komatsuna, purple sprouting broccoli, and green onions, all overwintered without protection

The more I grow komatsuna, the more it impresses me. The komatsuna pictured at right was sown in September, and did not have the luxury of any sort of protection over the winter. It is now starting to form delicious flower buds and seems generally unperturbed that it is growing in a bed that is almost entirely underwater. It is a very tough plant.

leeks, sown late June 2011, photographed February 20th, 2012

Most yearsI seed leeks in early march, then transplant them top open ground in April. Last year, due to the delays inherent in bringing a fallow field back into productivity (and…um…chopping my foot with an axe), I didn’t get around to seeding any leeks until late June. One month later, I transplanted them into a section of bed recently vacated by an early crop of peas. While they didn’t grow as large as march-sown leeks, they did grow, and we are happy to have them around now. The late planting of leeks was a valuable experience, though it mostly served to confirm what I already knew: Leeks grow slowly, and an early start is worthwhile.

mizuna in rye

a very dense planting of mache/corn salad, broadcast-sown early last september, photographed yesterday

I watched  the documentary ‘To Make a Farm‘ the other day, and found it to be thought-provoking and, at times, inspiring. The film follows the establishment, by young people, of three small farms, two by couples in Ontario, and one by a man in Manitoba. While I don’t currently self-identify as a ‘farmer’, I believe I soon will, and this film provided insight into some of what I might run into during my transition between ‘overly enthusiastic gentleman gardener’ and ‘gentleman farmer’. The different approaches to the common goal of  human-scale food production were the most interesting part of the film for me. I was more convinced than ever after watching the film that the exploration of radical approaches to small-farm economics will be a worthwhile use of my time in the years to come. Debt-free, mortgage-free, livestock-free minimalist contemporary serfdom (DFMFLFMCS) is the model that interests me most right now, most likely because it is the direction in which Jessica and I are heading.

overwintered kale with a partially-successful underplanting of red clover - the kale was sown in May, and the clover in early September

early-September-sown oats in late October 2011

Winter-killed oats are potentially a very valuable addition to no-till and reduced-tillage crop rotations. In past gardens I’ve found that late-summer sowings of oats reliably winter-killed, leaving a light layer of decaying biomass and loose, life-filled soil, ready for planting with large seeds and tubers. Most of the bed I sowed to oats last September here on Valdez Farm winter-killed, but a small part of the oat population survived. I wasn’t here to experience it, but I’ve heard that December and January were unusually mild. This September I plan to sow more beds to oats, as I intend to make them an important part of the Valdez Farm crop rotation. This won’t be the last time oats are mentioned on this blog.

the same bed today, February 15th 2012

the author prunes an espaliered apple in Powell River

Jessica and I just returned from Powell River, where we pruned my ailing grandfather’s remarkable collection of espliered apple and pear trees. They have been maintained with tremendous attention to detail over the past couple of decades, and this was the first time they have been out of his care. It was a little daunting, but we approached the task with confidence, and grandfather seemed pleased with the results. Powell River is a very interesting place to visit, as it has been blessed with many great Nassichuk residents over the years. On the outskirts of town, in the community of Kelly Creek, there is a road called ‘Nassichuk Road’. Jessica and I almost moved there three years ago.

an unhappy collard copes with the flood

austrian winter peas in late September

Next month, on the 12th of March, I’ll be giving a presentation at the Quadra Island Garden Club. It’s a big deal. I’ll be speaking about incorporating cover crops into vegetable rotations, and hopefully I’ll tell some jokes while I am at it. I got serious about cover crops seven years ago, and each year I am more in awe of the magic they perform in the soil, and each year I dedicate more space, time and mental energy to cover crops. If my life continues along the same path, in another seven years I’ll be giving a talk about incorporating vegetables into cover crop rotations!

the same bed yesterday, after the peas had been killed by winter

While I will surely spend part of my presentation discussing fall rye, the undisputed king of west coast cover crops, I intend to focus on the less-popular cover crop species (In this part of the province that includes pretty much everything that isn’t fall rye!). Buckwheat, clovers, phacelia, oats, peas, tyfon, vetch – I have lots of photos and exciting stories about all of them. Especially tyfon. And buckwheat. I’ll say “buckwheat” at least one hundred and fifty times over the course of the presentation. Please come! It’s at 7:00 pm. Buckwheat.