2012 with the Cambridge Guerilla Gardens May 26, 2012

Lots of gardening and digging while not so much blogging about it. This year we have some new things on the go. First a fairly big patch of new seedlings down near where Cambridge hits Danforth. This area was driven over by huge trucks while they re-did the roof on that apartment building. Instead of letting the weeds grow back, the soil has been turned and broken up with some compost added and then seeded with sturdy flowers. I see some seedlings; not as many as I would like however the whole area is looking better this year than ever.

Pee Posts. I have added 3 Pee Posts for the dogs to piss on. I love dogs and it is great to see dog walkers out and about, they just need the right place to go. So far so good.

Community herb garden is new this year too. It’s a patch near Dartford road that is about 60 square feet with a good variety of herbs and 3 tomato plants. I am trying to get some raspberries going too but with a bit less success.

The fricken dandelions are crazy this year and I have taken the push mower to them to try and cut down on the number going to seed. This will be an ongoing challenge.

We had a great show of tulips this year, the cherry blossoms were good and with the warm dry weather we are off to a good start considering its still May.

Anti – vegetable facists October 22, 2010

ok so a bit extreme, but why shouldn’t people be allowed to plant whatever they want in their front yard?

The star is reporting about a family that had a vegetable garden in their front year – apparently that’s a no- no with city hall.

what’s the difference between a flower in bloom and a vegetable in bloom?

Japanese Cherry Tree garden August 25, 2010

This is the beginning of the Jennie Seko memorial garden. The main addition is the three Kwanzen Japanese Cherry trees but there are also some low evergreens, bamboo and roses. I will keep adding as it makes sense. If anyone has any nice big rocks to add, let me know.

Vegetables in the guerilla garden August 22, 2010

This year I decided to add some weirdness to the garden by adding vegetables amongst the flowers. If you remember from last year, somebody planted a single stalk of corn which yielded one (1) cob that was too small to eat. This year I expanded on that and added three boxes of corn away from all the dog piss.

As you can see it’s healthy and producing maybe about 20 -25 cobs this year. The plants were off to a late start so the cobs might not be too big. Nonetheless it is the single most asked question this year from people walking by “is that corn?” Yeah wait till next year.

But it doesn’t stop there. Beans with some peas mixed in there too.

and tomatoes…

There are a lot of green tomatoes in there and they are away from the dog piss as well. Help yourself but don’t be greedy, take only what you need for that day.

New pics from late summer August 22, 2010

First year getting sunflowers to bloom.

Hollyhocks recovered well after the whipper snipper incident.

The silver maple has come back after getting run over by the hydro guys. I give it a 50/50 chance of making through the winter.

The BES (black eyed susans) are really the big hit this year.

What seems to have helped is the all the compost that I have been making with the help of Si Espresso on Broadview. I figure that I have diverted over 500kgs of coffee grinds from landfill into making the soil much richer and less “clay-y”.

Major new additions August 4, 2010

Yesterday and today began major new additions to the guerilla gardens. I have added 3 Japanese Kwanzaa Cherry trees, one Bing Cherry tree and a blue spruce. There are more to come as I have a whole bunch of low growing evergreens to fill spaces. Hopefully they all take well and form the backbone of a garden that runs along Dartford road.

This was spurred on by my parents who offered to buy a pair of cherry trees to commemorate my mother in law who died early this summer. I hope to keep to a Japanese theme although I have little experience along those lines. Time will tell. My mother in law was a Canadian born Japanese women who had her own cherry tree in her backyard so the theme makes sense. This may be the most anticipated spring yet.

Tool reviews – Gardena and Lee Valley May 31, 2010

There a couple of necessary tools that deserve a closer look at.

First a decent shovel. I have one and if lucky I get to borrow my neighbours. I prefer the Lee Valley transplant shovel ($37 – link here). The narrower digging part is less disruptive to the garden and it does a great job of slicing into the soil. Well worth it and it looks nice too. Of course I have a regular Home Depot shovel too and use it more often but that because there is a lot to do with compost and digging up grass to make way for new flower beds.

A wagon has turned into a really good acquisition. I got this one at Home Hardware for $120. It holds a lot of weight (250kgs) and is perfect for taking over to Loblaws and filling up with plants, soil etc. Also it’s great for loading up with full buckets of water and tools to drag around to all the flower beds everywhere. And of course to pick up the coffee grinds at Si Espresso every saturday morning.

I have mixed reviews of Gardena products. I just bought this for $45 at Home Depot and was disapointed right away. The seals were broken and water gushed out all over no matter which nozzle I selected. Sure there is a warranty on it and I can send it to the manufacturer blah blah blah – wouldn’t it be nicer if it just worked in the first place? I mean come on – I spent over $50 (tax) on a water nozzle. On top of that this is my third nozzle of Gardena’s and none have really been that great (why do I keep buying?). The first was fine except it the little lever that keeps the spray going broke in the first season. The second nozzle broke when it hit a rock. It’s a good thing for Garden that those little gizmo connectors that allow you to change hoses etc so quickly work so well because otherwise I wouldn’t bother. So it looks like the next nozzle will be a cheapo one with a add on Gardena thing a bob connector. They aren’t worth the money other wise.

I also tried out those little plastic greenhouses and might have had better success but every year it’s the same thing. February rolls around and with the best of intentions I get some little greenhouses and throw seeds at them, they germinate, then someone forgets to water them and everything dies. Best to be a little patient and wait for the bedding plants that the professionals grow.

Grow anything anywhere May 27, 2010

Sounds good to me – and if the Globe and Mail says to do it, then we should all jump in.

Moron with weedwacker May 20, 2010

Many thanks to the moron who used the weedwacker on the garden. This imbecile skillfully navigated around irises to wipe out the bee balm and everything that hasn’t bloomed yet. Apparently they were confused by how much hollyhocks look like grass. All I can say is there seems to be a reason why you are earning minimum wage and will continue to do so for the rest of your life – you are moron and will continue to be one.

Gardening on the Beeb May 14, 2010

Check this out. A story about Guerilla Gardening on the BBC.