, we spent most of last summer removing a back deck that was built entirely out of garbage and excavating the rear of the building to put another hundred years of life into the foundation. We capped off the season by putting in a new stone patio on the now dirt lot which was completed right when the snow came.
So this summer we can finally pay attention to the garden, which previously held an impressive collection of native Alberta weeds. Some prep work was done last winter: Kowski provided some horseradish and garlic which was tenderly placed in the ground and then forgotten about, and we planted tulip bulbs.

This years collection includes:
Peas, Romaine lettuce and dill(planted as seeds this weekend)
2 blueberry bushes, rhubarb, and chives (purchased pre-sprouted and planted yesterday)
Green onions and shallots (planted yesterday)

The rhubard basks in his new home, while the blueberry bushes look slightly confused. A mighty steel tower marks the promise of horseradish.

We heard rabbits don't like yellow flowers, so we bought some to guard the peas and lettuce. Under the shadow of the lilac tree, the mighty pansies keep a watchful eye.
We also transplanted shitty basil from the kitchen window to a new outdoor home (bottom center). Will he survive the harsh Alberta summer? Who cares.. He's shitty.

The tulip bulbs planted last year are about to bloom. We added some lavender to really "gay it up"

Stormflower

2011-09-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

It's late September and many great garden moments have come and gone unblogged. While there's a backlog of a few of them captured on film which i hope to put up soon, for now all I offer is news that a tremendous haul of tomoatos and jalapenos has happened, and the prized sunflower actually turned into a hideous mangled and disgusting freak of a plant.

Here's a picture of one of the smaller, and more well proportioned beauties.

Mutiny from the GC

2011-09-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

As some may already know there was an "incident" a couple weeks ago when I employed some family members, who will remain anonymous for their own protection, to water my plants while away on vacation for twelve days....lets just say their contract has been terminated.

Some of the members of the "GC" now rest in peace (aka worm compost)

Chlorophytum (aka spider)

Pilea (aka Artillery)

Another member was brought to her knees but with a little TLC and luck I may be able to rise her withered branches from the hungry critters inhabiting the compost who are already eyeing up their next meal......

Myrocladus (aka west coast)

Withered West Coast

I'd like to wrap up this post on a POSITIVE note as there was a significant development on team GC over the past 4 days. Upon the usual post midnight return from a long weekend away i routinely inspect the team before hitting the sack and especially my first production addition "Mr. Tomato Head". He is one thirsty beast and keeps me on my toes at the best of times. He was almost a victim of the above mentioned offence but survived with only a few losses. I didn't expect this after weeks of nurturing he seemed to be at home in the GC with all the other single hue members. Upon close inspection and to extreme joy he has left the GC and starting his own clan yet to be named. With 21 tomatoes in various sizes bursting from his tired branches 3 have made the transition to COLOR.

"It makes no sense at all, I saw red. I saw red. I saw red." quoted from our friends Sublime. It was an awe inspiring sight (well maybe not that crazy) that i could actually produce fruits from my labor which is sporadic at best with my schedule. Now i look forward to my first tomato salad (tomato head tomatoes, red onion, chives, xv olive oil, sea salt, white pepper and balsamic paste) grown on the patio and spare bedroom of my home. Look out 2012 as the garden blog has the sky as the limit.....Hawk

Double Complete Flower!

2011-08-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

What does it mean?
It's a double complete flower!
Here's a unique speciman of a siamese zucchini flower. They are attached along the stems, with two flowers blooming. Much nicer to look at than their human counterparts.

This other double complete flower is a couple little guys from the rosemary plant.

The Squirrel is Stealing Zucchini Flowers!

2011-07-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

The evil squirrel with the white spot on his tail is back again terrorizing the garden. This time he's got his eyes on the big and beautiful yellow zucchini flowers.

He's ripped off almost all of the flowers and now it looks like there are no zucchini's growing either.

Here's a little section of a timelpase video where I caught him in action:

Zucs and Cucs!

2011-07-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Splendid weather this past weekend and by that I mean it was terrible. In between the rain I took a few pictures of the Zucchini and Cucumbers which are showing some life. The flowers on the Zucchini are gorgeous when fully opened but I didn't manage to take this picture early enough in the morning to catch it.


Furry little Zuc		Only sign of life on the Cucumbers

Shortly after taking these shots I was joined by Mr. Kitty who spent the remainder of Sunday afternoon in this position. Rough life, I just saw him basking in the final sun of the day in his other usual spot on the bedrock while I got a little bit of weeding done.

Summer Update

2011-07-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Most of the garden is taking off well. Here`s some baby beans just getting going.

Some sunflowers are getting really tall, but haven`t started to flower yet. Here`s a view of everything.

And 2 delicious strawberries about ready to eat. What a feast!

Mystery Plants!

2011-07-11T22:14:00.001-07:00

One of the best parts of growing with compost in the soil is that your plants will get new friends that pop up from time to time. This sunflower has got a bunch of new mystery neighbors - little green sprouts that could really be from anything that ended up in the compost bin.

We pulled out one of the uninvited visitors and put her in her own pot. I think it's going to grow up into a cucumber.

This pot is a mini-ecosystem of mystery plants. Looks like a few tomatos and cucumbers.

Here's the full spread as of about June 14. The little pots in the bottom right are a mix of mystery plants and some poppies.

There has been one jalapeno plant that quickly met an early demise. The other three in the pot with him aren't looking so hot either.

The sunflower leaves have been hosting some sort of insect eggs. Here's an extreme close-up from just before they were washed off.

In The Beginning...

2011-07-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Looking back to my May 15 photos, and here is where it all began. Some zuchinni, crookneck squash, beans and some sunflowers all started from seed and getting ready to go through a rainy spring.

A little zuch' just getting his start in life.

Green bean with a bright future

Not sure how this little guy got up to the third floor balcony...

my first entry....

2011-06-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

After a solid night at the park enjoying the first proper evening of summer what better way to close the day than with my first entry on the famed garden blog..............

My first attempt with the dreaded tomato plant began weeks ago but our bleak climate prevented any noticeable growth and she had to be sheltered from the elements by the insulating concrete walls of my condo. Only time, the long days of summer & bi-weekly doses of fertilizer can influence her fate from here on in.

I enjoy a good cooking session as much as the next person so i added rosemary to the patio with future dreams of basil, chives, oregano and any other manageable herbs out there that i can make use of in the kitchen.

The last couple pictures represent species from my "Green Collection" (GC). No, it has nothing to do with environmental responsibility but more to due with my belief that plants which only produce various shades of green require less maintenance. Included in the GC is the classic monkey plant and a propagated English ivy that one summer dropped roots in a jump pot.

Herb Garden

2011-06-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

The herb garden largely survived the winter and was in need of some major pruning. The rosemary had grown to over 3ft tall and the sage and oregano were running wild. After some quick cleanup and the addition of some "shitty" Basil here is what it looked like a little over a week ago.


(center) Shitty Basil at her best

This patch has started to overgrow again and is encroaching on the Basil thus turning it to shit. The herb garden has also seen the addition of any Cilantro we find popping up around the garden and some Dill that I planted as seed. Not pictured are the Chives which are hiding behind Sage.

But not all is lost for the Basil. I split a basil starter in half and planted it in 2 pots knowing full well how finicky they can be. With much care I am finally at the point where I can start using the leaves without decimating the plant.

Basil!

So that's the herb garden. Lots more to cover when I get some decent pictures. The rogue lettuce has returned like a weed this year...

Horbz' First Garden Entry

2011-06-20T17:36:00.001-07:00

Well, here's my first post. Garden was built about 3 weeks ago. Spent about an hour removing the grass, turning the original soil and adding about the same amount of compost dirt to fill it out and give the soil some nice nutrients.

Currently 11 plants not from seed and the Ultra Sweet Tomatoes are already showing life, as well as some of the peppers.

Italian Roaster Peppers & Ultra Sweet Tomatoes

Hot Banana Peppers & "The Good" Basil

Spearmint & Bonnie Grape Tomatoes

Red Start Peppers & "Shitty" Basil

Rosemary & Red Long Cayenne Peppers

Fanfare Cucumbers

Day 1, The garden is ripe with love.

2011-06-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

Not all of these plants have been started by seed. The little tiny plants i like to call perrywinkles. These Gardens are in little nooks around my yard among the boats, cars and general disrepair of my yard.

Boat Box. Squash, zuccini and beans

This is my halve. Spinich, tomato, sweet peas, lettuce, rocket, and mystery plant.

SUPERSONIC!!! How could i not buy this troublesome tomato!

This is my roomates part. I think he bought them that size

The smelly box

Left over from last year. I think a beet

Arugula -1 week: we have something

2011-06-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

After a week of generous sun and rain, all three of our planters are showing signs of life.

We celebrated the new arrivals by dumping hot water on them. At this point it would be a stretch to say the sprouts look like arugula. They kind of look more like clover. Maybe we're growing weeds. All three planters have them, but so far the Legumes has the lead. No sign of basil yet.

Watering the precious arugula.

We also have some ready-grown basil and other herbs which didn't start as seeds and which we will surely kill.