Garden Wisdom Blog

As far as the calendar is concerned, spring is half over, despite the sense for many of us in 2017 that is yet to begin! There are still dozens of seeds to start in May. It can still be cold at night, so some seeds will continue to benefit from starting indoors in a warm room. Most seeds will germinate faster and more evenly if heated from below with a heating mat. Other seeds actually prefer cool soil for germination, and they can be direct sown in May here on the coast. Start these seeds indoors in May: Asparagus (start...

This is our new favourite way to roast root vegetables. Hasselback Fingerling Potatoes, or Potato a la Hasselbacken, are named after the Hasselbacken restaurant in Stockholm. This ingenious method gets flavour right into the vegetable and produces the most satisfying texture – crispy and golden on the outside, and brilliantly tender on the inside. This simple recipe alone is worth growing Banana Fingerling potatoes for. Seriously. Ingredients: About 1 lb fingerling potatoes 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 sprig fresh rosemary Salt & pepper to taste Preheat the oven to 400°F. The whole trick with this recipe is in...

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...

The much maligned dandelion actually has a lot to offer. It has been vilified in our culture as the invader of lawn spaces, thrusting its dazzling yellow colour into an otherwise tranquil field of green. Homeowners pour millions of gallons of weed control chemicals into their lawns each year in a vain attempt to vanquish this foe. So what is it about dandelions that most homeowners hate so much? There is a degree of old fashioned thinking of lawns as symbols of wealth and status. This historical memory seems to harken back to England in the 17th Century, when tightly...

We’re going to tell you all about sunflowers so you can be a sunflower expert. Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) It is thought that sunflowers may have been domesticated before corn, as early as 3000 BC in the area that is now Mexico, New Mexico, and Arizona and in the Mississippi Valley by 2300 BC. The plant is certainly native to northern Central America and grew tall and bushy, with many flowers per plant. Evidence suggests that the seeds were used to grind into flour for bread or made into a meal that was mixed with squash, corn, or beans. Various tribes...