Summer Solstice North of the Arctic Circle

Yesterday (June 21) was the summer solstice and in the NWT it is a statutory holiday and a way for everyone to celebrate National Aboriginal Day. I spent my entire morning in the garden! I have been away for the past week as I managed to run the half marathon in Dawson City, Yukon. With all the running training and then the time away my garden has actually not received much attention lately so June 21 was the perfect day for me to put some TLC into the garden.

A friend and I were chatting at the greenhouse and we both agreed that the gardens are growing much differently this year with the new roof at the Inuvik Greenhouse. Our theory is that the plants started much earlier and quicker but that they are not growing as 'full' as previous years. I will continue monitoring to see how this goes as the season progresses and also how it affects the year end crops.

 

I found a 'helper' in my little 2-year friend M. and we worked the garden for 2 hours together. He was in charge of the mini wheelbarrow, a mini water can and playing in the water barrel! I was in charge of actually working the garden!

• My spinach barely grew at all and has already bolted so I pulled of it and planted new seeds.
• A lot of the Asian greens in a salad seed mix had also bolted so I harvested and picked out that.
• Beets and carrots needed thinning a bit already and I will eat what was thinned in pesto or salads.
• A couple rows needed replanting of new seeds as my green onions (seed tape) never did grow and I realized there was a row I don't think I ever put seeds into!

Other than those tasks, everything else just needed a bit of harvesting (salad greens, bok choi, kale, chard, herbs, onions, etc). M. went home with a bag of greens for his mom and dad and I went home with a huge bag of greens also. Some I will use for salads and some I will use for soup.

 

Pretend Wonton Soup

Extra lean ground beef/pork/chicken/turkey
Lipton chicken soup mix
Carrots
White onion
Garlic
Lots of greens from the garden (chard, bok choi, kale)

Brown the onions, garlic and ground beef in a large pot, drain any fat. Cut carrots into thin sticks and sauté slightly with ground beef mixture. Add water and soup mix to the ground beef/onion/garlic/carrot mixture. Simmer and cook together. Add greens to blanche together. This easy summer soup really does taste like wonton soup!

Happy gardening!

S.

Harvest Time Already

The garden is growing fast right now, really, really fast. I forget that you can pretty much see the change in the plants each day you visit the garden. The trouble right now is that I keep forgetting that I need to be eating out of the garden! I would almost say that the Inuvik growing season moves so fast that you forget that even though it is very early in June, it is indeed time to start eating garden greens. I am still thinking of big, heavy winter meals, not fresh green salads that would be nourishing and fulfilling at this time of year.

 

What I usually do once the greens start growing is to keep a salad spinner right in the fridge. I can give mixed garden greens a quick rinse, spin them dry and keep them in the fridge for easy access and consumption. I mix all my greens, onions and herbs together and just use that as a base for any type of salad. I also eat everything that that I thin; meaning any of the small/micro greens of radishes, beats, basil, etc all get thrown into the salad spinner and eventually eaten.

What always amazing me is how long the fresh garden veggies last. When you buy a bag of spinach at the Inuvik grocery store you are lucky if it lasts a week but with the fresh garden greens they tend to last almost a month in the fridge. It goes to show you how long of a transportation route we have between California vegetable growing operations and the shelves of the Inuvik grocery store.

 

My tips for the week is to remember to start eating out of your garden! And to keep up with harvesting and consumption as the greens and veggies only get more and more plentiful as the season continues.

S.

Live and Learn

I have been reading and reflecting a lot on my yoga practice recently and am in a really positive space but when planning this Blog post I realize it is going to have a somewhat negative feel to it! Mostly the post is intended as constructive criticism and as we always hear 'live and learn'. The positives first, the Inuvik Greenhouse and people's yards and garden planning right now is all amazing. The community as a whole is greening up this week, I can tell by my allergies that leaves and plants are bursting out right now. I have also picked my first harvests of the garden season (micro greens, basil and chives). However, as I look around there are a few 'mistakes' people are making with their gardening.

 

Here are a few things to avoid in your own future gardening and so we don't make the same 'mistakes' twice:

• People are putting their plants outside in May. Please don't do this, plants should wait until early June to go outside. We can always expect a bit of snow in early June and yes, I saw snowflakes this morning for June 1.
• Rhubarb- I am seeing rhubarb planted in a row, like carrots or lettuce and I have seen rhubarb planted in a very shallow garden box. Rhubarb should be planted one of two ways; plant in a corner of your garden plot in the greenhouse where it can stay contained and overflow a bit or plant outside directly in the ground or in a very large pot/barrel. For sure you only require 1 plant. I had 2 plant at one time and gave one away.
• Beans/Peas- Do not plant these in the middle of your plot/garden! Beans and peas need to grow upwards and must be planted against a trellis or wall.
• Cucumbers/Squash- These do not need to be planted in a row like carrots or lettuce seeds. You only need 1-3 plants and in small space gardening can be grown in a tomatoe cage to save space.
• Basil- I use a lot of basil as I make/jar/freeze pesto for the entire year. I would say 2 -3 plants of basil will be more than enough for a household, even with making a bit of pesto during the summer months. PS- The greenhouse has amazing basil plants on sale (tri-colour/blend).
• Potatoes grow great outside and I would recommend building boxes or using old tires instead of using up greenhouse plot space for these. I tested potatoes outside last summer and it worked great and I will be doing this again.
  
  

Again please take this with a grain of salt as I strongly believe that in Inuvik anything and everything can grow successfully!

S.