Putting the Shine in Your Spring Garden

Finish any (or all!) leaf, dead foliage and debris clean-up leftover from the fall and the winter windstorms. Ideally, gardeners should endeavour to clean-up fall leaves and debris before the winter rains set in. Cleaning up the garden in the late fall does not just create a better looking winter landscape, but it is an essential good cultural practice. Removing debris eliminates the places insects, diseases and water can accumulate. Water logged debris attracts unwanted bugs, mold (rot), fungi and viruses to your garden. However if there was not enough time to manage this task in the autumn, then by all means get at it now!

Once is garden are free of debris you can focus on Spring maintenance jobs. An easy task to get into the spirit when the weather has not yet brightened, is what I call damage control pruning. Often after windstorms, cold winter temperatures and snow there is minor to more extensive damage to trees and shrubs. It is a good idea to take a good look at your plants with secateurs in hand and immediately prune out any broken, damaged or dead twigs, branches and etc. Sometimes damage is excessive and involves large tree limbs which may need to be removed by a local arborist or tree company. Pruning out small scale damage is a good cultural practice, as it reduces entry spots for insects and disease which can undermine plant health as the seasons evolve. This garden bed needs attention

Late winter/early spring is an excellent time to activate your compost(s). This is basically turning your composts over with a garden fork and aerating the compost (getting the oxygen in). If your lucky your compost will be ready (sufficiently decomposed) to use in your garden beds, veggy plots or for mulching ornamentals such as azaleas and rhododendrons.

What makes a good composter and good compost?

The ideal composter is a three bin system. Composts that service a good size active garden are best designed to have compost in three stages of breakdown. Three* composts are needed; ideally made out of simple lumber with 4 posts or corners and 1”x6” (or 8”) cedar for the slats. Enclosed only on 3 sides and the front can be open or be designed to slide up and down or open in some way. Three bins would be side by side and easily and cheaply constructed from any untreated lumber. Chemically treated lumber is not acceptable for composters, as the toxins from the treated wood will leach into your composting material.

*Bin one would be fresh cuttings, bin two would be partially composted and bin three would be finished compost.

This design allows for an ongoing compost supply and a wheelbarrow can be brought right up to the compost. The size of the bins depends on the size of the garden and how much room one allows for a compost/work area. On average 4'x4' is a good size. Where room and garden size do not allow for this type of set-up, there are composters available at retail stores in various shapes and sizes. Where vermin are known pests it is best to have closed composters for kitchen compost. Raccoons and rats commonly feed off of kitchen waste.

You will find some people think just about any food can go in the compost, but this is absolutely false. Do not put any cooked foods into your composters. This is a bad idea for many reasons. Cooked food is especially attractive to rodents and where you might not have had a rodent problem you certainly will if you feed them this way. All raw food (veggies,fruits, eggshells) waste is also attractive to these animals and should be composted in closed bins.

Good composts have a mixture of organic matter:

Decomposing Leaves	Grass Clippings	Vegetable Compost
Garden Cuttings	Seaweed	Manure

Other additives include:

Rot-it or related

Soil

Ashes

New material should be added intermittently in layers. Just having grass clippings or homogeneous material will not produce a healthy and balanced compost.

The second stage of composting or for bin #2, is to fork over and mix the compost to get air in and feed the microorganisms making the compost.

Edging Garden Beds

Edging garden beds is not the funnest spring garden task, but the results are rewarding. Visually the clean lines between lawns and beds add definition and set off the beds from the grass. Maintaining the lawn edges with clippers or a weedeater is far easy and faster when dealing with cleanly edged beds.

A well edged bed

Cultivating Beds

Cultivating the soil of ornamental perennial or shrub beds is an important spring maintenance practice. Cultivating really means aerating the top layer of soil so that oxygen can permeate the upper root layer of plants. Mulching over cultivated beds is much more effective than mulching compacted soils. A well cultivated soil allows mulch nutrients and water to travel easily to the plant roots where they are absorbed and travel upwards through the plants' vascular systems where they promote growth, good health and flower and/or fruit production. Early spring cultivating also loosens and dislodges weed seedlings before they develop, grow deep roots or produce seeds. Another obvious benefit of cultivation is the aesthetic benefits...a freshly cultivated fluffy bed looks better than a compacted flat surface layer.

As valuable as cultivating is sometimes it is necessary to dig deeper to amend garden soil or to prepare vegetable beds. Where soil is heavy clay, long time neglected or solidly compacted it is important to amend the soil by digging it over and adding well composted organic matter. Sometimes some clay should be removed to make way for a more workable and loamy soil. The removed clay soil can be used to form berms or fill in less ornamental areas if needed. Digging to a depth of 12-16" while adding organic matter will significantly increase the arability of the soil, making annual maintenance easier, while improving plant vigour and drainage. This task can be done either by digging around existing plants or if possible plants can be lifted and replanted once the process is complete.

Mulching

Once beds are well cultivated but if they have no organic mulch layer, this is a good time to put down a layer of composted matter. Why Mulch? Good question.... Mulching has many benefits for plants, our maintenance routine, water conservation and aesthetics. For plants good quality mulch is a complete organic fertilizer, providing plants with the essential micro and macro nutrients they depend on to grow vigorously, bloom and produce harvestable fruits and vegetables. Gardeners benefit from a reduced workload since mulch suppresses weeds, allows weed seedlings to be quickly removed from the mulch layer and lessons soil compaction and reduces the need for cultivating. With water conservation becoming more of a mainstream issue now and in the future, Mulch can retain more water in its loose organic layer than can the same volume of soil's smaller particles. Thus less frequent watering is needed during warmer, drier weather. Finally rich organic mulch gives a finished and homogeneous look to the garden beds, It's dark colour forms an excellent contrast to the greens, greys and blues of a variety of plant foliage.

Organic Woody Mulch

Fresh Leaf Mulch

Depending on your garden plants, soil PH and personal aesthetic preferences different types of of mulch can be used. I prefer a well composted chicken manure, well-rotted garden compostor leaf mulch for effective weed control, water retention and nutrient supply. These mulches have a natural, complimentary look for woodland, native and ornamental shrub and perennial borders.

Another common type of organic matter, commercial bark mulch, is readily available everywhere landscaping supplies are sold. While bark mulch has all the elements required of an organic mulch, it is not as beneficial as the recommended mulches. Bark mulch is less natural in appearance (usually reddish), less complimentary to plants' foliage and much more acidic. Certain acid averse plants such as Roses, Fruit trees, Vegetables and Chrysanthemums (to name only a few) will suffer under a layer of highly acidic bark mulch.

Planting Spring Annuals

Now that your garden is spruced up and ready for enjoying the new growth and blooms of spring it isn't too late to give your garden a pick me up with the addition of some spring flowering annuals. Your freshly cultivated beds are perfect for planting new annuals. As the wet weather tapers off and overnight temperatures increase flowering annuals will thrive. Simply purchase bedding plants from your favorite garden centre, add a dusting of bone meal and 6-8-6 granular fertilizer to your soil and start planting. When purchasing annuals be sure your site is appropriate for the species you choose. {I.E. Pansy (part-shade) Wallflowers (sun).}

These important spring garden tasks will make the most of your maintenance time and keep you busy while the days get warmer and longer. While you complete these jobs you can be planning your veggy garden, perennial plantings, additions to cutting gardens or your next water feature.

- Allison Marr

Creating a Delicious Veggie Garden

Organic Vegetable and Small Fruit Gardens

It is that time of year again! Time to get into the garden and start things growing. Many more of us are growing as much food in our gardens, even in very limited spaces, as we can. This latest post will give you a good start to planning your fruit and vegetable gardens.

Site

Where should a vegetable or kitchen garden be located? A site that is sunny and open, so that plants have good air circulation and space for good traffic flow and maintenance tasks and tools. The planned plot will preferably have a south to southwest orientation to maximize the amount of daily sunlight available. Generally all the vegetables and small fruits we grow locally prefer full sun. When planning a veggy garden in an area where deer feed, then measures must be taken to minimize or stop the deer from feasting on your salad.

Deer control measures for veggie gardens include:

• fenced enclosures with wire barriers to full height (10')

• electric perimeter fencing

• property perimeter fencing to height

• bamboo, lattice veggie garden boundaries

The complete fenced enclosures will also serve to keep other garden pests out of your edible garden (rabbits, raccoons).

Planning and Installation

Once an appropriate site has been selected a garden layout can be designed.

A good edible garden plan addresses the types of plants, the size they grow and the quantity of plants desired. Naturally it is better to err on the side of allowing a little more room for future changes and development, rather than to under-estimate the space needed. At this point one has to decide between traditional in ground beds and raised bed gardens.

Raised Beds

Raised beds require more work in the planning and initial installation stages, but once installed raised beds are labour saving and higher in productivity than traditional single row gardens. The soil of raised beds warms up earlier in the spring allowing for earlier crop planting. Raised beds have no soil compaction because they are not walked on, so no cultivation is required during the growing season. Raised beds allow higher plant density, less water use and less weed growth.

Raised beds should be between 3 ½ ' and 4' wide, with a soil depth of at least 18 inches. The length of the beds is only determined by how much room one has, and what one plans to grow. The space for working between the rows should be a minimum of 18” and a maximum of 30”. Use stakes and string for guidelines to create beds that have 90 degree corners and line up perpendicular to each other. If deer control barriers are to be installed allow 18” between the fencing material and the edge of the raised beds. Install the fencing after the entire garden plot has been prepared.

The raised beds can be free formed or if a more orderly and neat plot is desired then hard landscaping materials should be used to build rectangular sides or frames. Concrete blocks, bricks, stones, cedar or fir lumber can be used, but not pressure treated lumber (toxic chemical leaching will occur). The paths between raised beds can be comprised of bark mulch, wood chips or crushed gravel screenings.

The 18” depth of good loam may be best achieved by digging out approximately 6” of the existing soil before building the beds. If soil is fertile then the area for the beds can be roto-tilled or dug over. If removing soil it can be placed where the finished paths will be positioned and raked out before topping with the appropriate material. Once dug the sides can be built (if that is the method chosen), and firmed in place with stakes as anchors. Now the beds are ready for the loam to be added. Once the beds are full the new soil should be watered in and after it settles the beds can be topped up and then ready for planting.

Traditional Garden Beds

For single row gardens the preparation is a little different. First we mark our the entire garden plot with stakes and string to make a geometically square area. Where the new garden is sited over gardens these are the preparation steps to follow:

• hand weed perennial weeds to remove roots that can reproduce new plants

• rototill the entire area

• bring in soil amendments (organic matter and high quality loam)

• if necessary build deer proof perimeter enclosures

• rototill organics and loam into existing soil

• rake and level soil

• plot out planting rows (as long as desired) with stakes and string, label each row

• space rows to allow for size of crop and room to walk between vegetation

The garden is now ready for planting.

Soil and PH

Soil for vegetable gardens should be near neutral on the PH scale. The PH scale ranges from 1 (highly acidic) to 14 (highly alkaline or basic) with a reading of 7 being neutral. There are simple PH soil tester kits that can be purchased from garden centers. Veggy garden soils should be tested every 3 years to ensure PH levels are compatible with producing productive, healthy crops.

If soil is too acidic less than 5.5 PH then lime should be added to the soil and mixed in either in the fall or if in the spring 6-8 weeks before planting. Where soil is too alkaline well rotted compost or similar organic matter should be mixed into the top level of the soil before planting.

Perennial Vegetables

Most of our popular and successful vegetable crops prefer a well drained loamy soil. In our Pacific Northwest setting only a few perennial vegetable crops are winter hardy, such as artichoke, asparagus and rhubarb.

One of the most rewarding of these is asparagus, but growing this succulent vegetable requires patience and a large garden plot. Asparagus takes 3 years to produce from seed, however 2yr old rootstocks are available for cultivating. Once established asparagus will produce for 15 yrs. Plant roots 12-18” deep in rich slightly alkaline soil and place plants 18” apart. In September cut back plant plumes to just under soil level and cover with a layer of coarse manure.

Rhubarb is easy to grow in a sunny, well drained spot. Allow at least 3 square feet for it to spread. Rhubarb, like asparagus is a cool season plant and produces edible leaves and stalks in the late spring. Rhubarb can be started from seed or nursery stock. It is essential that no water sits around the root crown or the plant will rot. Planting on a mound or in a raised bed is ideal. During hot summers Rhubarb is dormant.

Annual Vegetables

Tomatoes require an early start indoors, a greenhouse or coldframe. Tomatoes can be transplanted outdoors after the May long weekend, but for higher productivity and longer growing season they can be cultivated through the growing season in greenhouses or similar enclosures.

Tomatoes will require staking, pinching back, heavy water and fertilizing throughout the growing season. Tomatoes should never be overhead watered to reduce the chance of disease and fungus problems.

It is a good practice in BC to start any of your vegetable seed early as with tomato plants. Once the soil has warmed in late May most veggies can be transplanted into the garden plots. Some plants such as carrots, lettuces, beets and onions need less room to grow and have no need for vertical support. Other veggies such as peas and beans need vertical supports and good air circulation to inhibit powdery mildew and other diseases.

Other vegetables like cucumbers, squash, zucchini and pumpkins require much more square footage of garden space per plant. These larger plants need about 4 square feet per plant.

Small Fruits

Fresh strawberries out of the garden are hard to resist. Strawberries need full sun and well drained sandy loam with additional organic matter. Bare-root plants can be purchased in the early spring. Plant rows about 30” apart and plants 18” apart. After fruiting strawberry plants will produces new plants on runners which can be transplanted to increase crop size. Once plants attain the desired size runners need to be pruned off to reduce crowding and allowing more available energy for the parent plants. Ever-bearing varieties are a good choice as they produce fruit over the growing season, produce less runners and require less room to spread than traditional varieties. Mulching strawberries with sawdust or straw is an excellent method to reduce weeds, retain moisture, and to discourage midlew, rot and pests.

Cultivated Blueberries are medium to small perennial shrubs that thrive in our area, and several native species are long lived plants in BC. Plant nursery stock in spring in full sun, average, but acidic (PH 4.0-4.5) soil. Well rotted compost or other organic matter can be added at planting time. Plants should be about 4' apart and rows 5-6' apart. As with Strawberries mulching is highly recommended. The first fruit will be produced in the plant's third season. Very little care is needed, just once a year pruning and fertilizing for these long lived plants.

Cane Fruits are a delicious addition to any edible garden and amoung the easiest to grow and maintain. The genus Rubus includes loganberry, raspberry and blackberry. There are cultivated varieties of blackberry now available that are thornless and do not spread and invade the garden. Cane fruits require a support system, but this can be a simple row with posts on either end and three horizontal rows of light gage wire running between the posts. Cane fruits can be purchased bareroot and planted in the fall. Plants 18” apart and set rows 4” apart. Rubus prefer poor sandy well drained soils and full sun. Maintenance includes cutting old canes back to the ground and taking one third of new growth off canes in the fall that will bear fruit the next year.

Companion Planting

It is a common practice among organic gardeners to place specific plants adjacent to other plants in the vegetable garden to deter insects and diseases that may be attracted to the vegetable plants. The following table gives an overview of vegetables that work well with other plants.

Vegetable	Companion Plants	Non-companion Plants
Asparagus	Basil, Tomato, Nasturtium, Parsley	Onion, garlic, potato
Beans	Carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, marigold	Chives, leek, garlic
Broad Beans	Brassicas, carrot, celery, corn, lettuce, potato	Fennel
Beets	Brassicas, lettuce, onion, sage	Bean (pole)
Broccoli	Celery, chamomile, dill, rosemary	Oregano, Strawberry
Brussel Sprouts	Potato, Thyme	Strawberry
Cabbage	Beetroot, potato, oregano, sage	Strawberry, tomato
Carrot	Bush beans, pole beans, lettuce, onion, pea, radish, tomato	Chives, dill, parsnip
Cauliflower	Beans, celery, oregano	Nasturtium, peas, potato, strawberry, tomato
Celery	Cabbage, leek, onion, spinach, tomato	Parsnip, potato
Corn	Bean, cucumber, melon, pea, pumpkin, potato, radish	Tomato
Cucumber	Bean, celery, lettuce, pea, radish	Cauliflower, potato, basil
Eggplant	Bean, capsicum, potato, spinach
Leek	Carrot, celery, strawberry
Lettuce	Carrots, radishes, strawberry	Beans, beetroot, parsley
Melon	Corn, radish	Potato
Onion	Bean sprout, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, strawberry tomato	Bean, pea
Pea	Beans, Carrot, corn, cucumber, radish	Onion family
Potato	Bean, corn, cabbage, pea, eggplant	Cucumber, pumpkin, squash, sunflower
Pumpkin	Corn	Potato
Spinach	Celery, cauliflower, eggplant
Tomato	Asparagus, celery, carrot, parsley, marigold	Corn, fennel, potato
Zucchini	Nasturtium

Putting the Garden to Bed

In the fall when your annual veggies are finished harvesting they can be removed and composted. Cut back perennial plants as required. Finally apply garden lime to soil beds and plant fall rye as a green compost crop to be dug back into the garden in early spring.

Post written by Allison Marr

Woodland Bulbs, Winter Charms

The Pacific Northwest coastal habitat provides an excellent setting for many Woodland Bulbs. This diverse group of plants are often the first flowers we see in the late winter and early spring.

Woodland bulbs generally thrive under the protective cover of the typical Westcoast Rainforest, and the rich, moist humus layer underfoot. These plants blooms vary from bells to star shapes and their colour range includes white, yellow, pink and blue.

One the of earliest flowering woodland bulbs is the Common Snow Drop(Galanthus), which bloom from January to February. There are several species of this Genus widely cultivated in the region, including G. nivalis and G. Gracilis.





Galanthus nivalis










All Snow Drops do well in full sun to part-shade and well-drained soils. They are also adaptable to dry shade. These bulbs should be planted close together to create dense clumps or small masses of early spring flowers. While fitting in garden beds and rock gardens Snow Drops can be naturalized in lawns, as they are going dormant by the time lawns are ready for mowing.





Galanthus gracilis









Another early flowering bulb is the tiny Hardy Cyclamen (Cyclamen coum). This plant's dainty, shooting star-like blooms are a delightful addition to the winter woodland garden. The slender flower stems are only 4" high above a tight mat of boldly patterned basal leaves.


Cyclamen coum

Flowers vary from bright pink to mauve and appear in January and February. The tubers are summer dormant, and they naturalize easily, but without becoming invasive.


Hardy Cyclamen in full bloom

Some of the most recognizable woodland bulbs are members of the Crocus genus. The Woodland Crocus (C. tommasinianus) appears in January with a small lilac flower on a short, slender stem.
Crocus is a natural spreader and thrives in rich, moist soil under part-shade to full sun.







Woodland Crocus








There are also many woodland bulbs that belong to the Lily Family. Some are native to the pacific Northwest and some are European in origin. They all naturalize readily in our westcoast climate.

Prized among woodland bulbs is the native Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum). These plants are easily recognizable by their three petaled flowers blooming just above three flat green triangle leaves. They are rhizomes and they do not naturalize as rapidly as many other woodland bulbs. In our region they bloom February to April with white blooms maturing to pink, then purple.

Another much loved woodland bulb is the checkered lily or snake's head lily (Frittilaria meleagris). It is native to Great Britain and at home in woodsy Pacific Northwest. The checkered chocolate-brown and greenish-yellow flowers are 12-18" tall and appear March to May in full sun to part-shade.

The pretty native Easter Lily (Erythronium californicum) is admired by horticulturalists for its beauty and hardiness. This bulb has unique mottled shiny basal foliage below a slender stalk holding beautiful yellow with mottled brown flowers. These graceful bulbs bloom March to April and naturalize readily in protected part-shady and moist settings.

Hyacinthoides non-scripta and H. hispanica are known as Common and Spanish Bluebells. These are very popular spring flowering woodland bulbs. They are prolific bloomers and spreaders to the point of becoming invasive in cultivated landscapes. The Spanish Bluebell is lighter coloured, taller and larger than the Common Bluebell. Both species have white, pink, lavender and blue cultivars available. They bloom April to May in full sun to part-shade above rich masses of bright green upright to nodding leaves.

A close cousin of the Bluebell is Grape Hyacinth (Muscari boyryanthus). So named for it's musky scent and it's flower's resemblance to tiny grape clusters. Bright blue (or white) bell shaped flowers cling to slim stems, beginning as closed and eventually opening up as they mature. They bloom April to May and fast spreading and potentially invasive.

A bright yellow flowering bulb, Eranthus hyemalis (Winter Aconite), is a cheerful welcome in the early woodland garden. This clump forming tuber hosts a mass of 6" high yellow composite flowers from late January to March.

Eranthus hyemalis

Iris reticulata (Dwarf Iris), is a miniture form of Iris that blooms in February to March. Purple, blue or mauve flowers stand only 4-6" tall, above dark green erect leaves. These are bulb irises (as opposed to common rhizomes) which like full sun, but still bloom in part-shade with
well-drained soil.








Iris reticulata









Anenome nemorosa (Wood Anenome) is a vigorous spreading rhizome that thrives in our woodlands. It produces a carpet of deeply edged feathery foliage with masses of star-shaped single flowers. The species is pure white, but a wide range of cultivars have been established with an array of bloom colour and double petals. Wood Anenomes bloom from late March to May, and like many early bulbs it is summer dormant.

Woodland bulbs are excellent companion plants to rhododendrons, azaleas, ornamental deciduous trees (Japanese Maple, Star Magnolias), Hellebores, Native Conifers (Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Grand Firs) and a plethora of Herbaceous Perennials.

-written by Allison Marr