All Mushrooms Are Edible….. But Some Mushrooms Are Only Edible Once!
This past week has been a seesaw of events that are sad and others that brought me at least some happiness. One of the sadder events was the death of a great man who stood by his convictions against great odds and has died by the hand of an evil and cowardly man. Rest in peace Alexei Navalny. One of the events that did bring a ray of hope and a smile to my face was the judgments against Trump and a severe blow to his family jewels (literally). This is hopefully one of many strikes against another man who greatly deserves what has been a long time coming. I was very dismayed to hear of an outrageous response to a youthful prank by some young kids on the coast.
Knicky knicky nine doors a harmless prank that was even played by in my youth. To think that a person would be so enraged that he would attempt to run them down with a vehicle blows my mind. It’s not like these kids polished up their guns and loaded up a bunch of ammo to take to a celebration of a football game and gunned down innocent men, women and children. As I recall the premise of the game was to ring the bell and run like hell. I don’t think that a second ring or knock was delivered as the culprit was long gone, not being much of a runner preferred to phone people randomly to ask if their refrigerator was running and if so they should catch it. Now this was a real inconvenience as the poor victim had to rise from their comfortable couch and go to another room to answer that rotary phone securely attached to a wall. This is not an option in our day and age with a system in place which will betray the number you are calling from. Were we not funny, brave and daring!
Although the past week has been a bit cooler the sunshine has been wonderful. The next week promises a little precipitation and milder temperatures. Everything is doing well in the greenhouse and the temperatures while the sun is shinning at the right angle has reached 20 degrees. Every day we gain 3 minutes more of daylight and I am grateful. The sudden plunge from mild to severe cold caused significant damage to grape growers and other fruit growers. Such a shame that all their hard work and investment will be severely affected.
Last year many people were affected by unusual weather causing damage to perennials they have had for many years. It will be a difficult year for gardeners if we do not get more snow especially in the mountains that will deliver water to the land further into our summer. As many people are starting their own bedding plants I would like to mention again an excellent potting soil that contains a fungi which will stay within the root system of your plants. Blue Sky HP Mycro high porosity potting soil is an organic product that Blue Sky produced that incorporates Mychorrizae. This is a natural and organic fungi which will protect all plants and enhance their growth and strength. It is naturally found in the wild but because of over worked and over fertilized soil has been almost irradiated. Pesticides too have caused great damage to this fungi which form a symbiotic relationship to our plants, the plants provide organic minerals like sugar to the fungi while the fungi provides water and nutrients that they take from the soil and give to your plants.
The fungi also protects the plant from other fungal infections and increases production of fruit and flowers as well as health and production of your vegetables. They also help with soil structure, the PH balance of the soil and decreases the amounts of fertilizers needed. This can be applied to your seeds and root balls of plants before planting and available in the potting soil that you purchase to start your seeds. It will colonize on the roots of living plants and once in place will over winter when associated with your perennials. This product is available at most gardening centres.
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
