CANADIAN REGION: What are you doing in March 2016?

The month when we can begin planting some seeds or transplants in the ground at last. The month of the Spring Equinox.

At least if you are not in Ottawa right now, like Trolley Driver.

Woe is me.   

Ottawa temperatures this week are well below normal and there is another 20 to 30 centimetres of snow expected this evening into tomorrow morning. When will it end? Maybe if March comes in like a lion it will go out as a lamb. 

I don't see any outside sowing/transplanting in my future for several weeks. 

So I will continue with my indoor gardening and experimenting with my macgyvered self-watering containers.  

The last day of February we had some sunshine and 10*C and I was able to do an hour's work and felt so good about it.

Today, the first of March and I am looking outside at the falling slush and 5*C and feeling rather gloomy.  Tomorrow will be more of the same so will have to wait another day before the sun shines again.

A couple of days ago I thought I had secured a regular source of coffee grounds where I regularly have coffee with friends.  I had hoped for maybe five containers of Folger's each week.  Today I was told, "Sorry, the boss says No"., due to health and safety etc. 

Peaking out the front door in the midst of yet another snowstorm which will bring 15 cm of snow.

Look on the bright side.  Think of all that moisture you must be storing in your garden, and the snow does make everything look brighter. Does that help?

This morning I looked at some really old (2008) spinach seeds that I have tried to sprout.

After five days I have managed six out of 32.  Maybe some more will come but I am sure I will get enough for my needs without buying any more this year.

I have found another packet, unopened dated 2008 so I am trying to sprout those as well.  If they do well I many even pot them up and sell them at our little farmers market later on.  It will be a first for me.

Trying to sort out all my seeds and find which ones are viable. The years fly by so quickly and it is about time I got a bit more organised.

I found a can of popping corn so I am donating them to the turkeys that roam around our neighbourhood.  I may try sprouting them as well.  Anything to do these dark and gloomy days we are having right now.

I like your attitude KJ. 

I created a spreadsheet for my seed collection which includes such things as type and variety, the name of the seed company, whether or not they are organic/heirloom, the year they were obtained, their condition (e.g., unopened package), whether or not they should be or can be started indoors, planting dates, and general comments.

Weirdly, we have had very little in the way of actual snowfall. Have had rain...it has been a series of cold warm cold warm cold warm, you get it...

Supposed to get 1 to 3 inches of snow tomorrow, we will see....

Sure sign that Spring is near.  This coming Saturday is the "Seedy Saturday" event in Ottawa. I'm hoping to attend for my first time ever.

Photos from a previous year ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/vera_etches/sets/72157629506830653/

trolleydriver wrote:
I created a spreadsheet for my seed collection which includes such things as type and variety, the name of the seed company, whether or not they are organic/heirloom, the year they were obtained, their condition (e.g., unopened package), whether or not they should be or can be started indoors, planting dates, and general comments.

Wow!  How ambitious of you!  Now that the data is in you'll be able to play with it forever and ever without all the start up work.

CC

I have two consecutive "Seedy Saturdays", one in our town and a larger one in the next town.

I may have to miss the first one due to a memorial service.  It depends when the MS starts/ends.  It is sometimes hard to fit in things when having to rely on buses, especially the Saturday schedule  which is rather sparse but better then we used to have.

The following  Saturday I am guaranteed a lift so I am looking forward to that.

Looking down my street today.



My two compost bins are under the snow where those four sticks are popping up.


I ventured out into the backyard to get closer to the SFG beds today. You can just barely see part of the chicken wire cage on top of one of the SFG beds to the left side of the photo.

Since I came to live in my house here, I have had only one  really consistently snowy winter and that was the first winter of 1996/1997 that extended into April before I was able to see what we had in the garden. Which was absolutely nothing except overgrown wild shrubbery, birch trees and one tiny bunch of grape hyacinths, and grass blades  that you could count on your fingers, so much bare earth.

I really do feel for all our Canadians who want to get on with their gardening activities.

I cannot believe the snow you guys have had this winter! We have had near to nothing, it is snowing now, but we are only supposed to get an inch. Really strange. My sister, who interestingly lives south of me, has had more snow!

TD looks like you are getting the snow we has last year.  I think next week last year we got another 50cm. 

I bought some pvc the other day to cover my beds and now it has turned quite cold for the next week.  To cold to even try to advance the season probably, to I will just sit back and wait impatiently. 

kelejan I checked my garlic the other day and they are doing fine.  Although I now prematurely got rid of my covering for it, but I have confidence that it will persevere.  Although that confidence may be misplaced.  My uncle plants over 600 of the them and does nothing to them and he has little to no problem so it should be all good.

600 garlic plants??? Goodness, P14shooter, does he sell them at market?

he gives a bunch away, but sells some to some local restaurants that he knows.

Good for him!

DH's uncle was a tomato farmer... Ten THOUSAND tomato plants at a time... I like 600 garlic plants a lot better. Seems a bit more manageable... LOL!

I went to my first ever Seedy Saturday event this morning. It was crazy. There were so many people there that it was really difficult to get close to the tables and the exhibitors. I did pick up a few packages of organic seeds. I came close to buying a vermicomposter but I would have had to sneak into the basement and keep it hidden from Mrs TD. Because I don't like crowds I did not stay very long at the event.

Ditto, TD. Just a small event in our local Motel 8. It was well attended.

I was lucky to be able to attend as I was at a memorial service until 2pm and my friend who came to give me a ride home wanted to go to Canadian Tire so she was able to drop me off and on her return called in and had a look round as well.

I bought some organic seed potatoes - French Fingerling, to share with my friend, some dried wild mushrooms PORCINI/CEP (Boletus Edulis)and a packet of Royal Burgundy Bush Bean.

I had time to chat with the mushroom seller. GAIA'S Wild Foods are from Vancouver Island.

Next Saturday will be a larger gathering in Trail, half hour's drive away. Another friend will have a table there but I will be free to roam around.

We are expecting max temperatures in the 48 to 55 degrees F (9 to 13 Celsius) on Monday through Friday.  That should help get rid of some of our snow cover which is at least 2 feet deep above the tops of my SFG beds. I am so looking forward to seeing my SFG beds again. It should not be long now.

That's a pretty big increase, TD.  Hope you do not get any flooding.

Just checked my temperature fores and yous is about 2c degrees  above mine for the rest of the week.

I'm loving it. The snow melt has begun. For the first time in what seems like weeks I was able to go for a walk outside without a hat and gloves. The snow is melting on the roof of the house and I can hear the water trickling down. Environment Canada says we are going to get a warmer than average Spring.  May have to start some transplants a little earlier.

I've been reading the Second Edition of the All New Square Foot Gardening book that I borrowed from the library. As I read it I've also been comparing it with my first edition copy of the ANSFG book. I'm about half way through and except for some formatting changes. a few different photos and a special section on children and SFG, I don't see any differences. I'll see if it is that way from here to the end.

trolleydriver wrote:
I've been reading the Second Edition of the All New Square Foot Gardening book that I borrowed from the library. As I read it I've also been comparing it with my first edition copy of the ANSFG book. I'm about half way through and except for some formatting changes. a few different photos and a special section on children and SFG, I don't see any differences.

I agree. And the 2nd ed is missing all my notes, underlines and hi-lites.

CC

Can you redo all the highlights into your new book, CC? Where pages or text are the same?
I get it would take some time, but a page every now and then.

Not much going on in my garden as I have had three days of rather intense activity; a birthday lunch.(good):  a memorial service(long drawn out) and a retirement party a bit better but still long-drawn-out).\. All involved travelling by bus which involved a lot of waiting and time, plus all the time talking and listening etc.

I have cancelled a meeting tonight as I cannot stand the thought of a third day listening to people who drone on and on. The memorial and the retirement took 2 hours and two and a half hours of talking and being a bit hard of hearing it made me feel very tired indeed

Tonight's meeting is a Family History meeting and I joined last month and  found myself completely at sea and out of my depth as everyone else seemed to have their ancestry back to the stone age whereas I am only just starting. And that meeting took two and a half hours of talking about the last two meetings and droning on.  Of course, I was a bit miffed as no one took any notice of me and no one asked me anything about how far I had got. Then it was time to go and another half hour walk back home in the dark. The only say I had was to help choose a logo for an upcoming show and they did choose the one I suggested and why I suggested it.  Most of the others were far too fussy and I pointed out the tree logo I chose was clean and clear and unfussy and would trasnlate into different sizes and still look good.

It was very much like someone new coming on this Forum and no one saying Hi! and tell us about your self etc.  OK, just being a spoiled brat.

Things will be better tomorrow as I get to plant some seeds in planting trays with the gifts I had for my birthday. I am getting my friends trained. Then I have a Seedy Saturday to look forward to coming up.