Harvest under the blanket of snow

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Irises are starting to peak from under the snow, Freya is disapointed by this weather,
but her playful youth drives her still to go explore outside.

Hélène :

Today in the backyard, the tranquility was only broken by the sound of the snow melting. This noise is remindful of rain, albeit without any sign of it. It's because last week, temperatures hovered around the 20 degrees (celcius) and this week it's around zero. And then it happened : last night a soft snow fell. We always worry for our plants in such times, especially our tulips and our trees - magnolia, lilac, personally my juneberry and my peach tree. But this snow melts fast, something we can attest to on these pictures : as I'm writing, most of it is already gone.

Daylillies are peaking in the front,
you can see two types of chives in the back.

And so the ground, which had plenty of time to thaw last week, is still workable. It's with this in mind that I made my way to the garden, in this peaceful beauty, and that I decided it was time to harvest a special vegetable I had purposefully left out of the harvest last fall, hoping to collect it this spring.

One heave of the shovel and voilà! Plump Jerusalem Artichokes showed! Helianthus Tuberosus, a remarkable plant, one that looks a bit like sunflower, but a whole deal taller, makes amazing edible tubers similar to the potato. It is rich in inulin and offers the benefit of having no starch (for those who can't have starch, take note). It was widely cultivated by amerindian tribes and has been often quoted as a good replacement for the potato. Here's the wikipedia page on the subject.

You can spot the tubers against the base of the wall, this beige mass covered with soil.
The beauty of this operation was that it took me only one plunge of the shovel
to take out the plant (I have a second one) and pull out a bunch sufficient enough
for my solitary lunch and still enough for my family's diner.

What's left after my lunch,
It weights 542g, and will make an exquisite vegetable for tonight!
And remember! Only one plunge of the shovel! I'm also pretty sure more
than half is still left underground.

And regarding what's left in the ground, here's the catch. Jerusalem artichokes are very invasive. So if you attempt to grow some in your garden, make sure to locate them in an area where you can control them.

Louise :

Jerusalem artichoke's tubers are like corn : They taste much better eaten fresh, not long after harvest.

They also have similarities with beans... they give gas. To avoid this with beans, the old trick is to add to the soaking water a bit of baking soda (don't use that water after however). Some persons claim that we can also use baking soda in the cooking water of Jerusalem artichokes, but I didn't try it yet. My trick is simply to eat them as fresh as possible and it doesn't give me any gas. So it's a major advantage to have them in your garden ready for the picking whenever you actually need them! 

Jerusalem artichokes have similarities with rhubarb too : once settled, they will virtually always come back because whenever you forget a tuber in the ground, a new plant will sprout from it (and it's not quite that easy to catch them all). I didn't choose a space yet where I want them "there forever", so I settled on making them grow in containers. It's a method that works perfectly well apparently, but one has to be careful to choose a very cheap plastic container, since the tubers have been known to deform them badly as they multiply and take up all the space inside. 

I planted 4 tubers inside in a big pot that previously contained a perrenial bought at a nursery. The plants will grow outside all summer and I'll be able to harvest the tubers in late fall. 





Jerusalem artichoke in all its glory, last fall



Hélène :

I would have liked to harvest my tubers last fall but spring offers so little in term of food that I resigned myself to try a spring harvest instead and that's how I came around to do my first harvest under the snow.

Seedlings are off to a good start!

Cet article en français. 

Este artículo en español.

This year, the garden planning was (litterally) a game. You can see here the garden map, desired vegetables cards and mini-cards for desired flowers, flowers that will be used for companion planting.

Hélène :

Have you started you garden planification yet? Here plans, seed orders and seedlings have been started a while already! Of course, buying seeds instead of buying plants cost less, but the time and expertise required for success is not negligeable and it's definitely a sign of trouble for most (me included). I did talk about this, I once tried to sow seeds in a big container with usual potting mix from the store and it just didn't work. Last year, I finally equipped myself seriously with a heating mat and a small light setup (not this exact model, but the last year's equivalent). Results for last year : a couple of difficulties but for the first time, I tasted tomatoes and peppers that were very different, vegetables I couldn't have tasted any other way.



Light setup and a heating mat underneat. Notice
the aluminium hanging for maximum light reflection.
Also notice the setup is on top of a shelf,
a place cats can hardly reach.



This year, the game started with even more varieties of tomatoes and peppers. And I have to admit my experience of last year is already showing. It's easier, losses are reduced and the plants are vigorous! There is a couple of fine points I would have like to have known at the offset, points I would like to share (this list will most likely grow with the years to come, too).

1. It is hard to give too much light. And if you go for natural light, if you are like me in the north, this is not Californian sunshine, northern sun is not as hot. All in all, maximizing the light you give to the plants is a good investment, so be ingenious about it : use mirrors or aluminium to reflect the light as much as possible. Most light setups come with height-adjustable light. When the seedlings poke out of the soil, don't be afraid to bring the light really close, a couple of centimeters over the top is fine. It's even actually better then fine, because else, you will get spindly plants, you know those long plants that hardly hold up?

2. Heat makes a big difference! This way, the seeds will germinate instead of rotting, so place a heating mat underneat the greenhouse and even under the containers holding the small seedlings. This can make a world of difference between a living plant and a dead plant.



In the small plastic greenhouse, down left,
new seeds are ready to sprout.
 The plants around are 3 weeks old.

 3. As long as those seeds haven't sprout, keep them in a greenhouse like the one on the left picture or place a plastic bag on top of the container that will keep the humidity inside. Don't buy a greenhouse that's too big : Take the size you need. Last year I bought a 50-cells greenhouse, thinking I could use only a part of it. What a mistake! All plants that were adjacent to free cells never sprouted for lack of heat and humidity. If they had been surrounded by other growing plugs, it would have been fine.



Here's a small plant ready to move up in a
potting mix, vermicompost and perlite.



4. Normal potting mix works fine of course, but there is a couple of details that need mention. First of all, it contains very little nutrients and since it's sterile, it can't make more. Some people add a handful of garden soil so bacteria is introduced, making this new soil richer. Others add compost, which slowly release its nutrients, an ideal solution... when your compost bin is not under 4 feet of snow! There's also vermicompost (worm compost) - something I will try this year - but it needs to be well mixed with the potting soil and it shouldn't be on the top since it has a tendency of caking, making watering challenging. I also add perlite. It's  very fine volcanic rock, it's white (it's in the glass in the picture above) and it helps to retain water, making plants less likely to dry out. Watch out however, because perlite is so fine, it should be dampen before working with, since it produces a dust that can be irritating to the lungs if inhaled.

These roots clearly state it's time to place them in containers.

5. Don't wait too long before repotting, especially if you used plugs! A baby plant that's in a container really too big for it will possibly have a hard time, but a plant that's too big for its container is a dead sentence.

I hope these tips and tricks will inspire you, give you courage to try and succeed with seeds! Of course you will loose some plants, but don't despair. Plants have a will to live too and will be forgiving to beginners.



When you order seeds, the choice will be immense and varied,
 the selection definitely exceeds what a nursery can offer as plants.

Louise : 

If you don't have a heating mat, place your seedlings higher (closer to the ceiling, the air is usually warmer). Another old trick is to put your tray over the fridge (at least all night long).

Don't forget to acclimate your plants before bringing them fully outside. Choose a mild day, preferably overcast and without winds (or place the plants in a shady spot that also offers wind protection), take them out for short spells, 30 minutes a morning, 45 or 60 the afternoon and so on. The idea is to limit shock when the plants will be outside. Think about it : A transplanted plant already is having a shock. Change the light input, the temperature and the wind at the same time and you can kill it quite easily, or at least damage it enough to stunt its growth.

Have a delightful gardening season!