A slightly shorter version of this article was published in the May 2024 of North End Breezes, a community newspaper in Hamilton Ontario. 747 words © Beverley Wagar 2024 please email me for reprint permission. Jumping worms arrived in southern Ontario at least a decade ago and, since 2019, they’ve been writhing and chomping through READ MORE
Category: My articles
Winter Sowing – Part 1
Winter sowing (or wintersowing or WS) is a way for home gardeners to germinate seeds outdoors in mini greenhouses made from recycled containers and bottles. It’s a somewhat controlled way to mimic what nature does when seeds drop in autumn, spend winter outdoors, and germinate naturally in the spring. The technical term for this process is “cold moist stratification.”
Winter Sowing – Part 3
Container choices Topics in Part 1 Before you start (links to section on this page):What is winter sowing?Why winter sow?Basic principlesWhat can I grow?When should I sow? Topics in Part 2WS step-by-Step (links open in new tab)Prepare containersAssemble suppliesPrepare seedsPrepare soil mixFill containersPlant seedsLabel & tapePlace outsideWatch & wait Topics in this articleContainer choices(links to READ MORE
Winter Sowing – Part 2
A step-by-step guide to success Topics in Part 1 Before you start(links open in new tab) What is winter sowing?Why winter sow?Basic principlesWhat can I grow? When should I sow? Topics in this articleA step-by-step guide(links jump to topic on this page) Prepare containersAssemble suppliesPrepare seedsPrepare soil mixFill containersPlant seedsLabel & tapePlace outsideWatch & wait READ MORE
Gardeners should care about sprawl
Ford’s pro-sprawl legislation has it’s own sordid back story involving grift, handshakes, and election promises, but while that drama festers, let’s turn to our own backyards and look at how sprawl affects gardens
Plant markers that do it all…
This year saw many changes to my garden, some small and some drastic. The drastic ones resulted from the discovery of invasive jumping worms back in late June. But more on that later. The common denominator for all these changes was soil disturbance. There was a huge increase in digging– not only my efforts to READ MORE
Memory Aids for Gardeners
This heap of horticutural hash is a tasty blend of spicy irreverance and nutritious facts. It was originally published in the June 2022 issue of Cross Pollination, the newsletter of the Halton Region Master Gardeners. By Bev Wagar, Halton Master Gardener Horticulture! It sweeps you off your feet, showers you with affection, and sheet-mulches your READ MORE
Give your garden time, not money
This article was originally published in May 2019, in The Point, Crown Point’s community newspaper. Is something terrible happening to your favourite shrub? Did you make a garden bed last year and everything died? Is your rock-hard soil growing a bumper crop of weeds? It’s natural for keen gardeners to tackle problems head-on. We want READ MORE
Carrie does not love Tom
She never did. Crammed with nudges and winks, this educational piece was originally published in the May 2022 issue of Cross Pollination, the newsletter of the Halton Region Master Gardeners. By Bev Wagar, Halton Master Gardener Carrot had been growing beside Tomato for only a few weeks when she realized she didn’t like the guy. READ MORE
Garden Activism—Are You at Risk?
This tongue-in-cheek article was originally published in the April 2022 issue of Cross Pollination, the newsletter of the Halton Region Master Gardeners. Does your love of gardening come with strong opinions, ideas that sometimes bolt from the brain and barge headlong into the world? When thoughts and convictions grow mouths and legs, do be wary—it READ MORE