Elaine and Archie

karen.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Alicia Clarkson

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

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

July 4 2020

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

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.

Bernadette Goguen

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

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:

Gardening knife at Kent’s

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

Jossilyn Flewelling

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:

Jossilynn Flewelling

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

June 26 2020

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

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.

Alicia Clarkson

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

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:

Elaine and Archie gardening mentors 0

karen.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Jossilyn Flewelling

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:

Jossilynn Flewelling

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

June 19 2020

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

Bernadette Goguen

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

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

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.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Mario Doiron

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

June 12 2020

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

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.

Karen Rogers

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.rogers(at)nbed.nb.ca

Bernadette Goguen

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

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

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

June 5 2020

Our Mentors Share Some of Their Composting Tips