Garden Wisdom Blog

Purple Tansy is the common name for one of the garden’s supreme workhorses, Phacelia tanacetifolia. Gardeners who have had trouble with fruit setting on squash, melons, or cucumbers need to learn how to improve pollination with Phacelia. Phacelia is a fast-growing annual that is very easy to manage, and it never gets weedy. Because it matures so quickly, it can be planted until the end of June. Its lacy foliage forms a rosette of leaves that produces from its centre a 100cm (36″) tall flower spike. Each of several inflorescences opens gradually over several days, revealing a series of nectar-rich,...

With Mom’s special day fast approaching, we put together a simple Mother’s Day gift bag you can print at home. Cut it out from the template and follow our instructions for folding and gluing (or taping) into its final shape. Add a ribbon for a touch of style. The gift bag is the perfect size for a handful of seed packs, or some other, small-sized garden gifts. Isn’t it too late to plant seeds? No! There are a host of flowers, herbs, and even vegetables that benefit from planting into the warm soil of May and June. We’ve included a...

These instructions will help you plan your garden, making a cloche greenhouse configuration, choose your covering material and pipe frame. Then they will help you set up your greenhouse and make the very best use of it for great gardening and harvests! Clip on Cover & Protect your Plants Cloche Clips are durable, versatile fasteners which hold greenhouse film, floating row cover, bird netting or shade cloth securely to a cloche pipe frame, even in high winds and heavy rains. Protect your plants from frost, rain, insects, birds, or hot sun. Extend your growing season by covering vegetables, fruits and ornamentals....

These gastropods (Snails and Slugs) are a fact of life in damp coastal BC. Two factors, however, can be used to minimize their impact on your organic vegetable garden. First, they shun sunlight, and are mostly active at night. Second, they require ample moisture to thrive and breed. The organic gardener’s best control is to minimize the amount of water in the garden: Remove all unnecessary objects under which moisture can collect – all pots, bricks, boards, hoses, and tools should be removed from the garden. Water only in the morning, and take advantage of evaporation and drainage during the...

The blackened char of tomatillos and peppers adds so much depth of flavour to this classical Mexican salsa. Foodie puritans might achieve this over direct flame in the traditional manner, but the broiler works just as well. Enjoy this salsa with corn chips, or add it to nearly any Mexican dish. It’s perfect for parties at the height of summer, but it’s pretty amazing in the middle of winter, too. Classic Salsa Verde is made with minimal ingredients, and takes less than half an hour to prepare. It has a luxurious sweetness and mouth feel. This recipe produces about 2...