The cold grip of winter allows for contemplation along with some seed ordering and indoor plant care.
Greetings fellow gardeners,
What a lovely time of year for planning and reflection. On the night of the winter solstice, I wandered out to put the chickens to bed. It was dark and the air was cold and crisp. I felt like I was twelve again; the warm light streaming out from the kitchen window, my toes cozy in my boots and my nose cold against the wind. I stood there for some time, remembering, and then quickly looked after the chickens and scurried back inside. What that time did for me was to remind me just how precious is the cold, dark sleep of winter.
So far, I have two seed orders completed and sent. Last year I missed out on a couple of my favourite plants, and I am not going to let that happen again. My planting compound needs a complete overhaul and that is what I am working on now. I feel so grateful to my mother for giving me this plant stand as a Christmas present so many years ago. If you do not have a stand because of space or lack of funds, it is not too difficult to make one to suit your environment. You do not need to purchase an expensive pre-made stand; you can construct one or modify an inexpensive shelving unit. You will need to take into account a few factors: there should be no cool breezes in the area, you will need lights, and you will need to have enough room for what you want to grow. I found a great example of how to build your own plant stand on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmqDBgcLihA. The one thing I would like to stress is that you do not need to spend a lot of money to get good results.
Scented geraniums on a cold afternoon
I have the advantage of having a lovely, large, insulated front window that allows my plants to grow in sunlight without the usual cold drafts. These scented geraniums have done very well as the lower light of a north facing window is not an issue and there are no breezes. They have also served as delightful ‘trees’ for extra Christmas decorations. It is the cold coming off the windows that will make your plants wilt and die, as well as lower light. Before I had my living room windows replaced there would have been no way that I could have kept a plant alive near them.
So today I am starting the cleanup of the first shelf of my plant compound. I need to prune a number of plants, check the health of others and clean off the shelf in preparation for seed-starting season. One of the begonias I brought in is still blooming, while the other became a salad for one of the too-many cats. The Christmas cactus is still full of flowers as is the Mona Lavender, but it could use a comprehensive pruning.
Time for a make-over
I have done the pruning and removed a number of dead leaves and plants. Now I have some room to start seedlings and, when the time comes, my indoor plants will go to the lower shelf.
All tidied up and ready for the next step
I am approaching the new year with positive thoughts and dreams of an epic vegetable garden.
Enjoy your week.
Judith. (Email: sghorticultural@gmail.com)
Veggie Bites are available at https://sghorticultural.wixsite.com/website or https://gardeningcalendar.ca/articles/veggie-bites/
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