A First Time SFG in Canada

Pretty!

Very pretty! Looks like a sedum variety to me, they are pollinator magnets, due to their timing! Alot of things have given up the ghost, I am afraid.

SR ... I agree ... sedum

https://www.google.ca/search?q=sedum&rlz=1C1EODB___CA523CA524&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=925&tbm=isch&imgil=hfdMmfwBwtf2uM%253A%253Bzruh_YKtz5YjfM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.garden.org%25252Fplantguide%25252F%25253Fq%2525253Dshow%25252526id%2525253D2059&source=iu&pf=m&fir=hfdMmfwBwtf2uM%253A%252Czruh_YKtz5YjfM%252C_&usg=__-ccE-kov2WXbypp89uK8iszkwg0%3D#imgrc=FpwrVWKpskDsIM%3A&usg=__-ccE-kov2WXbypp89uK8iszkwg0%3D

It's time to trim the cedar hedges around our property. Does anyone know if the clippings can be used as a winter mulch on the SFG or for composting?  I'm not sure they will break down well in the compost.






And we picked the last of our rhubarb for this year.

I miss rhubarb, had it at my old house....brought a transplant, died. Tried 2 more times with nursery stock...can't do it.

Are they hemlock? Little red juicy poisonous berries?

Not sure about the hemlock thing but I was warned that the leaves can be poisonous.

re Cedar Hedges:  I chop them up and place them around my blueberry bushes and I think they would be fine around rhodies  etc.

I see no reason why the cannot be used as a mulch, perhaps mixed up with other compost ingredients.  I think they take some time so you may want to make a separate heap the includes cedar or pine.

Time to start cleaning up the SFG boxes.

In particular the vines (cucumbers, honeydew melons and pole beans) are finished.

BEFORE ...



AFTER

Isn't it nice to clear the pallet, to have a fresh canvas? Will you be planting anything for fall/winter?

sanderson ... no plans for any more planting except perhaps garlic if I can find some locally produced. We are now less than two weeks from our first frost date (based on the averages published by Vesey Seeds https://www.veseys.com/ca/en/learn/reference/frost/canada ).

I still have swiss chard, radishes, lettuce, yellow beans, herbs and some other things growing.

I'm baaaaaak!  Been away for a week and a half as we spent some time in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario. Took my mum back home to St.Catharines which has the name "the garden city" and is located about 10 miles from Niagara Falls. The Peninsula is wine country.  At one time there were 4 wineries in the area and now there are about 150. 

It was cold here in Ottawa last night ... down to about 2 Celsius.

This is what the SFG boxes look like from the Dining Room window this morning. The Dusty Miller and Marigolds continue to put on a nice show. The Dusty Miller in the two boxes have overflowed and buried the pathway between the boxes.
 


The lone small pepper in this shot is the only fruit we got from the pepper plant in the SFG which is disappointing. The peppers in the regular garden did not do much better. The green tomatoes are from the regular garden with one of them weighing in at almost 1 lb.  Looks like I'll be cooking up some green fried tomatoes.

More catching up after returning from our trip.

1. While we were away I bought and read a copy of Mel's "Square Foot Gardening - Answer Book". The book was on sale for $6.99 Canadian.  It's chock full of good ideas.  

2. Today I bought garlic and tulip bulbs to be planted this Fall in the SFG boxes.

3. While we were away, the Fall small crop of snap peas continued to grow in one of the SFG boxes (see photo below).

4. In the Spring Mrs TD found a potato that had started to sprout in her indoor potato storage bin. She cut the pieces off and planted them in the regular garden to see what would happen.  The results are in the photos below.

Sugar Snap Peas in the SFG



Potato harvest from the regular garden

Plants are amazing.....

Nice, TD & Mrs. TD! When you plant garlic in the Fall, when do you harvest it?

SR .. I've never grown garlic in the past.  My understanding is that it gets planted in October and harvested on or after July of the following year.  Others here may have better information.

Wow! Look at all dem taters! Lucky you!

SR, when I plant garlic on Holloween, I can harvest end of July or so.

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:Wow!  Look at all dem taters!  Lucky you!

SR, when I plant garlic on Holloween, I can harvest end of July or so.

CC

OK, thanks TD and CC, I might give it a try, since my lone kale is gone.....wah! How many/SF?

The spacing on the garlic I bought states 4 inches between so that would be 9 cloves per square.  It probably depends on the type of garlic ... 4 per square for large varieties and 9 per square for small varieties.

Wonderful looking potatoes!

Harvested the following this morning from the SFG;

- lettuce
- swiss chard
- parsley
- oregano
- thyme
- green onions

Some of the above went into a green smoothie. I love going out to the SFG in the morning with a pair of scissors to snip off some leaves for the smoothies.

The 14-day weather trend for Ottawa shows the overnight temps to be above 5 Celsius for the next 12 days so there should not be any frost during that time. The daytime temps are going to be in the mid-teens Celsius.  Looks like I'm good to go for lettuce, swiss chard and some other SFG things for at least a couple of weeks.

trolleydriver wrote: I love going out to the SFG in the morning with a pair of scissors to snip off some leaves for the smoothies.

It's official ... Environment Canada states that there is a risk of frost for my area overnight. I was hoping for another week but it looks like this could be it.  I will not try to protect the garden from frost.

Didn't get the expected frost earlier in the week but there is a frost advisory for this evening and the overnight temperature is expected to be zero degrees Celsius. With that in mind I decided to call an end to the tomato season and brought in all the tomatoes (mostly green). Here is what they look like along with a few picked earlier.

I've never done any canning before but went out this afternoon to get some small jars. I'm going to try my hand at making chutney with a few of the green tomatoes. I may try making some salsa. I'll also put green tomatoes in a cardboard box in a dark place to see if I can get them to ripen up.

That is a good number of green tomatoes.  My mother in law who was a long time gardener would take her green tomatoes and individually wrap them in very small brown paper bags and she would be eating ripe tomatoes all the way up until Christmas.


My tomatoes always die out in August and never make it till frost.  Next year will be different.

Yes, I agree, I have put green tomatoes in paper and they ripen...the ones with a tinge of orange will do the best. And fry those babies, or make chutney which I have never done but sounds like a great way to keep the maters!