The past few days, we've gotten rain, immediately followed by heat and sunshine (for non-Winnipeggers, heat generally means "above 22C"). I've been in Ontario for the past two summers (and also away the summer before that), so this is...strange. From what I can recall, I thought Winnipeg usually got, like, four days of rain, followed by a week of sunshine. Did I unknowingly bring Ontario weather here?
Whatever the reason, this has meant prolific growth in the garden!
Left: a pansy volunteered itself! My mom was so excited about this, you have no idea.
Everything got big. I've had garden-fresh salad three times this week! (Well, the first one shouldn't count, it was more of a nibble/sample).
But don't just take my word for it. Onto the photos!
Nasturtium! I've been lifting the net over the 3x16 bed so that pollinators can get at the zucchini flowers. I've placed pinwheels and a light-sensitive croaking frog ornament in the way. But something has been taking nibbles anyway! Left pic: I was trying to get the whole plant AND show off how big that leaf is. It fits nicely in my palm. Then again, being of an average Chinese girl -build, that might not sound so impressive.
Peas are back! Sorry for the bad focus on the left pic, I was trying not to cast a shadow, and couldn't tell where I was pointing. In the right pic, you can see how one plant has just shot up. If you look hard, you can see there's a tendril clinging for dear life, but it's not attached to the main plant. I'm pretty sure that's from a bird trying to snack on it. I've heard that pinching off "side shoots" can encourage faster fruit growth. I guess we'll see!
Zucchini are doing quite well! In the right pic, I think that's powdery mildew starting on the two central leaves. I'll spray them down before bed tonight.
Butternut: Looking much better than last time! Left: before. Right: after.
Pumpkin: Still going strong! No signs of powdery mildew on this guy. I wonder if he's resistant? Or if the fungus just hasn't made its way over...?
Basil is doing extremely well! It's just loving the heat. Looks like it responded well to the pinching.
Chamomile: Okay, this next picture looks like a mess, but check out that main trunk! It's about the girth of my pinkie (about a centimetre in diameter). Jeez!
I didn't get pics of the rest of the plants. But one broccoli plant has a leaf bigger than my hand (about 18cm or 7in). That's pretty awesome.
I also got some shots of different salad greens. When I get around to identifying and labelling, I'll post the pics.
Here are some leaves from the Agastache Cana (would it be easier if I just called it "hummingbird mint" from now on?). They're very fresh-tasting and minty. They also smell absolutely wonderful when you just "pet" the plant like a puppy. I've picked some for drying. Haven't decide how I'll use it (tea, potpourri, flavouring oil, etc) yet, though.
Q: What are you planning on using for the powdery mildew? I've been trying out an all-natural approach of milk-water sprays the past few years, but if you're going for chemical warfare I'd be interested in how that progresses -- the milk is more of a "control" than a "cure".
ReplyDeletehttp://scholar.google.ca/scholar?hl=en&q=powdery+mildew+milk+(squash+OR+cucumber)
BTW, Winnipeg vs. Vancouver update:
ReplyDeleteI didn't start any squash or basil indoors, so you're way ahead of me with those ones. My tomatoes, which have been outside two weeks and in the ground a week and a half, are looking decidedly anemic compared to yours -- we're still waiting for +22C weather out here.
Of course, I've got you beat by a few feet in the height of my peas, and they'll be ready to start picking in a week or so (just when I'll be out of town!). Peas love rainy Vancouver weather and these were planted in early March (when temps are lows 0-5C and highs 5-10C); unlike most other spring crops I've tried to plant early, they don't mind that the temperature doesn't hit +15 until mid-May. The usual seed packet instruction to "plant as soon as the ground can be worked" is meaningless out here.
Lettuce also got started (under clear plastic tents) in March, and is doing vibrantly. It's been going into salads with parsley from over-wintered plants* and spinach from my neighbour's garden, but both of those are now going to seed.
I'm also looking forward to my first proper harvest of garlic (which you plant in the fall to harvest the next summer); the bulbs aren't very big, but the rows of shoots help make the garden look lively and successful.
*P.S. You don't have to be in Vancouver to over-winter your parsley; the roots will happily stay alive under snow and send up new growth in the spring. Great way to have fresh food from the garden when everything else is still too tiny to pick. If you haven't got parsley going, plant some! They also stay good in the fall until you get really heavy frost or lasting snow.