CANADIAN REGION - What are you doing in MAY 2015

When planting, I put the most consideration into rotation, shading, trellising, comparing, and maintenance.

Companion planting is not important to me.

I believe there may be a risk of frost in Ottawa and area tonight.  Hope you have you plants covered.

Did anyone get caught by Jack Frost last night?

It turned cloudy last night, so no frost here. Rain is forecast today, Sunday and Monday. I booked today and Tuesday to go with Victoria day on Monday to work on the yard  . Another cold snap is forecast for Tuesdy

On Thursday morning at 7 a.m. it was 2 Celsius in Ottawa.  This morning it is 7 Celsius. I think we escaped the frost. The lows for the next six nights are forecast to be 13, 14, 18, 15, 8, and 8 Celsius. I will be planting this weekend.

We are OK here in the British Columbia Southern Interior as out lowest night time temperature this coming week is 9C.

Mind you, I still check the weather forecast every day.

Pop over to trolleydrivers' thread "A first Time SFG in Canada",  he is making great progress..

Last night I brought in my seedlings and covered my freshly planted marigolds in anticipation of frost. Looks like we were close, but survived: the recorded minimum at the harbor was +3.8°C, or about 40°F. I think that should be it. The magnolias are dropping their petals and the lilacs are in full bloom.

Better days ahead!

Environment Canada now forecasting 2 Celsius for Friday night in Ottawa.

The night time temperatures for me in British Columbia are finally above 10C so now I can put my worm bins outside until the fall.

I haven't read the forum in quite some time, but I'm back!  

 I bought some seedlings from our local farmer clem's and have yet to plant them. I have broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, lettuce and spinach. I have garlic from last year in the box growing, but they mostly froze, and only a few survived. I planted too late and didn't cover them. Oh well. Anyway, I planted some patio pots with flowers so things look nice anyway!

Hi Cherbear, I recogknize your name but back to the Forum and the Canadian  thread as well.
from Kelejan

You have made a start and that can only be good.

Hi Cherbear

Looks like frost on Ontario's West Coast tonight (Forecast is 0°C, there are no warnings "yet").

Here in Eastern Ontario we have a "risk of frost" for this evening with a forecast of 1 Celsius.

Should I cover up my seedlings? I planted carrots, swiss chard, spinach, brussels sprouts and spaghetti squash. Also planted pansies, asters and marigolds in pots.

Oh and thanks everyone for the welcomes!

Cherbear wrote:Should I cover up my seedlings? I planted carrots, swiss chard, spinach, brussels sprouts and spaghetti squash. Also planted pansies, asters and marigolds in pots.

To cover or not to cover, that is the question.

1 celsius I think I would.  What would you have to do if you lost everything?  Would you want to start again?  How much work to cover compared to how much work if you had to re-do everything.

At least cover up the squash.

Yup, I'm going to cover my plants. 

Actually my wife just came home with something called "Frost Protection Fleece" by Schmidt. A package 26 ft x 4.9 ft cost $3 at the dollar (or more) store. The description says, easy to install, will not fray, 100% polypropylene nonwoven fabric, eco-friendly and biodegradable, treated with UV stabilizers for longer life. It also allows air, water and sunlight through while keeping the frost out.

Has anyone used this material and if so how well did it work?

The following is the Ottawa frost update from Environment Canada. Not looking good. Hoping my SFGs do not get wiped out.

======================================
Frost Advisory in effect for:

• Ottawa North - Kanata - Orléans
  
• Ottawa South - Richmond - Metcalfe
  

Frost may destroy fruit crops, vegetables, and other plants.

Widespread frost is expected tonight. Under clear skies and calm winds, ground temperatures overnight and early Saturday morning are expected to be at or a few degrees below freezing. The exception is for areas very close to the Great Lakes where temperatures will remain a couple of degrees above freezing.
Take preventative measures to protect frost-sensitive plants and trees.

=======================================


Good news for SFGers is the following from another website ( http://www.gardeningknowhow.com )

• Raised beds for plants – Designing a garden with raised beds will also help guard plants against frost during cold temperatures. Cold air tends to collect in sunken areas rather than higher mounds. Raised beds also make covering of plants easier.
  

Environment Canada says its 8°C now, but the Jeep and my 99c Home Hardware thermometer both say +6°C and dropping and there isn't a cloud in the sky. I covered my marigolds, lilies and nicotania and all my herbs, tomatoes and peppers are inside.

At least we're not getting snow.

The lilacs look good (and smell great). I'll be planting around 01June.

It was -2 C at 6:30 a.m. and with the wind it felt like -5 C. Glad I covered up my plnats last night.

@kanadka wrote:gardeninggwen  wrote:   Yours truly mixing the vermiculite, peat moss, & manure/compost. Could u please write down the proportions of your mix. I am really new gardener  and so impressed of your raised bed. I want to try something similar.
I wish u luck and thank u in advance

  kanadka
Welcome to the Canadian Thread, kanadka.

The proportions of Mels Mix, or MM as we call it, is one third each of vermiculite, peat, and compost, with the compost being a mix of five different kinds.

You should find the thread called Compost 101 where it tells you in great detail how to make it.  Go to the Search Box in the upper left hand corner and type in Compost 101 and you should find it.  Any problems or questions don't hesitate to ask. You may not get an answer right away as the USA is on  a long weekend holiday, but you will get them.

I live in British Columbia and I am sure we are much further along than you with your rather harsh winter.  There are others here on this thread and they will help you get started.  Just ask.

Kelejan

Today it rained for the first time in a couple of weeks and the rain was very welcome, unlike Cache Creek in British Columbia that was badly damaged by a flash flood.
So now I can take a break from having to water my plants.

Yesterday I went to a Nature Fest and the City was giving away compost so I took the opportunity to collect a couple of bags.  Today I sifted through it to remove any debris, and I must admit that to me it seemed as though there was no life in it, not a bit like the compost that I get from my own compost piles that seem so alive in comparison. 

I think perhaps it had been around too long so lost its life, or perhaps they treat it in some fashion like heating it to sterilize it?  Anyway, I will add some of my own compost, and water it and let's hope it comes back to life again.

This morning I went to my favourite Comfrey patch and harvested another huge bag of leaves from just four plants, shredded them and placed them on top of my wood chips that need all the nitrogen and minerals they can get as my wood chips were almost pure wood with no green in them as they were chipped at the end of last fall.

This was a second harvest from these comfrey plants and I was amazed how quickly they regrew from the first harvesting, they were up to waist-high. I have another 18 plants to harvest. No-one else has discovered them so far; I did not know myself until last year what these plants were, just that they grow very quickly and looked very distinctive, and best of all, they are withing a couple of hundred yards of my home.  It was on one of the threads here that I discovered their usefulness.