Rotting Beans Won't Stop Me

I am saddened to report that what began as an exciting exercise in seed saving has ended as a tale of remarkable woe. A while back I soaked 10 of my best Belgian beans, the same ones I discuss below, and planted them indoors. These seeds were the best of the best I saved last summer -- they were the first to ripen, so I assume the best (?)

I went away for the weekend and upon returning, raced up to my loft where I expected to see wee green seedlings peeking out of the soil. But no. Instead, all I saw were fuzzy little fuzzy bumps of mould. (photo to the left)

You see, I had placed plastic over the containers for the first several days, thinking it would somehow help the seeds germinate. I also kept it very moist, and it appears the seeds didn't take kindly to being treated like that.

All this said, failure will not stop, hinder or deter me. Gardening is a learning process, a life-long pursuit if you will, and I have decided it is warm enough to plant my beans (I have some others I have saved) directly into the recently-turned soil of the bucolic Graveley Garden.

Keeping Your Beans in the Family

Making their debut in Graveley Garden this season will be my family's heirloom climbing pole beans. This is the very seed my Uncle Olaf's wife Yvette Tiveron carried across the Atlantic Ocean when she immigrated to Canada from Belgium after WW2. In my family over the decades the seed was saved and forever referred to as "Belgian Beans."

My nono Luigi grew these babies religiously for at least 30 years in Timmins Ontario, using discarded hockey sticks from the nearby outdoor rink as poles. These were his faves.

The beans are incredibly meaty, they don't get mushy in your soup, which always made them the prime ingredient in our minestrone. Not to mention, they are simply beautiful.

good friends

the rest of the compost has been moved to the very back of the yard.

matt has put together a special aries sweat lodge.

what's next?

will we ever get past the compost? and if we do - what next?

well - i was able to wrangle free compost from the city (thanks!) - but it really could use some amending! not a single worm was in sight in 6 cubic meters of compost - time to get that pile in contact with the earth & add some nutrients in.

next steps:

prep garden beds

• remove weeds, rocks, etc.
  
• aerate

add to compost

• composted horse manure (@ my place)
• quality top soil (in my back lane)
• wee bit of my biodynamic compost

build up beds

let sit for 1-2 weeks (patience.....)

plan garden

• what's getting planted where
• who's taking care of what

build cold frame

• i have most of the materials needed for a fabulous cold frame
  
• charm (island) brian next time he is in town
  

plant!

• start some seeds inside (e.g. tomatoes, peppers)
• harden off in cold frame
  
• direct sow some seeds

have fun along the way!

compost saga pt.2

the compost saga continues & i need your help!

chris, dave, (irish) brian & myles all swooped in & worked on moving that large pile o compost to the back yard when it was delivered last week. the plan is to screen & amend the compost - then we can build up the beds & get some seeds in there. exciting!

i just got a message from diane - who is having a party on friday night - in part a garden party - and would like to have the compost 'dealt with' by then. it seems that a giant pile of compost is not part of the party plan!

my foot is still quite buggered - pesky broken bones. walking to the end of the block is still a challenge & shoveling is just not within the realm of the possible. is anyone up for a little shoveling?? i guess the compost will just have to be moved & then after the party it can be screened & amended.

all shoveling will be rewarded with food & libations, many karma points, offerings from the garden and my undying love & appreciation. think of it as a back to the land opportunity.....

i can be available to coordinate, cheer on, bring food & treats on:
wednesday afternoon/evening
thursday morning/late afternoon/evening
friday morning/afternoon/evening (party is friday night)

it'll be great fun! really! the more the merrier (and easier). forget kitchen parties - compost parties are where it is at!

Enriching Our Growing Medium

Friday, March 28, 2008

It all began with 4 square yards of potentially-dodgy "compost," delivered to the driveway as a free gift from the City of Vancouver.

Along the pathway toward the back of the property, about six very promising plots of earth were just sitting there, eager to be enriched.

The site of what will become Gravely Gardens this summer is south-facing; the existing soil is shallow but extremely worm-infested, which I take to be a pretty good sign. With our new compost now sitting in the yard, our next step will be to amend the garden soil, whatever the hell that means.

Paula says we have to screen the soil now, and mix in some cow dung.

Chris