In This Issue:
How Cold?
Books
How to encourage spring
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I Love Winter
I am in a minority.
When I had a haircut this past week my barber told me that 95% of the people in
his chair over the past month are either going south or have recently been there.
Is it just me, or am I wrong to not feel bad about our weather?
I know that January broke a few records: for one, the ice storm that hit southern
Ontario in late December produced a layer of ice that remains out there, buried
under a lot of snow.
I am not sure that we have received more snow than an average January BUT I know
that the snow that fell has not gone anywhere. There it sits, so high that I can't
stack it any higher with the bucket of my Kubota tractor. I just keep piling it
up....
And it has been sooo cooooold. I have noticed this. My morning obsession is to
look at the mercury thermometer outside of our bedroom window first thing. One
day a couple of weeks ago it read minus 32 Celsius. That is cold [did I just hear
my prairie readers laughing?]. Well, it IS cold.
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How Cold? Bug Killing Cold.
I was recently talking with a friend in the nursery farming business, Fred Somerville
of Somerville Nurseries in Alliston, Ontario. He believes that this cold weather
may have knocked out the active larvae of the Emerald Ash Borer.
It may have slowed down the advance of the devastating Asian Long Horned Beetle
[the one that they found in Mississauga last year and threatens to kill of a host
of common trees species if it gets traction]. For certain the Japanese Beetles
will be all but non existent this coming season in areas of Canada where minus 25
Celsius has been achieved.
Yes, the low temperatures are an achievement. The results of which we can look
forward to in about 2 to 3 months. A substantially bug-less summer!
That is not the only good news.
Think of how you are going to feel when the first day of plus 10 temperatures arrive,
with the strength in the sun that only early spring can bring. You are going to
feel like a million bucks. Like you are let out of jail. Like life has indeed
begun again.
'Cause it will have started again. Ahh. The smell of the spring thaw.
I have to admit that I do not suffer from mobility issues and [touching head/wood]
have escaped the dreaded flu and cold season so far unscathed. I feel pretty good.
In fact, I feel pretty good about winter. Care to join me?
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Books.
Last month I mentioned that a Canadian winter is 'time off' for gardeners. An opportunity to read. Herewith, a short list of some of my recent reading material.
I share this in hope that you might find it useful as you search for a good book
between now and when the earth worms spring up from the frozen earth.
The STOP How the fight for good food transformed a community and inspired a movement.
By Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening [as reading is a form of listening] to Nick tell
his story about the evolution of The STOP from a food bank to a hub where food is
experienced. Clients at The STOP no longer just pick up a bag of groceries when
needs be.
They 'experience' food in a sophisticated food prep area that is shared, community
space. They also grow a lot of the food that they prepare for the table and preserve
for off-season consumption. I love Nick's passion and his vision for a country
that can feed itself, if only we would change a few things. He dedicates his professional
life to fostering that change. Fascinating.
I have interviewed Mr. Saul since reading his book and plan on writing an article
for the Toronto Star and my syndicated newspapers later this winter.
The Roots of My Obsession. Thirty great gardeners reveal why they garden.
Edited by Thomas C. Cooper.
A mind expanding, readers digest version of 30 gardening-life stories. Read one
each evening before you go to bed and you will have sweet dreams. I was disappointed
in the 2 Canadian contributions, but oh well, on balance this book is packed with
humor, depth of thought on a subject that is near and dear to me [why DO we garden?]
and wonderful reflections on more than 1,500 collective years of gardening experience.
The Orenda.
By Joseph Boyden.
A current best seller that has nothing to do with gardening. But it is a great
escape. This fictionalized version of the story of Ste. Marie Among the Hurons
[which took place in 1639, near Midland, Ontario] is a great 'curl up in your chair
by the fire' book.
It takes us back to another time that none of us are familiar with and reveals many
truths about how the native people lived in this land at the time when the Europeans
first arrived. The more that you read this book the more you will want to read.
Let's Hear from You
What have you been reading lately? Gardening topics or otherwise - you know how
readers like to hear from other readers. Send your reviews to me at groundskeeper@markcullen.com.
We will publish some of the best in my next newsletter and feature them on my Facebook
page.
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And Finally, how to encourage an early spring.
[Hint: forget about the ground hog]:
Start begonia tubers. You can buy these in February at garden retailers and start
them in the kitchen on top of your fridge [which is nice and warm, the perfect place
for them].
Screw the tubers with the concave side up, into peat moss that is spread 4 cm thick
in a seed starting tray. Keep moist but not 'wet' and wait for roots to sprout
from the tubers. When they have, pot them up into 4 inch pots and grow on in a
sunny window or under lights.
Clean and inspect your winterized dahlia tubers. Compost the rotten ones, place
the viable ones back in their winter home until mid March when you will pot them
up to grow on for spring planting.
Start some seeds - petunia and geraniums in February. March and April are the big
seed starting months - see next note...
Order seeds. Go to your favourite seed catalogue [mine is Vesey's in P.E.I.] and
order on line or the old fashioned way, by snail mail. www.veseys.com
Shop for seeds at your favourite retailer. The fresh 2014 seeds are in and now
is the time to purchase the varieties of flowers, vegetables and herbs that you
want to start indoors and plant in spring. It is never too early to acquire seeds that are sown direct into the ground come
April/May either.
Read. Consume all of the information that you can this time of year. Check out
your favourite gardening websites [have you looked at www.icangarden.com or my newly redesigned www.markcullen.com?]
Attend horticultural Club meetings, get to know the gardeners in your neighbourhood
and finish the stack of gardening magazines that you have not had time to look at.
If not in February, when?
Have a happy Valentines and remember to celebrate with some flowers. If you don't
have a valentine, buy some for yourself and remember that flowers are more powerful
than words. Give them to everyone that you care for. Can you really go wrong?
Best,
Mark
Merchant of Beauty