Home of "Gardening with Bugs" and "Spencer Brewing".
Epsom salts are a sometimes overused and misunderstood soil amendment for plant growth. It must be MgSO4 (Magnesium sulphate) and it must be a deficiency in your soil to have any benefit. But when it's recommended, off the shelf products may do more harm than good. Here is why.
As promised: A thorough update of what's going on in the garden Days have been low 20's or high teens with lots of cloud and little bits of rain. Generally, good growing conditions. Plant growth is noticeable day over day right now, and that generally continues for another month until the low humidity kicks in... Continue Reading →
An update on all 20 beds. What's growing and what isn't.
Warning: This is not for beginners. If you like the “squirt squirt” of a spray bottle, don’t even read this. I’m in a unique position working with aphid and other plant pest control in commercial crops. With my experience comes an understanding/tolerance for pests: I can tell if a pest population is something to worry... Continue Reading →
It's week 15. Check out what's in the garden, and in the greenhouse.
If you’ve read along with my previous three posts on attracting Beneficial Insects and Mites, I thank you. And I think you’re prepared for something a little more academic, regarding Economic and Cosmetic Thresholds as well as tolerance and patience. Really, it takes little to attract good bugs. A healthy garden is all. But first,... Continue Reading →
What’s Growing: Week 11, 2021 I just had a fantastic weekend! It actually felt - almost - like a non-covid weekend. We had an outdoor birthday to attend for our daughter, and an outdoor gathering with my family for some mutual birthdays. And for parts of Saturday and almost the entire day Sunday I spent... Continue Reading →
Lawns Lawn is a waste of space. I know, I know…I love it too. It’s green in the winter and cool in the summer it looks tidy and it keeps nature on the fringes. I grew up with a lawn for playing and sledding on. It is my dogs’ recreation space, and I intend on... Continue Reading →
What a weekend! Here on the Saanich Peninsula (just north of Victoria, BC), we enjoyed nearly full sun and a luxurious 12C. There is a pending cold-snap - in fact, it's here: woke-up to -2C. All that sun and the need to prep a few things for the cold meant that it was time to... Continue Reading →
Well, well; we meet again. As my blog is largely my own way of record keeping and of sharing of my garden adventures, I haven’t written much. This is also because I have rarely set-foot in the garden since then. We had a particularly dark December, and just before Christmas we had a fairly significant... Continue Reading →
