CANADIAN REGION - What are you doing in JUNE 2015

Carrots take a long time to show from seed.   Some people grow radish seeds at the same time and place so they don't forget where the carrot seeds are.

Please keep me posted on the garlic progress Shrimpsey! 

I also attempted to plant more radishes yesterday...but I was also planning to plant more cilantro and when I had finished "planting the radish seeds" I realized I had mixed the two up!  Good thing I love cilantro...oops Was too lazy to dig them up.

Thanks Fred for the tips on the stray cat repellent - I'm going to need it. I now think that ferrel thing is responsible for tearing up two of my patio cushions! Ohh, its on now. That cat has used up all the nice Canadian in me...I won't repeat the day-dream I had today on how to deal with it...

I'm also hoping to get some of that rain...a little here tonight but I'd like to see some more...overnight of course.

I've noticed that one of my beds has a ton of ants in it...we get a lot here since my property is essentially a sand pit (one reason the fence was so easy to put up). I read that it shouldn't be a problem but if any of you have experience let me know! I read they could be dealt with by adding baking soda...but I'm just hoping they will facilitate pollinating my cucumbers

Today at 6:30am is the time when the Sun rises over nearby Mt. Sentinel and brings magic to my garden. One moment it is in shade, the next, it is all light.

What local time is your current sunrise?  I am in British Columbia, the Southern Interior. About one hours drive  above the 49th  Parallel.

Here are some pics of my sfg as of June.
For some reason, the pics didn't upload.  I'll post them when I figure this out...
Okay, second kick at the can...
https://i.servimg.com/u/f18/19/24/48/54/img_0621.jpg


Strawberry bed with early season and everbearing strawberries in the same bed.


Lettuce, carrots, swiss chard, brussels sprouts,spinach, poet's narcissus, spaghetti squash.


Carrots, broccoli, tomato, spinach, swiss chard, garlic, nasturtium, lettuce (seeds).

It was so hot yesterday that I started just before the sun rose but wished I had started sooner, so this morning I started at 5am while it was cool and the dew was on the grass.

I did a lot of grass clearing so as to make my place look neatish and tidyish.  Dug up the daffodils and tulips that I planted last fall and that gave me such a beautiful display.  They were planted with the intention of trying to figure out where they were going to live permanently as I have not completed my BTE beds as the requested chips have not materialized.  The bulbs were planted above ground and surrounded by the wood chips and by now were getting unsightly.  they are now snug in a spare 4x4 with added compost and well watered in.  When completely  died back I will dig them up and sort them out and store for fall.  I have also ordered some more tulips to contrast with the pink tulips; a dark lavender, while they are on half price.  For once, I am looking ahead.

Yesterday I harvested a few scapes, the ones that were just starting to curl, and had them in a stir fry.  Tasted delice.  A few lettuce leaves were added along with a store-bought tomato and a few slices of peppers. The protein was chicken.Finished off with yoghurt and last years blueberries/strawberries.  

The strawberries are definitely beginning to ripen and there is one that is pink all over and that will be the first one that I will savor. Just have to wait for that deep red colour when you just know it is going to taste wonderful. I am hoping that when I visit an elderly lady on Thursday afternoon, that there will be few strawberries to give her.

This is the time if year that I am very happy to be retired from regular work.  I should have done this twenty years ago, but should is not the same as could.

Well at least you're luvin' it now! Good luck on the strawberries. I'd love to have a formidable bed of them one day.

Marc Iverson wrote:Well at least you're luvin' it now!  Good luck on the strawberries.  I'd love to have a formidable bed of them one day.

Oh, yes I am, very much so. I have one established bed 4 x 4 and a second bed of daughter plants in their first year.  They are June bearing, but I want to have a bed of the other kind as well.

Can anyone tell me what they prefer?  Any differences in yield?

Kelejan, You are an inspiration!

I took it easy today.  Slept in a bit, then had a lovely soaking bath and shampooed my hair etc so did not want to get all sweaty and dirty today.

Did clean things like laundry, prepared several days food for Jazz, he loves liver but not raw. I lightly sautee it then cut up and mix with regular canned dog food and I practice portion control.

For a small dog (16 pounds) he has a good appetite  and I have to make sure he does not put on weight as he is 12 years old next month.  He did pack on the weight last winter until I realized it was not good for him so he has regained his playful ways.  That taught me a lesson; those eyes looking at me as though he was on the brink of starvation no longer fools me and I now practice tough love.

My first three strawberries today.  Lovely.  Lots more coming.

Good for you!  Both on the taking an easy day and practicing tough love on Jazz.  (He's SUCH a cutie...)

Do you feed him veggies?  My Nicky loved raw zukes.  As long as I was feeding them to him, lol.

And congratulations on the strawberries!

Jazz really is a lovable dog.  I just love it when walking down the street with him, people approach us with a smile on their face, looking at Jazz of course.  If I am walking alone, generally because I have too many places to go to or it is too hot, the first thing people ask me is, "Where is Jazz". That's OK, I'm not jealous.

Jazz likes sweet potato, carrots, broccoli stalks, anything that falls on the kitchen floor before I can pick it up. He even had a go at coarse vermiculite, luckily he only swallowed one piece. Naturally he does not get onions, grapes, apples etc.

More strawberries by the afternoon so I was able to take a few to a friend I was visiting in a Seniors' Residence, she was so pleased to receive them, really made it worth while. She also appreciated the handful of lettuce leaves fresh out of the SFG bed.

Many more to come, hopefully enough to freeze some for the winter.

Our dogs eat apples by the bucketload every fall. All our dogs have always eaten apples. What are you worrying about apples for?

There were other apples and dogs articles but this was the shortest. Okay for healthy dogs.
http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/can-dogs-eat-apples/29085

Another article had a caution: Too Much of a Good Thing
On the down side most of the calories in apples come from naturally occurring sugar, not processed sugar that might be found in other treats it’s true. Still, sugar is sugar, so it can contribute to weight gain in large quantities.

Also, apples contain calcium and phosphorous, so if your dog has kidney trouble, don’t give him apples. Too much calcium and phosphorous in the kidney are indicators of kidney stones and early- to end-stage kidney disease.

Be careful of omega-6 fatty acids because they can cause inflammation, which wouldn’t be good for an arthritic dog. They also aren’t good for dogs with kidney disease. The apples themselves don’t have that much omega-6, but if the dog gets it from other sources, it can be a problem.

Eating too much apple can loosen a dog’s bowels, and you don’t want that. How much is too much depends on the dog, so show caution.

Don’t fear apples as a treat for your dog. Just remember to core the apple, so those pesky, poisonous seeds get thrown away. Keep the portions a reasonable size, and the dog’s coat will gleam, he won’t have diarrhea, and he’ll be one happy camper.

http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/can-dogs-eat-apples/29085

Marc Iverson wrote:Our dogs eat apples by the bucketload every fall.  All our dogs have always eaten apples.  What are you worrying about apples for?

'cos I read somewhere that apples were not good for dogs, so to be safe, I do not give him more that a tiny piece now and then.

Your post and Sanderson's  reassures me that I am not poisoning him.

These past few days I have been pottering around not doing much as it has been too darned hot for me.

Days of plus 30Cs, and no rain so have needed to water quite a bit in spite of having wood chips down in quite a large area.  My chips are relatively new so there is not enough damp soil underneath, that will take time so I must be patient. Some of the shrubs are doing OK as their roots must have reached down quite a bit.

Water restrictions are now in place, I think I saw something about it in the local paper.

Picked some strawberries, about three pound so far but they do not seem quite as luscious as I had hoped.  Maybe I had better invest in some that are suitable for our area instead of buying at the garden centre. Continue harvesting scapes and using them in stir fries.

I never water my lawn and it is holding up very well indeed compared to my neighbours who have their hoses going every day.  The other day my lawn was heavy with dew and my neighbour asked if I had just watered it.  I told him I never water my lawn, it has to fend for itself.  If it browns, it always comes back when the weather cools. Since a couple of years ago when I set the mower at its highest cut , cut often, and left the cuttings on the law it has thrived.  Oh, and taking down some trees which has given it more light.

How do people cope with going away on holiday?  Lucky that I enjoy being at home, as I would worry too much about what I was leaving behind and wondering what I would come back to. If I go away for  more than a couple of days, I try to go outside our growing season, which is why I appreciate our distinct seasons.

Yeah a garden is like a mortgage, isn't it? Blessing and anchor. Did I say burden?

I'm setting up my third sfg bed for sweet potatoes. I don't have many slips so I'll put other things in it possibly. What is the spacing for sweet potatoes? Photos to come. Do they need a trellis?

Kelejan, I'm with you on never watering the lawn.  Like you I keep it fairly long and have the lawnmower set on mulch. I do put on fertilzer and overseed. It's one of the best lawns in the neighborhood. But it still gets its share of weeds including a relatively new invader ... creeping charlie ... which is very difficult to get rid of other than by harsh chemicals which are banned here.

Near the end of next week we are going away for about 12 days. I don't know what will happen to my SFG during that time. We have been getting so much rain lately that there has been no need to water it. If we get a dry spell while we are away that may be a problem. One of our neighbours said she would be willing to do the watering using a watering can so I will probably take her up on that offer. We usually turn the house water off when we are away so I may have to set up a water barrel that she can use to get the water.

Cherbear wrote:I'm setting up my third sfg bed for sweet potatoes. I don't have many slips so I'll put other things in it possibly. What is the spacing for sweet potatoes? Photos to come. Do they need a trellis?

If you don't have the room, definitely a Trellis.  Also, it depends on the variety.  I grow Beauregard and they are very vining.  Some Sweet Potatoes do not vine as much as others.  I use a trellis every year.  You can also just let them vine out into the paths or surrounding yard if you do not want a trellis.  The vines do not have any tendrils so you just have to weave them in and out of the netting/trellis.

Here is my 2014 trellis.  On one side it is 8 feet tall and then all around the other sides the trellis is about three feet tall.  The vines climbed to the top of the 8 foot trellis and then came about half way down.  So the vines were about 12 feet in length.


Here is my 2015 trellis set up.  Much shorter but I did not want to put anything too tall in this bed.

I am experimenting this year and not letting the vines root and set new sweet potatoes.  Mine have not been large potatoes so I am trying to funnel all the nutrients/water into the original plants rather than letting them root along the vine.  Therefore, I set the trellis next to the plants.  I could have put more in this location but I did not have anymore starts ready to plant.

I usually plant mine about 18" apart in all directions.  I don't know if that is the recommended spacing or not, it is just what I use.  I think they probably could be placed much closer together but I have a lot of space and usually space things farther apart than recommended.

My friend who lives down the road from me is off for a couple of weeks and has asked me to look after her pot plants.

Luckily I walk my dog in the evenings when it cools so I can go around the block and water  her plants as I pass by.

Bonus is I can help myself to anything I like.  She has some nice tomato plants with small toms forming so with a bit of luck I will get a few.  My own toms are looking rather sad.

She went away last year (to Calgary) and helped her sister in the flooding.  Supposed to be away for two weeks then but it turned into two months.  Please, Calgary, no flooding this year.

Sunsanvil from Atlantic Canada has some nice pictures on his thread,OUR LITTLE SLICE OF PARADISE.  Another inspirational set-up, at least for me.

  Frost advisory for tonight...  Gotta cover stuff up, I guess. I planted my green peppers in pots, so they can just hang out inside, but I have squash and stuff outside I"ll have to cover. Other outside things are mostly hardy, but I planted bean seeds. They may become has-beans after tonight.

Yolos, thank you so much for showing me your garden set up. I never thought of doing a trellis like that, but I guess I'm going to need more conduit tubing. Your sweet potatoes look awesome!

Did you get your forecasted frost, Cherber? If you did, were you successful?

It has cooled a bit here in BC Southern Interior, with sudden downpours that last a few minutes and shortly after the roads are dry.  The rain does not even register in my little water pot. These sudden  downpours can really soak you though.

Well, we didn't get the frost in my location, but some parts of Cape Breton Island got frost. The garden seems ok, but my strawberry flower buds are turning black.

Sorry about your strawberries, Cherbear.

Mine are now getting to be at their best.  Only one crop as they are June bearing.