Dear Helen: Because the weather has been almost weirdly warm and so much in the garden is shooting up, leafing out and blooming unusually early, would you advise outdoor seeding now?
A.N.
Dear A.N.: We could still have some cold weather, but adventurous gardeners are always up for experimenting with planting times.
On Valentines Day at my local farmers鈥� market I asked one of the growers about early seedings. I was curious to know whether anyone was sowing early. He told me he already had peas and broad beans that were several inches tall. He emphasized his understanding that the early seedings were trial plantings.
When it works, the advantages are significant.
I recall an elderly gardener, a man in his 90s, visiting my garden and telling me about his longstanding tradition of seeding broad beans on Christmas Day and again in March. The two plantings were usually ready for harvesting at the same time, but the Christmas seeding inevitably yielded far more pods and beans.
It was his opinion that the earlier seeding enabled the development of a larger root mass and subsequently more productive plants.
For extra-early outdoor seedings, stick to cold-hardy vegetables including peas and broad beans, spinach, most lettuces, kale, bok choy and radishes. Winter sowings of broad beans are not uncommon. Don鈥檛 risk this experiment with heat-needy vegetables such as bush beans, cucumbers, squash and melons.
听
Dear Helen: Can you recommend container flowers for our balcony, which faces north-east and gets mainly morning light? We鈥檇 like to try growing some from seed.
J.J.
Dear J.J.: Flowering plants that will suit your conditions are most easily acquired as started plants. These include begonia, fuchsia, impatiens, coleus, cyclamen, primula, Martha Washington (Regal) geranium (Pelargonium), viola and pansy.
Purchased pansies and primroses would brighten your balcony nicely now. I have gorgeous little 鈥淧rimlet鈥� plants at my north-facing front door.
Three suitable annuals that are easy from seed are nasturtium, alyssum and lobelia. Plant the nasturtium seeds directly into the pots and planters. Trailing lobelia combines pleasantly in containers with trailing fuchsias and begonias.
听
Dear Helen: A small bed in my courtyard is full of roots from recently removed cedar and cotoneaster plants that grew close to a 150-centimetre-high wall at the south side of the bed. How can I redeem the soil enough to grow roses and other ornamentals?
S.T.
Dear S.T.: I鈥檝e experienced this situation in areas where I鈥檝e taken out large cedar trees. The first thing to do is to dig out as much of the root growth as possible, knowing with joy in your heart that, with the trees gone, roots will not re-invade the bed.
Next, add some high quality compost or top soil along with a liberal dusting of dolomite lime and dig that all in roughly, leaving little hills and ridges; that is, don鈥檛 smooth out the surface. This will allow the renewed soil to 鈥渨eather鈥� a bit before planting at winter鈥檚 end. At the same time, the rough digging will help to expose soil pests to birds and other predators.
听
GARDEN EVENTS
Cactus meeting. The Victoria Cactus and Succulent Society will meet at 7:30 tonight at First Memorial (Funeral Services), 4725 Falaise Dr. in Royal Oak. The meeting rooms are at the back and can be reached by a path to the right of听the parking lot or a ramp at the left side of the building.
Sooke meeting. The Sooke Garden Club meets this evening at 7 in St. Rose of Lima Church, 2191 Townsend Rd. in Sooke. Gordon MacKay will speak about alpine, rock, wood and crevice gardens. Newcomers are very welcome. Club fees are $15 per year.
View Royal meeting. The View Royal Garden Club meets tonight at 7:30 in Shoreline Community School, 2750 Shoreline Dr. Donna Humphries will present a slide show on her recent stay at an Agritourismo farm in Sicily.
Chrysanthemum meeting. The Victoria Chrysanthemum Society will meet Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in St. Matthias Church Hall, 600 Richmond Ave. Sheila Mitchell will present a demonstration on cuttings.
Seedy in Sooke. Sooke will celebrate Seedy Saturday this weekend from 10听a.m. to 3 p.m. in the community hall. Browse a diverse range of seed and plant vendors, attend workshops and more.
