Calendula

February 16, 2010

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February at the Community Garden

We popped over to the community garden yesterday afternoon with a frozen pail of compost. I thought I would take some pictures so you can see what it looks like in the middle of winter.

As you can see, not much is happening. Drab and dull. We stop using our plots between October/November and March/April depending on the season.

If I wanted to really maximize the space, I could construct some cold frames within my plot and grow cold hardy greens like kale, mache, and spinach. And I would, but unfortunately the lane-way that leads to the garden is typically treacherous terrain through the winter months. We haven’t had much in the way of snow and ice this winter — it’s the first year since joining the garden around seven years ago that I’ve been able to get to the garden gate with relative ease.

Instead, I grow edible perennials as a strategy for extending the season. Cold hardy, perennial herbs such as garden sage, oregano, marjoram, chives, garlic chives, mint, and ‘Egyptian Walking’ onion function as the bones of the garden, holding in the soil and offering up a harvest that starts in the early spring and lasts straight through to the late fall.

Here’s what it looks like in April.

There are also a few self-seeders including calendula, chervil, bloody dock, lovage, shiso, lemon balm, and chamomile that pretty much grow themselves. They can be a curse or a blessing of plenty depending on how you look at it.

Over the years I’ve also added a few small fruit bushes including gooseberries and American black currant, and several strawberries (wild and alpine types) as a way to get garner yearly crops that don’t require seasonal planting.

This is a wild geranium that showed up one day. I always let a few survive since they’re not too invasive and I like their pretty little pink flowers. As you can see, it is also proof that plants don’t necessarily “die” during the winter, but stay alive in a dormant stage underneath the snow.

And it looks like we’ve had a visitor in our absence. I noticed new graffiti in a couple of spots along The Beer Store wall.

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August 7, 2009

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Calendula ‘Zeolights’

Botanical Interests sent me a packet of ‘Zeolights’ calendula back in January and this is the result. I chose this variety for the peachy/pink tones underneath the petals.

Over the last few years, I’ve expanded into several interesting calendula varieties including: ‘Antares Flashback’ and ‘Triangle Flashback’. While they lack the medicinal properties of regular ole calendula officinalis, they are still tasty as an unusual addition to salads and rice dishes.

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May 18, 2009

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Bloody Dock Seedlings

Meanwhile, over at the community garden, I allowed a single bloody dock (Rumex sanguineus) plant to go to seed last fall and this is the result…. gazillions of baby plants are taking over the section of the garden that plant once occupied.

And to think I actually considered buying a replacement this year. HA! Turns out I’ve got enough to feed the world. In case you’re unfamiliar, bloody dock is related to sorrel and tastes like a tangy spinach. And of course, since they are so beautiful, I can’t bear to toss a single seedling into the compost bin. I dug a few out this weekend to try on the roof, but the rest…. Look out friends and neighbours…

Here’s what that section of the garden looked like last night:

It’s not just bloody dock in there but they make up the bulk of it. There are also borage, calendula and chervil seedlings vying for space, albeit in more manageable quantities. Even the chocolate mint was better behaved.

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November 2, 2006

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Late Season Gardening — Party Time, Excellent.

Despite the cold — and the fact that we experienced a brief and light snowfall this afternoon — outdoor gardening is still happening here in Toronto. I am yet to put any of my gardens to bed. The side garden is fine really. Doing a last clean-up is pretty much my choice. I choose to be lazy until such time when and if I am struck with the spirit of Martha.

Hardneck garlic before planting. I bought these cloves at the Organic Farmer’s Market… specifically from The Dufferin Grove Market and the Plan B Farm. They were still selling cloves today if you’re looking in Toronto.

The rooftop container garden is another thing entirely. I have really got to get on that action. Dead annuals need to be composted, soil collected, pots scrubbed clean and brought indoors, and everything put away — it’s a crucifixion! Things are starting to freeze up there. I should be out there right now, not inside in the warmth, heating my body by the warm monitor glow. I’ll get on that tomorrow.

Planting Thyme in the cold, wet dirt. Sure is fun!

Thankfully I have been slowly working on the community garden since the first signs of fall back in September. I planted hardneck garlic last week, and Egyptian clumping onions at least a month prior. I pulled up or cut back most of the dead calendula and borage, pulled up a zucchini plant, harvested everything that wasn’t going to see another day, and laid straw down. Rather than overwintering potted perennial herbs as I often do, I elected to plant the marjoram and various thyme varieties in a section of the new community plot. All of the still-green tomatoes were picked and are sat on top of the warm fridge ripening. I’ve got a single precious ‘Black Pear’ tomato left that I am saving until the absolute perfect moment to enjoy on a fried egg sandwich with pesto.

Bye, bye Zucchini

As things get colder I am finding myself longing for the days of summer when I was out in the garden sweating in a t-shirt. Sweat and heat exhaustion sound good right now. I was at the community garden on Saturday wearing several layers to protect against both the cold and the rain. When I got home my hands were frozen and went through that terrible dethawing process that is a mix of both itchiness and pain. I love gardening and even those those wet days can be some of the best for things like planting perennials even I can’t sell it. Digging in cold wet dirt just sucks!

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July 11, 2005

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Did I Mention It’s Hot?

This has been the hottest, driest summer I can remember in a while. It has been raining around the perimeter of the city on a fairly regular basis, however it has been dry as a bone in my area since June 13! The weather has threatened rain several times; the sky has turned grey, the clouds have formed, only to suddenly turn back to sunny and hot in a flash. As a result I have been watering all of my gardens a lot more than I am used to. And man alive, it has been HARD.

Commence with the tears.

As an example I NEVER water my street garden short of the bucket I dump on new additions. Basically my technique is to dig a hole, fill it with water, wait for the water to soak in, fill it a second time, wait for that to soak, dig in the plant, make a moat around it, pour more water in and let it go. I check on the new addition regularly and pour some water in if it looks like it needs it but I try and grow drought tolerant plants in that garden that can handle some dry periods once their roots have developed and they are solidly settled in.

But this summer has been something else. I got the hose out yesterday afternoon and gave the street garden a good soak for the second time this growing season . I did this only after waiting as long as I felt I possibly could. When the anise-hyssop is wilty there’s just no denying that things are dry and HOT.

Some of the rooftop plants just a few days ago.

That’s the thing about this summer. We’ve had droughts, but the heat has been so intense on top of it. Take my rooftop garden as an example; I water the containers every day of the summer. It just can’t be avoided when you’ve got big water-loving tomatoes in containers. Well, last summer was the exception with temperatures that never did climb much into uncomfortable. I could get away with going a day, sometimes two without watering. But this summer has been crazy. I check my plants twice daily, once in the morning and once in the early evening, hauling bucket after bucket after bucket of water on a repetitive path from my bathtub to the deck and yet I still managed to produce some tomatoes (on one plant only thankfully) with blossom end rot. I know it’s a terrible after all that big talk in my last post about my killer tomato plants. They’re all still doing exceptionally well — the plants love this heat, it’s just a matter of keeping the soil wet.

It’s a jungle. The baby cucumbers are just starting to form!

I finally understand what it’s like for some southern gardeners who throw up their arms and call it quits during the hottest, driest part of the year. I always understood in principle but now I REALLY GET IT in practice. Hauling countless buckets on a twice daily basis only to wake up the next morning to wilty cucumbers and a touch of blossom end rot on a couple of tomatoes sucks. And I water deeply. None of this splashing a bit here and there business. This morning I went through the ridiculous process of hooking the coiled hose up to my bathroom sink and dragging it out through a window because it just made more sense than the hauling of the sloshing water. The one worry I have about this is the environmental soundness of using what seems like a lot of water to grow my tomatoes. Granted I do get a decent show on each plant, my growing practices are good, I’m doing the best I can to keep moisture in under extreme conditions, and I’ll probably be laughing maniacally over handfuls of ripe fruit come September. Still, it does seem a little over-the-top this year. These tomatoes better taste like liquid candy. They will.

A few more pics: