Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
And….. we’re off!
Overnight it has gone from winter to gardening season in Vancouver – or at least that’s how it seemed yesterday when the deluge of the previous week opened up to a blue sky and mild temperatures. This propelled me to the garden centre, already guilty about not getting the Fava beans in during February – I sure didn’t want to miss the window for potatoes!
And so the early spring madness – plant fever, muddy fingernails and mutterings about why I didn’t clean-up better in the fall – begins.
This year is probably my least-organized since I’ve been in the Urban Crow house. I didn’t order all my seeds in January, I have no idea what I’m putting in each box yet, and I’m thinking of switching at least one box from square-foot to keyhole with concentric circles coming off the compost feeder….. But what I have been figuring out all along is that no matter how meticulously I plan leading up to the season, I’m still pretty much just winging it once I get out there. That is, letting the garden, weather and my mood – lead me to what makes the most sense each time I’m in the muck. So no matter my planting charts, my timing and everything else – I still end up doing things somewhat haphazardly, and it mostly works well.
This year I’ve added three more potato bags to the mix – bringing them up to six bags of four plants each, and I’m thinking to rustle the basement for the remaining burlap bags I’m sure are down there to finish off the seed potatoes I’ve got. I also picked up three red tomato bags yesterday – the red supposedly helps the fruit to set and ripen, and I’ve decided that I really like bags over stiff planters for weight, flexibility and look. My potatoes did really well in their bags last year – and the material really held up super-well (it’s essentially tarp material – you could easily make these on your own for less expense than GardenWorks sells them, but I’m not looking for one more project at the moment).
I also turned the compost yesterday, and scooped about half the mess out for the potatoes. If I manage to get out today, I think the rest of it will be going to top-dress the garlic bed which is coming along nicely. (If you didn’t get your garlic in during autumn, you are right at the edge of the latest spring planting for it – so get going!)
And beside the peas and fava beans which went in their beds yesterday, I’m thinking this afternoon should focus on radishes and greens – plus turning and amending one more bed. Oh! And dahlias! I’ve got three new ones to plant after I uncover the flower bed from its winter mulch.
But of course, this is only if I can get my schoolwork done this morning so I’ve got a couple hours this afternoon – so I should go off and hopefully I’ll have some garden pictures to show tomorrow (instead of just the lovely view from upstairs this morning)…….
Red Cedar 
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