My seeds

My first blog. My first post. My first seeds. We'll see what grows.


Despite the fact that I have a degree in horticulture, I was an avid gardener, worked in the horticulture industry, and had over a 100 houseplants.  I just couldn't get enough green.  But slowly, something changed.  Maybe it was too much.  Now my job, while still agriculture related, has little to do with plants, my home garden is minimalist and formal, and at the moment the only houseplant is a seasonal poinsettia. The strongest link I had to gardening up 'til recently was the fact that I coordinate, edit, and occasionally contribute articles to a gardening column in local weekly newspapers in Saskatchewan, Canada.

What re-invigorated my gardening sap is that I signed up for a community communist garden plot this fall. I had been wanting to have a vegetable garden for a while but it needed to be easy. My own backyard is designed more for ornamentals.  Besides, I have to negotiate most garden decisions with my co-conspirator.  My pseudo-sister-in-law has an acreage where she has generously offered me space in her large deer-proof veggie garden (8 foot high fenced-in enclosure).  But even though it's just outside the city limits, I have to make an effort to drive out (see blog title to get an idea of my MO). My new garden spot is close to home and I can drop by as I bike home from work. And I have free rein in what and how to plant within the borders of my plot.  Except it's supposed to be an 'organic' garden.  Well, I'll cross that path when I get there.  More on the communist plot in the future.

Lately, I've been poring through the few seed catalogues that have made their way into the house.  Even though we're expecting a high of 11C (52F) today, it'll be months from now before I can put seed in the ground. [The normal high for November 27 is -5C.]  But a guy can dream, can't he? So far I have some of the Canadian classics: Stokes, McFayden, T&T, and Veseys Seeds. I've also been looking through last year's Richters Herbs catalogue to get inspired.  I was originally thinking just sticking with the basics - carrots, potatoes, corn and the like. But I need to add a few things to shake things up to get the other community gardeners thinking outside their beds.