February News 2005 

What's happening in our garden for February: Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Whew, am I glad that January is over. We have had some crazy weather along with my father-in-law having another small heart attack and finally getting my in-laws moved into a senior’s home. They are in their mid 80’s and we have been trying to get them to move for 2 years. We have seen extreme weather patterns lately from minus 12 degrees Celsius to plus 12 Celsius in 1 week’s time. Right now we are 11 degrees above normal. I was extremely glad that we had a good snow covering on our garden beds with the freezing temperatures. Now, it feels like spring but I know that it won’t last as February can also have cold weather. As I am writing this our grandson is spending the night with us. Yesterday, it was so warm that I bundled him up in mud gear and let him explore our gardens on his own for the first time. He is now walking and he had a ball going where he pleased. It turned out that his favourite was our wheelbarrows which are leaning on our compost pile. He had all the wheels spinning as fast as he could make them go. Another of his favourite was my rose garden paths as the gravel made such a great noise to his ears. It is incredible the amount a baby takes in with all the exploring they do. The older I get the more amazing I find it. We also just found out that we are going to be grandparents again. It’s so exiting! The weeds are starting to show in the flower beds now and I have orchids blooming in the greenhouse. This month is my favourite for moving any perennials to another location or splitting them as the plants are dormant and do not seem to know that I have disturbed them. I also prune our wisterias and fruit trees this month. 

February "To Do" List:
-check dahlia tubers to make sure they have not dried out.
-prune deciduous trees, removing dead, diseased, crossing or damaged branches.
-shake snow from shrubs and hedges to prevent damage to branches, especially rhododendrons.
-spray fruit trees with dormant oil and lime sulphur.
-if weather permits, dig over flower beds.
-prepare new flower and garden beds if weather permits.
-this is a good time to decide to make any improvements with new shrubs or trees.
-start planning your vegetable garden and order seeds.
-remove weeds and rake up winter debris.
-spray roses and fruits with dormant oil on a mild day. 

Greenhouse Gardening for February: (for a cool greenhouse kept at 40 - 45F (5 - 7C)
-plants in bloom for this month – pelargonium, jade plant, cymbidium orchid, odontoglossum orchid.
-maintain a minimum temperature of 40F (5C) in the cool greenhouse if frost sensitive plants are stored.
-it is important to maintain a dry atmosphere to prevent disease – water only when absolutely necessary.
-keep an eye out for aphids and whiteflies. Spray with Safer’s Insecticidal Soap or your own homemade soap spray.
-keep pots barely moist until new growth starts.
-wash out last years seed sowing containers with a mild bleach solution, fill with potting mix, (I use Sunshine Mix #4), water and store until needed. I pile mine in a corner of the greenhouse and keep them moist until I start sowing seeds. I find this much handier than always having to scrub out seed trays and containers each time I wish to sow some seeds.
-start tuberous begonias over heating cables keeping barely moist. Some people place the bare tuber directly on the sand covering the heating cables – once sprouted they plant them into pots. I now just keep the tubers over winter in their pots and give them no water over the entire winter. Once my heating cable is turned on I slightly water the pot and place on my heating cables where they eventually sprout directly in the pot.
-sow leeks, onions and tomato seeds over heating cables.
-sow petunias and impatiens over heating cables.
-sow smaller sized seeds of summer annuals for early flowering hanging baskets. (smaller sized seeds take longer to develop)
-for years I always had additional grow lights put up in the greenhouse but since we removed some trees our greenhouse receives much for light so I no longer use them. They do help in speeding up the early growing season with the extra light given per day. The problem that I found is that they have to be located so close to the seed tray that it blocks out the sunlight during the day. 

Herbal Hints: Chives: Chives are one of my most favourite culinary herbs most doubtedly due to the fact that it is one of the first herbs to start growing in the spring. In fact, my garlic chives are about 4 inches tall already. We have had chives in the garden for as long as I can remember and I can’t imagine living without them. For culinary use, for hardiness and for trouble free maintenance these little gems top my list. Chives are a tasty addition to both salad, salad dressings, garnishes for all types of vegetables, soups, meats, eggs, and the list goes on and on. The finishing touch for many a dinner around here involves a last minute trip to the herb garden, scissors in hand, to cut fresh chives to sprinkle over a variety of dishes. 

Low Fat Chive Dressing
1 ½ cups 1% cottage cheese
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp seafood sauce
2 Tbsp freshly chopped chives. Whip together the cottage cheese, vinegar and milk. A hand held blender works great as you want a very creamy consistency. Add the seafood sauce and chives and mix well. Add the milk only if you prefer a thinner dressing, being sure to mix it in well. If you would like a sweeter dressing just add a little honey or demera brown sugar. Let the flavours blend for a few hours in the fridge. This dressing will keep for several days in the fridge but will tend to separate a little so whip it again before using. 

Tomatoes and Chives
4 beefsteak tomatoes cut in half
1 cup bread crumbs (a food processor works great)
4 Tbsp finely chopped chives
1 tsp fresh basil finely ground kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Mix together the bread crumbs, chives, basil, salt and pepper. Dip the cut halved tomatoes into the seasoned bread mixture. Place the tomatoes on a greased shallow baking sheet and sprinkle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Broil until the tops are golden brown. Garnish with additional chives and serve hot. 

Handmade Soap News: Part 20 – Soap Making Potash is the residue remaining after all the water has been driven off from the lye solution made by leaching wood ashes. Pearl ash is then made from the potash by baking it in a kiln until all the carbon impurities were burned off. This remaining fine, white powder was the pearl ash. 

Natural Cleaning Products: Liquid Castile Soap Floor Cleaner:
-1 gallon hot water
-2 Tbsp liquid castile soap
-25 drops pine essential oil or a combination of lemon and orange essential oils Blend all ingredients in a bucket and use to mop the floor. No rinsing required. 

Organic Gardening Tips:
1) Pile a 4 inch layer of manure on while the ground is still frozen, thus reducing damage to new plants.
2) If you have a large garden plant lots of smaller annuals between bulbs which are left to dry out. Annuals are protected this way and so is your budget.
3) Make a mixture of kelp and worm castings for window boxes and planters. Never start with small window boxes – minimum 8 inches wide.
4) Hang window boxes on both sides of the deck or veranda railing if you are short on space or want blooms on both sides. Herbs are perfect on one side of the rails, annuals on the other side.
5) Don’t be quick to deadhead Shasta daisies where you want good coverage. Let them grow thickly as this way they will be shorter and less vulnerable to wind damage.
6) Perennial alyssum is good filler for a large bank. Let it self-seed. The foliage is also a nice contrast.
7) Never set up a garden without first putting in the irrigation if you need it. This will force you into proper planning and avoid the headache of moving plants to put in a system later.. 

Health and Wellness Tarragon is another of my favourite herbs – delicately flavoured with a wonderful scent. Bring your plant in over winter or purchase new ones in the spring. Mine is now 3 years old and has become too large to store much longer. 

Vegetables in Tarragon Sauce:
2 tsp tarragon
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken stock (I make my own but you can purchase organic chicken stock in the grocery store or local market)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 medium onions, sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced. For a creamier version of this sauce, substitute 1/2 cup condensed mushroom soup for 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Saute the carrots and onions in the olive oil until onion is golden. Stir in the chicken stock, 1/4 cup of the white wine, and the tarragon. Cook covered until the carrots are done. Remove the carrots and onions from the pot to a serving dish and keep warm. Heat the remaining liquid to boiling and add remaining 1/4 cup wine mixed with 2 Tbsp cornstarch and stir until the sauce has thickened. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more wine or chicken stock to thin. Pour sauce over the vegetables and serve. 

Thanks for visiting! Susan

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