Blog: Garden Tips

–by Karen Connolly, Licenced Property & Strata Manager, Kelowna. Mission Creek Towers' gardens were looking tired. The developer's landscapers had covered the soil in the raised gardens and other beds with a good 4-6 inches of bark mulch--in some areas, almost 8 inches. Over time, some of the bark mulch broke down, but much of it also blew away with the wind. To make matters worse, a heavy clay soil was used by developers for garden beds in the newest phase of the development. Apparently this seems to be standard practice these days. This soil was also topped with an extremely heavy layer...

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You can apply some common practices used in farming to your garden this fall for a spectacular garden next spring -- plant a cover crop! Often, green manure crops are grown for a specific period, and then plowed under before reaching full maturity in order to improve soil fertility and quality. These practices are beneficial to both large farmers and small family gardens. The most common cover crops are the legumes or peas - crops with pods which are typically high in nitrogen such as beans, lentils, lupins and alfalfa. To learn more of this go to (www.permaculture.org) Cover crops are also...

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Do you have a growing problem you solved with a unique remedy? Dirty secrets you would like to share? Perhaps you have a soil problem you haven't solved yet? Our web community loves to garden, and would love to read about your tips in our garden blog. And we welcome your business link! We work in the winter too. We're currently researching crops that can be harvested throughout the winter season in the Okanagan. Please let us know if you're growing some 'winter food ' and share the wealth of garden knowledge!

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The best soil that you could ever get your hands on would have to be soil you have made yourself for which ever purpose you had in mind, such as for flower, vegetable gardens, or shrubs and trees. We will be cutting down the alfalfa fields within the next month and will be offering the hay to be mixed in with home composters as a good source of nitrogen. As long as you mix in some carbon( chunky mulch like) in to the composter with the nitrogen it will begin to break down and produce rich nutritious soil.

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From experience old farmers know how to derive as much fertility from the soil as possible. We know they're not on their hands and knees for hours pulling weeds! How do they keep control of their weeds? Don't prune them! You'll just leave a piece of the roots in the soil and you'll get more. It's best to hoe them into the soil, exposing the roots to the surface until they die and then become part of the organic cycle within the soil. Use a great weeding tool A pro gardener's favorite is the dutch hoe (shown in photo). Just mow the blade back and forth just under the top of the soil and this...

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Now is a good time to mulch your garden, when your veggies' soil has warmed up and you want to keep your plants from drying out. When the soil dries out, plants slow their growth or stop growing altogether. Swift, steady growth is important for the best-tasting fruits and vegetables. The best thing about mulches is they keep our dry Okanagan soil evenly moist. Mulches actually have MANY benefits: They protect against soil erosion by breaking the force of those heavy rains we've been having this spring. Mulches help prevent soil compaction. They discourage the growth of weeds and they...

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