Time to Start Your Seeds

In Inuvik I usually follow the rule of not starting seeds at home until a week after Easter but Easter was really early this year but this is probably still a good guideline. If you start too early you will have a house full of veggie plants and will be transplanting peas stalks in full bloom in May to the greenhouse! Don't be the newbie fool! :)

Here are some good tips to starting seeds at home:

1. Only start tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and maybe some herbs. Everything else can put straight into the ground as seed in May.

2. Just start a few seeds of each variety, do not plant every seed in the package!

3. Use a starter tray and peat pellets. This is my recommended way and so easy. Add water to the grow the pellets and plant 3-4 seeds in each pellet. As they grow you can split them into a bigger container if all the seeds sprout. ** Best tip- Seeds need dirt, water and SUN to geminate. Do not cover them in dirt as they need to see the sun. Just make a few indents in the soil pellet and place the seeds in the little holes, lighter cover if you wish but remember that sun is needed!

4. Remember that the greenhouse sells great tomato and herb starters for your veggie garden and you will probably want to buy these. They tend not to sell cucumber and squash so I start those at home for sure. I find that the started plants will grow much faster than the seed/plants I start at home.

Finally, even when the greenhouse opens in May, you will probably wait a couple weeks before beginning in your transplants from home. We can always expect a little snow or cold spurt in May that makes it dicey for these plants outside, even in the greenhouse.

Happy dreaming about garden season.

S.

March 20- Spring in Here

This is the time of year when Northerners start dreaming of gardening season. A bit different than 'southern' gardeners as it is still -20C outside, frozen ice and tons of snow still falling in Inuvik. Officially, though it is the weekend that spring begins (March 20, 2016). So what should Inuvik gardeners be thinking about when dreaming about their summer gardens?!

Here are a few tips to make sure you are on track with your March or 'spring' gardening plans:

1. Check in with the Inuvik Greenhouse and make sure your volunteer hours are completed from the previous year and confirm that you will be continuing your garden for the upcoming season. #1 on this list as you need to make sure you have a garden plot to work with!

2. Start collecting seeds and making your seed orders. My favourite is Vesey's seeds in PEI but many people I know also use West Coast Seeds. Pick easy varieties, varieties where you will get a good yield and varieties that are good for small space gardening (be efficient with your space when planning).

3. If you plan on starting seeds at your house, don't start until April! New gardeners always start seeds to early and these are the people that rush their plants into the Inuvik Greenhouse on opening weekend just to get them out of their house! You don't need to start lettuce, peas, etc in your house either; this will really make you look like a newbie!

 

Finally, there are a few things you can still be doing to support your own Northern food security. Really be working to clean out your freezer of previous year produce and garden treats. I still have tons of frozen greens and I need these used up before the new season begins. Share with your friends if need be. My mom gave me a seed sprouter also and I am loving eating sprouts right now. Don't use the jars and screens method for this, invest in a sprouter!!! Now that the sun is back it is taking about 2 days to get a 'crop' of seeds ready for eating (don't use direct sunlight though).

So yes, start planning and thinking of your garden and take on a few early season tasks but no need to dive right into gardening just yet. Enjoy the sun and get outside, don't sit inside waiting for seeds to sprout just yet!

S.