Now more then ever before, people have a new interest in growing food.  I know this thanks to the emails I've received from people wanting advice on how to start a vegetable garden.  It makes me smile to hear than more people want to try growing edibles because there is nothing better than making or adding to a meal with vegetables from your own garden. 

For those just starting out, there's a dizzying amount of information out there. I think one way I can help is by sifting the information somewhat and providing a few reliable resources.  What follows are my suggestions' for the new veggie grower.

Plant seeds or seedlings?  
Northern gardeners know that our growing season is quite short.  Some vegetables can go into the ground as seeds, but others won't have enough time to mature and give you a harvest.  These plants do better if they go into the garden as seedlings.  Radishes, lettuces, chard and beets will grow from seed. Tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers yield better if you plant young plants.  Fortunately, there are many nurseries and smaller growers who will provide seeds and plant starts.  Ask gardeners in your neighbourhood for their recommendations.  Many seed companies are very backlogged this year because of the tremendous interest; others are sold out.  You may do best to visit a nursery to get seeds ― but look soon.  

Early care is critical
Spring weather can be dry and unkind to tender plants and newly-germinated seeds.  How often should a vegetable garden be watered?  In their FAQs, the folks at Produce for Better Health say "when trying to germinate seeds, many short waterings are more beneficial. You would then switch to longer, more infrequent waterings to encourage root growth and strength" once the young plants are established.  They add that "most plants require an inch to an inch and a half of water per week. But variables such as wind speeds, humidity, rainfall, air temperatures and the consistency of your soil can cause this to vary. When the soil feels dry an inch or two into the ground it’s time to water. A deep watering is more beneficial than a shallow or short watering period."

It takes time, patience and experience to grow vegetables successfully and every season is different.  But if this is going to be your FIRST season, celebrate that decision.  And with luck, you'll get tomatoes!

A postscript ...
Since sharing this post, I've done a little more research.  GardenMaking magazine continues to publish online and is a great resource on many gardening topics.  You may find Judith Adams' articles useful.  In particular, see Starting Seeds Indoors which includes also a PDF summary you can download for future reference.  This article explains how to test for seed viability.

Do you have suggestions to share with new veggie growers?
Leave a comment.
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Like an ever-increasing number of people – especially young people – I enjoy growing indoor plants.  I love the care they need and the green fullness they give in return.  Each plant enlivens a room in its own way.

Right now, I have a whole garden of indoor plants in my living, ready for sharing at The Craft Revival, the semi-annual uber craft event coming Sunday, November 24, 2019 in Thunder Bay.  I've made several dozen beautiful moss balls for sale like the ones pictures here.

This week I did something I thought I never would; I opened my garden for a garden tour, and it was a lovely, validating experience.  

You can imagine the behind-the-scenes preparation.  Even with several weeks notice, there was manic weeding, edging and mowing to do the day of the tour.  And there were doubts.  My garden was one of five selected by the Thunder Bay Horticultural Society for a weekday evening tour for their members.  I thought, "This is an informed audience.  Surely they will notice the insect damage on my begonias."

Then, as both gardening acquaintances and people I didn't know came though the gate, I felt my doubts fade.  And I learned some nice things.

For five growing seasons, I've worked to create a personal space that is both beautiful and healthy.  I am always 'up close' with my flowering perennials and my vegetables which means I naturally focus on the 'pieces' of the garden.  As people strolled about, they commented freely on my garden 'as a whole'.  The few plants that didn't get deadheaded and the pots that offered fewer-than-hoped-for blooms suddenly seemed unimportant. 

I discovered that people were responding to the way my garden made them feel.  Several described my garden as 'calming'.  I thought, "Really?  That's how this green space feels to you?  Wow, that is nice."  

Now you cannot analyze that feeling; it would be like trying to bottle the light fragrance of the evening air.  You would be considering the 'parts' of the garden – the many shades of green the hostas infuse into the shade border, the punch of red coleus and coral impatiens, the feather reed grasses catching the lowering evening sun.  No, it's the 'whole' of it that is calming.  I know this, and yet, it took the tour and those comments to know it again. 

That evening nearly 50 people visited my garden.  Over the past 10 years, I've worked on the Thunder Bay Art Gallery Garden Tour – an important annual fundraiser – as a Master Gardener volunteer, answering garden question and talking about featured plants.  But sharing your own garden in a public way feels different.  I have a new appreciation for the generosity of gardeners who agree to be on annual tours.

You are welcome to come through the gate too.  Here's a short morning tour.​

There are many plants I wish were in my garden, but when spring arrives the one I miss the most is Pasque Flower or Prairie Crocus (Pulsatilla vulgaris).  While many plants are still sleeping in the spring garden, Pasque Flower is happy to hail the new season.  

This plant is native to much of Canada.  According to the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Pasque Flower ranges "from the Yukon and Northwest Territories down through British Columbia and across to the western tip of Ontario and is the floral emblem of Manitoba."  It is typically found in "open areas such as prairies, rocky outcrops, slopes and occasionally in woodland clearings."

Pasque Flower is also a useful, if little known, pollinator plant. The flowers offer abundant pollen when bees are eager for an early-season food source.  Some observe that the generous, upright flowers provide a place for small insects to warm up, thanks to the arrangement of their sepals which reflect sunshine, increasing the temperature inside the bloom by several degrees.

Like me, you may fall for the fuzzy stems and the charming little 'pinwheels' that form from the spent flowers. These interesting structures  add texture in the garden for some weeks.  

​Take a little time to read cultivation requirements for this hardy plant at Dave's Garden. 

And, you can read more about cultivated varieties in Susan Mahr's article at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.  Check your nursery for plants or purchase seeds online. 

You might guess how much I like Pasque Flower as you view my new home page image. 
​So beautiful, don't you think?

Want to grow Pasque Flower in your garden?  Find plants and seeds at these locations:
Canning Perennials - for 'Alba' or white Pasque Flower
Wildflower Farm - for seeds

The structures we place in the garden are a wintertime diversion.  When temperatures plummet and we must stay indoors, these 'snow catchers' give us something to admire from inside.  And wouldn't you love to have one of these giant pine cones created by Beamsville, ON metal artist Floyd Elzinga?  Out-sized and simply marvelous.

 As writer Jodi DeLong observes in Saltscapes Magazine, "Winter is more than a season of hibernation in our gardens; it offers insights and visual delights... It’s a softer, more subtle sort of garden, especially when snow wafts gently down or sunlight adds watercolour shadows to the mix. We just relax, enjoy what’s already planted, and think about what we might want to do next spring.​"

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
 ― William Blake