M.I.A.

Dear followers,

I feel like one of those bloggers that's falling into the trap of constantly apologizing for why they haven't written in a while. I wish instead that I could put together pretty pictures into the posts I plan in my head while getting plants ready to go to market, edging and weeding the garden, harvesting and making stuff and taking care of the food. Sleep? Don't be silly. No time for that.

Anyhow, if you would like to talk gardening with me, join me on at one of the dates below. Theoretically I'll be less busy in July…

Sincerely,
Ottawa Gardener

In other news:

May 24: I bring a tray of purple plants (perilla, orach, basil, kale and amaranth) to the market along with other stuff (perennial leek, sweet cicely, lovage, salad burnet, poppy mallow, red bunching onion, anise hyssop, mint, oregano etc..)
May 25: Kids in the Pumpkin Patch Begins!
May 25: Join the COG-OSO demo garden team
May 27: Aster Lane Edibles on farm sales
May 28: Join me at the Demo Garden On Weds am
May 31: Market Day!
June 1st: Join us for a morning of fun in Kinburn. Morning we plant sweet potatoes. Afternoon we talk figs with Thyme to Cover.

And more throughout the summer!

Nursery News

Would you like to know more about plant sales, events or other fun stuff from Aster Lane Edibles? Excellent! We're tweeting @ Aster Lane. In the meantime, here is an eggplant picture:


Summer BBQ'ed eggplant here we come!

P.S. Join me at various speaking events, workshops or at the Canadian Organic Growers demo garden this spring. If you are in the Ottawa area, you might want to join the conversation at Edible Ottawa Gardens Group on Facebook too. We're currently discussing what plants we are starting, when will spring end (if ever) and indoor light setups.

Business Card Saga: Aster Lane Edibles

Why it took me so long to get a business card: a conversation with myself (and a few others).

Me: You need a business card.

Myself: Why?

Me: People expect it.

Myself: But they just bury those things at the bottom of their bags to be thrown out when they get around to cleaning them. They pick them up and say "Who the heck was that and where was I?"

Me: No that's just you.

Myself: I'm pretty sure it's not just me.

… 6 months later…

Me: You should really get around to that card.

Myself: Let's talk honestly here. Cards are boring.

Me: Then make an interesting card.

… months later…

Me: Why not a planting schedule? That would be useful. A little reference pocket thingie.

Myself: On a card? 

Me: Yeah.

Myself: Good luck.

… a month later …

Me: You're right, that was tricky. Now to the printer. But what if they screw it up?

Myself: Have some faith.

… Months and months later …

Me: Do you think your graphic design husband would help me create an exact document of something? 

Friend: I'm sure he will.

… visit to a common copy place that shall remain nameless …

Them: What? Folded? Like a gift card? But you want a business card right? I think we're going to have to send this to our specialty print shop. And what are these other lines for on the file? We can only print what we can see.

Me: They are formatting lines. I figured that you could remove them with your fancy programs. Will you have them ready like within a week. I want to have them for an event I'm going to.

Them: -incredulous look-

… several phone calls later, an independent print shop …

Me: I have these files and I need them to transform into a business card through the magic of computers and large printing machines by tomorrow.

Them: Why certainly.

Applause!

This is the front, inside is a planting calendar and on the back is contact info.

Things are sprouting in my fridge...

…on purpose. I'm stratifying which means giving seeds a period of moist cold to overcome germination  inhibition so they will sprout.

I place seeds on paper towels or coffee filters then put in a plastic baggie. This takes up very little space in my fridge or other location that I am giving seeds special treatment. You can also use your baggie to give seeds oscillating temperatures or warm treatment. I use the latter to get peppers to germinate faster.


Baby with breakfast on his face helping.

For very large seed that won't be in good contact with the paper towel, I've heard of people using cotton balls but I use vermiculite. I also use vermiculite with very, very small seed so that I can sprinkle the whole mix in the seeding tray when ready. Sand would probably be a good substitute.

They would stay in the fridge for a certain period of time say six weeks or whatever is recommended (yes sometimes there are no specific recommendations). During this time, you are telling the seed that it is winter and when you take them out of the fridge, they are experiencing spring so it's a good time to sprout. Only, many seeds will not wait their allotted time. Whether this be because those particular seeds or that variety does not really need the cold stratification AND also does not need high temperatures to sprout or because they prefer to germinate in the fridge-like temperatures of early spring, is something to speculate upon. Therefore, I check my baggies frequently.


Wild plums from a local source

Here, some wild plums - perhaps Prunus nigra - started to germinate after six months in the crisper whereas their cousin nanking cherry - Prunus tormentosa - jumped into growth after only a few weeks messing my plan of holding off until spring to plant. Instead I put the sprouting seedlings in the ground in fall.

Hablitzia tamnoides is reputed to prefer cooler temps to germinate though it seems somewhat adaptable. Here is my own seed crop throwing roots.


Hablitzia tamnoides, our seed for Aster Lane Edibles

I'm using the baggie method because I want to grow some of these plants big enough to sell in the spring otherwise I'd probably just wintersow. This is using a recycled (or not) plastic container with drainage and air holes partially filled with soil and seed that acts like a mini greenhouse. It is great for cold hardy greens, plants that volunteer, wild flowers and other plants that need a period of cold to germinate or at least don't mind it.

You can even snow sow. Yes, that's tossing seed on top of snow. This is a version of stratification and seems to me that it would be most effective if done in the fall or early spring just before a snowfall that would insulate the seeds and help work them to the ground.

Aster Lane Edibles Update!

This is a slacker post. It is a slacker post because I am not doing the usual researched narrative about my garden (or interviews with great gardeners) but instead putting all my energy into getting my business Aster Lane Edibles in shape to start plant sales and more this year! As happens when you have a lot going on, something suffers, and in this case, it is this blog (which I love very much. It's not you blog. It's me).

At any rate, here is what I've been up to:

1. Event planning. This year, instead of setting an arbitrary date that works for me, I'm trying to using doodle so that everyone, who is interested, can have a say on what works best for them. I have several workshops planned at A.L. Edibles (get it all edibles - accidental clever there) such as Vegetable Garden How to, Seed to Seed, Beautiful Edible Gardens, Drawing as an Observational Aid, How to Grow Sweet Potatoes in the North and Kids in the Pumpkin Patch. AND events through Edible Ottawa Gardens Group such as a spring mushroom drilling playshop. There will no doubt be somethings going at The COG demo garden too as well as other locations.

2. Plant sales: Woohoo! Finally! Provisional list is being updated all the time. Plants will be for sale in spring at Aster Lane and perhaps another location. Currently assessing options.

Also, visit us on Facebook - I'm collecting likes.

Slacker signing off.

Collecting Hablitzia Seed

Hablitzia plant on the north side of a shed.

Have you heard? My Hablitzias have set seed and they look good! You haven't heard? That surprises me considering how loud I shouted when I discovered it but maybe you were listening to music or something or mistook me for an angry raven. Anyhow, on the off chance, you haven't heard:

"My Hablitzia tamnoides gave me seed!!"


Closeup of seedpods and seed.

You don't know what I'm talking about? Spinach from the Caucasus? Perennial, shade tolerant green? Our friend Habby. Stephen Barstow is always going on about it.

Stephen? Extreme salad man? Okay so now you're intrigued.

Let's go back to the Habby seeds.

Aren't they lovely?


Before I winnow, I'm going to let it dry down a bit more but looks promising.

Next year, all going well, Habby plants will be exiting my greenhouse (still under construction and by under construction I mean shovel yet to hit the dirt but I have days marked off on my calendar so soon) in the spring for sale. Woohoo!

***

Friends of Hablitzia

Edible Landscaping Community - Condo Complex

A big rock that was dug out when putting in the path. Also visible left to right: temporary planting of peppers, gold leaf anise hyssop, lovage, kale. 

The condo board agreed that their landscaping - which consisted of some rough lawn, a few shrubs teetering on piles of dirt and perennials crowded in front of their entrance sign - needed a bit of freshening up. Resident Patricia suggested they try edible landscaping.

Now, it is my suspicion that though everyone was more or less fine with the concept that they let Patricia go ahead with her unorthodox plan because she has an infectious enthusiasm. Sonia figured this meant some nasturtiums but was happy that it ended up being "more than I imagined."

The core team: Krystal, Sonia and Patricia standing in a path designed with an inverted mirror image pattern.

I met with them for the first time on a cool morning just after the snow pack had melted to be confronted with a patch of barely lawn covered in gravel from snow clearing that I was assured would be vacuumed up shortly. It was perfect: full sun, lots of access and lots of space. We discussed some possibilities then I went to work.

It needed to be neat, attractive and contain edibles that were not too far off what people would recognize as edible. A mixture of common cooking herbs like oregano, thyme and sage, perennial edibles like monarda, anise hyssop, sorrel and lovage and some complementary temporary plantings like nasturtium (just as Sonia thought), kale and chard found their place on a flowing framework.


Some perennials, such as Echinacea, that were rearranged in front of the sign spilling over to create bee habitat foraging on the other side too, and some low growing herbs. 

I suggested that we use sheet composting as a method to build the garden bed as they didn't have any serious weeds. It requires less work, less materials and doesn't remove the existing fertility or overly stir the soil's weed-seed bank. I think they were okay with the 'less work' plan. Soil and mulch was ordered and plants were sourced. Some came from Aster Lane Edibles - the biz - and some from local nurseries.


Krystal with a purple carrot from one of the resident's gardens.

Dig day was a beautiful day in late spring. The shape of the garden was cut a week or so beforehand. Though I provided drawings, I like to finalize the shape on the ground. Subtle (and not so) changes in elevation and other idiosyncracies can be better incorporated this way. I find it helps to remain flexible during the installation phase. For example, the perennials in front of the condo sign were very crowded, including a clump of iris that had been infested with borer. These had not been included in the original design but were easily incorporated in pleasing geometrical patterns, that enhanced the design, on the day. Also digging out the paths revealed a huge rock which became a focal ornament.

The core team of Crystal, Ashley, Patricia and Sonia worked tirelessly throughout the day removing half dead junipers with roots that seemed twisted to the centre of the earth, lugging endless wheelbarrow loads of soil and mulch and finally planting. I love it when clients work with me. This was truly a community effort!


Delicious empanadas made by Patricia from fresh kale and chard from the entrance garden.

Those little starts grew quickly in the plentiful rain and good soil. When I returned, even I was impressed by how wonderful the garden looked. There was a lot of love being dug into this garden. I asked them what the rest of the residents thought of their new garden. "Appreciation is high but participation is more of a challenge but people are slowly getting on board with lending tools and planting their own gardens," said Sonia.

"Communication is key. People don't know what to pick and when. I didn't know what everything was," said Crystal, who refers to the Anise Hyssop as Bee Palace - this must be my favourite nickname for the plant because the bees really do love it.


The kids know where the strawberries are.

"People are interested in food," said Patricia referring to the many new gardens that are popping up all over the complex. "They are putting in their own gardens." The remaining mulch and soil was offered to the rest of the residents. Many of whom were making good use of it.


Mint in another garden that has sprung up in the condo complex taking over a place that other plants found difficult.

Sonia took me around to show me some rain barrels that were being attached to the sides of the housing units at the end of redirected downspouts. They also showed me some more garden spaces that were filling in with flowers and food. We spoke about plans for expansion next year.


Patricia's raised bed garden in another part of the common ground growing some onions.

That first garden was a seed that was planted and grew into a community effort to make beautiful use of their common ground. I am honoured to be part of it.

Red leafed apple baby

Geneva Crab Apple 2010

Gardening is an exercise in optimism: that things will be better, that visions of the delights of a gentle earth can become manifest, that tomorrow will happen. Like many a person has said, you plant a tree not only for yourself but for the a future you may never see: for the creatures, for shade, for fruit, for children to dare to climb up to a strong limb and dangle their feet into the thrilling air below.


Seedling tree roots

Nearly three years ago, my daughters and I were walking in the Arboretum at the Experimental Farm when we found a tree with unblemished apples. Picking one from the ground, we opened it to find red flesh. I brought another home and extracted the seeds. Some of these sprouted and now I have one with bright red leaves.


Digging it into its permanent home, I discovered what look to be the remains of an old compost pile with egg shells and squash seeds.

I don't know whether or not it will have the tasty red fleshed cider fruit of its parent Geneva or be what is unfortunately called a spitter but I hope to find out one day. Now it is a small seedling planted at the back of the old greenhouse demo garden. As I was placing its roots into the soil, I imagined it growing gnarled and craggy like crabapples do. I saw it covered in pinkish blossoms in the spring, red leaves in the summer and fruit in the fall. I saw its bare limbs covered in snow. I imagined a future of plenty.


The leaves remained red all summer last year.

***
Some other things that are going on:

If you follow me on Facebook, then you'll know we like to hold Tree Thursday. Ephemeral walk coming up soon.

I've been helping out at the Canadian Organic Growers Demonstration Garden at the Experimental Farm. If you are interested, let me know.

Also, Aster Lane Edible's first workshop 'The roots go down (mostly): A veggie garden workshop for the complete beginner' will be held May 16.