Judith's future garden plans take shape as the days stretch into winter.
Greetings fellow gardeners,
What strange weather we are having as the holidays approach. I was so astounded to see my pot of icicle pansies begin to rally as if spring had arrived. As the week continues the regular winter weather should return. I am going to make sure that there is lots of snow covering my tender perennials. I can see the birds enjoying the many seed heads of the perennials that I left in the garden, and I also make sure that the suet feeders are full.
Icicle Pansies
Today my first 2022 seed catalogue arrived in the mail thus insuring my activity for the next few weeks. I have already started marking pages and imagining my summer season. With the ice all over the driveway, it took a while to get to the mailbox. I have spiky strips that I can wrap around my boots and that really helps. I don’t use salt on my ice as it is not good for my garden. Instead, I use chicken feed and replace it as it becomes eaten; there is a rogue turkey that wanders past each morning and she cleans it up. You could use any birdseed or clay kitty litter or sand. If you use a chemical substance instead of salt, be sure to read the package carefully to see how it will affect your soil.
I have several ideas for the winter season. I have been going through my seeds and picking out the ones that I could try for microgreens; I also want to try some lettuce under different circumstances. My plant stand is somewhat outdated so I might look into updating it. The plants on the stand need some extra care as well; Leo, one of my too-many cats, has been nibbling the begonia I brought indoors. I have no craft shows booked, no talks or meetings for a while, so I am going to read the book that I bought for my birthday in May. The Complete Gardener by Monty Don is a big, beautiful book. I am enjoying the pictures as much as the writing. I really like Monty Don’s way of gardening as it is similar to mine.
I am going to take a break for the rest of 2021 and will be back fresh and crunchy in January. At this time, I would like to thank Dave Plouffe who is one of my editors and handles putting Veggie Bites up on Facebook. I would also like to thank Jean at the Gardening Calendar for his continuing support and amazing ideas and plans. And of course, there is Vivian McLean; she is my other editor and runs the distribution email list for the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society. Vivian is the one who makes sure that I am on track and that these Bites get to you on Friday mornings. Enjoy the rest of your year.
Judith. (Email: sghorticultural@gmail.com)
Veggie Bites are available at https://sghorticultural.wixsite.com/website or https://gardeningcalendar.ca/articles/veggie-bites/
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
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