CANADIAN REGION: What are you doing in January 2016

Here we go again for another year.  May you all have a fruitful and successful 2016 with good harvests and everything being perfect.

Which of course, it will never be which is part of the challenge and the joy when it does work.

My garden is covered with snow right now, and I wonder how anything will ever grow again. But come first light I am going out to find some carrots that were there in the fall, to see if I can harvest some to add to the two turkey carcasses I have been promised later today. From last year's experience with my neighbour she gave me two that had so much meat left on them that I was able to make so much good use of them, meat for me, meat for my dog, stock for soup, that I reckoned I made about $60 in value if I had purchased broth at $2 per carton, $2 per meal for my dog, and several pounds of good meat for myself.  I get a kick out of living frugally, but so richly.

Well, back to bed to catch up on sleep, then ready once again see what is in store for all of us;  Canadians, honourary Canadians, all our friends south of our border, and the ROTW. (Rest of the World).

"HAPPY NEW YEAR"

p://www.johnnyseeds.com/e-pdgseedstart.aspx?source=W_InteractiveTools_122014

I pinched this link from AtlantaMarie.

Happy New Year dear Canadians, honorary Canidans and ROTW!

Kelejan wrote:Here we go again for another year.  May you all have a fruitful and successful 2016 with good harvests and everything being perfect.

I get a kick out of living frugally, but so richly.

You sure you aren't Scottish? I am, lol, I get it!

I'm thinking of starting a new thread like my "First Time SFG in Canada thread" last year. I guess this would be "A Second Year of SFG in Canada". I find that doing so helps me keep a good record of what I do specific to SFG.  I need some feedback on whether or not that is appropriate or should I just post in other threads? I don't want to come across as a forum thread hog.

Happy New Year!

New Years is a great time to celebrate frugality. And things Scottish. And Scotch... (I had a wee dram myself, then a couple more...).

My home has lots of Scottish connections: my town is named for a town in Scotland that also has a generating station; Bruce County is named for James Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Earl of Kincardine, one time Governor General of Canada; my town of 12,000 (which I think includes every cow, sheep, pig and chicken) has TWO Scottish Pipe Bands, hosts an annual Scottish Festival and has a pipe band parade every Saturday in the summer (and a lone piper pipes down the sun from the lighthouse every night all summer). I'd celebrate my own Scottish heritage a bit more directly, but a kilt is way too expensive...   

Trolleydriver, I think a 2016 / second SFG thread would be great. I for one learned  lot and was envious of your pics (except when it got overgrown a bit; that was more like mine...). Maybe we need a separate thread for blogs; that might encourage others.

FRED58 wrote:Happy New Year!

New Years is a great time to celebrate frugality. And things Scottish. And Scotch... (I had a wee dram myself, then a couple more...).

My home has lots of Scottish connections: my town is named for a town in Scotland that also has a generating station; Bruce County is named for James Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Earl of Kincardine, one time Governor General of Canada; my town of 12,000 (which I think includes every cow, sheep, pig and chicken) has TWO Scottish Pipe Bands, hosts an annual Scottish Festival and has a pipe band parade every Saturday in the summer (and a lone piper pipes down the sun from the lighthouse every night all summer). I'd celebrate my own Scottish heritage a bit more directly, but a kilt is way too expensive...   

Trolleydriver, I think a 2016 / second SFG thread would be great. I for one learned  lot and was envious of your pics (except when it got overgrown a bit; that was more like mine...). Maybe we need a separate thread for blogs; that might encourage others.

I love the song of the bagpipe....that is very cool, Fred. I recognized the name of your town actually, from the Scottish reference.

TD, I learned a lot from your blog! And Fred might be onto something, let's see what the powers that be think about the idea of a blogger thread?

I think it's TOTALLY appropriate, TD. That way people can see more progress from one year to the next without getting confused.

Yolos does basically the same thing with her Brooks, GA topic.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll go ahead and create "Second Year of SFG in Canada" thread. Maybe I'll start with a view of the SFG beds in winter conditions. I really can't wait to get started on this year's garden. There are so many great ideas on this forum to try out. Go away cold and snow!!!

I have the original edition of "All New Square Foot Gardening" (2005). I'm going to read it through again but I'm wondering if I should get the Second Edition. Does anyone know if there are many changes from the first to second editions? 

I also have the "Square Foot Gardening Answer Book" (published 2012) which has some interesting questions which are answered by Mel. 

I just came across another book called the "The Year Round Vegetable Gardener ...". Looks very interesting and scores highly on Amazon. The book is written by Niki Jabbou from Nova Scotia, so it should be applicable to my area. I've placed a hold on it at the local branch of my Public Library but I am third in line.

I recently had a telephone conversation with a Certified Instructor who lives only 30 minutes drive from me. She indicated that there is a need for more CI's in this area and many opportunities for presenting SFG to various groups. So that is something I could pursue. The problem is with the Canadian dollar being so low, the cost for the training is over 40% higher than for my American friends. That makes the Online Instructor Certification Bundle about $270 Cdn. That's out of reach for me at this time.

TD, I enjoyed your first year's gardening thread as it contained lots of interesting information, if you had commented solely in the Canadian Regional it would have been the largest thread of 2015. 

Several others have done something similar in the past and nothing has been said against them that I could find.

Just drop in here, the Canadian Regional, when you have time, and be sure that as you are in Canada, I will be stealing anything that I find interesting, with due acknowledgements of course. Anything that makes my task easier is good.

I did not comment as soon as you asked about it as I wanted to see what others thought before giving my opinion.

In my opinion, there are three main ways to comment in this forum; Regional, Topic, and Personal. Plus all the others. They all have their place.

Go for it, TD.

"The powers that be" have discussed the idea of personal blogs without coming to a clear conclusion.  At this time, I think a topic such as TD's, without the person's name, listed under the person's Region, is the way to go.  TD, go ahead and start your "Second Year" topic.  We all know who is writing!  

I'm afraid that if we all had personal blogs, such as "Sanderson's 2016 garden in Central California", it would be so person- and Region-specific, and the person would eventually just blog.  Sharing, commenting, supporting each other should be this Forum's main objectives.

Can someone answer this question?

I have the original edition of "All New Square Foot Gardening" (2005). I'm going to read it through again but I'm wondering if I should get the Second Edition. Does anyone know if there are many changes from the first to second editions? 

This is just my personal take. If a person is not a member of this Forum, yes, get the newest book. I think this Forum covers a thousand topics and ideas, including the ideas in the newest version. However, if you want to be a CI, then you should buy the newest edition.

I was wondering that myself, Trolleydriver.  Thanks for the answer, Sanderson!

Thanks sanderson.  I was able to download an Adobe PDF version of the Second Edition from the Ottawa Public Library. But it will have to be returned in 20 days.

sanderson wrote:"The powers that be" have discussed the idea of personal blogs without coming to a clear conclusion.

I'm afraid that if we all had personal blogs, such as "Sanderson's 2016 garden in Central California", it would be so person- and Region-specific, and the person would eventually just blog.  Sharing, commenting, supporting each other should be this Forum's main objectives.

I am not a blogger personally, but enjoy some of the folks' journeys as such. I agree with you Sanderson, our forum is much, much more than that!

Scorpio Rising wrote:

Kelejan wrote:Here we go again for another year.  May you all have a fruitful and successful 2016 with good harvests and everything being perfect.

I get a kick out of living frugally, but so richly.

You sure you aren't Scottish?  I am, lol, I get it!

Not Scots, but some Irish, mostly British (which to me means English) with a small percentage of Iberian which would explain my cousin's insistence  that there may be some Spanish Armada sailors in there somewhere who were washed up on the Cornish and Irish coasts and could not get back to Spain.  Or something like that. We have some ancestors in Ireland and Cornwall so that is both places covered.

[/quote]
Not Scots, but some Irish, mostly British (which to me means English) with a small percentage of Iberian which would explain my cousin's insistence  that there may be some Spanish Armada sailors in there somewhere who were washed up on the Cornish and Irish coasts and could not get back to Spain.  Or something like that. We have some ancestors in Ireland and Cornwall so that is both places covered.[/quote]

We are so mixed up around here in the Melting Pot, I am French, Native Indian, and Scottish that I know of!

Winter certainly has descended on my SFG. Current temp is -19 Celsius with a wind chill (feels like) of -30C.

Looking ahead, I'm thinking cold frame for late winter and early spring. There is a spot in front of our main front window which faces South (maybe a bit South-East). I think it would make an ideal location with the advantage of being close to the house, quite sheltered, and with the brick wall acting as a heat sink to absorb the sun's heat in the day and give it back at night. Another possibility is on the front porch which is even more sheltered with brick walls on two sides. On the other hand maybe these ideas are just more of my "flights of fancy".

And, if the Wright Brothers didn't have "flights of fancy", where would we be?

sanderson wrote:And, if the Wright Brothers didn't have "flights of fancy", where would we be?

For one thing, I would not have a flight simulator and would not be able to do virtual flyovers for my SFG friends. That reminds me that I never did complete the virtual flyovers for sanderson's vacation trip.

Changing the subject back to the subject of gardening ... This morning I went to my local Public Library and picked up a copy of "The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener" by Nikki Jabbour from Nova Scotia. I mentioned this book in a previous post somewhere on the forum. I'm only a couple of chapters into the book and finding it quite interesting. It's not SFG but she does cover intensive gardening, season extenders (e.g, hoops, cold frames), growing under lights, successive planting, warm/cool/cold season crops, crop rotation, details on year-round vegetables/herbs, and many other things.

I too am really really wanting a cold frame, I have a blank, useless south side of my brick house that faces another house which is BEGGING for a cold frame, ground cherries, etc. Plus I have a selfish goal to make mowing my acre yard easier; I am going to be an empty nester here soon, and my teenage son has always mown for me. He is better than I am, to say the least!

Fill the hard to mow spots with raised beds!!

Seems I have been neglecting my flock of Canadians etc.  :-(

Nothing much happening where I am.  Roads are clear, the sidewalks mostly passable; I think the PTB forget that some of us have to walk.  I took a small shovel with me a couple of days ago and where I walked I cleared the snow from a pedestrian crossing that was impossible for someone with a buggy to get across, and several other spots such as where one has to stand to press the crosswalk button in time to get cross before it stopped flashing.

There is about a foot of snow on my lawn and SFG beds and wood chips, so I just know that there is lots going on down there that I cannot see, such as the garlic and tulip bulbs slowly putting out roots, ready to spring into action as the days get longer and warmer.  But really, we have not had that much snow again this year and unless we get a real change in the winter weather we will once again have forest fires in British Columbia and water restrictions.

My indoor worm bin is flourishing, with heaps of worms in their cozy Wiggler Hilton located in my utility room.  One thing. unlike some people, I have complete  autonomy to do what I like in my home.  Even so, I know that my DH would have encouraged me to do what I am doing. Checking my dictionary for that word, I have discovered I am an autonomist.

In forty-seven days I will see if I am right that that is the day that the sun will finally touch the edge of my garden, providing the sky  is not overcast. This is according to a subject we covered about knowing what is pertinent to the land that you work on. The only other local knowledge I  have about my garden are the near mountains; that I plant my tender plants when the snow has gone on their tops.

All I have been doing lately is fixing my built in wardrobe by lowering the rods due to the fact that I am a small person and for twenty years have been complaining about having to stand on a stool to hang my clothes.  I finally got around to it due to the welcome gift of a electrical drill from a most unexpected source. Next job for the drill is to make use of small pieces of wood to make top-hats for the SFG carrots etc.  I have decided not to attempt anything like a house or even a shed as it is not within my capabilities.

What a wonderful update, KJ. Also, nice of you to clear some pathways. I'm sure others are happy for the easier access.

Kelejan, we haven't had snow either, I am south of Lake Erie. sWe have had some pretty substantial rains however. I got a power drill/driver for Christmas, too! I haven't used mine yet, but do plan to build a triangle box for some strawberries, and a 4x4 SFG at some point this year. Glad you don't have to get on a stool anymore, don't need that headache nor unecessary risk-taking!