Recent content by Blader

My vegetable garden was decimated on June 13th.. Tennis ball hail. Didn't stand a chance.

Tomatoes transplanted on May 7th Scarlet Runner pole beans and snow peas transplanted yesterday Zucchini and eggplant transplanted today spaghetti squash and pumpkin will transplant tomorrow I didn't post or garden last year because of health issues. I'm fine now. It feels great to get into...

I haven't started, but soon! Good to see seasonal change.

This was not my initial plan but he needs coverage. Robert Pavlis, master gardener, author, blogger, science based, 45 years experience. Zone 5, Guelph ON He covers gardening overall, not just vegetables. Website: Garden Myths https://www.gardenmyths.com/sample-page/ YouTube channel: Garden...

Sometime ago I promised to feature my favorite sources. https://www.youtube.com/user/pilarchik He resides in Maryland Zone 7 and he has four seasons. He's also science based. He has a longer growing season with high humidity and higher temperatures. His zone is susceptible fungal diseases of...

ˆˆˆ Building on the above while still adhering to the principles of KISS and cheap. Below is a good video from a trusted source. Just over 11 minutes. Although he's in England much of his advice applies here.

ˆˆˆ planning for a perennial fruit forest - front/backyard in a tight /small urban yard from the article: <snip>This article is an introduction to the gardening technique of Backyard Orchard Culture – a system of high density planting of fruit trees which allows for a wide variety of fruit to...

If I had could do it over again - 20 years on - starting with a clean slate. Firstly, I'd harvest water. Front yard - I had a city ornamental crab apple. The rest was a weedy lawn. Using weeping tile - perforated and non-perforated. I've done that but was way too late. I should have started...

I too, I have had my successes and failures. It's the first time I've tried gathering leaves in the fall. I filled three bins with leaves and watered three days ago. Yesterday, I buried a meat thermometer into the compost and measured temperature. It measured a hundred and twenty degrees...

^^^ This is a companion piece to making compost - red wigglers. Remember that he has done this for a number of years and had all the requisite pieces in place. I'm not there yet.

making compost This video (8 minute 28 seconds) is by Stephen Legaree of 'Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable ' He's a Fort Saskatchewan based biologist, lecturer, and workshop conductor. He's successfully over wintered red wigglers. If that can be done in the Edmonton region...

Creating vegetable beds with a 4 by 4, or 4 by 8, bed on top of a lawn, starting with a bottom layer of corrugated cardboard. I'm a fan. That said, there are corrugated cardboards to avoid. Those that are shiny on the outside and have detailed pictures and printing are to be avoided because it's...

Composted Manure 101 Preliminary: Herbicides are not the only cause of leaf curl (internally known as 'fiddle-heading'). Fiddle-heading is an apt description. Typically herbicide presence in commercially composted manure is not statistically measurable - the levels are that low. They're...

manure 101 My head is spinning. I had a 45 minute good free ranging conversation with an officer of the CFIA. Before I post I need to call again to sort out my understanding. Leaves - picked up 5 bags from neighbours. I think 10 more bags will suffice. Most neighbours haven't gathered their...

^^^ Manure 101 I'm deep in the weeds between Canadian Tire and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. I didn't mean to single out Canadian Tire, I only used them as an example for the whole retail garden centre industry. They are where I bought my product. I'm trying to gain an understanding of...