Everyone who gardens took careful note of the hot summer in 2014. Similar conditions, lengthened and intensified, prevailed last year. Now, we have to wonder whether a pattern of accelerated change will continue this year.
In light of that hovering question, I鈥檓 anticipating a year of experimentation. Changes I plan to make, mainly in the timing of plantings, will revolve around one key idea: Plant as early as conditions permit, with the goal in mind of harvesting cool-season crops like peas and many of the salad greens before the fierce heat of July. Then, plant again for fall and winter eating in August, as the summer鈥檚 heat diminishes.
If there is another long, warm fall like last year鈥檚, it听will bode well for cool-season greens. I鈥檝e been feasting all winter on an assortment of green leafy vegetables planted last August, and found myself earlier this month, on a sunny Sunday, nibbling on the tasty leaves of two beautiful oakleaf lettuces: Bronze Guard (Salt Spring Seeds) and Bronze Arrowhead (Seed Savers Exchange).
The sunny, warm(ish) break in the bleak cold, and the satisfaction in viewing the remaining over-wintered salad vegetables, filled me with a desire to try some early seedings in a narrow strip right across the path from the oakleaf lettuces.
I fished out an old plastic tunnel cover and the three thin wire hoops to support it and proceeded to dig a trench the 180-centimetre (six-foot) length of the tunnel. Into the trench I placed straw (in hopes of generating some warmth) and covered the straw with compost and a scattering of lime before pulling soil over top. Another, shallow layer of compost and some lime scratched into the soil surface came next. Then I began marking out short rows across the 75-cm (30-inch) width of the bed.
In the small space I managed to seed two rows of spinach, a row each of regular and daikon radish, one row of bok choy and two kale (for baby leaf kale).
We鈥檒l see what happens. It鈥檚 a trial, though early seedings (not this early though) have always done well in that old piece of plastic tunnelling. If it works, all those delicious spring vegetables will be consumed and the bed emptied in time for early May sowings of bush beans.
听
Timely tip. One of the very best plants for difficult dry areas, even in soils with root competition from water-hungry trees, is Epimedium (barrenwort, bishop鈥檚 hat). Epimedium is a slow-spreading ground cover for shaded and partly shaded areas. The spring flowers are like sprays of miniature columbine on short, wiry stems. All the varieties in my garden are evergreen, their beautiful elongated heart-shaped foliage remaining lovely all winter. Some take on lovely bronze hues in cold weather.
That makes it hard to cut the leaf stems down to the ground now, but too often I鈥檝e not taken my secateurs to them until February, when the flowerstems have begun to emerge. Then, cutting down the leaf stems while attempting to spare the flowers becomes a tedious operation. Best do it now. Leaving the foliage will obscure the flower display. Removing it also makes way for a fresh round of young ornamental leaves.
Keep in mind that epimedium, like almost all drought tolerant plants, becomes fully so only after they are well established in a garden. Water adequately during their first year.
Another, much prized, perennial that benefits from being cut to the ground now is Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis hybrids, H. hybridus). Cutting away the leaf stems at ground level before the flowerbuds emerge helps to control fungal diseases that sometimes afflict older leaves. A followup mulch of compost will further contribute to the health of the plants.
GARDEN EVENT
Enlichenment. The Native Plant Study Group will meet on听Thursday at 7 p.m. in Room D116 of UVic鈥檚 MacLaurin Building. Kiersten Brookes will present Enlichenment, an exploration of the many forms and uses of lichen through the years. Kiersten will describe how and where they grow, and explain their importance as air quality indicators. A study of this subject, underway at Strawberry Vale School since 2012, has resulted in Grade 5 student photographs being used on UBC鈥檚 eFlora website. On display at the meeting will be many varieties of lichen, as well as the study鈥檚 student works. Non-member drop-in fee is $5. Students are admitted free. Parking cost at UVic is $2.50. .
