I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I hope that the New Year will become a more peaceful and harmonious time for us all. We had a nasty cold spell before Christmas that made our hopefully last encounter with the Polar Vortex in late January feel like a walk in the park. The east is now feeling its fury and parts of the United States have reached temperatures that have never been experienced. Minus 108F (-78C) in areas around New Hampshire, unbelievable but true. Eastern Canada is also very cold and with windchill factors that make it even harder to bear.
On one news review it was put forward that this wild weather is Earth’s way of getting rid of excess heat, I found that somewhat comforting that she has some methods to protect herself from the damage that has been done by man.
Plastics of course being some of the worse damage being done is slowly being eliminated but one of the most disturbing I heard was that our toilet paper contains plastic and is a significant contributor to the plastic dilemma. Now why in the world would there need to be plastic in our toilet paper? I guess we’ll have to go back to using the Sears and Roebuck catalog, except that there no longer a Sears and Roebuck catalog. I guess I’ll just use all the Easy Rider magazines that my husband has saved since they started printing. Saving the environment and downsizing at the same time!
I am happy to have already been asked to do the flowers for two weddings I am so excited! I have started planting some of the flowers that I will need as well as many of the annual flowers such as Petunias, Lisianthus, and Calibrachoa that take time to be well developed.
I have also started many herbs, Rosemary needs an early start as it takes up to 21 days to sprout and is slow growing. If you are going to grow some Celery this year it too should be started now. In the next couple of weeks I will increase this to include Tomatoes, Peppers, Geranium and a few other flower types.
It is way too early for any Squash, Cucumber to be started. If you are starting your own bedding plants for the best success soil temperature should be 75F for optimum sprouting conditions.
If you are using lights be sure to keep them close to the shoots to keep them from getting leggy. Once the sprouts are up use a fan to gently blow air on them to develop strong stocks. For those that are still in the planning stage be sure to get your seed catalogs ordered. There are many new varieties of our old favourites that have been hybridized to withstand warmer temperatures. According to the Farmer’s Almanac we should get an early spring that is warmer than last year, thank heavens, with a warmer than normal late spring that will also be rainier. Or hottest weather will be mid July to early August and on to a warmer fall with again more rain than usual. Well that sounds good and hopefully they will be on target.
Happy Gardening
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567 • samanthanason@hotmail.com
