Garden Wisdom Blog — how-to

How do you know when to harvest garlic bulbs and if they have matured to the right point for harvest? Each leaf on the above-ground garlic plant represents one potential papery wrapper around the mature bulb. Having well developed, fully intact wrapper layers means that your garlic will store longer and keep its wonderful aroma and flavour. The trick is to let the plants begin to die back, but harvest before all the leaves have turned brown. The top-most, green leaves extend down, into the soil, into the heart of each garlic bulb. When the lower two thirds of leaves have...

Planting for fall & winter harvests has to start in the summer and fall. Just like we sow summer harvest crops in the late winter and spring – it’s the same concept. Did you know that many crops can be harvested from the garden fresh, even after the end of summer? Root crops like carrots and beets, and leafy greens like kale and scallions, even lettuce! View the West Coast Seeds Fall & Winter Gardening Guide here. Download the pdf (7MB) In our mild coastal climate we can grow some vegetables all winter without protection. You can eat these plants...

It is thought that there are over three thousand heirloom tomatoes in cultivation, from the very well known Black Krim to the rather more obscure Sibirskiy Skorospely (Early Siberian). With modern bred open pollinated and hybrid varieties, the number is more like fifteen thousand types. So, how to choose a tomato can seem daunting for the beginner gardener. It’s a subject that experienced tomato growers can grow highly passionate over. Everyone has their favourite types, and all for different reasons. Just about every tomato has its own unique charms, but where does one start? There are several ways to narrow...

There are loads of ways to start seeds indoors in the late winter and early spring. You can use really basic tools like egg cartons on a windowsill, and this will achieve a perfectly reasonable end for most types of seeds. But I’m used to starting a very high number of seeds in the spring, so I’m looking for ways to make the process highly successful and highly efficient. Here are some of my favourite seed starting tools. Professional V Plug Trays: I suppose the “professional” implies that these trays are used by professional growers, as I’m sure they are...

Although it’s still cold outside and the days are still short, there are many seeds to start in February indoors. The early start means your seedlings do some essential early development, and when they are transplanted outdoors in the spring, they’ve had a head start. This is especially important for perennial flowers and herbs that take longer to reach maturity and begin to bloom. These recommendations are for the BC Lower Mainland, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, and coastal WA & OR. If you live outside this area, please have a look at our other Regional Planting Charts. Click on the...