So here’s a question. Did you know flowers can hear very small sounds? Sure we’ve all heard that classical music makes plants grow better than heavy rock but seriously? Probably the first serious research to show the effect of sound on flowers was reported in National Geographic in January this year.
The research has just begun and I am looking for all my old favourite vegetable seeds (Juliet tomatoes and Susanna cauliflower) plus a few new additions (Jade Beans). This doesn’t mean I am throwing out the baby with the bathwater. No way. I am growing my favourite vegetables as usual but adding a few other vegetables and flowers this year.
Professional Horticulturist Donna Balzer seeking volunteer (“Woofer”-style) help with her organic zone 7 edible garden on Vancouver Island. This large plot offers extensive learning opportunities to a Horticulture student or graduate of a Permaculture Program. Work may include: pruning small fruit, propagation from woody cuttings, seeding, transplanting, greenhouse and garden work, weeding, wood mulch spreading and general garden clean-up. Bring ideas and talent, practise what you have learned and come excited to learn more! What I Offer: A one week mentorship opportunity with bed and board. This is a physically challenging opportunity for one or more people
Right. So it’s is probably true that there is nothing new in Agriculture. And yet I continue to order books both new and old, online and through book stores. The use of minerals by plants is well documented in books like The Intelligent Gardener by Steven Solomon and in Gary Zimmer’s Advancing Biological Agriculture. With hundreds of books launched hourly and all the old ones still waiting to be read there is always something to be learned about gardening from a book. It is the deep dive of learning less common in today’s twiiterverse or caption-driven instagram society. Some tidbit of wisdom or some unknown factoid is waiting to be discovered in every new and old book I order. Or maybe it is only new to me because, as mentioned, there really is nothing new to everyone anymore. Or at least I thought that until I got the call.
What I learn every time I visit a community garden is that there are so many ways to do everything and this Berlin garden is an amazing example of ingenuity and inspiration. As the rain starts falling the group gets up for the site tour. HH gives me the signal he is tired of waiting patiently so I edge my way out of the garden. I hate to leave. These are my people.
Grow Greens for Pizza: I grew the pizza greens under my grow lights indoors. A perfect activity for winter gardeners. PS Like a Christmas cake you have to start growing lettuce and greens early under lights if you want a fresh salad or fresh basil for a winter salad. I found Basil takes about 20-25 days under lights in cool weather but arugula and lettuce are ready to snip and eat in 8-15 days.
