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July 8, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Cultivating Climate Action

Cultivating Climate Action

By Mathew Scammell

Most of us in Manitoba know that the climate is changing and that humans are responsible[1]. The scientific evidence supporting the claim that the burning of fossil fuels is to blame has only increased in recent decades. We now find ourselves in June of 2024, following the hottest month of May ever recorded by humans[2], which caps a full 12 straight months of record-breaking heat. Many of us are also noticing that historical climate norms are becoming less relevant and less predictable.

What most Manitobans might not know about climate change is that it is considered what can be called a positive feedback system, where more heating causes more heating. A quick example can be the melting of snow or ice in polar regions reducing reflectivity and absorbing more heat from sunlight. This aspect of climate change especially demands attention due to the accelerating nature of the problem – we need to act before the amount of heating becomes catastrophic and out of our control.

Photo: Sustainable South Osborne Community Cooperative (SSOCC) – Community Orchard

So, what does any of this have to do with gardening? In my experience, it is possible to cultivate climate action locally. I’ve been involved with Sustainable South Osborne Community Cooperative (SSOCC) ever since 2016, in large part due to the tangible actions SSOCC has been able to take towards acting on climate change. Incorporated as a community service cooperative, SSOCC is engaged in urban agriculture, focusing on the establishment of perennials but also producing a significant amount of annual vegetables. We are run by a board of directors, have stewards for each of our physical sites, and are always accepting generous offers by volunteers to help out. Operating community gardens at each of the local community centres in South Osborne and a community orchard along Churchill Drive, the organization has really grown its impact over the past 15 years.READ MORE

July 8, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Creating a Living Legacy

 

By Elsie Kathler, MG

 

Close your eyes and think about what you were doing 15 years ago. Fifteen years ago, the Steinbach and Area Garden Club was celebrating its 10th Anniversary. With the inspiration provided by two Master Gardeners, Karen Loewen and Anne Peters, the garden club chose to celebrate this occasion with the planting of a 10th Anniversary Tree, a Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) in KR Barkman Park.

During this 10th Anniversary, the garden club also committed to planting one tree each year for the next 10 years. Today, these 11 trees are growing beautifully in local parks. Thus began the Steinbach and Area Garden Club’s journey of creating a living legacy by planting trees to enhance our environment.

Fast forward to 2024. The Steinbach and Area Garden Club is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. Once again on this 25th Anniversary, the garden club will commemorate the occasion by planting trees; this time it will be the planting of a grove of 25 trees at the Mennonite Heritage Village in early September. This 25thAnniversary project was made possible with a Community Tree Grant from Tree Canada that will cover the cost of purchasing the trees and a partnership with Falk Nurseries who will be supplying the trees and assisting with the planting of the trees.

Portrait of Fred Kaita by Lenora Kehler.

The Steinbach and Area Garden Club will be naming this new grove of trees the “Fred Kaita Grove” to honour the memory of Fred Kaita who was the founder of the Steinbach and Area Garden Club and an extraordinary community volunteer. Lenora Kehler, Steinbach and Area Garden Club member and a gifted artist, has created a pencil portrait of Fred Kaita. This portrait will be presented to Fred Kaita’s family during the planting of the last tree and naming ceremony that will be held in September.

If you are interested in creating a living legacy by planting trees in your community, check out Tree Canada’s various programs and grants on their website at treecanada.ca.

July 8, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters, Uncategorized

Q&A: Tomato Issue

Question: Tomato Issue

Hi there, I am having an issue with all of my tomato seedlings this year (over 50 of multiple varieties) that I have never seen before. Every single plant appears like it will likely die or need to be destroyed. I’ve researched but can’t quite figure out what’s going on. It looks similar to herbicide damage, curly top, or maybe mosaic. I’m hoping someone can help me determine the issue so I know how to proceed.

All of the plants are having issues with leaf curl and small leaves on new growth. Many of them seem to have the main stems basically deforming at the end and then dying off. Some have started sending out another main stem which then dies off as well. I should mention I am also having noticeable issues of stunted growth and leaf curl or drop with the peppers and eggplants I started – flowers, herbs, and squash seem to be okay. If you would like additional or specific pictures or more information, please let me know.

I’m in Winnipeg. I have raised beds with decent drainage, plus the issues started before this weather but may have been exacerbated by the weather. The tomatoes were stunted and had stem and leaf issues while they were seedlings in my house. I assumed it was a nutrient or watering issue. I started watering them less and fertilized them with seaweed fertilizer which I’ve used in the past. I have used this particular bottle on other plants and seedlings without issue. I started hardening them off in May but brought them in overnight and when it was cold or stormy. They still weren’t getting better so I used some organic liquid fertilizer – I followed the directions and only watered them with it once before transplanting them in late May. They have probably been in the ground two weeks now and look no better. Any new growth is deformed.

I initially started my peppers around early March in soil I ordered from a department store. The bag was frozen solid. Bad decision, but I started the seeds in it and they all died off from dampening off or from some fungus (some just drooped and died, and some had a fuzzy growth over them and then died off). The bag possibly had gnat eggs in it as well, as I ended up with fungus gnats. For a second round, I started them in a seed-starting mix and had no issues until I transplanted them into an organic soil. After a while, they weren’t growing as fast as I had expected and the leaves started curling upward – they were never deformed like the tomatoes but just stayed cupping. I started the eggplant and tomato seeds right into the organic soil. They never seemed to grow normally; they grew slowly and on a smaller scale ­but the issues became visible as they “grew.” It seems a few of my peppers are fine and the squash and flowers are fine but, when I think about it, they were probably grown in the second bag of organic soil that I had.

Initially, I thought there may have been some type of fungus or disease that spread in my grow room or maybe the first bag of organic soil was contaminated with herbicide. It’s also definitely possible that I over-fertilized or over-watered or something. What do you think the issue most likely is? Do you think they may bounce back? Would it be safe for me to plant something else in that space or would the space possibly be contaminated?

Reply: Tomato Issue

Several of our Master Gardener members have read all the symptoms that you have sent to us along with studying your excellent photos which certainly show the major issues you are having with your tomatoes.READ MORE

May 2, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Beneficial Insects in the Garden

By Ian Wise
Entomologist (retired) and Chair of The Prairie Garden Committee

 

For any gardener who wants to have a vibrant, ecologically friendly garden, it is imperative to distinguish the good from the bad in the world of insects. The vast majority of insect species in your garden provide valuable functions as pollinators, decomposers, parasitizers, and predators, to name a few. Treating these beneficial species as an enemy will only make life more difficult for your gardening self.

Here are a few beneficials you might find in your garden.

Syrphids

A favourite of mine is a family of flies that should be called super flies. These are syrphids, so named because they are in the family Syrphidae. Many species of syrphids are bee or wasp mimics and are called drone flies because of their tendency to hover over flowers. When they alight on a flower, take a good look and see if these bee lookalikes have two or four wings. If it has two then it’s a syrphid. There are many flowering plants that do not attract bees and rely on other insects like these flies for pollination.READ MORE

May 2, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Container Gardening

Photo Kim Sysa

Tips to get your container garden started
By Kim Sysa, Master Gardener

 

What is container gardening?

Photo: Kim Sysa

Container gardening is growing plants in containers or pots for aesthetic reasons or when you do not have room for raised garden beds or a garden plot.

What do you need to get started?

You need containers, potting mix, plants or seeds, water, and fertilizer.

What are the benefits of container gardens?

You can move your pots to where they get the best light and can thrive. You have more control over your plants, growing them with the right growing medium and right amount of nutrients. There will be fewer weeds. Depending on the height of the pots, you may not need to bend down to garden.READ MORE

May 2, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Q&A: Tarnished Plant Bug Infestation

Q&A: Tarnished Plant Bug 

Answered by Ian Wise, Entomologist (retired) and Chair of The Prairie Garden Committee

Question: Infestation of Tarnished Plant Bug, Lygus lineolaris

I’m hoping someone might have a solution for a tarnished plant bug infestation in my raised vegetable garden. They decimated my tomatoes last year (I grow them mostly in 5-gallon buckets around the edge of the raised bed) and I’m afraid they will be back in full force this year. I think they may have got a good foothold because my baby was born mid-July so I didn’t address the situation early or adequately enough. I cleaned out and trimmed around the garden at the end of the season but am afraid to invest too much in tomatoes if they’ll be back in full force. Maybe there’s something I can grow in abundance this year to convince them to leave? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!READ MORE

May 2, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Q&A: Lawn Conversation into Perennial Border

Q&A: Perennial Planting

Question: Lawn Conversion into Perennial Border

I am planning on converting a part of my lawn into a perennial border.  I will be smothering the grass this year and plan to plant the perennials in autumn.  Is it okay to start perennial seeds in May to be planted in the ground in September?  I was planning on using tufted hair grass, echinacea, lupines and veronicastrum.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Answer:

Our Q&A team members (Debbie, Lisa, Derek and Kiyoko) all congratulate you for your choice for making a difference for biodiversity.

With the exception of the lupines, there should be no issue in starting the plants you mention from seed now so that you may plant them later in the season. You would need to carefully “baby them” in their first weeks to help them become strong. Once they reach a good size, “potting them up” by planting them into larger containers will lessen the vigilant watering required to carry new plants in small containers through the summer.READ MORE

May 2, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

In Praise of the Humble Rhubarb

In Praise of the Humble Rhubarb

By Doris Mae Oulton, Master Gardener

 

Ah, spring – when a gardener’s (who is also a cook) thoughts turn to rhubarb. Often it is the first vegetable in the garden that peeks its little rosy head up and usually the first one you can harvest. That first taste of spring rhubarb, be it in a crumble, a pie, or just stewed, is a pure taste of spring.

Photo: By cafemama – Rhubarb plant ready for harvesting – Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2″.0.

Known scientifically as Rheum rhabarbarum, rhubarb belongs to the Polygonaceae family as do buckwheat and sorrel. It appears to have been brought to Europe then to North America from Siberia and China. Storytellers like to link this western migration to Marco Polo upon his return from his extensive travels, bringing it to Italy in the 14th century for the medicinal properties of its roots. In fact, it was actually imported much earlier by the Greeks and Romans from unknown eastern lands. However, it wasn’t until the 18th century when rhubarb started being used for culinary purposes.READ MORE

May 2, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

The Rhizosphere: Delving Below the Surface

The Rhizosphere: Delving Below the Surface

By Meera Sinha, FRCSC, Master Gardener

 

Soil has been called by many names. Some have called it “dirt” reminiscent of the 1930’s drought across the prairies, when stubble was burnt, the fields tilled and left fallow; winds blew the soil away. Others have bent down to kiss the soil and call it Mother Earth.

“Soil is the basis of terrestrial life. All terrestrial life. Every living thing on the planet depends on soil. And yet this material which is hidden beneath the surface of the earth is under-appreciated, not recognized.”
Dr. Rattan Lal, Soil Physicist; The World Food Prize Laureate 2020; On the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

As a curious gardener, I set out to explore this intriguing statement and discovered that the world below is indeed as fascinating as the one with our beautiful plants above. We are dependent upon it.READ MORE

May 2, 2024 In Newsletter Articles, Newsletters, Uncategorized

What’s That on My Flower? (Part 2)

What’s That on My Flower? (Part 2)

Early spring bees and a bee mimic

 
By Betsy Thorsteinson

 

As soon as plants flower in the spring, there are bees to pollinate them. I mentioned in my first article (What’s That on My Flower? – Part 1) that honey bees are often the first seen but wild bees are out early too. Here are a few of the first pollinators you will see in the spring.

DUNNING’S MINER BEE (Andrena dunningi)

About the size of a worker honey bee, this solitary mining bee is happy to dig its nest in suburban lawns, bare ground and waste places. Studies have shown that as soon as the ground softens in the spring, Andrena leave their nest cells and wait in their tunnels just below the ground surface for the first warmth of a spring day. Sometimes they appear before flowers open, and they patiently live on their fat reserves. They are seen April through June, after which they die, leaving their young developing underground until the next spring.READ MORE