by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | Spring is well under way and the general public – scrambling to get all things green into the ground – has been diagnosed with gardening fever. It’s exciting an exciting time of year; so full of promise – and rain, which means we don’t have to really water our gardens just yet. There is still plenty to be done, however. Here are a few food growing “to-do’s for this week, if you haven’t already done them…

Transplant and seed greens | If you haven’t done this, now is the time to transplant or seed your broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, chard, lettuce, arugula, spinach, mustard greens, and so on. As we mentioned last week, if you plant one crop more than once in a season, you can be eating it all season long and have a continuous, manageable harvest. Seed greens every month and reap the rewards!

Transplant perennial herbs | Get your perennial herbs (the plants that come back year after year, like rosemary, sage, and so on) and other edible plants like blueberries and strawberries, while it’s still rainy season. This will allow them to become more established on their own with minimal effort before the summer drought kicks in. Less watering = less work!

Get potatoes in the ground | Do this ASAP. Potatoes stay in the ground for a long time and need all the growing time they can get. Typically, we begin to plant potatoes in the last week of April and stop after this week. Our faves to grow are fingerlings, Russian Blue, and a new variety we are trying from Helmer’s Organic farm in Pemberton called ALL RED. Their website description reads thus: “This gorgeous potato has rich cranberry-red skin and white flesh with rosy tie-dye swirls which hold colour during cooking. Earliness and high yield capacity make it perfect for an unusual new potato.” I’ll say! Let’s just say you cut it open and it reminds you of a Georgia O’Keefe painting…

Transplant and seed peas | Peas are one of the most romantically nostalgic summer crops (next to tomatoes and strawberries). They’re glorious, whether you prefer the snap or shelling type. If you want peas in June, consider transplanting at this point. And don’t forget: pea shoots are fresh and delicious, too.

Seed root veggies | Have you seeded your beets and carrots? What about radishes and turnips? Keep in mind that with beets and carrots it might be wise to seed again in beginning-mid July for a fall/winter harvest. Why not seed half of your bed now, and the other half in July? Or, consider seeding your second planting in a free spot in the garden in July.

What should you not do just yet? The weather has been beautiful, sure, but you’ll want to refrain from transplanting any tomatoes, cucumbers, and other heat-lovin’ veggies until the night temperatures outside are consistently at least 13 degrees Celsius. Typically, that means the beginning of June. Rule of thumb: if you don’t feel like running around naked at night yet, it’s still too cold out.

So what are you waiting for? Get out and grow some food. And if you need a hand, give us a call!

THE VICTORY GARDENS ARCHIVE

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Victory Gardens is a team of local urban farmers for hire. Lisa, Sandra and Sam help transform tired or underused residential and commercial green spaces into food producing gardens. Their goal is to challenge the way communities use space and to participate in the change needed to consume food more sustainably. For the rest of the growing season, they’ve hooked up with Scout to share some cool tips and tricks on how to get the best from of our own backyards.