GARDENING-DREAMHOUSE GREENHOUSE!

A Year in the Life of a Gardener’s Oasis

words and photos by Sandy Robson

Well, it has certainly been an odd spring and summer so far, with unseasonably cold temperatures, and more cloudy skies and rain than even we here on the wet coast are accustomed to, and no, that is not a typo. Many of our flowering trees, shrubs and plants that traditionally let us know when spring has arrived, were running weeks late in blossoming. But, given the anything but normal circumstances of the past two years, I am not sure I expected anything less from 2022 in the garden. Temperatures have been below seasonal average—particularly in the evenings—while precipitation was often double the norm with some of that moisture arriving as snow and hail this spring! However, on the plus side, the tulips and daffodils had an extended bloom time, and some plants, like rhododendron, garlic, peas, rhubarb, my potatoes in grow bags, and even my raspberries have been growing happily through it all.

Spring is all about new beginnings and that ultimate new beginning... the seed! This is my second year with a greenhouse, and I had been looking forward to starting even more plants than I did in 2021. The last two years, as pandemic restrictions and supply chain challenges emerged, presented some significant challenges in tracking down seeds. And one of the biggest issues at local garden centres turned out to be the increased demand, as many more of us have turned our hands to gardening since 2020. Now, in my opinion the more gardeners in the world the better, but I took no chances this year and placed my orders with my favourite seed vendors early!

The last couple of weeks in March, while still cold and grey, were ideal for breaking out the soapy water (with just a touch of vinegar) for doing the “big scrub” of the greenhouse itself. A winter’s worth of dust and grime was washed away leaving the windows and roof clear and sparkling. Areas of mildew were treated to a bleach solution and will be repainted when the days get a little warmer and drier; a few weeds had popped up through the gravel floor so those received an extra slosh of vinegar; and empty pots and seed trays were washed in soapy water in preparation for the seeding days to come.

My overwintered plants also got the once over. Those that didn’t survive the cold and dark were added to the compost pile. If you are fortunate to have a heated greenhouse, the chances of your more tender perennials and late season cuttings surviving winter would be greatly enhanced. Alas, my greenhouse is unheated, but the agapanthus that spent the season tucked inside are showing new growth, as is the artichoke, rudbeckia, fennel, and even my hibiscus. Some of the cuttings—lavender, rosemary, red valerian and hydrangea taken last fall have beaten the odds—and my total neglect—during the winter months and were showing signs of life.

Last year I was new to starting my plants (mostly vegetables) from seed indoors and I learned so much, the biggest lesson being not to start too many seedlings at the same time! In my defense I had no idea how many seeds would germinate, so I hedged my bets a bit. Pretty much everything grew so I was overrun with plants that needed potting on. This year I sowed a few seeds of each variety and then waited to see how many would pop up before starting more. I still grew more than we needed but have found that friends and neighbours are always happy to accept the excess tomato, cucumber, and squash plants for their own gardens.

One of the great advantages to growing from seed—aside from the pleasure of watching new leafy green life spring forth—is the cost savings. Even with seeds being noticeably more expensive this year, a packet of seeds that cost me $4.99 will yield 20 or more plants that from a nursery would cost that much for a single garden-ready plant. However, after having been responsible for the seeding, germinating, watering, potting on, fertilizing, and just plain keeping my plant babies alive and well long enough to plant them in the garden, I have a new-found respect for nurseries and growers. I never complain about the price paid for a healthy, ready to stick in the earth plant; it takes a LOT of time, care and resources to grow from seed.

April through June are busy months in a greenhouse. Since mine is unheated, I start all my seeds in a makeshift nursery set up in front of the window in my laundry room. I have two shelves kitted out with grow-lights and seed warming mats, and it has worked well. Initially I purchased divided seed trays with dome lids that allow the seeds to germinate in a moist warm environment but I do love to experiment, so this year I tried other containers: egg cartons, those clear plastic containers originally filled with cherry tomatoes from the grocery store, as well as biodegradable clamshell containers from the takeout dinners we seemed to have a lot of from the past two years. All were given a test run as seed starting homes and overall, they were successful options, if you want to recycle and save a little money.

Once my seedlings emerged from the soil and stretched toward the light, I removed the lids and moved them off the warming mat but kept them under the lights until their first true leaves emerged and they were strong enough for pricking out and putting in their own little pots. Some seeds, like those for cosmos and sunflowers, pop up in a matter of days, while others take their time. As the seedlings grow and form their first set of true leaves, they could be pricked out and gently transplanted into 2"- 3" pots, to allow them to develop a stronger root system. I kept them inside until temperatures were reliably above 10 degrees which made for some crowded windowsills throughout our house. Last year, I was able to start moving some of these plant pots to the greenhouse by late March, to make room for more seeds to be sown, but this year with the still very cold evenings—temperatures in April and even May were regularly in the single digits—I had many plants throughout my house waiting, which meant they were rather tall and spindly by planting time.

It was mid-May before I even dared transfer tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and squash plants to the greenhouse. I also had brassicas, sweet pea plants, sunflowers and a number of flowering plants out there already waiting their turn, so it was a very crowded greenhouse. My yard is small so my greenhouse is as well (8 by 10 ft), and I am limited in the number of plants I can grow to maturity inside. My sage advice now would be to build the largest greenhouse you can manage... you are unlikely to wish it were smaller!

My heat loving plants went into the garden beds midJune and some have managed to catch up, while others have languished. As we enter July, evening temperatures are still low, which means it is also damp overnight and the slugs and pill bugs have been having a field day with newly emerging beans, squash, and cucumbers. So far, I have tried battling them with a few standard tricks including picking them off plants every evening, placing ground eggshells, rosemary sprigs and coffee grinds around seedlings, copper tape around stems, and the latest tactic: using citrus slices to attract pill bugs away from the seedlings. To date, none of these have been particularly successful. �� So, here we are as gardeners, facing what growers and farmers face every year... uncertainty. The numbers tell us that changes to weather patterns and norms are accelerating and becoming increasingly difficult to predict and plan for. And we patient gardeners will need to do as farmers have always done... we will pay close attention to what our gardens and our soil and our plants need most. Gardening is an act of faith and patience, and always provides an opportunity to grow... for both the plants and for ourselves.

I leave the last word to Monty Don, British horticulturist, broadcaster, writer, and lead presenter of the BBC series “Gardeners’ World.” “You don’t know how to grow anything until it doesn’t grow. It’s not until you have to deal with failure—and to work out what is going on—that you really start to learn.”