A Few Little Green Spots

Getting The Blog Going Again

2009-06-10T15:26:00.002-04:00

OK, we haven't been very good at getting the blog going this year... but we will really soon. We want to post about all-things-gardening... tips, events, photos, info, etc.

If you are part of The Freeway community and want to post here, drop me a line and I'll add you to the list.

Here comes winter...

2008-09-11T12:37:00.002-04:00

Ok so it will (hopefully) be a few more months before we see snow, however the cold nights and frosts are fast approaching. It is time to finish our harvests and put our beds to rest for the winter. Here are some great sites that have wonderful information on just this...

Getting ready

Tasks to do

Fall clean up

Protecting Plants

A checklist from 'Nana'... even some work for in the house!

Have fun, stay warm and enjoy the last of your harvest!!!

Maintenance

2008-06-24T16:34:00.003-04:00

Sorry it has been so long... I have been in my garden... oh and doing a thousand other things!!!

Here are some hints and articles about maintenence now that your garden is eaither up and running or just sprouting.

Maintenence

Harvesting

Tomato information and some more

Perenials

And an interesting article...

Hope you are all enjoying your garden as much as I am this year... I hope to get some pictures up soon. Happy gardening!

Important information for Container gardening!

2008-04-14T10:08:00.001-04:00

As the weather continues to warm up, most of us have decided weather we are going to use the garden space we already have in our yards, carve out new gardens, expand the ones we have, do container gardening, or combine any or all of the previously listed...

For those of doing container gardening there are a few important items to check through. It is said that anything that can grow in the ground can grow in a container. However we need to look at the type of soil to use in a container, and the size of the container.

This web site offers great information on the type of soil for container gardening and why.

Container gardening-soil

This site gives an over view of soil, pot types, location and extending the growing season when fall arrives.

Containers...

Here are some sites for container sizes... some have been used in previous posts.

Container size scroll down to the bottom of the link page
Container sizes and amount of soil needed for mature plants

2008-04-14T10:02:00.001-04:00

Vegetable	Type of Container	Recommended Varieties
Beans, Snap	5 gal window box	Bush Romano, Bush Blue Lake, Tender Crop
Beans, Lima	5 gal window box	Henderson Bush, Jackson, Wonder Bush
Beets	5 gal window box	Little Egypt, Early Red Ball
Broccoli	1 plant/5 gal pot; 3 plants/15 gal tub	Green Comet, DeCicco
Brussels Sprouts	1 plant/5 gal pot; 2 plants/15 gal tub	Jade Cross
Cabbage	1 plant/5 gal pot; 3 plants/15 gal tub	Dwarf Morden, Red Ace, Early Jersey Wakefield
Chinese Cabbage	1 plant/5 gal pot; 3 plants/15 gal tub	Michihili, Burpee Hybrid
Carrot	5 gal window box at least 12 inches deep	Short & Sweet, Danvers Half Long, Tiny Sweet
Cucumber	1 plant/gal pot	Patio Pik, Spacemaster, Pot Luck
Eggplant	5 gal pot	Slim Jim, Ichiban, Black Beauty
Lettuce	5 gal window box	Salad Bowl, Ruby
Onion	5 gal window box	White Sweet Spanish, Yellow Sweet Spanish
Pepper	1 plant/2 gal pot; 5 plants/15 gal tub	Sweet Banana, Yolo Wonder, Long Red Cayenne
Radish	5 gal window box	Cherry Belle, Icicle
Spinache	5 gal window box	Dark Green Bloomsdale
Squash	2 gal pot	Scallopini
Tomatoes	Bushel baskets; 5 gal pots	Tiny Tim, Small Fry, Sweet 100 Patio, Burpee's Pixie, Toy Boy, Early Girl, Better Boy VFN

If you are doing the planting...

2008-03-30T20:47:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder to all of you out there that is almost time for you to be planting your own seeds. Check your last frost date on this link... then count back and see how long your seeds need for germination (you an find that out on the package or on sites seen in this post).

I find planting one week after the last predicted frost date good as it is nice to give your soil a nice turn over and time to add in what you want. If you are in Hamilton you may want to wait two or so weeks as the free mulch and compost is not available until almost two weeks after the last frost date.

A reminder also to watch the garden spots that you want to plant in, to see what sun it gets at what time of each day. It is important to read the seed packets or search on the web to find out what kind of sun the veggies you want to plant needs. Therefore finding the right spot in your garden for each veggie.

Planting the seeds inside is a great part of gardening that kids can be part of too! You can even get a container that each of them can be in charge of.

Happy planting!!!

Free... my favourite word!!!

2008-03-28T12:56:00.002-04:00

Free Mulch

Green Myth Buster

2008-03-17T14:39:00.004-04:00

Buying local food is often better for the planet than buying organic, since an organic potato from Peru takes so much more energy to ship than a nonorganic one from Idaho. With more markets starting to label their food, it's just slightly harder than learning your ABCs.

The Benefits

Ridin' the fresh train. Produce shipped from outside the country travels up to two weeks before it arrives in grocery stores.
Giving local farmers a chance now. If you buy goods produced nearby, you'll keep more money in your community...and more farmland.
Jumping back from energy waste. It takes 4-17 times less oil to produce local food compared to nonlocal.
Getting off the bruise-control track. Food that has to travel long distances usually requires additional packaging and may have been genetically modified in order to survive the trip.

Seeds vs. Plants

2008-03-11T16:46:00.002-04:00

It is hard to even believe that we will be able to garden, when looking out the window and seeing the many feet of snow. However gardening season is coming our way!

When thinking about what you want to plant, you can do two things. You can plant your own seedlings ahead of time or you can go to a garden centre and buy plants already started. Planting your own is obviously more cost effective. Also with planting your own, if they don't turn out or there is a problem with them you can fall back on buying some of your plants.

I would encourage you to try planting seedlings. If you have children it is great to have them help and start having some responsibility with the family garden from the beginning of the season. Children love seeing the end result especially if they have nurture the plant from the seed and realise that the produce takes love and work.

Here are some sights to help with seedling planting.

Frost Chart For Canada (and for any American visitors to this site)

When to Start Seedlings And When To Start Seedlings Continued

Indoor Seed Starting At Home

Enjoy the sites above! Even though there is an abundance of snow, let's be thankful that there is as it will give the dry land of last summer a nice drenching in time for all of us to break the soil for our 2008 gardens!!!

Things to think of when gardening in the city

2008-02-22T20:49:00.003-05:00

When thinking of vegetable gardening, one often thinks of a beautiful house on a nice size piece of land with a 12 foot by 20 foot garden on the side lawn...

Well welcome to the city, where our kids need a place to play, many of us have a deck protruding into our back yards (I better soon...), the front lawn is tiny and often has a flower bed the size of a shoe, and the thought of planting anything edible is scary as there are just as many squires as there are humans in the city.

The battle against the squires is a tough one, however the harvest that can be had from a small amount of your yard dedicated to vegetable gardening is well worth it! There are many helpful websites about "Small Space Gardening". I have included a few bellow. I also read an awesome book last year about this, and will find out the title when I see Pernell's tattoo artist again (she is an amazing gardener and lent me the book, which I have since returned). Until then enjoy some of the reading bellow!

Small Plot Vegetable Gardening

Small-Space Vegetable Garden

Intensive Gardening Methods

Vegetable Gardening In Containers

Oh, you don't have a back yard?

2008-02-21T18:59:00.005-05:00

For those of you who would be interested in gardening, learning about sharing harvests etc, but don't have a backyard... that is ok! There are some of us who have space we can share with you, or let you help care for our gardens, or there are families who will need their gardens cared for while they go on holidays! So join our 'green spots' and let us know if you need a spot to help care for or if you have a spot in your backyard you can use help caring for.

2008-02-21T18:57:00.005-05:00

I am not sure if this is up and running still this year. Lori has sent them an email and is still waiting for a reply. We will keep you posted as it would be a great way to get fruit and meet our community!

Hamilton Fruit Tree Project

Welcome

2008-02-19T19:54:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the collaborative gardening project blog of The Freeway in Hamilton, ON.