Kanata-March Horticultural Society

March 2008

 

 

In This Issue

 

·    President’s Message

·    Next meeting: Mar 4th Wildlife Gardening

·    Starting seeds

·    Down the Garden Path

·    Park Maintenance

·    Upcoming events

 

 

Key Links

Ottawa is Blooming

 

OHA District 2 Flower Show

 

OHA District 2 AGM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Meetings

 

Meetings are held on the

first Tuesday of each

month (except July and

August) at the Old Town

Hall, March Road, Kanata.

 

Come at 7:00pm for a

coffee and gardening chat.

 

Guests are most welcome - $5.00 (can be applied to membership of $15.00 single, $25.00 family)

 

 

Acting President’s Message for March

 

I hope this year’s snow cover will prove to be beneficial in keeping your plants insulated. There has to be some upside to it! It looks as though the snow is set to remain until at least late March.

 

You can still get a head start with your gardening endeavors by planting some of those seeds that you picked up at the seed exchange. We need you to bring on as many plants as you can manage for our plant sale in May. We have made a small start with some more Heritage Tomatoes again this year (12 different varieties from last year).

 

It would be great for the plant sale if we had a selection of other plants from anyone who can manage to raise them. You need to get the seeds planted in the next couple of weeks to be sure of having them a reasonable size for the plant sale. For those of you who are just setting out on this alluring winter activity, you can find some information about how to start seeds below.

 

Looking ahead,  April will be a busy month with 2 local horticultural events:

1) Ottawa is Blooming Garden Show will be at the Nepean Sportsplex on 18th to 20th. The OHA is looking for volunteers to help with the event: its fun helping to promote gardening and the OHA to the general public—lots of opportunities for gardening chats. This year the OHA has a large area in the exhibition: to help with the publicity, each society will have a flower pot, painted with its club emblem, containing individual society literature. The Ontario Horticultural Association will be hosting the District 2 flower show at the show. Rules and categories for this event are on our web site.

 

2) The following Saturday, April 26th, is the OHA District 2 AGM at Kinburn Community Centre, 3045 Kinburn Side Road. This year it is hosted jointly by the West Carleton and Stittsville Horticultural Societies. The guest speaker is Bruce Hebest, of Upper Canada Village, talking about growing heritage vegetables. Registration forms and a detailed agenda can be found in the registration package on the District 2 website, link at left. It is rare that this meeting is held so close to us. Please to support the other horticultural clubs in the area by attending. Winners of the District 2 Photo Competition will be announced at the meeting. As we have such skilful photographers in our club, I hope KMHS will have a good representation in the competition. The categories and rules are on the web site at the left.

 

David Davidson, KMHS Past President

 

 

Our Next Meeting: March 4th, 7:30 pm

 

Landscaping for Wildlife: Dorothy Dobson of Connaught Nurseries

 

Dorothy will tell us how we can attract and support various forms of wildlife in our garden, to add to the garden’s interest at the same time as supporting the native wildlife. Dorothy and her husband Grant have operated Connaught Nursery, located just outside Cobden, for 26 years.  As well as the usual annual and vegetable transplants and hanging baskets, they also grow tomatoes and cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries and other assorted vegetables and fruits in their greenhouses.  They concentrate on native plants from the Ottawa Valley and their garden produce is organic (although not certified).  They do not use pesticides, herbicides in their greenhouses or on their property.

 

 

Useful web sites

 

Rob's Plants

Tom's Clothier's site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARCH – APRIL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APRIL – MAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MAY - JUNE

 

Starting Seeds

At our February meeting, Heather Lee spoke to us briefly about seeds. Here are some useful extracts from a handout that she did for us in 2007. I can vouch for the efficacy of the seed germination test—great fun for doing with small children too. I have also added some notes I made from a very helpful book: From Seed to Bloom: Eileen Powell, 1995. The web sites listed in the sidebar have detailed information for each type of seed.

Average Useful Lifespan of Some Common  Vegetable Seeds

1-2 years:

3-4 years:

5-6 years:

corn
onions and leeks
parsley
parsnips
peppers

asparagus
beans and peas
beets
cabbage family
carrots
eggplant
squash and pumpkins
tomatoes

cucumbers
lettuce
melons
spinach

 

Seed Germination Test (if you are not sure whether your seeds are still viable)

  1. Put exactly ten seeds on top of a damp, folded paper towel.
  2. Put the towel and seeds into a plastic sandwich bag and seal.
  3. Label the container with the date and seed variety being tested.
  4. Leave at room temperature for a week or so. (Leave parsley, carrot and celery longer; they're slow.)
  5. Count the number of seeds that sprout:
    1. 10 = 100% or perfect germination
    2. 9 = 90% or excellent
    3. 8 = 80% or good
    4. 6-7 = 60-70% or poor -- sow more thickly
    5. 5 or less = 50% or less -- throw the seed out!

Germination:  seeds need a container, a growing medium, water, sufficient warmth and light.

1)     Any sort of container that allows water to drain will work well. I use old margarine containers or yoghourt pots with holes pierced in the bottom. I start seeds that grow large quickly (and so resent transplanting) in 2x2” seed trays or small pots. This saves a lot of work downstream, but means that they must be sown in a potting mix which contains more nutrients.

2)     Growing mediums should preferably be nutrient-free: if seedlings are to be transplanted, start the seeds in a purchased seeding rather than potting mix. You can make your own seeding mix:

a.      from equal parts of vermiculite or perlite and sphagnum moss

b.      using equal parts of sterilized garden soil, coarse builder’s sand and peat moss.

     Add small amounts of ground limestone and bone meal to each mix.

3)     Tamp down the seeding mix gently, then water prior to sowing seeds: allow to drain well. Cover the seed container with plastic or cling wrap to conserve moisture and warmth.

4)     Warmth required should be indicated on the seed packet: many seeds can be started on your windowsill, with the exception of those which require high starting temperatures e.g. marigolds, zinnias

5)     Light required for germination is quite low – a windowsill is fine, as long as the seeds do not get roasted by direct sunlight. As a rule of thumb, small seeds (e.g. petunia) should be left uncovered, while larger seeds should be planted about ¼” deep. Some seeds such as sweet peas must be kept in the dark until germination has occurred.

 

After germination: seedlings will need more food and reasonable light but less warmth. 

1)     If growing in seeding mix, feed with liquid fertilizer twice a week for three weeks, AFTER the first three true leaves have appeared (the first two small leaves are not true leaves). Transplant to a potting mix as soon as you can handle the seedlings.

2)     After transplanting, do not place the seedlings under lights for 24 hours—they need time to recover from the shock.

3)     If growing in potting mix, feed with liquid fertilizer at full strength every ten days until you are ready to plant them out. Again, do not start this until the true leaves have appeared.

4)     Cool white fluorescent light is sufficient for seedlings that will be going outside. The seedlings should be 3-4” from the light, with lights on for 15 hours a day. If you can’t set up this, the windowsill is still fine – watch for excessive drying out as the sun gets stronger and higher.

5)     As the seedlings get taller, remove the covers cautiously – do it over the course of one day.

6)     As seedlings get sturdier, soil should require moistening 2x/week.

7)     Feed plants only after watering.

8)     If any signs of damping off are seen (seedling flops at the point where stem enters the soil) remove from tray/pot and dispose of this. Damping off can spread very quickly through a group of seeds.

9)     Seedlings prefer to grow on at around 60°F/15°C.

10) Two weeks before transplanting outside, cease feeding and reduce watering slightly.

 

Transplanting to their final home

1)     Begin acclimatization one week before transplanting outside. Start this on a mild, windless, preferably overcast day.

2)     Place plants in a sheltered spot with filtered light, Leave out for ½ day. Increase this exposure progressively each day. (Note: I have lost more seedlings through rushing the hardening off process than I have to damping off or other “diseases” of the greenhouse).

3)     Water the bed for the seedlings twenty-four hours before transplant.

4)     Add bone meal, wood ash or blood meal as required when digging.

5)     Transplant on a mild overcast day: if not possible, do in the evening.

6)     Water plants in flats one hour before transplant

7)     Shade transplants if they appear to be wilting

8)     Apply a two inch layer of mulch once seedlings have grown

Margaret Turner, Newsletter Editor

 

Down the Garden Path

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KMHS!!

 

On March 5 the Kanata-March Horticultural Society will be 38 years old!

 

The KMHS was founded on March 5, 1970 by Molly Wilson, Evelyn Ballantyne, Myrna MacNamara, Louise Reynolds, Rita Lawn and Luella Shanks.  Membership was around 80 people. The first project of the Society was to plant 550 red and white tulip bulbs beside the fire hall on Teron Road.

 

Tom Thomson Park: in 1971, the planning and creation of the park began.  A contest was held in March 1972 to name the park.  The name Tom Thomson, submitted by Patricia Curry was chosen and approved by the Kanata City Council.,

 

Molly Wilson Memorial Garden: the garden at the South March Old Town Hall started in 1983/84 as a bicentennial project and was completed in September 1985. On May 15, 1988, the garden was officially named and dedicated to the honour of Molly Wilson, a long standing and active member of the KMHS, as well of one of its founding members.

Gisele Robertson, KMHS Historian

 

Contact us:

 

Email us at KMHS with your ideas and comments

 

 

 

 

Park Maintenance

 

At the February meeting there were a lot of ideas discussed about how to improve our maintenance at the Molly Wilson and Tom Thompson parks. As a result of the feedback from you, our members, we have come up with the following plan.

We will go with the “adopt-a-plot” idea and will circulate a sign up sheet at the March and April meetings, asking members to sign up for the park of their preference. We will have a check box where volunteers can indicate if they would like their contact information shared with other volunteers at the same park. This will give members who would prefer to work with others a chance to make arrangements.



Once the list of volunteers is complete, we will contact everyone with the details of their specific garden "plot" and provide the contact information for volunteers working at the same park.  This information will be provided in April, in order for park maintenance to begin in May with a spring clean up.  This will allow volunteers to do the park maintenance at a time that fits their own schedule.

The last two weeks in May we will ask volunteers to focus on dividing plants and potting up for the plant sale on May 30. We may organize specific events around this task.

Jean Siemens, Parks Chairperson

 

 

Key links

 

OVRGHS

 

 

 

 

 

OBGS Events

 

 

OHA

 

 

Paradise Found Lectures

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

March 9th, 1:30 pm Ottawa Valley Rock Garden and Horticultural Society presents a member, Ernie Boyd, talking about the Plants of Newfoundland. Room T117, Building T, Algonquin College, Woodroffe Campus

 

March 11th 7:00 p.m. Gardens Through Time. David Davidson, our past president, will be giving a presentation on behalf of the Ottawa Botanical Garden Society. Champlain Park Fieldhouse at Cowley and Clearview, near Island Park Drive and Scott Street. Info: 613-728-1945.

 

March 12th The Ottawa Botanical Garden Society has Alexander Reford talking on Plant Hunters of the Himalayas. Library and Archives of Canada, Wellington St. Free parking.

 

March 25th 7:30 p.m. Belles d’un Jour and Companions: Daylilies & Grasses. The Ottawa Horticultural Association presents Suzanne Patry of Whitehouse Perennials in Almonte. Tom Brown Arena, 141, Bayview Avenue.

 

March 27th 7:00 pm Nepean Centrepointe. The Love of the Labyrinth, a lecture in the Paradise Found series.

 

 

 

Newsletter Input

All input is due to me, Margaret Turner, by the third Friday of the month. All ideas and articles are most welcome. Please help make this a newsletter for you all. Email me at: Margaret Turner