Gardening Requires Lots Of Water, Mostly In The Form Of Perspiration!
I hope everyone had a Wonderful Mothers Day! The weather held up pretty nicely for the day and it was busy around town. What a wonderful cause to celebrate!
The first Lumby and District Public Market took place in front of the Super Value Store and I hear it was busy. Next weekend is a special market and will be a theme event called Garden Day and I will be there with bells on.
It’s an appropriate day to have a Gardening event as it is the long weekend of May and is a widely suggested date for planting a garden. Most garden plants are divided into two groups Cold Weather and Warm Weather plants. Cold Weather plants are the ones you can plant a little earlier in the season as they can take a little cooler temperatures which can occur up to the the middle of May or specifically the Long Weekend in May which is considered to be the last frost date of the season.
The plants that fall into this category include Peas, Beets, Carrots, Celery, Leeks, Onions, Spinach and the Brassica’s which include Cauliflower and Broccoli. Warm Weather Plants include Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumber, Squash including Zucchini, Egg Plant, Melons, Corn and especially Beans which require a soil temperature of 60 degrees to ensure good germination. Planting these plants before this date is considered by many a big gamble and one should be prepared to cover these plants if the temperature drops.
Many people living in North facing areas and higher elevations like parts of Trinity Valley Road will attest to the perils of planting too early. I know many of us are anxious to get started but it would be painful to lose our Warm Weather Plants just to be a few days to harvest earlier. As well as the time we choose to plant the garden it also matters what you plant and where.
Companion Gardening is a growing method that will enhance the success, flavour, nutrition and the amount of work that you have to expend on pest control and watering. Taller plants can give shade to others that don’t like as much sun like lettuces. Deep rooting plants placed near more shallow rooting plants will loosen the soil and bring up minerals for their companions. Other plants will encourage favourable insects which will feast on the non-favourable pests and will increase fertilization as well. Also one should consider crop rotation and not plant the same crop in the same area that it was planted in before. For most space is an issue so at minimum you should swap areas that grew root crops like Beets and Carrots for above ground crops.
Peas and Beans produce nitrogen and will benefit other plants that are planted where they grew the year before. Brassica especially need to be grown in new areas to prevent Club Root.
They also take lime from the soil in higher amounts than most plants so moving them is prudent. Garlic, Chives, Nasturtium and Petunias will repel ant and the aphids that they carry.
Mint will repel mice from chewing on favoured plants and Tomatoes will be enhanced by growing Basil and Nasturtium both by attracting pollinators as well as deterring Aphids and White Fly.
These are just a few of the Companion Plant suggestions. One could write an entire book on the subject. LOL. I think that’s been done!
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
