Dealing With The Old

When we purchased this home there were three raised vegetable gardening beds already on the property. These were made using pressure treated wood. This means that a lot of toxic chemicals could be leaching out into our vegetables.

Cheap Solution

We can’t afford to replace the pressure treated wood this year. Instead, these beds will be piled high with rich organic soil, straw and unfinished compost to be used as grow heaps for cucurbits. The heaps will be roughly 3 ft above the current wood frame so that no chemicals will be affecting out watermelons, squash, pumpkins and cucumbers. To start we’re turning the sod pieces from our yard upside down in these beds. As the grass decomposes it will provide lots of warmth and nutrients for soil dwelling organisms (like earthworms).

Dealing with Old Pressure Treated Beds

New Raised Beds

We’ve built several new raised beds for our other vegetables. There are many options in terms of materials that last, but most are pricey. We decided that we can’t afford most of these options this year and have opted for untreated wood. Dimensions are 8 ft by 4 ft so that all weeding and maintenance can be done from the path. Each bed is 10 inches high. In time, we’d like to double that height so there will be less stooping and bending. But for now we’re opting for the shorter beds as a cost saving measure.

Because we’ve used untreated wood, these beds are also going to rot and will need to be replaced. But we should get two years out of them before this happens. For now, we’re placing most of our funds towards building the soil. That’s where we’ll see the highest return on our limited investment funds.

New Untreated Temporary Beds

Digging Out The Sod

There are sod lifters for rent at the builder’s supply stores, but our yard is not very large. The sandy soil is also very easy to work with. For now we’re tackling this by hand.

What you see is about 3 hours worth of work using a shovel and digging out one small piece at a time.

We’re keeping all of the lifted sod and allowing it to decompose on our yard. This is a lot of green material to compost and we’ll certainly see an increase in beneficial organisms showing up to deal with the task.

Amazing Shovel

Lunch Bag Pots: To get around this issue, I bought some No Name lunch bags and cut them along the bottom fold line. The top portions were then rolled into seedling pots, while the bottom portions were opened and used as larger transplant pots. I doubled up the bottom portions, to make my transplant pots thicker.

Folded Newspaper Pots: If you have a lot of newspaper on hand, you can also try folding paper pots. The size is still fairly limited and works best for seed starting pots.

Soil Blocker: I’ve been reading some books by Elliot Coleman who suggests using a soil blocker instead of pots. I’ve never tried this method. But I wonder how well the soil holds together.

Why Not Jiffy? : If you’re growing a lot of seeds then you’ll save  money using the methods above. A 7 to 10 cent expandable Jiffy pot doesn’t sound expensive. But when you consider that’s your cost per seed, then things add up fast.  I also prefer using coconut coir over peat moss because it’s a renewable resource. In fact, it’s a waste product in places like Sri Lanka. As a consumer I feel good about making small decisions to save valuable habitats. The little decisions often make the greatest impacts.

CowPots : A new product that I’m excited to try is the CowPot. These are like the fibre pots that you find in most stores. But instead of using peat moss, these are made with cow manure! Apparently they don’t smell. I haven’t found them in any stores in my area yet, but I’m watching for them and I’m looking forward to giving them a try. Here’s a fun little introduction to poo pots by Mike Rowe.

How Fresh is Fresh

Did you know that the freshest produce in the grocery store is actually in the frozen foods section? By the time you purchase those “fresh” items from the produce aisle, most of the nutrients have already been lost during shipping and storage. But that’s only half the story.

Due to the  necessity of shipping and storage, mass produced fruits and vegetables are often lacking in nutrients right from the start. Most of these products have been hybridized and genetically modified to appear flawless and to withstand longer shelf lives. All of this has come at the cost of nutrients and flavor.

Grow The Best At Home

The good news is that the home gardener need not compromise. Without the necessity of extended post harvest perfection, we can choose from a larger variety of produce. Our focus can be shifted towards selecting varieties for their flavor and nutrients. This path inevitably leads towards the selection of Heirlooms.  Heirloom fruits and vegetables are notorious for their unsurpassed flavor and nutritional power punch.

What’s An Heirloom?

Many will claim that heirloom varieties are developed after many years of recultivating a particular line. But to be truly classified as an heirloom, a particular cultivar must be passed along, unaltered, for at least 50 years. By some standards the lineage must be even longer.

In essence, these are the varieties that previous generations have worked to preserve. Because our ancestors selected cultivars primarily for their taste, the heirloom varieties that exist today have consistently reigned supreme for this quality.

Most heirlooms will breed true year after year. This means that by saving the seeds and replanting the following year, you’re very likely to produce the exact same qualities that were present in the first occurrence of the cultivar many decades ago.

If a cross or mutation does happen, the potential exists to create an entirely new variety, particularly if the switch adds something valuable to the original cultivar.

Why Can’t I Find Heirloom Seeds in My Seed Catalog?

Most heirloom seeds are not advertised in big seed company catalogs. The major seed companies prefer to create hybrids, which do not breed true from one year to the next. By encouraging the use of hybrid varieties, these companies are building a foundation for repeat business. But this comes at a cost.

The Dangers of Hybrids

With a lack of genetic diversity, the entire agricultural system becomes increasingly vulnerable to collapse. Several examples of massive agricultural losses have already sounded the alarms. Still the major players in the seed distribution network continue to place the future of agriculture at risk in order to reap huge financial gains. By choosing heirloom varieties over hybrids, you could help to ensure that genetic diversity remains in tact.

Where Do I Buy Heirloom Seeds?

Many smaller seed companies are now heeding the call to preserve genetic diversity. A simple online search for Heirloom seeds in Canada should reveal a good listing of them. Try to choose companies from within your hardiness zone, since their seeds would have naturally adjusted to your particular growing conditions after the first few plantings.

There are also organizations like Seeds of Diversity and Seeds of Change that have made it their mission to monitor and encourage the preservation of Canada’s agricultural heritage.

Do You Have a Favorite Heirloom?

Have you been growing heirloom vegetables? If so, which heirlooms are your favorites?

In my search for potatoes I came across this wonderful magazine called Edible Toronto. It’s packed full of stories and photos relating to urban agriculture within the city of Toronto. Being close neighbors, I know that much of the items mentioned in these articles will also grow in Ottawa.  There are many great ideas to be found in this publication, including examples of completely edible landscapes within the downtown core.  The entire magazine (including archived copies) is posted online and is free to browse.

If you’re aware of any other great links, with visual examples of edible landscapes, please feel free to post them here.

Seedy Saturdays bring home gardeners, seed companies and gardening experts together to exchange seeds and discuss various topics related to heirloom and organic gardening. Events vary by location but usually include keynote speakers and special activities for young children.

One of the many benefits of this program is that it offers gardeners the ability to purchase or exchange seeds that have been harvested within their hardiness zones. If you’ve grown heirloom vegetables before, then you know that most plants tend to do better after consecutive plantings within hardiness zones. This is due to the acclimatization effect. By purchasing seeds locally you’ll gain an extra boost in productivity.

Have your seed wish list ready and be sure to attend. This is one event that you won’t want to miss.

Growing Sweet Potatoes in Ontario

The ground is still covered in 2 ft of snow, here in Ottawa.  But the gardening has already begun.  I’m a huge fan of sweet potatoes. They’re loaded with nutrients and antioxidants and have been praised as one of the best vegetables for cancer prevention.  They do very well in poor soils (particularly sandy soils with a bit of clay) and dry conditions. With some preparation and  planning, sweet potatoes can even be grown in northern climates.

Starting Sweet Potato Slips

Sweet potatoes must be started early to establish suitable slips for spring planting. Ideally slips should be started between Dec-Feb in our northern climate. Later starts will produce smaller sweet potatoes, but some Ontario gardeners have been successful with starts as late as April.

To begin, buy some sweet potatoes at your regular grocer. Place the whole tuber in a jar of water and set aside to root. This can take several weeks. Once rooted some leaves or “slips” may begin growing out of the tuber. At this point, place your rooted tuber into a soil less medium (like coconut coir) to continue growing. When your slips have reached a length of at least 5-6 inches cut them from the tuber and place them into water to take root. Once rooted the slips can be hardened off and planted in the spring after risk of frost.

Planting Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes will not tolerate water buildup after rain. If the area you’re planting in is prone to puddles, create a raised environment or mound before planting. Fertilizer is not necessary for sweet potatoes but you may want to place black film and/or dark mulch around them to warm the soil. The roots will grow throughout the summer with tubers forming in August. By September you should be harvesting a nice supply to get you through the winter.

Storing Sweet Potatoes

One of the greatest things about sweet potatoes is that you can store them for 9 months to a year!

Unlike most vegetables, sweet potatoes last longer if they’re kept above 10 degrees celsius. Do not place them in your refrigerator as this will hasten spoilage.

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NOTE: Normally you should not cut your sweet potatoes before rooting them. They’re not like regular white or red potatoes which are generally cut  and planted directly into the soil.

That being said, I did find this little rooted morsel in my worm bin this morning. I think I’ll keep it going and hopefully this previously discarded end piece will feed us a few more times next fall.

Cut sweet potato rooting in my worm bin.

We look forward to sharing with you soon…

Sincerely,

Jennifer Englert