Neighbours talking over the garden gate has long been a tradition. They share gardening tips, complain about the weather and pests yet are ever eager to discuss their gardens. That is what I had in mind when creating this blog. So stop by my garden gate to find out the latest happenings in my garden.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." ~ Madame Marie Curie"
Christmas is just around the corner so I thought I would do up a gardening wish list. The nice thing about gardening is everyone knows you garden so it is easier to buy gifts for those special occasions. Here's a few things that are on my gardening wish list:
- seeds - I'm especially fond of receiving seeds and it doesn't matter what. I look forward in anticipation to see if I can get the seeds to germinate and what the plant will look like.
- fancy pots - I am very much utilitarian when it comes to planting which means most of my pots tend to be plastic or plain terra cotta. I really love the looks of the glazed pots to set a plainer pot in while adding a bit of interest to the gardens.
- a gazing ball - I would love to have a gazing ball!
- gnomes - Trust me on this one, I could never, ever, ever have too many gnomes :)
- copper tape - I use copper tape to snail proof my garden beds and containers so a roll of that is always very much appreciated.
- a garden bench - I love garden benches, just to stop and sit a spell while out in the garden.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
We are still experiencing unseasonably mild temperatures here, not that I'm complaining. The lawns look almost the best they have all year with the extra bit of rain we've been having. There have been a couple of squirrels skirting about the yards but still no sign of the wild rabbits. I've been told that the rabbit population is cyclic but to not see any is rather discerning. I suspect with the harder economic times the wild rabbits are ending up in the stew pot. Duck season is in full swing to so we hear the occasional shot reminding us that the snow will be upon us shortly.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
There is very little going on outdoors this time of the year. We still have another day's worth of leaf gathering to do and put the plastic up on the screen-in sunporch but there isn't any actual garden work to do. I still have to wash the solar lights I want to keep if the house sells but other than that pretty much all of the garden work is complete. It's now time to start dreaming of next year's garden.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Once the final lawn cut for the season has been done it is time to winterize the lawnmower. This is not a difficult task but neglecting to do so may cause starting problems in the spring and premature rusting of the lawnmower bed. Here's what we do:
- remove any grass build-up under the bed
- hose down the bed and under the bed well
- allow to fully dry in a sunny location
- rub a bit of oil onto the blade to prevent rusting
- pour gas stabilizer into the gas tank
- place the lawnmower in corner of garage ready for the following season
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Cleaned Out Garden Beds
November 13, 2010
We cleaned out the two smaller and one larger garden bed on Saturday. While a good portion of the leaves were mowed over with the mulching lawnmower to provide mulch for the lawn another good portion were vacuumed up. Rather than waste the leaves collected by the leaf blower/vacuum my husband dumped them onto the two smaller beds and the garden paths where they will break down over the winter enriching the soil. In the spring any remaining will be worked into the soil to continue providing nutrients as they break down. We also ended up bagging some of the leaves. Despite all leaf raking and gathering there is still a lot more to come as one of our maples still has a fair number of leaves to fall.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Mulching Leaves
November 13, 2010
Our lawn mower has mulching capabilities so it makes sense to take advantage of that to get rid of a few leaves. We have way more than we can compost in the gardens and I don't like putting leaves out for municipal collection unless necessary. One solution we came up with was running over the leaves during the last couple of lawn cuttings with the lawn mower set to mulch. The mulch setting cuts the leaves finely leaving them behind in the grass where they can breakdown and add nutrients over the winter. It saves bagging the leaves as well as helps to get rid of all those extra leaves you can't compost. It is an eco-friendly approach too as the leaves feed the lawn reducing the need for any additional fertilizer.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
My gosh, 2010 has been a year of many changes for us. With the purchase of a vacation home in a considerably warmer zone than here there was the excitement of new gardening experiences but at the same time I was saddened at the prospect of selling this house. We went ahead and added to the garden beds despite the house being up for sale. Then the house came off the market while we spent a much needed break at the vacation house. Upon returning home we relisted the house so it is with a lot of mixed feelings seeing the close of this year's gardens. There is a very good chance we won't be here in the spring so while I am happy at what I've been able to accomplish I'm saddened at the prospect of not seeing the results of all our hard work. But so it goes with gardening. Part of the fun of gardening is the adventure and the challenge of starting over again when necessary.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Now that we've had our first hard frost followed by rather cool nights but pleasant days, my thoughts have turned to winterizing the garden. Here's my to do list for winterizing the gardens this year keeping in mind the house is on the market so I may be setting up a new garden at new home next year. As you can see there is still a bit more to do.
bring in plantsshut off water to the gardensdrain self-watering system - bring in hoses
- bring in garden ornaments
- final mulch cutting
- final bed clean-out
- gather an herbs that can still be harvested
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
The grey days of November have arrived. I dread these days because they are so dull and dreary lasting most of the month. Quite often we wake to a blanket of fog that slowly dissipates throughout the day but never really fully goes away. The sky turns a bleak, mono-toned grey broken occasionally only by ominous looking storm clouds. Most days will see a bit of misty rain as well although some days are just a complete all day rain. Even the garden beds take on a dreary, rather sad appearance when viewed from indoors. Soon the beds will be covered with a blanket of snow but for now I have my memories and pictures of a rather productive gardening season.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
The weather has turned surprisingly mild so I managed to get a bit more painting done outdoors. The main thing we did in the garden was drain the hoses and put them away for winter storage. We also drained the water lines shutting off the valves as well so there is no water in the lines. It does freeze here over winter so this is a necessary part of fall garden clean-up. It was nice to do a bit of puttering in the garden even though it was pretty much cleaning out. Tomorrow is predicted to be warm and mild as well so it will be another raking the leaves day!
Happy Gardening! Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Every year about this time after the main gardening season is over, I take a bit of time to go my notes of what plants did well and new varieties that I would like to try the following year. Then I set about ordering seed catalogues that usually arrive in the coldest part of the winter so they are a cheery sight! I keep seed catalogues as garden reference material so they tend to add up a bit. This year I decided not to place my annual seed catalogue orders. All of these catalogues are available online with just as much information if not more and the catalogues are searchable. I will miss the brightly coloured seed catalogues arriving in the midst of winter but I think using the online catalogues is the eco-friendly choice.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
I was up at 3 AM this morning to see a beautiful blanket of twinkling snow. Pleasant thoughts filled my head as I drifted back off into dreamland. There was still snow on the ground when I got up for the day but by about 9 AM it was all melted. The first snow of the season is always exciting. Everything looks so clean and pristine!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Oh my gosh what a year 2010 has been! Our house has been on the market for most of the year which cramped the intended garden expansion yet I did get two new smaller raised beds put in. We also managed to get some grass reseeded to clean up a couple of problem areas for any house viewings. The main battle this year was the weather. Late winter was considerably drier which affected ground conditions. Spring was cooler and wetter than predicted. The raised beds were planted a bit later as we were on vacation in May. The summer blessed with heat and more heat but not much in the way of moisture. Then we were gone half of September and part of October so I did miss some of my harvest. Despite all of this the gardens were rather productive!
- lettuces - a small crop
- radishes - a small crop
- onions - few and far between
- peppers - a bumper year, one of the best I've ever had especially for the sweets but the hots did amazing well too
- tomatoes - best performer this year was Brandywine followed by a commercial variety and sweet millions; Tiny Tims did not perform well
- cucumber - very impressive performance by Marketmore, very poor performance by pickling cucumbers
- strawberries - poor performace but the plants are new
- horseradish - lost one plant, other one still struggling along indoors
- rhubarb - lost the plant
- herbs - excellent performance except for pesto basil with both plants dying
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
It is time to clean out the garden. Yesterday morning's frost has knocked down most of the plants which is always nice. It rained last night so things are still wet and is threatening rain again today as well as rain predicted for the next couple of days. Sunday is supposed to be dry and warmer so it will be a good clean-out the garden combined with rake the leaves day.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Morning Frost
November 3, 2010
I awoke to the most amazing sight this morning. We had our first hard frost! It had turned foggy overnight, something I could tell without even looking as the freighters were sounding their fog horns throughout the night. The fog was heavy enough this morning that I could barely see the water! The house was surrounded in the mystical mist. The garden beds decked with their frosty cover with the foggy mist hover was a sight to behold. It looked the perfect spot for gnomes, fairies, unicorns and other mythical beings!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Last of the Tomatoes
October 29, 2010
With the milder weather I've been able to continue harvesting tomatoes that I left on the vines as long as possible. Green tomatoes can be coaxed into ripening with a bit of time and patience. The flavour will not be as pronounced as those tomatoes ripened on the vine but they are still quite delicious. Green tomatoes with a small tinge of pink will ripen indoors. Totally green tomatoes will never ripen but they can be used for fried green tomatoes,
salsa verde and
green tomato ketchup. Tomatoes that have been hit by frost will never ripen.
Many home gardeners ripen green tomatoes on windowsills but in many cases the tomatoes will spoil before ripening especially on sunny windowsills. Tomatoes can be ripened indoors by putting them in a brown paper bag with a ripening banana. The banana produces ethylene gas that speeds the ripening process in the tomatoes. Larger quantities of green tomatoes can be ripened in a box with or without a banana. My preferred method is to place the green tomatoes on a baking sheet then set where the tomatoes will not be exposed to direct sunlight. An alternative method is to pull the entire plant, shaking as much dirt as possible from the root ball. Then hang the entire plant upside down in a sheltered area (eg. garage, basement) where it is dark. The tomatoes will ripen on the vines. Any tomatoes that don't ripen can be used as previously mentioned.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
What an incredibly odd year with respect to weather! Here it is November first and we still haven't had a frost. The good news is now the house is on the market we've been able to get a few things done outside like painting. The best news is I'm still picking peppers, the odd tomato and herbs from the garden. The bad news is even though the gardens are still producing, cleaning them out would take care of that late season scruffiness that happens towards the end of the gardening season. Well, I will just mosey along getting whatever work done outside before a frost hits and thank my lucky stars that the garden is still producing this late in the season!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
