Garden Wisdom Blog — staff-review

Last summer I planted a few rows of fall and winter harvest leeks in our demonstration beds at Kirkland House here in Ladner. We chose the varieties described as “winter harvest” since they are bred to stand up to frost, but included Alto Varna, which is known mostly as a fast growing summer harvest leek. All these leeks were sown last July, and transplanted into five inch holes in early September. While they are intended for harvest between November and February, they lasted in very good form until late April. While we did harvest a few leeks over winter, the...

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...

Well it’s that time of year again… The 2018 Gardening Guide is out in the hands of many gardeners, and providing a glimmer of hope about the coming season. Winter is just about to commence (three more days from the Solstice at the time of writing), but it marks the point when the days begin to grow longer. For gardeners, that’s a key turning point. Our main trial garden on our farm underwent a sizeable expansion in 2017 as we took on seed trials for the All-America Selections, [AAS] as well as our own extensive trials of new products. The...

It's always news when a new book comes out by BC gardening icon Linda Gilkeson, Ph.D. This is no exception. In a follow up to her (frankly incredible) book Resilient Gardens 2016, Gilkeson describes in great detail the keys to establishing pollinator gardens, how to identify and treat garlic diseases, and an update to the pest insect information found in last year's book. Resilient Gardens 2017 will be mandatory reading for master gardeners in coastal BC, in the US Pacific Northwest, and beyond. As always, Linda's observations overflow with insights into gardening trends and the effects of our changing environment....