Notes from The Farmer’s Daughter – Gardening plans at 30 below!
As the temperature plummets, I focus on gardening plans to keep a positive frame of mind.
I am a fan of warm weather, plants, fresh fruits and vegetables and all things “gardening.” Therefore, anything I can do this time of year related to gardening makes the count down to spring a little more tolerable.
Ordering seeds, tree saplings and plants are an absolute must. While deciding what to order, I found some interesting seedlings that tempted me. I discovered edible pine nut trees by browsing nuttrees.com and considered testing some walnut saplings through grimonut.com.
Instead, after having an in-depth discussion about plant hardiness zones with my sister, I settled on some hardy peach trees from whiffletreefarmandnursery.ca. Since I wanted something I could enjoy sooner rather than later, I added thornless raspberry canes to the order. I love raspberries, but I don’t particularly appreciate picking amongst the thorns. I have to wonder how I got to this age before discovering that thornless raspberry plants existed. Better late than never, though.
Because it is easy to get carried away ordering, I thought I best balance that out with something a little easier on the pocketbook but still in keeping with the gardening theme. I happily discovered that I could certify my garden as a wildlife-friendly habitat through Canadian Wildlife Federation. See cwf-fcf.org/en/explore/gardening-for-wildlife/action/get-certified for details.
The federation’s garden habitat certification “recognizes Canadians who make their home, school, business or community gardens suitable for wildlife by certifying their outdoor space as Wildlife-friendly habitat.” The certification costs nothing, yet by participating, you can show others how to make a difference for wildlife one space at a time regardless of the size. Check out the online application and see if your garden has what it takes to become certified!
If your garden doesn’t yet meet the qualifications, take your time, and explore the website for helpful tips. Educating ourselves is always a cost-effective option to planning anything, and gardening is no different. A section of the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s website I found particularly interesting was Earth-Friendly gardening. It provided some extra inspiration with tips on going organic, water-saving advice, companion planting, natural insect control, soil care, mulching, composting, and other natural fertilizers. All these topics will help me plan for my best garden yet!
Looking for more seed companies and nurseries to choose from, check out our Ontario Seed Guide for inspiration.
