tis the season!

Well it's that time of year again. Actually with such a mild winter and early spring I've been out working hard getting things ready since March! I've been hoeing, raking, shovelling, mulching, spreading manure, starting seedlings, building a greenhouse (well actually that was my pa, how lucky I am), making raised beds from bricks and cinder blocks. I've got onions, spinach, lettuce, radishes, peas, beets, potatoes and carrots already in the ground. The asparagus has had some trouble with frosty nights but seems to have rounded the corner and is looking good. The raspberry bushes are coming along great and the garlic is nicely ahead of schedule. Also, I've got some beds under glass and am proud to say that I already have some zucchini coming up, in May! I'll be trying lots of container gardening and giving the old burlap sack potato trick a go. 

So here's the goal I've set for myself this year. To try to document my garden as much as possible. For those that don't know, I work full time for Tawse Winery as their organic veggie gardener. It's seriously a dream job for me. I love what I do.  This year there won't be a market so I'll be putting up a stand right at the winery and hopefully have produce available for sale every weekend starting mid-late June. 

 It's tough to make out but I've mended the gate to the garden using old wine barrel staves and weaved grape vine, something I hope to incorporate largely into the garden for trellising. It's absolutely possible to run a garden without all the "fancy garden tools" out there. I repurpose old burlap coffee sacks for weed suppression and carrot starts. I use the old staves as movable pathways amongst my rows and the grapevines (of course) come from the now pruned vineyards.  Other than that all I need is a couple rolls of twine a hoe, a rake, a wheelbarrow, and a pitchfork.

 Blossoms this season came 1.5 months ahead of typical schedule.  A little scary when you stop and think about it. Unpredictable weather now seems to be the norm.

 Picked these bad boys up the other day. Very interesting.

Another use I've found for those old unwanted grapevines. My first attempt but I think I'll be making more in the future.

 Some more delicious heirloom varieties1

 There's so many birds that live up by the garden. It's a medley of songs every morning. I want to get better at capturing (with my camera) these beautiful little beasts.

Tomato starts

It's not just a garden, it's a lifestyle. It's a hard, manual job but it's truly a simple life. My reliance on the supermarket has practically disappeared and the Niagara area is such a mecca of local food and wine that even when I do need something I prefer to support my community.  The shopping I do fit in consists of visits to the local thrift shops, auctions, yard sales and Kijiji. There's such an abundance of goods already out there, there's really no need to get everything new. I find so much more character and uniqueness with the old stuff.