The Who, What, Where, When, Why & How of Growing at the Garden

Hello Gardeners!

Welcome to the 2009 growing season. Believe it or not, spring is just around the corner. I don’t know about you, but I am so done with winter.
For those who are new and don't know me, my name is Kathryn and I will be your coordinator this year at the Whitehorse Community Garden. Please feel free to contact me, if you have any questions at all. dugsyukon@hotmail.com
Projectwise, this year will be a continuation of last year. We have had some new beds built in the South Garden and still have a few more to build. We have a heap of compost to deal with and a lot of soil to build. We had a big problem with ground squirrels last year in the South Garden so we would really like to get a fence built around our two large beds. The Plant-A-Row Program did well last year but I know we can increase our totals this year especially with the root vegetables. Work, work, work...but I promise to make it fun and if everyone gives a helping hand things won't seem so daunting. I'm hoping to get most of your volunteers in the beginning of the season, like last year. I think that went well.

So, one of the questions I hear the most at this time of year is usually from new gardeners: “How do I get started?” Good Question. It may seem very challenging at first, but really it is very simple. Below, I've put together a few things to hopefully get you going...

Who?– If you are ever in doubt about something you’re doing in the garden feel free to ask any of your fellow gardeners. There is no such thing as a dumb question…if you don’t ask how will you ever know the answer? Fellow gardeners are usually more than willing to share their experiences and knowledge. I am around often and I’m always willing to help. Feel free to email, if you can’t find me there.

What?- One thing I’ve learned not to fight when trying to grow vegetables or flowers, is what will grow and what will not grow in the Yukon. Accepting this is step one in a successful garden. I mean it’s great to try and grow something that won’t normally grow in our climate (like watermelon or corn), but do you really want to spend all summer nursing plants that just won’t be able to produce anything for you? I know I don’t because that’s a lot of effort for nothing.
At the community garden, we use raised beds and we’re downtown which means we’re usually a bit warmer than other parts of town and gives us a bit of advantage.

Easy growers from seed: potatoes, carrots, peas, beets, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, radishes, herbs, zucchini. These can all be planted directly into the ground.

Easy growers from transplants: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, parsnip, herbs
These can be put in as soon as the risk of frost has passed. (see below)

If this is your first time gardening, I wouldn't bother tring to start seeds indoors. It can become a lot of work quickly as well as take up a lot of space.

Where?– Seeds can be purchased from seed catalogues or bought locally at any store that sells garden supplies. When buying your seeds, look for maturity dates no longer than 60 days. In a perfect year, we have approximately 100 days and again that's a perfect year.
Transplants can be purchased at any of the many local greenhouses. Look for healthy strong plants.

When?– the general rule for planting any kind of transplants, veggie or flowers, here in Whitehorse, is always plant after the Victoria Day Weekend which usually falls the third weekend in May. Of course, there all always exceptions to this. The main one being the weather. Veggies started from seed like carrots, peas or lettuce are okay to get started as early as the beginning of May, as soon as the soil can be worked, as they don’t mind cooler conditions but if you stick to the 'Long Weekend' rule you should be fine.
I’ve found that investing in white row cover to protect your crop is worth every penny. It acts as a protector from frost, while still allowing the light through, creating a greenhouse effect and unlike poly or plastic, the plants can still breath as air and moisture can pass through it. It also keeps unwanted bugs out. Again look for it at your local garden supply store. *Note: make sure that the row cover is at least five feet wide to cover your box.

Why? - Why not?

How? – There will be scheduled work bees for gardeners to come and contribute their volunteer hours. I will usually be there to organize. This is a great time for the “How do I do this…?” questions because if I can’t answer your question, perhaps there is another person around that can.
As well, I will be trying to hold more workshops this year.
The bed sign up is just around the corner and things will go fast once they start. I will keep everyone posted on work bees and workshops, times and dates.

The garden supplies all the soil and compost. We have all the tools you need.
All thats left is weeding, watering and love. Really, it's not that hard at all...:)

See you all in May!

Plant A Row Totals - 2008 - in approximate pounds

rhubarb - 60

radish - 63

spinach, swiss chard, lettuce - 45.5

herbs - 15

beets - 21

cabbage - 23.5

leeks - 7

celery - 2

misc. cherry tomatoes, zuchinni,

onions, potatoes, carrots - 30

So in the end, we had approximately 265 lbs of vegetables. This is not bad considering our late start and our dismal summer weather this year. Plus the fact that our carrots and potatoes never took. Next year, I hope to double this amount at the very least.

End of Season

Hi Everyone!

Well, I would say we've officially come to the end of our season. Despite our weather this summer, I've seen some great harvests. Congratulations to everyone on their fantastic efforts. I'm putting the Plant A Row totals together and will be posting the numbers later this week.

I also wanted to say how much I enjoyed gardening with all of you this season and hope that you enjoyed your time at the garden. A giant thank you to all those volunteers who contributed so much of their time this summer to the up keep of the garden. From the school groups to the individual gardeners to those who just enjoy spending time in the garden. The success of the garden depends on all of you. Job well done.

I look forward to working with all of you again next year. See you at the sign up in March! I'll keep posting any new developments from now until then.

Wishing you all a warm Winter and blue skies...See you in the Spring!

August Clouds

Wow!

Everyone's gardens look just fantastic.

Just a reminder, that although our weather has been cool, the soil in the beds will still dry out quite quickly. You'll want to continue to water your bed right up until harvest. This also goes for anyone who may have the task of taking care of any of the perennial trenches. ie raspberries, saskatoons, rhubarb.

I'd also like to thank Ibex Valley Greenhouses for their generous donation of flowers to the garden. We've planted and placed them throughout the beds and hopefully the frost will hold off long enough for us to enjoy them into the fall.

As well, thank you to those gardeners who have contributed so much volunteer time to the garden. It really does show!

Berries

The raspberries are ready to pick! Please help yourselves. We offer the berries on the outside of the trench to the public and reserve the ones on the inside for our gardeners. You'll also find strawberries in bed#9 and two large saskatoon trenches both inside and outside the fence. The saskatoons aren't 100% ready but it is great to see that we will have a nice crop this year.

DUGS Board Meeting

The DUGS monthly board meeting will be held at the garden on Thursday, August 14th, from 6:00-7:30 pm. Anyone and everyone are welcome to attend.

A Celebration of the Harvest

August 24th 1:00-4:30pm

The end of August brings this annual event held at the the community garden. All are welcome. It is a potluck affair and any gardeners interested in donating something from their garden plot are encouraged to so. If anyone would like to donate something that isn't from their garden, they are also encouraged to do so!

It's a fun afternoon of live music and entertainment. Come down and recieve your blessing from the Goddess of the Harvest...you won't be disappointed!

June 5th

I've been tardy with my posts! Things are progressing in the garden. It seems that most of you have your gardens in now. With the lack of rain and plenty of wind, make sure that you are watering regularily to get those seeds germinated. Hopefully the last of the frosts are behind us.


The Shed

Please keep the shed in a neat and orderly condition. All hoses must be put away before the shed is locked up. There have been several occasions where this has not been done and things do have a tendency to go missing if left out.

Gardening Tasks

I have contacted some of you regarding your designated task in the garden. If I have not done so, don't panic, I will be doing so by the end of the weekend. Your task goes towards your volunteer hours as noted in the gardener's contract. Please record all hours on the back door of the shed on the white board.
I've also left a list of on going tasks, if anyone wants to do any additional work. The list is posted on the bulletin board on the outside of the shed.
Please remember to do the weeding around your beds as well. This maintenance does not count toward your volunteer hours. All gardeners are expected to keep a 2-3 foot perimeter around their bed reasonably free of weeds. Especially our two big invaders, the Dandelion, now out in full force and the Foxtail Barley, yet to bloom.

Work Bees

Our weekly work bee is Wednesday night from 7-9pm, headed by myself. For the month of June, Chris will lead a work bee on Saturday mornings from 8am-12 noon. The work bee is great for when we have a larger task to accomplish. Many hands make light work! Its also a great time to come out and meet your fellow gardeners.

Whitehorse Elementary

A big thank you to Monique Coderre and her grades 2,3 and 4 classes that have come out to help in the garden. They've watered, weeded, moved compost, tilled dirt and I think, had a lot of fun. It has been fun to have them help out. Have a great summer and don't be shy to stop by anytime you like!