As this is my first article of 2025, I thought I might do a prediction for the year ahead but then I decided that would be a real downer. I expect 2025 to be an exciting year, but not in a good way. So, I decided to get to the heart of the matter which is what can we do to make ourselves comfortable and happy in 2025?
Gardening is the key to getting through 2025 in good order and with good morale. I expect many of us would be happier if we spent more time outside and less time looking at the gladiatorial combat that has become the norm for Provincial, Federal and international politics. I know the spectacle of the various wars and slaughters of civilian populations has a sickening fascination but watching it does no good and robs us of valuable life energy.
So, the first thing you will need to garden successfully in 2025 is good potting soil. Having an ample and free source of potting soil allows the gardener to inexpensively start tender seedlings inside, long before we could plant outside. Planting inside allows us to steal a march on the cold, blustery springs we normally get. I also like to start seedlings inside so I can plant them out when they are big enough to resist the attentions of any stray slugs.
There is still time to start the potting soil which needs to be equal parts of finished compost, leaf mould and a bit of sand. There are still leaves to rake up. I favour the broad-leaf maple leaves. I usually have my hens shred them up and then poop on the leaves which starts them composting and by spring, I have heaps of lovely fine leaf mould.
If you do not have hens, you can pile the leaves up in compost boxes. Pour human urine over the leaves. This will help them to compost and break down. The nitrogen in the urine attaches to the carbon in the leaves. Plants know how to extract the nitrogen.
At this point, I usually get a confused question about how one acquires human urine. Pee in a bucket! If you would like more comfort, it is easy to make a nice Jenkins commode which is a wooden box with a bucket inside and a seat and a lid. If you would like instructions on how to make such an article, the, “Humanure Handbook,” by Joseph Jenkins has instructions on how to build one. They are super convenient for power outages and save a great deal of water!
If you do not have access to leaves, the same effect can be had by fluffing a couple of bales of hay into a compost box and pouring urine over it. In either case, turning the compost weekly will get you some nice stuff to use in your potting soil.
The finished compost should consist of food scraps, dry matter such as leaves, straw or hay and animal manure. If you have two compost boxes side by side, it is easy to flip the compost from the full to the empty box.
I buy sand from Dave Lang who has very good prices and is reliable and pleasant to do business with. Every few years, I get a truckload of sand from Dave and use it to lighten the heavy clay soil in my garden. I also use a few shovels’ full of screened sand for every wheelbarrow of potting soil we make.
We measure half leaf mould and half finished compost into a wheelbarrow and add a bit of sand. I had a recipe but years ago, we just started mixing the potting soil by eye and it works fine. If you add too much sand, you will know. Just add a few more shovels of compost and mix it in. We keep the potting soil in a covered garbage can in the greenhouse by the potting table.
It has been such a very warm winter that I was able to prune my Marion berries very late. This is a fiddly job and a stout pair of dry leather gloves makes it much easier. Thorns do not pass though the dry leather.
I found many baby Marion berry plants as the vines start new plants when they are long enough to touch the ground. I have clipped the starts off and am keeping them in a pot of soil in the greenhouse. If anyone would like some Marion starts, please call me at 335-1088 and I will set some out for you.
If you plant them this year, you will not get much fruit but next year, those vines will be established and give a good harvest. The berries are similar to a blackberry but appear several weeks earlier, are much larger and taste excellent. The deer are not interested in them nor are the birds.
