As of the weekend of March 20th there is talk of suspending ferry service. Restrictions on movement are liable to last eight weeks. Three friends here believe they have the virus and are in quarantine. Our son, Nick (a radiologist) just diagnosed his first case at University of Chicago Hospital this morning.
And so they world as we know it is changing. We likely won't be back in our house on Fernwood til autumn (instead of June) at the earliest. The island grown food supply is reported to be of only five days duration.
What to do? The little rental bungalow on Estevan has six raised beds. They are in deplorable condition - but with elbow grease and soil amendment can be put back into service.
Back in Cooperstown, the small upstate town where we raised our family I helped found a farmers’ market (1990) a Slow Food chapter (1997). co-authored a monograph on Agricultural Opportunities in Delaware and Otsego Counties (with Annie Farrell a legend in the organic farming movement) and became a master gardener. But what with young children, two businesses to run and multiple volunteer activities, I was at best a casual cultivator. These times demand better effort.
Many hours these last few days have been spent preparing the raised beds. Reports predict the peak of the virus cases in North America to occur in 45 days as of this writing - May 7th - about the time the baby vegetables will be ready to harvest. They’ll be enough to share, I hope.
Our daughter, Claire gave me The Backyard Homestead edited by Carleen Madigan - gardening editor at Storey Publishing known for publishing practical books for self-reliance and living lightly on the land. I did not expect to make such good use of the book so soon.
The excellent little general store on Estevan has a ready supply of certified organic seeds from Full Circle in Sooke. www.fullcircleseeds.com. Here’s what now in the ground.
Broccoli - purple sprouting - best planted in the fall - but I’m going to give them a try this spring
Calendula - Hardy annual edible flower beautiful in salads
Carrots - Danvers - market gardeners in Massachusetts developed the variety in 1886. Thrives in heavy soils
Kale - lacinato (aka dinosaur), red russian, siberian, rainbow & dwarf green curly. Direct seed into rich soil
Leeks - Unique one of the largest and most cold hardy alliums
Lettuces of several varieties
Mache - germinates in 10-14 days self seeding annual minty gourmet salad
Nasturtium - ALM Mix - A spicy edible flower, seeds that can be pickled ala capers. prolific grows anywhere
Parsley - Italian flat leaf SOAK SEEDS IN WARM WATER 24 HOURS before planting. Slow germinating.
Spinach - Giant winter - does well with early spring sowing. Harvest in 4-10 weeks
Pea, shelling, pole Tall Telephone (Alderman) very tall 6' or taller - grown since 1885
Tomato - Ardwyna - brought to Sooke by Mr. Arduina from Italy - for cooking & drying. Smooth cylindrical 4-5"tomatoes
As an American in Canada it pleases me to discover how many public intellectuals revered in the States - are Canadian. David Frum, Malcolm Gladwell, Naomi Klein and Adam Gopnik. His 2005 article in The New Yorker on Voltaire is pertinent.. I am thinking of Candide in this time of pandemic. Here is Gopnik on Voltaire’s gardens:
“He wrote to his agent asking for “artichoke bulbs and as much as possible of lavender, thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, rue strawberry bushes, pinks, thadicee, balm, tarragon, sariette, burnet, sage and hyssop to cleanse our sins, etc.” When he wrote that it was our duty to cultivate our garden, he really knew what it meant to cultivate a garden.”
Indeed.
I bought these pruning shears at Garden World the other day - despite - the name.