New Brunswick Garden Mentors Question of the Week: What can you plant in July in New Brunswick?

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mentors

This week’s question for our New Brunswick Garden Mentors is: What can we plant in July in New Brunswick?

A little note from the editors

Our mentors are willing to answer your questions. Check out their bios for the best way to contact them.  We type out phone numbers and the @ sign so bots can’t get hold of the info.  Elaine and Archie

Karen Rogers

karen rogers in a wheelbarrow

In the heat of July consider sowing those plants that tolerate heat and mature quickly. Check the backs of seed packages for maturity information. Following are a few suggestions:

Summer squash
Peas
Beans
Carrots (check maturity dates)
Collards
Kale
Radish
Celery
Beets
Herbs such as basil, parsley.

Some things to do:
Perhaps add a thin layer of compost to the garden between successive crops.
Keep track of what is planted where.

Rotate based on nutrient needs. Different vegetables use different amounts of nutrients. For example, leafy crops like spinach need lots of nitrogen and beans are nitrogen fixers. So, plant leafy crops where your beans were and beans where your leafy crops were.

You can also consider sowing seeds indoors for those cold hardy plants to go into the garden in the Fall.

A great local resource is Niki Jabbour’s book ” The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener.”

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Contact Info:

Karen’s Bio

karen.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Alicia Clarkson

Alicia Clarkson in greenhouse
It’s the perfect time to start your fall crops (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) indoors for fall planting.

Being inside keeps them safe from flea beetles, and when they’re large enough to handle pest pressure, and the weather cools, they can be planted outside.

They’ll benefit in flavour from the first few frosts of the year, and being inside during the hottest part of the summer will prevent bolting from the heat.

Now is also a good time to talk to your fellow gardeners about seed sharing this fall. Let them know what varieties you’ll be growing, and put it out there if there are any interesting varieties you may be looking for.
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by email at alicia.clarkson (at) fooddepot.ca

Mario Doiron

Mario Doiron selfie

Beans and radishes can be planted right now and be ready for harvest this season.

Garlic can be planted for harvest next summer (don’t forget to harvest your scapes so it makes a bulb instead of flowers).

Lettuce and spinach could be planted in areas that are shady from 1pm to 5pm (hottest part of the day) to prevent bolting. The south east side of tall things would give cooler morning light but nice shade in the afternoon.

And there’s still time to plant beets for their yummy greens.

 
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by e-mail at: inclusionkent (at) gmail.com
It’s easy to contact me through Facebook Messenger

We asked our local garden mentors: What gift under $20 would you buy a new gardener?

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mentors

This week’s question for our New Brunswick Garden Mentors is: What gift under $20 would you buy for a new gardener?

A little note from the editors

We started this project to provide good, local gardening information to our friends, but have started to realize we really appreciate the tips ourselves. You can never learn everything.

Our mentors are willing to answer your questions. Check out their bios for the best way to contact them.  We type out phone numbers and the @ sign so bots can’t get hold of the info.  Elaine and Archie

Bernadette Goguen

Bernadette Goguen with apple trees
A nice large journal. Recording planting schedules, harvest dates, yields, problem weeds and insects, from year to year is an awesome tool!  Also what grows well where in your garden and what crop rotation you need to have in order to control diseases and bugs.

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Contact Info:

Bernadette’s Bio

I can be reached best by texting: five-zero-six-nine-six-one-two-three-four-three

Mario Doiron

Mario Doiron selfie
Gardening isn’t an expensive hobby.  Most of your basic tools will cost less than $20.  However, seeds from interesting and unusual varieties of plants would provide an enjoyable experience.   There are flavours textures and colours available to the gardener that are simply not available to the grocery store shopper.  
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by e-mail at: inclusionkent (at) gmail.com
It’s easy to contact me through Facebook Messenger

Jossilyn Flewelling

jossilynn flewelling in kitchen

gardening knife

I would give this gardening knife. It’s a multi-use tool that is worth it’s weight in gold!
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Contact Info:
 
I’m easiest to reach by text five-zero-six-nine-five-five-five-nine-six-zero but email is ok too. jossilynn.flewellig (at) gmail.com

We asked our local garden mentors: How have you adapted your gardening to changing climate?

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mentors

This week’s question for our New Brunswick Garden Mentors is: This is shaping up to be a weird year weather-wise for gardening.  How have you adapted or changed your gardening practices in relation to climate change and more unpredictable weather?

A little note from the editors

We started this project to provide good, local gardening information to our friends, but have started to realize we really appreciate the tips ourselves. You can never learn everything.

Our mentors are willing to answer your questions. Check out their bios for the best way to contact them.  We type out phone numbers and the @ sign so bots can’t get hold of the info.  Elaine and Archie

Alicia Clarkson

Alicia Clarkson in greenhouse
This year, we are working on listening to the lessons Mother Nature has taught us in previous years.
 
The biggest one being that we’re better off working WITH nature instead of against it. In the past, we’d try growing carrots in the summer to no avail.
Because we’re in direct sun in a parking lot, the weather’s intensity is magnified due to heat reflecting off the concrete and lack of shade.
 
When we started cooperating with Mother Nature (lettuce in the spring, tomatoes in the summer, and carrots in the fall) our results improved dramatically!
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by email at alicia.clarkson (at) fooddepot.ca

Karen Rogers

karen rogers in a wheelbarrow
I have been reading a lot of great information by Linda Gilkeson, an entomologist from the west coast of Canada on this subject. She recently held a webinar on Resilient Gardens for a Changing Climate.
 
Some of the tips she suggested were:
Plant native species with low summer water requirements.
 
Choose disease resistant varieties of vegetables and fruits.
 
Grow several varieties of each crop so that if one is sensitive to the climate others may thrive.
 
In hot summer months sow seeds slightly deeper and use temporary shade (shade covers, lath).
 
Build soil organic matter so that it stores nutrients, prevents leaching of nutrients in heavy rains, increase water holding capacity and holds more carbon in the soil.
 
Mulch all year round to reduce evaporation and keep soil cooler (leaves, straw, lawn clippings).
Collect waste water and rain water.
 
I have been following her advice and loosely covering my seedlings and tomatoes with burlap on really hot days to avoid damage to the leaves.
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Contact Info:

Karen’s Bio

karen.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Jossilyn Flewelling

jossilynn flewelling in kitchen
I’ve been growing more plants in a greenhouse to protect them from the late frosts and using old bed linens to cover tender plants in the garden when there’s an overnight low below 4C. It’s pretty low-tech, but it does the trick.
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Contact Info:
 
I’m easiest to reach by text five-zero-six-nine-five-five-five-nine-six-zero but email is ok too. jossilynn.flewellig (at) gmail.com

Pests. You Know They’re Coming. Some Advice from Our Local NB Garden Mentors

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mentors

This week’s question for our New Brunswick Garden Mentors is: What are the most common garden pests in your area and how do you deal with them?

A little note from the editors

Our mentors are willing to answer your questions. Check out their bios for the best way to contact them.  We type out phone numbers and the @ sign so bots can’t get hold of the info.  Elaine and Archie

Bernadette Goguen

Bernadette Goguen with apple trees

Pests!!!!… Well, striped cucumber beetles are always a problem. We use insect netting and good rotation and removal of plant material in the fall (not always possible).

Potato bugs — we plant as late as possible to miss the first generations, then we pick adults and squish egg masses. And eggplants are a great sacrifice crop, potato bugs love them.
 
Flea beetles — use largest transplants available, also arugula is a great trap crop.

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Contact Info:

Bernadette’s Bio

I can be reached best by texting: five-zero-six-nine-six-one-two-three-four-three

Alicia Clarkson

Alicia Clarkson in greenhouse
Our biggest issues have been cucumber beetles, and flea beetles.
We manage this with seasonal planting and decoy plants.

For the flea beetles, we keep our brassicas inside under lights until they’re strong enough to stand the pest pressure. After they’ve hardened off and have been planted out for the fall garden, we use carbolic soap to kill any remaining beetles.
 
Cucumber beetles have destroyed our crops in previous years, so this year, we’re not growing any cucurbits to try and break the cycle.

On a smaller scale, hand picking and killing the bugs, and sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the plants has worked for us in the past. We’ve also used decoy plants. Essentially, planting sacrificial cucumbers away from the garden. The sickly plants attract the beetles more, and it helps lure them away from the main crop
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by email at alicia.clarkson (at) fooddepot.ca

Karen Rogers

karen rogers in a wheelbarrow

Keep in mind that the majority of insects in your garden are beneficial Thank goodness for predators that eat the pests; parasitoids that kill or weaken a host; decomposer/recyclers that promote healthy soil; and pollinators that facilitate fruit and seed growth. It is therefore important to first identify the “pest” you are looking at before acting to get rid of them.

A few ways to outsmart those pests are:

Use row covers on new seedlings to allow them to grow sufficiently to build resistance to undesirable insects.

Avoid overcrowding plants. The lack of air flow around plants is an important factor in the spread of insects and plant diseases. Aphids in particular multiply where there is inadequate air circulation.

Scout out your garden frequently for pests and disease so that you can get an early handle on problems. Hand picking early can prevent larger infestations.

Inter-plant flowers in your vegetable garden that attract the beneficial insects and repel the pests such as Marigolds and Nasturiums. Members of the carrot family such as fennel and dill attract Ladybugs.

One unwelcome critter in my garden is the potato beetle that attacks my tomato plants. Generally, it is best to just pick them off. However if you have lots of them, lightly sprinkling diatomaceous earth around the plants and on the underside of the leaves has worked for me in the past. 

You can also combine 30 ml of diatomaceous earth diluted in 4 litres of water and spray on the plant. You should take some safety precautions by wearing gloves and be careful not to inhale the diatomaceous earth as it can irritate. We all have masks now!

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Contact Info:

Karen’s Bio

karen.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Mario Doiron

Mario Doiron selfie

Slugs tend to devour tender seedlings before they get a chance to grow.  I usually remove any mulch especially around cucumbers and cabbages so there re fewer places for them to hide.I tried slug bait this year to great effect. 

After they’ve grown a bit, the plants are less vulnerable so the mulch could be re-applied. The rest of the season, old fashioned slug (beer) traps keep them out of trouble — mostly.

 
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by e-mail at: inclusionkent (at) gmail.com
It’s easy to contact me through Facebook Messenger

Hugelkultur starter page

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Hugelkultur is a good addition to any permaculture project because it’s a naturalistic way to create a bed for growing plants. In its purest form, it uses a lot of waste from the property, namely trees, preferably ones that were thinned, fell over in storms, or cut to make way for other permaculture projects. 

This post is not a definitive hugelkultur primer. It’s just a collection of links we like or wished we had seen before we started our own.

We’re writing this in mid-June in New Brunswick, Canada, which is too late to really get the most of a new hugel, but if you’re starting other projects, then it might be the best investment of time and found resources that will pay off next year.

 

rich soil's hugel page thumbnail

RichSoil

RichSoil’s hugel page  is an excellent resource with lots of videos, photos and diagrams. We believe he’s based in California, but hugels were originally German.

insteader's hugel page

Insteader's Hugelkulture Page

The founder’s of Insteaders are homesteaders themselves and are based in Seattle. The hugelpage is another excellent collection of hugel links to get you started or experimenting with a new kind, if you’ve already built one.

maritime gardener video thumbnail

Maritime Gardener Hugel Video

If you like your videos slow and folksy, this is for you. The Maritime Gardener, Greg Auton, rambles through this video of making a hugel-style raised bed. The Maritime Gardener is based in Nova Scotia.

screen grab of stephane courturer

Hugelkultur avec Stéphane Couturier

A video we made called Hugelkultur with Stéphane Couturier. He explains how his experiences with hugelkultur he started at the school in Moncton where he teaches.

As we find more hugelkulture gems, we’ll add them to this post.

It’s Getting Hot — Finally. Our New Brunswick Garden Mentors Share Their Watering Advice

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mentors

This week’s question for our New Brunswick Garden Mentors is: Now that the hot weather is here, what is your best watering advice?

A little note from the editors

We started this project to provide good, local gardening information to our friends, but have started to realize we really appreciate the tips ourselves. You can never learn everything.

Our mentors are willing to answer your questions. Check out their bios for the best way to contact them.  We type out phone numbers and the @ sign so bots can’t get hold of the info.  Elaine and Archie

Karen Rogers

karen rogers in a wheelbarrow

Make sure your soil has a good amount of organic matter. This will help to retain water during dry spells and prevent leaching of nutrients during heavy rains.

Use mulch such as straw, bark/wood chips, or leaves to help to retain moisture.

During heat waves make some temporary shade for your plants with shade cloth or lath covers. Did you know that photosynthesizes stops at very high temperatures as well as very low? Also, some plants’ pollen, such as tomatoes, are sterilized above 30-32° C.

Water in the morning.

New plants and seedlings will require more regular watering than established plants.

Use a slow drip soaker hose for deep watering to support root health. You can easily make a soaker hose out of an old water hose.

Use a gutter system to collect rain in a barrel. Eco-Container Co, in Dorchester has many water collection container ideas.

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Contact Info:

Karen’s Bio

karen.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Bernadette Goguen

Bernadette Goguen with apple trees

Water early in the morning.

I try to do one inch a week when I use a drip irrigation system. I find it best to water heavily every few days instead of lightly every day. I have extremely porous soil (sand), so addition of organic matter and not overworking the soil is important.

I use black, biodegradable “plastic” made out of cornstarch to help retain soil moisture and repress weeds. This works well for me because I am older and weeding is not as fun as it was when I was 30

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Contact Info:

Bernadette’s Bio

I can be reached best by texting: five-zero-six-nine-six-one-two-three-four-three

Alicia Clarkson

Alicia Clarkson in greenhouse
I water our garden (raised beds on concrete) each day before noon if possible. This is because our plots dry out very quickly being on a parking lot. A good layer of mulch helps reduce the amount of water we need to use each time.
 
For my in-ground bed at home, we only water 2-3 times a week, unless it rains. The exception being newly planted seeds, which we keep evenly moist until they’ve germinated and grown a few sets of true leaves.
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by email at alicia.clarkson (at) fooddepot.ca

Mario Doiron

Mario Doiron selfie
My gardens are composed of level ditches with raised bed terraces on the downhill side. These catch and absorb rainwater, reducing my watering needs. 
 
During droughts, I let the hose run for a few hours to flood the ditches a couple times a week instead of watering the soil surface. This provides an underground water reserve that encourages deep root growth and more resilient plants. Slugs come out at night so I prefer to water in the morning.  
 
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Contact Info:
I can be contacted by e-mail at: inclusionkent (at) gmail.com
It’s easy to contact me through Facebook Messenger

Our Mentors Share Some of Their Composting Tips

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mentors

This week’s question for our New Brunswick Garden Mentors is: What is your number one tip for composting and soil building? 

Karen Rogers

karen rogers in a wheelbarrow
Main tips for composting are: 
Add moisture, 
Turn every few weeks, and 
Use brown material (old leaves, wood small branches), green material  (garden debris) and fertilizer such as finished compost for organisms that create compost.
 
If you need only a small amount of compost, you can use a plastic trash can to compost fine materials such as leaves, lawn clippings, or chopped garden refuse. You can make layers as you would for a compost pile or mix the materials all together. Add about 2 litres of water. Tie the bag and turn it over every few weeks to aerate the materials and distribute the moisture. 
 
Handy brochure on Home Composting: Cornell eCommons

Alicia Clarkson

Alicia Clarkson in greenhouse
My #1 composting tip would-be, (assuming we’re paying attention to our wet:dry ratios) to chop everything up as small as possible before you add it to your compost bin or pile.

Whether it’s by hand, with a paper shredder, lawn mower, or a weed whacker in a bucket, breaking compost ingredients down into small pieces really helps speed up the process!

Cheers!

Jossilynn Flewelling

jossilynn flewelling in kitchen
I rely on the leaves of the comfrey plant as a nutritious mulch for my garden beds. The comfrey plant (symphytum officinalis) has a long taproot that brings minerals up from deep in the ground and contains them in its big leaves. Using these leaves as a mulch is an easy (and free!) way to feed your plants and add lots of nutrients back into the soil. Also, I use the leaves to make a “compost tea” and apply this as a weekly foliar & root spray to give plants a boost.  
 
Happy Gardening!

Mario Doiron

Mario Doiron selfie
My #1 tip: Feed your soil a few inches of organic compost on your soil surface instead of tilling it in.  This preserves your soil structure, mycelium network and worm population for long term fertility while minimizing labor. 

Jossilynn Flewelling: A New Brunswick Gardening Mentor

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jossilynn flewelling in kitchen

My background in growing is mostly in mixed garden crops (veggies, small fruits, herbs) and one of my latest interests is cultivating perennial food plants and propagating fruit trees from cuttings. I also have a background in integrated pest management from years of work on strawberry farms. If there’s a natural control method to manage garden pests, I’ve probably tried it! 

I’m easiest to reach by text five-zero-six-nine-five-five-five-nine-six-zero but email is ok too. jossilynn.flewellig (at) gmail.com

Alicia Clarkson: A New Brunswick Gardening Mentor

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alicia clarkson in greenhouse

I have my Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture from Dalhousie University (Formerly the Nova Scotia Agricultural College) in Truro. I graduated in 2016, and for the last three years, I’ve been working with the Peter McKee Community Food Centre of Food Depot Alimentaire running their community garden. I teach my gardeners how to grow their own food, and I manage 50 of the plots myself to grow fresh produce for the Food Bank.

I can be contacted by email at alicia.clarkson (at) fooddepot.ca

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