Crop Covers

Soon you will be clearing out your vegetable gardens leaving the ground empty. Bare, exposed soil
is a magnet for neighbourhood cats. It also compacts from the heavy winter rains and loses valuable
nutrients due to leaching. To prevent any of these from happening, smart gardeners sow cover crops.
A cover crop is an annual crop of greens used to prevent erosion, prevent soil compaction and add
nutrition back to the soil. Sown in the fall, they grow quickly and stay all winter long. In early spring,
around 4 weeks before you plan to begin planting your new vegetables, you then cut it down and turn it over in the soil allowing it to decompose and enrich the earth. We currently stock two different options of cover crops; Fall Rye and Legume Mix. I have used fall rye for years and it always gets my veggie garden off to a good start each year. It also has kept the family cat from using the garden for his own purpose!

Winter Care for Roses

I like to have my garden ‘put to bed’ for the winter by Nov. 1st each year. Roses need protection from
deep cold snaps so a little effort now will keep them safe and warm to thrive again next year. Begin by stripping all the leaves from the stems. If they were healthy leaves then add them to your compost pile. If they showed signs of black spot or mildew then discard them. Pick up all leaves that are underneath the plant as well to prevent potential fungal spores from overwintering in the ground. Next mound a mulch of straw, sawdust or bark mulch high enough to cover the graft. This acts as a blanket insulating the roots for roses planted in the ground. If you grow roses in containers, I recommend if possible moving the pots to a sheltered area in a corner with wind breaks around it. Then follow the same steps with leaf stripping and mulching. You can even wrap the pot in bubble wrap. This is a great way to winter protect many container plants. It’s inexpensive and gives that extra bit of warmth during winter cold snaps.

Bulb Beauties

Autumn blooming crocus (Colchicums) are here at Art Knapp Urban Garden and what stunning  bulbs they are! Planted in September and blooming soon after, colchicums bear gorgeous crocus-like blooms on slender stems. White, soft purple and pink-toned varieties are available with their foliage appearing just after they bloom. They are wonderful naturalizers and are very impressive as mass plantings. We even carry Saffron crocus bulbs for those chefs out there.

1. Pick up your bulbs at our store (I love Snow Crocus because when nothing seems
to want to grow in the winter, those little beauties start popping up in Jan/Feb)

2. Dig the hole. Place the bulbs inside with something to help with the roots. (I have falling head
over heels for Mychorrizae or Myke as we call it for short. This stuff is fantastic!)

3. Cover with soil and water. Let the bulbs do all the work! You'll have great colour
for spring and you barely had to lift a finger.

We just received our first shipment of bulbs this week... so start planning your spring colour  scheme now! 

Time to spring into fall... fall planting that is!

Well it's fall and so you say to yourself, "Self, you really missed the boat on  gardening this year! There were a lot of distractions: bad weather early on, gorgeous weather later on, the beach, the seawall, that camping trip. Oh  that camping trip!" All solid reasons not to spend time in the garden.

But wait! It's not too late! The second planting season is upon us. Most  perennials, as well as trees and shrubs, do better in the long run when  planted in the fall. In fall, you plants will go into warm soil and benefit  from high moisture levels which is ideal for root development. What's more, their roots will continue to develop for the most of the winter season down here on the south coast, and will be thoroughly established by the  following summer.

So you see, fall is by far the best time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials so spring into your fall planting today! Or even tomorrow.

Don't fear the Reaper!

Now is the time to plant your cool season crops and reap the benefits of our wonderfully temperate climate. Cool weather crops include both greens and crucifers (think broccoli & cabbage).

For your greens, think about spinach, arugula, swiss chard and kale. Also, lettuce is a great one to plant now as it is a speedy crop and can be harvested within weeks. You can either plant seedlings or sow seeds directly in the ground. It's just that easy! Radishes are super fast too, maturing in just 25 days! Mmm...

And finally come the crucifers: broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. All autumn dinner table favourites that thrive in cooler temperatures.

So you see, summer may be over, but the harvest will continue for a long time yet. Whether you are planting fall seeds or seedlings, we have plants that will allow you to get our there and reap what ye have sown!

Save These Beauties!

Soon we will be ‘clearing’ out the garden in preparation for winter. Annuals that served us nicely
through the summer will soon be at the end of their life cycle and will be pulled out to make room
for fall color and spring flowering bulbs. Don’t be too quick to compost all your summer color! Some
of these beauties can be easily overwintered for enjoyment next summer. I’ve included these photos
of a Dragon Wing begonia and a Gartenmeister fuchsia that I kept over from last season. Last fall,
when I was emptying planters at the nursery, I couldn’t bring myself to throw out these two as they
were still blooming and looking great. I dug them out of the planters and shoved them in 2 gallon
pots. I cut the fuchsia back to roughly 5 inches tall and the begonia to 3 inches. Then I brought them
home for their winter accommodations in my attached garage. This is a perfect place to overwinter
tender plant material because it remains cool but is always above freezing. I watered sparingly over
the winter months (meaning once every 6 weeks or so) so they have just enough moisture to survive
during dormancy. In April I moved them out into my unheated greenhouse and began increasing their
waterings. Soon they were leafing out again and as you can see they were gorgeous this past summer.
Give this a try if you have an attached garage or other suitable cool space. The rewards are worth it!

The Colours of Fall

Fall is a season bursting with its own palette of beautiful color. Travel tours are organized around
autumn displays of color in eastern Canada and the United States. The blazing reds, bright yellows
and burnt oranges of shade trees and deciduous shrubs are poster worthy. You can have this too in
your own gardens with a little strategic planting and planning. This is the best time of year to wander
throughout nurseries and take note of different shrubs and trees with fall leaf color that appeals to you. Every garden should have at least one shade tree and a few shrubs that provide autumn interest.

October is the best month for planting nursery stock so I recommend getting out to the garden centre
and choosing from among the following for some of the best fall performers:

Shrubs
Fothergilla, Smokebush, Blueberry, Oakleaf hydrangea, Burning bush, Viburnum varieties

Shade Trees
Oxydendrum (Sourwood), Maples (Large leaf and Japanese), Stewartia, Dogwoods, Redbud, Katsura