Fighting pests in a pesticide free Ontario can certainly be a challenge. I have found that one of the key solutions is to know your pest, learn it’s life cyle and investigate which organic solution might work. It certainly does make us have to think before we spray which is a good thing. My boxwood… Read more »
My Everchanging Garden
Gardening That Grows With Me
Blog
Red-bellied Woodpecker. A Rare Sight in Ontario.
I was thrilled to see this Red-bellied Woodpecker at our feeder this winter. I’ve had a challenge getting a picture of him as he stays for only a short period of time each visit. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is one of the rarest of Ontario woodpeckers, preferring mature deciduous forests, primarily Carolinian forest, for its habitat.… Read more »
How To Make Birdhouse Gourds
Growing The Gourds Growing your own ornamental gourds and making a birdhouse gourd is great fun and surprisingly easy. And it makes a great natural addition to a bird garden. I grew our own birdhouse gourds from seed very easily. Although I started the seeds indoors I’m not sure that is really necessary and in… Read more »
Spring Is Moving Fast
It seems we wait a long time for spring to arrive and when it finally does there’s just not enough of it to accomplish all of our spring gardening tasks. We’ve had some good weather of late so I’ve been able to catch up on a lot of yard work. Most of the beds are… Read more »
Our New Garage is Taking Shape
I’m please to say the construction of our new garage – barn is proceeding nicely. We’ve had good weather this week and it looks like they will have all the framing finished. You can really see the building taking shape. The only downside is the huge spot of compacted dirt on top of the lawn… Read more »
Organic Lawn Care – Year Two
Effective April 22, 2009, Earth Day, Ontario banned the sale and use of chemical pesticides for cosmetic use. This ban was predicted in early 2008 and legislation was brought in during the fall. Anticipating the ban, I decided to convert my entire lawn care program to an organic approach in the spring of 2008. Everything… Read more »
Construction Has Begin
Despite the rain and cold, construction has finally begun on our second garage. This is step one in our plans for this summer which include building a second garage for my tractor and all the garden equipment I seem to accumulate as well as putting in a pool. While I’m not looking forward to repairing… Read more »
Starting Seedlings Indoors
I’m am fortunate to have two areas in our house with corner windows facing both south and west. This means almost all day sun for my vegetable garden seedlings. While it’s not necessary to start all plants indoors (I don’t bother with most early season crops like peas, beets or lettuce for example), this year… Read more »
The Perennially Changing Perennial
I went to a garden seminar today where a guest speaker introduced the ‘newest’ and ‘hottest’ perennials to be introduced this year. Each one was touted to be better than a previous cultivar, which amazingly to me, was the hottest new cultivar on the market just a few years ago. Breeders have basically, in large… Read more »
All Planned Out
After ordering my vegetable garden seeds last week, I spent this past weekend planning our vegetable garden. We have a large fenced in garden about 35 feet by 35 feet and use my ornamental gardens as overflow. The plan for our vegetable garden is based on the principal of crop rotation. Crop rotation ensures that… Read more »