The Marigold Potager – A Zone 3 Prairie Garden

Well, hi there! Happy Sunday! Do I ever have a lot of fun links for you this week. Settle in with a cuppa tea of coffee, peruse, and enjoy.

It is kind of fitting that this is a beefy read, as it is the last post for a couple of weeks. We head off on holidays this week and have decided to totally unplug while we are away. Meaning that you will not hear from me for a wee bit, back again in February.

My nephew is moving in to take care of the dog, cat, and house, which is so very reassuring. Is such a blessing to not to have to worry about how the pets are settling in at a kennel, or something going awry at the house and no one here to deal with it.

Oh, and the best part is that when I get back, things start to pick up a little bit in the seeding and gardening dept, days will be longer and spring will be that much closer.

Oh, and you can start feeding your houseplants, greenhouse plants (geraniums/fuchsias, whatever), and citrus trees, anytime in February. Ideally, you want to use a fertiliser specially formulated for your citrus trees, a slow release one that you scratch into the potting soil every three months. Citrus are heavy feeders. For your houseplants, any kind of all-purpose fertiliser is great, from a 10-10-10 to a 10-15-10. The first one is a balanced food to keep it healthy all around, the second promotes good roots and flowering.

If you already have and use liquid seaweed for your seedlings, tomatoes, peppers, etc… it also is great for your houseplants and is fantastic as a foliar spray (mix with water in a spray bottle, liberally spray your plants) for citrus, houseplants, greenhouse plants, seedlings… well, just about anything.

Read about this couple’s fight to support wildlife and increase biodiversity on their Ontario city front yard. Crazy that folks would still have a problem with this in today’s day and age. We have a yard on our block that has zero lawn, is planted up with shrubs, grasses, flowers, and luckily not even one complaint from the neighbours to bylaw. Lucky to live here : )

I am sharing this big vegetable garden layout article not because I like it, but because I really, really don’t, hahaha. It just looks so out of place, so totally inorganic. I get why he made it this way, but… I know, I know, they are eating healthy veggies straight from their garden, planting food and (hopefully) flowers, so it is still a big win. but I dunno. What do you think? Am I totally off base? Do you like it? Would you do this?

Alberta interactive average last frost date map. I am in the dark blue, maybe verging on the light blue due to microclimate pockets. This will help you figure out when to start your seeds. Most all seeds are started 6 to 8 weeks before last frost. The packet should tell you, if not, google up when to start your flowers and veggies. Count backwards from that last frost date. Write the date on your seed packet so you know exactly when to start your seeds.

BC interactive average last frost date map. If you live in the Nanaimo area, these dates are just a titch too early. I always used April 28th as a last frost date there, when starting seeds for my commercial greenhouse. Or, use the Ladysmith dates instead. It keeps you from having to babysit full grown plants that extra 2 plus weeks.

What to start from seed in January.

What to start from seed in February.

This Arts and Crafts garden is stunning! Especially love that pergola.

Interested in learning more about no-till gardening? Take this workshop to learn how to do less weeding, use less water, and reap the benefits from a Canadian prairie grower.

Are heating mats worth it? You bet your bippy they are ; ) You can get this set of 2 mats for less than you pay for one in the shops!

When to Plant Peas

How to grow luffa gourds.

How to grow delphiniums. If you are new to Alberta, you will be surprised to see that your delphiniums nearly always get these little caterpillars (we call them delphinium worms) that twist up the leaves and flowers, making a mess of your delphs. As I would never recommend any kind of spray or dust, just cut off the twisted bits and let them regrow…. or, hope that you have a healthy bird population and they eat the worms or feed them to their babies. I’m always tempted to grow them when I see photos of them (so pretty!), but I know that they will get wormy, so I just don’t. Life is too short for buggy plants ; )

Homey Bits of Inspiration

How to clean your pizza stone. I really need to try this. I used parchment paper on my stone to bake my sourdough boules a few times, and now my stone is dark and kind of smelly when it heats up. I think maybe I used the parchment paper upside down? Perhaps? Is this a thing? I’m going to try this and let you know how I make out.

I love all these layered bed ideas… though I worry that hubby would just boot all the things off the end when he crawls into bed.

This gorgeous modern farmhouse.

Cutest ever 3D paper heart chain for Valentine’s Day.

7 creative hobbies to take up this winter. We talk about this a lot at our coffee group. I am the 2nd youngest at 59 years old, so we ‘old ladies’ are always trying to make sure to learn something new, try something new, give our brains a bit of a workout, eh? I would also add to this list… take up a new instrument, join the library Scrabble team, take up photography, or how about sourdough?

Bits of Recipe Inspiration

Remember this yummy Sour Cream Blueberry Lemon Cake (that I make with Greek yoghurt)? Here is the recipe. It is the best cake ever, a 5 star recipe, perfect for serving to guests with a cuppa.

This Orzo Salad with Feta Cheese looks yummy!

Do you have a house specialty snack? I love the chips ideas, not going to lie, but I also love a good cup of coffee or tea with something yummy.

Have a great rest of your January, see you very soon again ~ Tanja