The Marigold Potager – A Zone 3 Prairie Garden

Well, hi there! We are back from Panama and have rested up from the travel. We were so jet lagged, not from the time difference but rather the travel itself. Now that I am back on track, I have so much to share with you.

First of all, this weekend is my time to do my seed starting. I hope to get to it this afternoon, though might be hosting the Superbowl game instead…. will soon find out what is on my agenda. The sun is shining, I am itching to get out to the little potting cottage and get growing.

My indoor plant stash is ready to go out there, too, but I am waiting till this next cold snap is over before I haul them all over there. These are my cuttings of rosemary, dahlias, and ivies, plus my pots of geraniums and tradescantia. Once they go out, I will need to keep the heat up a bit higher, at about 8°-10°C (46-50°F).

For now, I can start seeds and have them on heating mats while leaving the heating set at just 4°C (39°F) for another week or two. The seedlings will be fine on the bright windowsill with bottom heat. Plants that do not need bottom heat, like snapdragons, will not mind as they will have all that bright sunshine and stay cool, just above freezing. This is their perfect temperature. Ps, I don’t use grow lights and never have – don’t know (m)any commercial growers that do : )

FYI for my island peeps in the PNW, I always kept the greenhouse at 5 to 7°C degrees in winter, only hiking it up to 10°C once the tomatoes were off bottom heat, in late March and into April. The citrus trees thrived, as did all the overwintered tender plants. The Sweet Bay, peach tree, nectarine, olive trees, etc… were kept in the unheated hoophouse over winter, out of the winter rains. Water once every month or two.

These are some of the things that I will be sowing over the next few days… What To Plant In February – The Marigold Potager

Gardening Bits & Inspo

The Sunday fun bits have really piled up while I was away. I went through hundreds of blogs and emails and found the bestest ones to share with you this week. I hope you enjoy! I sure did miss you all : )

This Seed Starting Dates Calendar is super helpful! When putting in the last frost date, I always go with the later dates. For example, the ‘new’ zoning says that in Nanaimo the last frost is April 10th. Those of us who live there, know that is not true. I still went by the April 28th date for sowing purposes. Better to have healthy smaller plants than overgrown lanky ones at planting time. Here in Central Alberta, I use May 21st.

I also like this seeding calendar.

I have lined up my seeds according to planting dates. Veggies on one side of the tray, flowers on the other side. (I have already taken this week’s seeds to the potting cottage, they are ready to go).

Lining them up in sowing order is how we used to do it at the greenhouse I worked at (a million years ago), so this is how I still do it. You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks, eh? But.. they also say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it ; )

I also had a cheat sheet with dates, varieties, and numbers of seeds I needed to sow of each variety, when to transplant into their own larger pots, etc.. all the info so we always knew exactly what we would have, how many plants we would have, and by when.

Would you find something like that helpful? It was very helpful when I first started, but I just do up a weekly to-do list now that I no longer grow as many plants, no longer grow commercially.

Or maybe you just want my weekly to do list? Or maybe nothing, hahaha. Let me know what would be helpful : )

True blue flowers, both annual and perennial.

Growing snapdragons.

How long do sweet peas take to germinate.

Adding snowdrops to your garden. I really want to put these in the border gardens and along pathways.

How to grow African Violets. I see this question on the gardening pages quite often, so thought it was a good houseplant how-to to share.

When and how to pot up your dahlias. This is still several weeks off for those of us on the prairies… unless you check your tubers and find them sprouting in the coldroom!

Homey Bits & Ideas

White Lotus is coming back real soon. I can’t wait. Here are some of the other shows and movies coming up this month.

This cute home filled with flea market finds.

Six Things People With Clean Kitchens Always Do.

And this…. have you ever heard of Rage Cleaning? It has started popping up in my TikTok’s lately, and now this article about it. I guess in some ways, I have done this, and still do sometimes. Not raging exactly, but when stressed, worried, sad…. there nothing better than doing some big time cleaning to clear the mind (that power washer sounds good), and I think that is when many of us gardeners go out to weed, or prune, or do something in the yard to ease our minds, eh?

Another pretty Swedish cottage . It has the loveliest colours, especially in the kitchen. I love that sunroom, which I would fill with seedlings and starts for spring (use it as a greenhouse, in other words)… and, don’t you just love that they use tongue and groove for their ceilings rather than drywall?

Using dish soap to stop condensation on windows. This is more common in the PNW and the UK than here on the prairies, but we do get ice on the corners of our window sometimes, when it is really cold outside. Then it melts. So, while probably not applicable to me so much, I am going to try it anyway ; )

These dreamy cottage core bedrooms are all so pretty, they make me want to add something fresh and new to my bedroom, to make it feel cosy and almost spring like to brighten things up while we are in the depths of a winter deep freeze.

To be honest, I am always looking for a way to make the master bedroom more cosy … on a limited budget. I have the new sheets, wallpaper behind the bed, new slider doors, new curtains, etc… but am really in want?/need? of some pretty blankets, coverlets, bedding (for summer and winter) to pull it all together. I love fringe and boho type stuff, but the nubbly feel of chenille or the fleece below also really appeals.

Recipes

Welp… my starter went bad while I was away on holidays. Not sure why. Insert very sad face here. Isn’t it crazy that others can keep theirs going for decades and I lose mine after ignoring it for just 2.5 to 3 weeks? So, anyways, I will be starting a brand new one sometime next week. I am going to follow along with this blogger’s day to day how-to.

For those of you who have not ruined your starter, these sourdough pretzel bites look so good! Great snack anytime, and especially for game day.

Easy sourdough lemon cake. Hmm, sounds interesting, looks fantastic.

Don’t forget about my super yummy Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Cake, which is always a big hit!

What is the difference between bruschetta, crostini, tartine and toast?

These two salmon recipes both look amazing! Creamy Butter Baked Salmon and Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon.

Healthy baked granola.

Easy Vegan Quinoa Bake or this berry filled oatmeal bake. Yummy, nutritious breakfast ideas.

These orange cranberry scones. I sure do love scones! I was thinking about making some of to the coffee ladies when it is my turn to host (next month), with a bit of whipped cream and jam.

Or, strawberry scones!

Valentine’s Day

Mossy Heart Topiary. These are kind of adorable.

Make a pink heart pine cone wreath. This is so pretty!

I spent a lot of time sitting under this poolside cabana during the past 2 weeks. Watching the grandies in the pool and enjoying the scenery in their lovely backyard.

Happy Sunday, eh? Hope you enjoy your Superbowl Sunday ~ Tanja