Yellow Brick Road Farm Garden Diaries -April 20th, 2023

Yellow Brick Road Farm Garden Diaries -April 20th, 2023

It never really ends but I feel like it’s really amping up.

For perennials, the currant bushes, raspberries, forsythia and elderberry are all budding and leafing out. The rhubarb is thriving in its new spot and loved all the wood ash we fed this winter. The daffodils are beautiful, the mint and chives are exploding and yesterday I seen the peonies peeking up.

The fruit trees all are budding and hopefully we won’t be plagued by curly leaf again this year. I can’t hear the word plague anymore without thinking of the book “Year of Wonder “ by Geraldine Brooks-a fictional book based on a real village, Em, on their response to the plague of 1665 and the role herbs, the garden and religion played in it-fascinating !

For annual vegetables, the garlic is up about 3 inches. The asparagus is coming and I will go to L’Ouest Ville Perennials to grab ten more 3 year old crowns to plant again this year.

In ground, I have planted Sabre, sugar snap and purple peas, Norland early Potatoes, shallots, Nantes and rainbow carrots, golden and Detroit red beets, yellow and red onions, salad and summer turnip, kohlrabi, cabbage, leeks, broccoli, lettuces and kale. Sweet peas will be planted this weekend.

Still to go in after the frost in May are winter turnips, parsnips, beans, squash, more potatoes, onions and zucchini.

I’m heading to pick up the rest of the seed potatoes today from Lavender Hill Nursery. They are 50lb bags of Yukon and Russet. I’ll share these with family too.

In the cold frame, 4 season lettuces, spinach, and short and sweet carrots are up. French breakfast radishes are almost ready for harvest !

The hoop house has early sowings of beets, carrots, and spinach and they are all peeking up. These will all be harvested by the end of May as I put tomatoes in there during the first week of June.

And new this year to my garden is a greenhouse ! I have grown for twenty three years here without one and done just fine but this was necessary for more efficient four season growing. A food security leveling up of sorts.

Tomato, cucumber, squash and zucchini starts, all under grow lights in the house, will be brought out to the greenhouse to get earlier planting, and hardening off. I may also try a few peppers in it this year.

Here it is all about harvesting and putting up as much food as possible for the winter and for next spring. We grow greens all winter in the cold frame and the greenhouse will allow me to expand those offerings. I succession plant heavily and there is never empty space in my garden.

We grow close to 80% of our food so there is no space or time to waste.

I share these things simply to give you information and facts on what can and cannot be planted right now on a windy, rocky island off the coast of Nova Scotia.

I do not wish to make you feel like you are behind, or not doing enough.

I can’t stress this enough. Everyone has different seasons of their life and I’m sure you are doing the best you can.

And if you are ahead of me in planting -fantastic!! I couldn’t be happier for you. Please send me some pictures, I love seeing what people are growing.

And to keep it real, I had to buy onion sets as my cat laid on my onion starts.

Real life happens in the garden.

Happy planting !

Love Jenn xx

PS

I went to Lee Valley tools for a greenhouse vent tool this morning as we were up for a med appt for hubby. The guy at the counter and I were chatting and I mentioned we live where it is wet and windy …he says “oh you should follow this girl on fb called Yellow Brick Road Farm or something thing like that .”

I was like “THAT’S ME!!”. It was so funny! We couldn’t believe it unfolded like that.

He had been at a workshop and talking to a wonderful friend of mine up here who had been speaking of me.

What a small world eh?! It really made my day. Never doubt you make a difference to me, my dear friends !