by Donna Balzer | Jul 23, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Greenhouse, Soil
Biochar is a friend of the garden and a positive addition to soil. It’s there when you aren’t even thinking about it and it helps you get the best veggie garden ever. Permanently. Among various types of Biochar the professionally produced Airterra Soilmatrix Biochar has been approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency because of it’s consistent and reliable characteristics. If you want to try Biochar, why not try the approved brand? Now available on Vancouver Island.
by Donna Balzer | Jul 21, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Soil
Potatoes are cheap to buy so why make room to grow them at all? Because they are so heavily sprayed in commercial production and the difference in flavour and texture between home grown and store bought is just incredible. So even if the only space you have is under a tree or on a patio, consider growing your own potatoes next year. I am surprised by the results of my potato experiments in 2019. This is not what I expected at all. I have been growing potatoes in bags, pots and the ground for years. Over time I discovered I grow better potatoes in grow bags than I do in the soil so this year I wanted to compare various additions to the grow bags so I can save money and grow better food faster. Ordinary crops grown in extraordinary ways!
by Donna Balzer | May 14, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Soil
Timing/Planning: remember some plants are cool season crops (radish, spinach, leaf lettuce, mustard greens, peas and everything in cabbage family) while other are warm season (Tomatoes, corn, potatoes, cucumber, squash, beans). Cool season crops can start going into the ground shortly both as direct seed and as transplants. I often start peas by early April and Spinach in the fall so it can come back as early as March. Transplant your peas but start others directly in the cold soil. See what works best in your microclimate.
by Donna Balzer | Apr 12, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Soil, VIDEOS
Want to start a vegetable garden but short on money or soil? Gather up your organic materials and start a Hugelkultur today. Donna Balzer and her students Ben and Lisa show us how it is done!
by Donna Balzer | Apr 4, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Greenhouse, Soil, VIDEOS
Day neutral or ever-bearing types of strawberries start blooming soon and will bear fruit right away this year – in June. And they will keep right on blooming all summer into fall. I was even surprised by the few berries I picked last November. Day Neutrals bear fruit for a long time but the heaviest crop is still in late June with fewer berries after that.
by Donna Balzer | Mar 11, 2019 | Food, Greenhouse, Soil, VIDEOS
When you start tomatoes from seed they get their second set of leaves in about three weeks. This is the perfect time to transplant seedlings.
