Soil is - were it all begins

Change your soil, bring it back to life - the organic way!

I can't wait for my compost to "harvest". This winter I accumulated more than ever and soon it will be spread over and worked into the garden soil. A good part of this compost is thanks to gardener-friendly Starbucks, were I pick up loads of coffee grounds (best ratio of "green" and "brown" material).

Imagine: 90% of garden success is related to the quality of soil!
Without good soil, all of your gardening efforts are wasted.

Benefits of organic lawn and garden care: Lawns and gardens cared for organically produce plants with greater drought tolerance, disease and insect resistance and yields. Organic gardening is less expensive and time-consuming than the chemical alternatives. Your applied compost is chemical free and it won’t make kids, pets and yourself sick. Pesticides have been linked to birth defects, hormonal imbalances, cancer and many neurological problems. I highly recommend to read the book "The world according to Monsanto" or watch the DVD...

Fact is that plants fertilized organically - using compost, manure, bone meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, sea weed etc. - require less fertilizer than plants fed with synthetic fertilizer (and it's less expensive too). Recent studies have shown that synthetic fertilizers DO NOT encourage the growth of microorganisms which live in the soil and transform nutrients - but also shows the fact that the application of a synthetic fertilizer actually kills a significant percentage of beneficial microorganisms.
Micro organisms break down organic matter such as compost and convert nitrogen from the air into a plant-useable form. Others are organisms which keep cutworms, chinch bugs and grubs in check such as beneficial nematodes.

It can take several weeks for the soil organisms to recover from a single application of synthetic fertilizer. Long term use of synthetic fertilizers can cause a lawn or garden to become a wasteland on the microscopic level where only the most tolerant of microorganisms can survive.
Compare it with your diet: It is healthier to eat fresh, organic food that you prepared and cooked, than to eat only processed food and to compensate this unhealthy dieat, buy lots of vitamins and minerals.

Here are some recovering steps to help your garden:
INEXPENSIVE TEST OF YOUR SOIL
Determine the organic content by filling soil in a glass jar, add water and let stand for at least a day. The content in the jar will show in layers. Compare the amount of odd shaped material on top of the soil with the rest of the jars content. That’s your organic material. Used as an organic mulch, it can cut back waterings, cooling the root zone and suppressing weeds.
ADD ORGANICS
Properly aged compost contains many of the beneficial microorganisms that your soil needs for revitalization. Add 15% organic compost worked in the first foot of soil. For lawns top-dressing - spreading evenly on the surface - will show similar results after several weeks. The compost you use can come from a backyard composter or farm animal manure, all properly composted before you apply it to a lawn or planted garden. Compost that is too raw can burn your plants. Apply compost to lawns in early spring or fall only.
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS
Poor soil will benefit from the application of organic fertilizers (not "organic-based" - which is in fact chemical). Apply organic fertilizer as often as you applied synthetic. By the third year you will need to apply less (no more than twice, spring and fall, for lawns). Once your garden (or lawn) has a healthy, well balanced soil, an application of fertilizer is appropriate if you want your plants to grow larger or produce more fruit or flowers, annuals and vegetables require the most, shrubs and evergreens require less, trees require little fertilizer (unless diseased).
Nitrogen-rich fertilizers should be applied more heavily in spring, when most new growth takes place. Cool weather plants such as grass will benefit from fall application. Trees and shrubs benefit from a light feeding of phosphorous and potassium in spring. They will also benefit from an application of bone meal when planting.

MORE HELP for your plants:

- Companion planting such as marigold helps by discouraging insects - Fixing nitrogen from the air and make it available for other plants e.g. pole beans and corn - the corn stakes the beans, the beans feed the corn
- Shading plants in the heat of the summer, for sample corn or sunflower shading cucumbers and squash
- Boosting growth in their neighbor, such as tomatoes and basil grown together increase each others yield by 30-40%
- Killing microscopic soil borne disease organisms: chives or garlic planted near roses kill blackspot fungal spores in the soil
- Plant were they belong: Moisture loving plants in dry areas become stressed - and vice versa. Stressed plants are less able to fend insects off.
- Mulch: Use organic material, this and coco mulch, cedar, pine and composted bark must be topped every year. They are retaining moisture too
- Water deeply to encourage root growth, but only once a week in dry
summer. Frequent, light watering makes plants dependant upon the water
and they suffer when it’s interrupted. Best time to water is in the early
morning this way the leaves have the chance to dry off before the noon heat.
Organic mulching cuts back on watering requirements.

Check out these websites: http://www.organicgardening.com/
http://www.organicagcentre.ca/ for more info.

Happy gardening!

Helianthus, native flower & gourmet food

Yesterday I attended our monthly meeting and lecture at the Ottawa Horticultural Society featuring a fascinating speaker, Lorraine Johnson. Her topic: "Native Plants: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly." Lorraine is a famous book author in Canada, some of her gardening books include:

Tending The Earth A Gardener's Manifesto

100 easy-to-grow native plants for Canadian gardens

Grow Wild! : Native Plant Gardening in Canada

Grow Wild!: Low-Maintenance,

Sure-Success, Distinctive Gardening With…

Ontario Naturalized Garden: The Complete Guide to Using Native Plants

The New Ontario Naturalized Garden

Garden Plants and Flowers

Her lecture in a nutshell:

- naturalized garden will be less work, in the long term, than a conventional garden of exotic species (she spends about an hour per month "gardening");

- Native plants have evolved over thousands of years and have adapted to certain soil types, rainfall patterns, general climate, etc. Of course, your garden needs to match those conditions. A native woodland plant in a full-sun garden will probably die, however, if you provide the plant with the conditions in which it grows in the wild, it will most likely thrive;

- Native plants flourish in the wild, without any human cultivation whatsoever. - You don't need to do much supplementary watering in a native plant garden, certainly not as much as is required by exotic plantings or thirsty lawns;

- You don't need to use any synthetic pesticides- Its contribution to biodiversity;
- The environmental benefit has to do with wildlife- If you appreciate a more formal style, you can use native plants in a formal planting;

- If, on the other hand, you favour a more informal style, you can achieve that look as well;

But my eye-opener came when she introduced some native garden plants and talked about Helianthus.
Just last year I worked very hard for weeks, trying to dig them out of my garden - I hope not successfully - as I learned that they have edible tubers and you should plant them in big pots or built a 1-2 feet deep sort of wall around the plants to avoid spreading. I searched the Internet for more information.

See what I found:
Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem Artichoke) is quite showy in bloom during late summer and early fall and is a type of sunflower that is grown for its edible tuberous roots as well as its pretty yellow flowers. This is a large, gangly, multi-branched perennial with rough, sandpapery leaves and stems, and numerous yellow flower heads. It can get 10 ft (3 m) tall and its branches can spread to nearly as much. They sometimes break under their own weight, and often fall over (plant them next to a fence or a patio railing or to cover an unsightly shed or your compost). It is also called the sunroot or sunchoke or earth apple or topinambur, a species of sunflower native to the eastern United States, from Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas and Canada.
The early settlers in North America, as well as the Indians, appreciated it as a readily available source of food, and their gardens became an important factor in the spread of the plant. There is a record of Champlain sending some of the tubers to his native France after tasting them a second time in Canada. It's very likely he sent them home from Massachusetts, too, because a book called Histoire de la Nouvelle France, published in 1609, makes mention of this vegetable before Champlain's exploration in Canada. Most farmers in Ontario presently consider Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus, to be a nuisance even though it is sold as a specialty vegetable. The popularity of the plant as a food source for both humans and animals has fluctuated throughout the years.

Gourmet Food
There are also tons of recipes in the Internet for Jerusalem Artichoke (strange name, as it is not from Jerusalem and not an artichoke).
An Italien Gourmet cook wrote in her blog:
Preparation 1: I brought a handful home from the market, washed and roasted them (skin and all) in the oven with a simple drizzle of olive oil, sea salt and pepper. I cooked them all the way through as I would a baked potato. Ridiculously good. Smooth, creamy texture with a rich, nutty flavor. I was not surprised to learn this vegetable is a member of the sunflower family.
Preparation 2: I tried roasting them a second time replacing the olive oil with hazelnut oil for even tastier results.

Preparation 3: I'm in love. I cut some into thin rounds, fried them, and sprinkled them over an arugula salad. Delicious.

Preparation 4: I peeled and cut some into a small dice and tossed them in a salad with roasted beets and melted Brie cheese. A perfect fit.
Preparation 5: I thought I had reached perfection already, but then I tasted this soup

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Makes 6-8 bowls of soup

1½ pounds Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed clean and dried

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

1 medium-size turnip, peeled and sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed lightly with the side of a knife

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Small bunch fresh thyme tied with string

4-5 cups water (or vegetable stock)

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Place half of the Jerusalem artichokes on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tray in the center of the oven and cook until they are completely yielding when pierced with the tip of a knife. Meanwhile, slice the rest of the Jerusalem artichokes in ½-inch thick slices. Heat a medium pot and add the remaining olive oil. Add the onion, turnip slices, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the thyme and the Jerusalem artichokes slices and stir to blend the ingredients. Check the seasoning. Cook for 5-10 minutes and add 4 cups of the water. Cook until the Jerusalem artichokes are completely tender, 25-30 minutes. If the liquid reduces too much during this cooking time, add the remaining cup of water. Remove the roasted ones from the oven, quarter them and add them directly to the soup mixture. Taste for seasoning. Remove the thyme from the pot. Add the cream. Purée the soup in small batches in the blender until smooth.

Not only a 100-Mile-Diet - but indeed a 10-feet-Diet, if you plant them near your kitchen door.

Corkscrew Willow - Salix matsudana

Corkscrew Willow, also called Curly Willow,

is one of the fasted growing trees and very easy to propagate.

End of March, as soon as the temperatures climb over to plus degrees, I walk through the snow to my biggest Corkscrew Willow tree and cut several one or two ft long twigs. They will be placed then in a glass jar in the kitchen and after one or two weeks the bark turns scarlet and the first small light green tender leaves appear. Some days later these willow twigs show the first tiny roots, but they have to sit another month, until the roots are nearly filling the whole jar. Every other day the water will be exchanged and sometimes I even shower the twigs with lukewarm water to give them much appreciated moisture.

As soon as the soil is workable I plant those twigs into the warm soil, each one of them will built a new tree. During the first season it will grow approximately 4 ft and then vigorously every year another 5 ft up to 30ft high and 15ft wide.

I am propagating corkscrew willows during the hole spring/early summer season from woody stem cuttings, softwood cuttings or semi-hardwood cuttings and in May or June I even don't wait until they are rooted, I just place a branch in a 1-gallon flower pot, filled with moist soil and they root directly in the pot.

Willows contain growing hormones that are as strong as those you buy for top dollar in powder form. Just cutting a willow twig in tiny pieces and add them in a small water-filled glass, helps to create a solution in which nearly every plant roots.

Curly Willows are lush, attractive trees throughout the year, I like their appearance most in Winter when the interesting curled branches contrast to the snowy garden.

Like all willows, it will grow most vigorously in moist, cool soil and temperate climates, in sun or partial shade. But don't plant them close to your house, they have strong roots! Willows are not fussy in terms of soil, provided the soil doesn't dry out completely. I have also used it as a patio tree in a large container for one season (with multiple waterings during the hottest days).

Planting a living Corkscrew Willow fence appears to me way more attractive than those dreadful pruned cedar fences.

For Spring flower arrangements I always add some branches of Corkscrew Willow, they make for a very delicate accent.

Maple Syrup Outings

Hmmh - Maple Syrup Season
It's this time of the year when you are heading out to the sugar bush... For many visitors to Canada, it is something uniquely Canadian. For those of us fortunate enough to live here, it's still special.

Last Sunday I went with friends to the only one that is located in the down town core, right here in Ottawa, just 2 minutes from busy 4-lane Montreal Road, at the Richelieu Park, home to North America's only urban sugar bush where I took the images above.

Visiting a sugar bush or sugar shack is a great experience: the country air, the folk music, the friendly workers’ know-how and a delicious meal aka: traditional comfort food ...

Enjoy the maple syrup season in any of these Canadian provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec or Ontario.

Janice Kennedy's "Maple hot spots", at the Ottawa Citizen from March 14, 2009:
Sucrerie de la Montagne is about a 90-minute drive from Ottawa.
Take the 417 east and, shortly after crossing into Quebec, take Exit 9 to Rigaud. Turn right on to Rte 342, then right on to Rte 325. Shortly after Mont-Rigaud ski hill, turn left on to rang St-Georges. The Sucrerie is nearly five kilometres down this road, well-marked on the left.

Chef's Nights at Sugar Moon Farm, Earltown, Nova Scotia

North of Truro on HWY 311, between Trans Canada HWY No 4 and the Tatamagouche Bay. Guest chefs from throughout the Maritimes fire up their imaginations at this working maple farm to create multi-course gourmet dinners highlighting the magic of maple. Skiing and snowshoeing; brunch complete with maple cocktails.

Festival beauceron de l'érable, Beauce region, Quebec

Now in its 20th year, this festival south of Quebec City recreates the spirit of earlier times, drawing about 50,000 annually." March 18 to 22.HWY 173 south of Quebec City towards the US.

Cabane à sucre Constantin Grégoire, St-Esprit, Quebec.

At this low-key cabane (HWY 158, 30 minutes northwest of Montreal), food is the highlight, not a frill. The pancakes come with all the fixings: ketchup aux fruits, cretons (pork spread), oreilles de crisse (the infamous pork rinds) and tarte au sucre - all homemade.

Wheelers' Maple Heritage Museum, Lanark Highlands, Ontario

Set on a 295-hectare forest (about a 65-minute drive west of Ottawa, just SW of Carlton Place, next to Trans Canada HWY 7), Wheelers holds the largest collection of maple-syrup-related artifaces in North American, including a century-old sugar shack, boiling kettles and a set of production equipment and tools.

Maple in the County, Prince Edward County, Ontario

More than 30 venues, including wineries, restaurants and food producers, participate in this self-guided tour." March 28 and 29; about a three-hour drive from Ottawa, south of HWY 401, exit Picton or Belleville.

How it all began:

Native Canadians were the first to recognize the maple sap as a source of energy and nutrition after long winters. They used their tomahawks to make v-shaped incisions in the trees and inserted concave pieces of bark to run the sap into buckets made from birch bark. The sap was only slightly concentrated by adding hot stones in the bucket. It was a sweet drink or used in cooking. Later they used clay pots to boil maple sap over fire. In the early days of colonization Natives showed French settlers how to tap the trunk of a tree at the outset of spring, harvest the sap and boil it to evaporate some of the water. It became an integral part of colony life and during the 17th and 18th centuries, syrup was a source of pure sugar and much needed vitamins to survive.

Warm sunny days (above 40º F) and frosty nights are ideal for sap flow.The maple season in March and April lasts about 4 to 6 weeks. The harvest season ends with the arrival of warm spring nights and early bud development in the trees. 30-50 gallons of sap are evaporated to make one gallon of syrup. Maple Syrup contains Carbohydrates, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Thiamin and Riboflavin.

Not only delicious, but healthy too!

Canada's most beautiful Botanical Gardens

Canadas Botanical Gardens

Amazing - even the New York Times writes about Canada's Botanical Gardens and named the Top Ten! To visit them all in one journey you might have to drive well over 7,000 km from coast to coast. Most of them are either near the Atlantic or Pacific or not far from the St. Lawrence stream.
But there are many more wonderful gardens to explore than those ten, have a look at www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/in/canada
Just for Quebec there are listed 22 gardens well worth the visit.

Memorial University Botanical Garden - Canada's most easterly botanical garden, is located in St. John's, Newfoundland, and is a resource centre for botanical research and education with a particular interest in the flora of Newfoundland and Labrador. The botanical garden is also used for environmental, botanical and horticultural education and research.
Don't miss another garden in St. John's: the Bowring Park in the Waterford Valley, which was donated to the city in 1911, by Bowring Brothers Ltd., and opened by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught in 1914.

Nova Scotia's Annapolis Royal Garden features many themed gardens linked by picturesque paths that display plant collections, such as the Rose Collection. The collection contains over 230 cultivars. Annapolis Royal is four years older than Quebec City, the colony was called l'Acadie. The name was changed to Annapolis Royal when it became British.

The New Brunswick Botanical Garden north of Edmundston and near to the Trans Canada HWY, spreads over an area of more than 17 acres, showcasing over 80,000 plants. The rose garden, rhododendrons, luxuriant annuals and perennials offer a symphony of colour. Visitors love the spectacular arboretum. The alpine garden is a replica of a mountainous environment found in different parts of the world. It also serves as the starting point for one of the main attractions of the Botanical Garden: the waterfall.

The Kingsbrae Garden is in the seaside resort of St Andrews by-the-Sea and has been named one of Canada's Top Ten Public Gardens as well as Attractions Canada's National Winner for "Best Developed Outdoor Site in Canada" in 2001, after just 3 years of operation. The Garden was created on the grounds of several grand old estates, incorporating mature cedar hedges, flower beds and an old-growth Acadian forest. The garden also features a genuine Dutch windmill.

The Montreal Botanical Garden is one of the best in the country and is very popular in spring as a background for wedding ceremonies or photoshootings. Visitors to the Montréal Botanical Garden are captivated by the colors and fragrances from around the world as they wander from the delightful Chinese Garden to the heart of the Sonoran desert, from the peaceful oasis of the Japanese Garden to the classically designed French garden or the woodlands of the Laurentians.

Explore 12 award-winning themed gardens that are spread over four acres when visiting the Toronto Botanical Garden. This garden also hosts tours, programs, nature day camps and field trips.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario is full of colour all year long. "Escape to Paradise" is it's motto. Enjoy winter in the indoor Mediterranean Garden and spectacular spring and summer outdoor displays that burst into bloom.

The Crofter's Cottage in the English Garden of Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is one of Winnipeg's finest attractions and a popular site. This heavily planted area of one of North America's largest urban parks has more than 4 million visitors annually. Both locals and visitors love The English Garden for its spectacular seasonal colour and texture, as well as the wide variety of plants. Assiniboine Park is stage for concerts during the year. On Canada day they have a huge fireworks celebration.

Visitors to Lethbridge, Alberta's breathtaking Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden come here to enjoy the peaceful grounds. It's an authentic Japanese meditation garden with many formally pruned trees and shrubs and it's well worth the visit to escape the stresses of everyday life. The Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden offers you an unforgettable experience, combining the beauty of nature in a serene setting. From the first spring blossom to the final autumn leaf, the Garden is an oasis of tranquility.

Located in Victoria, British Columbia, is the Hatley Garden, one of Canada's National Historical sites. Aside from the stunning Edwardian estate, this historic site features hundreds of heritage trees, including 250-year-old Douglas firs. Use the many hiking and biking trails to explore 600 acres of forest. The most popular gardens are the Rose, Japanese and Formal Italian. Situated near the Pacific Ocean at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, the 565-acre property reflects the richness and diversity of British Columbia. At the heart of the property is the famous Hatley Castle a 40-room mansion built in 1908 by James Dunsmuir, a coal baron and the former Premier and Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

Located beside the 7,000-foot Mount Chem, Minter Gardens is one of British Columbia's many stunning attractions. It features 10 different Canadiana gardens intertwined with waterfalls and waterwall, such as a Formal Garden, an Alpine Garden, a Fern Garden, a Lake Garden and a Fragrance Garden. Dazzle your senses...

The David C. Lam Asian Garden is the largest area in the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, Canada's oldest continuously operating university botanic garden. Visitors can explore the many plants and trees from Tibet, Japan, China, Korea and other regions of the world. Favourites include the stunning magnolias and rhododendrons.

55 acres of gardens can be explored at The Butchart Gardens in Greater Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Established in 1904 on a former quarry the gardens are now considered a National Historic Site.

Vancouver's VanDusen Botanical Garden is a pleasure to visit year-round. The garden has 55 acres worth of plants gathered from around the world. Best time to visit are the six weeks from late May to end of June when the Laburnum Walk is in full bloom. There are also a number of Theme Gardens including a Meditation Garden, Rose Garden, Stone Garden, Korean Garden, Perennial Garden, Herb Garden and Canadian Heritage Garden.

Glendale Gardens, located in Victoria, British Columbia, calls itself the "garden for gardeners". This six acre garden is located on a large nature conservancy, which is also home to the Pacific Horticultural College. Explore the grounds along its many trails. Glendale Gardens boasts 10,000 varieties of plants in 28 demonstration gardens, including perennial borders, Japanese and Zen gardens and a romantic Winter Garden.

Seeds, seeds, seeds

I must admit, right now I am in a shopping spree.

But those web pages are too tempting... Searching for Lavender seeds I found GardensNorth.com, a company with huge variety of seeds, mostly native to Canada, germination tips and discription of plants, topped by beautiful images, I just could not stop adding to my shopping cart.

And then I need a larger house to have space for all these trays and pots... My whole desk is occupied, the tables, kitchen counter, window sills, the oven ... I will have to go to a restaurant every day for the next weeks due to lack of space to cook and eat at home. Just kidding!

See what I bought:
ANEMONE canadensis
CLEMATIS potaninii

EUPHORBIA polychroma

CHAENOMELES japonica

CORNUS officinalis

HOSTA sieboldiana elegans

LINUM flavum 'Compactum'
LAVANDULA angustifolia

MALUS floribunda

POTENTILLA fruticosa

ROSA rugosa

But that's not all: Last fall I collected pounds of Castor, Heuchera, Armeria, Salvia, Sedum and Brugmansia seeds in my garden, that are waiting to be seeded.

I will be very busy for the next weeks to nurture them all ...

Niagara - a flowering paradise

Living without a garden is not living at all ...

First thing in the morning is to check on my house plants (in winter) or stroll through the garden (in summer).

I am looking forward to visit Niagara Falls in mid-April, no, not for the thundering water falls, but for the abundance of beautiful spring flowers and the stunning view of hundreds of Magnolias and other flowering trees.

Until then I create a new computer screen every week with the wonderful images I took last year around the falls, the parks and in my favored town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, one of the most beautiful spots in whole Canada.

See you there!