I've missed you!

Life is now back to normal. Sort of. I have lots of catching up to do now that the kids are back in school and Steve back to work. So for your reading pleasure and thought inducing brain stimulation, here's an article about WalMart and food that can lead to some serious evaluation of where you buy your own groceries. http://www.grist.org/food/2011-12-30-eaters-beware-walmart-is-taking-over-our-food-system#.TwQu1KZa-1Y.facebook

It's that time of year when the garden is quiet and sleeping under a light blanket of snow. But we gardeners are busy making mental plans, browsing seed catalogues or ordering in expectation of getting our seedlings off to an early start. I likely won't start a lot of stuff until March (if I can wait that long) because I'll plant under plastic in April and May. And it's better to not have your seedlings hanging around getting all long and leggy while waiting for good weather. Better to plan ahead for the right amount of time and use cover or protection as needed.

Some things like peas and lettuce I'll get in early in hopes of beating the bugs for a few weeks and because they like cooler weather. But tomatoes and eggplants, corn and melons will wait until the weather is thoroughly warmed around the May long weekend or even a couple of weeks later. Planning your garden is important both to maximize space by using successive plantings and to rotate your crops to avoid pest and disease losses. Crop rotation is a topic for another day but it's important for anyone who gardens to keep notes of what you planted, where, and how your yield was. Reviewing your notes during the winter helps in spring planning and planting.

So what are your plans for next year? Our daughter is doing a CSA in the Parksville, BC area if anyone is interested. Just let me know and I'll pass along your info.

Meanwhile it's snowing and cold here in Nova Scotia, so we're just staying by the fire dreaming about hoop greenhouses and remembering the smell of flats of tomato seedlings.