If anyone else is feeling anxious, stressed or fearful, I can relate, having felt all these emotions over the last little while.
My turning point was going online to my regular bulk food supplier to order my regular list of nuts, seeds and other staples. The site had shut down due to overwhelming demand by March 14.
I think a good way to deal with some of the problems we are facing these days is to start planting seeds for a food garden.
Victory gardens were popular during the First World War and Second World War, and food growing could help us deal with some of the current stress people are feeling around food security.
I have already harvested several bowls of fresh greens from both my tiny greenhouse and from my hoop houses that I construct over self seeded chard and kale plants in the fall. I cooked up my first feed of purple sprouting broccoli recently, at least what was left after eating much of it raw. If we have an earthquake amidst this pandemic, we will be especially grateful to have local food.
Having grown food most of my life I find great joy and satisfaction knowing that if I want some fresh food without making a trip to the store, I can usually find some in my garden.
In 1942 city folk were discouraged from planting food gardens due to the fear that they would use seeds and tools that may have been better used by experienced farmers to produce food during the war, but only a year later this position had changed due to gardeners protesting and producing 57,000 tonnes of vegetables. Picture that:14,000 pickup trucks loaded up with vegetables! That food would go a long way to feed Canada’s hungry in 1942.
So, activities that could be more rewarding than spending the day lined up to buy all the meat or toilet paper you can stuff into the car might be getting some seedling mix and seeds of vegetables you and your family really love and getting some plants started.
It’s a great time now to start tomatoes, broccoli, kale, lettuce, arugula, peppers, eggplant and basil.
I use a sterile seedling mix and heat mats to give my seeds the best chance at germination. I like to start my own seeds, so I have a better choice of varieties.
My favourite tomato is Sun Gold, which is now sometimes available for purchase commercially. At this year’s seedy Saturday, I spoke with a woman who had been involved in seed trials last year and even though she knows about Sun Gold, she raved about a variety she had tested last year, Principe Borghese. I will be growing these as well this year.
Once the seeds are started, another great activity could be to get rid of that lawn that has been ravaged by crows and raccoons hunting chafer beetle larvae. There is an abundance of horse manure available on the North Shore, (although optimum time to amend the soil with manure is in the fall) and other options include sea soil and organic topsoil.
Even if you only have a small space or a patio you can still grow some food in pots. Rainbow chard is a beautiful edible display plant, same goes for curly kale. Don’t forget about flowers that bees like, they will grow in pots as well. A local company called Lifespace makes great self watering planters that hold enough water for about a week of hot summer weather. Once you get the ground prepared you can plant peas and broad beans right outside.
Crows love to feed on tender pea shoots, and the pea seeds themselves. Rats will also be on the lookout for pea seeds. Check West Coast Seeds info for planting times of veggies, flowers and herbs.
Please stay safe and notice something beautiful about each day.
Heather Schamehorn is a certified residential landscape designer, gardener, educator and sustainability advocate. Contact via perennialpleasures.ca.
