According to the farmers almanac, today is the day of last frost for TO.
But I am taking some neighborly italian advice- wait a week.
And from the results I've seen in an "old italian guy" s downtown yard yields, I'm not arguing. (I'll post a pic if someone really wants to see what I mean, which includes a pc. of the Bruno D. : )
Besides- it's soil time!
I was looking around for a bucket (insert standard walrus buket internet joke here) and I really didn't want to dump out my winter sweaters, so I dumped the laundry basket instead.
Works great.
In batches.
I seriously had no idea that all those containers would equal the volume it did-so I only did some tiling ( I hear you- stop spelling tilling wrong- well- that's what I used to turn it with- a piece of tile from a previous project-gone wrong= so. tiling. it is..)
I mixed it in with a bag of this stuff
- at a ratio of about 1 (new dirt):4 (old stuff) to 1:2.As I was doing so I really, really missed worms. Somebody get me some, ok?
I also repotted some of the organic babies- and you don't want to know what happend to the rest- I can't talk about it- yet. I'm too upset. So that's why you have no seedling update as promised, btw. The good thing is for the organics, I may have more than I need, so keep an eye on TBF here & perhaps you can get a jump on some trades/give aways.
4 comments:
Hey that's great! Did you just start this blog? I too, am going on my condo balcony organic growing vegetables thing! It'll be great to hear how you do!
Hi Julia!
No- the blog entry that you commented on is from last year- I'm on a bit of hiatus until I finish school.
Hopefully you will find some helpful info here to help with your new condo garden!
I've been basing my seedlings start date on the "traditional" May 9 too, Though my grandmother says even wait until Victoria Day.
This year I figure I'll hedge my bets... put half of them out on May 9 to hopefully get the head start on growing. Keep the other half in another week or two in case the frost comes late.
Also when you're up several stories off the ground (as in a balcony) it is a few degrees warmer (this is why grape farmers in Niagara have big fans - those aren't for electrical generating, they're diesel powered for stirring the cold air from settling and bringing the warmer air down to ground level)
Also, the brew-your-own-wine places all over town usually have 23 L pails coming out their ears (wrong kind of plastic or something so blue box doesn't take them, and strangely the juice suppliers don't take them back.) They're great for moving soil around, and if you poke some holes with an awl or nail or drill, they're great for growing too. Can be painted too if you have an eye for balcony aesthetics.
hello Martin!
Thanks for the tip about the 23 l pails!
..but have you heard about the no-till movement? I feel a blog update coming on...!
Post a Comment