With the full moon came a little frost — not enough to hurt my plants in the garden but enough to freeze the water in the hose laying on the ground. All the tomato plants are still in the greenhouse at night or covered with reemay cloth on the deck. Hoping for a couple of days of rain, as all the rain barrels are empty. I have never seen the ground so dry at the end of April.
The peas I started in February are now in full bloom in a pot tied to the railing as they are too tall to be moved. Growing plants out of the ground takes more water as the wind and the sun dry the pots a lot faster. Even mulching the pots helps and makes a big difference. The peas and lettuce I transplanted around the gazebo have been mulched with a mixture of dried grass clippings and shredded leaves saved from last fall. This mixture is very easy to work with and can be applied between plants without trouble. After three days, the ground was still damp where I had the mulch.
From the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, a mulch is a layer of material placed on the soil surface to conserve moisture, hold down weeds and ultimately improve soil structure and fertility. A mulched plant is not subjected to the extremes of temperatures that affect an exposed plant. Mulch that has been applied to the soil during spring and summer can be turned under in fall, thereby enriching the garden soil. Certain materials contain rich minerals. These break down gradually and work into the soil to feed the roots of plants, soaking into the ground during the first heavy rain. Therefore, mulch fertilizes the soil while it remains on the soil surface, as well as after it decays.
Practically any organic material can be used for mulching. Rain-spoiled hay can be used, and should be less costly than fresh hay. If you have a shredder, cornstalks make an excellent mulch. Grass clippings are among the most commonly available and inexpensive materials and also make an excellent mulch. Make sure that the grass clippings have not been sprayed.
Shredded leaves do not mat down and they enrich the soil more quickly than whole leaves. There is rarely any nitrogen deficiency in leaves, so it is not necessary to apply nitrogen to the soil before mulching. If unshredded, leaves should be mixed with straw or other light material so that they do not become a soggy mass. Newspaper is a good mulch but do not use paper of glossy magazines as they may contain agents that are harmful to soil organisms.
In my gardening columns of January and February of 2014, I wrote about edible flowers. I found out at one of my gardening classes that we could eat tulip petals. Of course I had to try some, and different colours have different scents and taste. One of the websites is very interesting and lists many flowers that are edible. I found that the ones I tasted at home had a similar taste of fresh pea shoots. I didn’t have too much choice, as most of them were finished blooming. I wonder if the deer can taste the difference between colours.
If you are interested in looking at some of them, here is the link for an edible flower chart: http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm
I will still do my plant sale on Saturdays in May. Tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, etc.
For more information: 250-558-4556 or email plantlady1@shaw.ca
Jocelyne Sewell is an organic gardening enthusiast in the North Okanagan and a member of the Okanagan Gardens & Roses Club. Her column appears every other Wednesday.
