Sample pages from the book No Guff Vegetable Gardening by Donna Balzer and Steven Biggs. More info at http://www.gardencoacheschat.com/the-book/

2. BOOK
CHAPTER
ONE Understand
Climate and
INTRODUCTION Weather for
Success in
page 8 page 14 YOUR Garden CHAPTER
FIVE
CSELECTION
ROP
& ROTATION
page 52
CHAPTER
THREE
PLANNING A
VEGETABLE
GARDEN page 36
CHAPTER
SOILS: GOOD 22
TWO HARVEST page
FOR A
FOOD

3. CONTENTS
CHAPTER CHAPTER
SIX EIGHT
STARTING 78
SEEDS
“MAINTENANCE”
GARDEN
page 102
INDOORS page
HAND
CHAPTER
ARVESTING
NINE SUCCESSION
CROPS page 126
CHAPTER
FOUR CHAPTER
MVEGETABLE
AKING A
SEVEN
GARDEN
page 46 OUTDOOR &
SEEDING
TRANSPLANTING
page 94
CONCLUSION
page 148

4. Closed Plastic YES YES
Composter
* For fruit and veg scraps from the kitchen. * For fine landscape materials and weeds.
* Never turned. * Takes at least a year.
* Instead, aerated with a broomstick. * Never turned. Does not get hot enough to kill weed seeds or disease.
* After a year or so I spread it on shrub beds or garden.
Open Air YES YES
Compost Pile
* For yard waste. * On occasion Donna makes a hot compost pile to use up extra yard
waste materials. This is not contained—just layered and turned.
* The heat kills weed seeds and bad bacteria.
Rotating No YES
Composter
* Please…what a waste of money. * Takes all the green kitchen waste that might otherwise
attract rats because it is rodent-proof.
* Takes some leaves to get a good green-brown balance.
* Does not get hot enough to kill weed seeds or disease.
Worm Bin YES YES
(see page 31) * Kitchen scraps, along with paper towels * Kitchen scraps, along with paper towels and tissue.
and shredded paper.
* All winter kitchen scraps go here, as the outdoor composter is frozen.
* So far, it doesn’t take a huge
volume of material. * In summer, they get just enough green and brown material to keep
them alive. Some worms are added to rotating bin in summer.
* Worms do not kill seeds of veggies.
Bokashi* No YES
* Donna gifted me a Bokashi, which I tried * Meat bits, bacon fat, bones and leftovers and
because the concept is neat. anything not permitted in normal compost.
* I stopped—too many compost systems… * Many municipalities now have pick-up of this kind of waste, but
I keep all my own waste in-house by using a Bokashi.*
Overflow… YES YES
* Extra leaves can go in a pile behind * Extra leaves saved in garbage bags for composting
the shed or some bushes. later or mulching around shrubs.
* This is the same as my open-air pile. * Leaves are also piled in an open mesh-enclosed
bin with layers of finished compost.
*Bokashi is a sealed (anaerobic, or without air) system that digests kitchen wastes, including meat and dairy products. The waste
30 goes into a sealed bin, and is inoculated with microorganisms. “Finished” material coming from a Bokashi system is then either
buried in the garden or added to a composter. So think of Bokashi as a pre-composting system. Bokashi is not fed to worms.

5. 3 WHAT’S RIGHT?
There is no “right” way to plan your
garden. Instead of focusing on what’s
right, think about what suits your needs.
PLANNING A VEGETABLE GARDEN
While commercial market gardening with the flowers. Luckily my dad
DETOX FOR
PERFECTIONISTS
necessitates the use of straight rows and was too busy farming to see what
uniformity, the home gardener is free my mom was actually doing in the
from those constraints and can create a
garden of any size, shape, or pattern. vegetable garden.
If you think you might be too much of a
perfectionist, think of vegetable gardening as
Maybe your garden has the symmetrical
layout of a commercial market garden, or
Top 3 Sensible an antidote. It’s detox for perfectionists.
the creative flair of an abstract
painting. Both are fine.
Planning Tips The reason is simple: With gardening, you’re never
fully in control. Whether it’s unexpected weather, a
My Dad, Bob, grew up
1. be afraid to change your
Don’t flock of birds, weed seeds from the neighbours, or
plan and squeeze in new crops. a squirrel, there are always barriers to perfection.
in a household that
That’s fine. A well-tended but imperfect
valued straight lines. For him, all
those straight lines were begging
2. hide the vegetable
Don’t vegetable garden will still yield well for you.
garden—show it off.
to be curved—so his garden beds
are flowing and rounded, with not
a straight edge to be found. Dad
3. advantage of any spot at
Take Rabbits are a definite
all—even if it seems too small. barrier to perfection for me!
instilled in me a love of rounded
unky garden (left) contrasts traditional, 90-year-old garden (right).
beds…though I like straight lines Small f
in my vegetable garden!
My Dad, Harvey, was raised
on rows. Straight rows. He
did not tolerate curves or
decorative vegetables and
would not let my mother slip even
a few ornamental vegetables in
36

6. Let’s look at things from a high level. Grab a
pen and do some circling below.
The Look Formal Informal Bit of Both
The Workload Lots, I’m Keen In Between Minimal Work
The Harvest Need Lots Need Some Enough for One
The Future Will Expand Might Expand Won’t Expand
Vegetable Garden The Future: If you have plans to expand
Planning Exercise the garden in future years, consider
leaving space to expand. Remember this
when planting small trees that might grow
There is no right way to organize your vegetable larger and shade future expansion.
garden. If you think we’re trying to avoid
Planning Considerations
writing a chapter on planning, we’re not. We
want you to focus on your needs and wants.
Focusing on your needs and wants will Now that you’ve thought about the look,
guide you in the size and placement of workload, volume, and future growth of
your garden, based on the “look” and your vegetable garden, let’s look at a few
amount of work (and harvest) you want. other planning considerations. Start with
either form or with function—but ultimately
Here are examples of how you can strive to bring the two together.
apply your answers to the exercise
when planning your garden:
Access Within the Garden
The Look: If you’re attracted to a formal Kneel down and stretch out your arm and see
appearance, you might want vegetables in how far you can reach while digging with a
blocks or rows in a dedicated bed, away from trowel. As you plan your garden, make sure
ornamentals. But if you prefer to keep things you can reach all areas of the vegetable
informal, you might go for a cottage-style garden garden bed from the edge, a pathway, stepping
and dot tomato plants amongst your flowers. stone, or a spot left empty for footsteps.
Top garden i
The Workload: We don’t begrudge spending When kneeling I can barely
a lot of time in the garden: we write about dig a trowel into the middle
gardening, so it’s our job. But you might not of a bed that is four feet
have a lot of time. If that’s the case, keep it small
across, and I am pretty tall—
s
and avoid techniques that take a lot of time.
casua
for a girl. Obviously shorter girls or
The Harvest: If you can use lots of fresh guys will want even narrower beds. l, wh
produce, then it makes sense to grow i l e botto
m g a rd e n h a s precisely me
lots. If you’re growing for one, you might asured rows.
decide to keep the garden small.
37

7. If you keep beds to approximately 1 m
(3.5 feet) wide you should be able to reach
most parts of the bed without stepping onto
it. Before making the bed, test the width
to make sure it’s comfortable for you: too
wide and some simple digging might require
a balancing act of standing tiptoe on one
foot, with your trowel in one outstretched
arm—and the other arm propping you up.
Stepping on soil ruins soil
structure by squeezing out
air spaces and compacting and ornamentals
From left: vegetables
wers add colour to
clay—so always plan ahead so you co-exist; nasturtium flo
traditional rows.
won have to step on soil.
’t the vegetable garden;
I like to use blocks
of one square metre Shape
Blocks Versus Rows (one square yard) for Not big on squares and rectangles? Then
Traditional rows allow access with a hoe to most veggie crops. make rounded, scalloped, or variously shaped
cultivate and control weeds. But that means The exception is tomatoes, which I gardens. Let the shape of the available
a lot of unplanted ground, which can be a put in a long row that is two plants space be your guide or inspiration.
luxury in cramped home gardens. Planting wide. When they’re in blocks, the
in solid blocks or wide rows doesn’t leave plants in the middle languish.
as much space for a hoe, but is a better Sunlight
use of limited space. Once established, With few exceptions, veggies need sunlight—
dense plantings choke out many weeds. Precision especially at midday—so don’t hide your garden
Don’t get too caught up in precision! We think on the north side of the house, behind a fence,
Some gardeners prefer blocks of rows, with it’s a waste of time. While seed catalogues or under a big tree and hope for success.
crops planted in a block along the length of specify exact planting depths and spacing,
each row, instead of several skinny single plant these are simply guidelines. Many crops can Grow taller plants where they won’t
rows. Both Donna and Steve play around with be planted by hand-scattering seeds and shade neighbouring smaller ones.
this but—really—there is no right or wrong way. then covering with a thin layer of soil. Other
Planning for Appearance
seeds can be simply pressed into the soil.
There’s no reason for a vegetable garden
to be drab. There are many ways to
enliven it. Here are a few ideas.
From bottom left: red and green beets in
a block; a row of colourful Swiss chard.
38

8. Alternately, you might want to edge the bed to give a consistent look. At a minimum,
vegetable garden with flowering herbs such you can contour the edges of your vegetable
as lavender or plants with variegated leaves. garden to blend with ornamental gardens.
I like to plant a few
gladiolus bulbs in
Planning the Unplanned
the vegetable patch, Unplanned crops arrive in the garden from seeds
something Shelley’s blowing in the wind, seeds dropped the previous
grandmother taught me. I’m a big season, and seeds in composted kitchen scraps.
fan of colourful mixed Swiss chard,
which has great ornamental value. And that’s good news.
I love red lettuce. A recent
Vary Textures Self-seeded lettuce makes
favourite was Freckles, a red,
and Shapes great use of space in the
speckled variety of romaine vegetable garden. Like
Select vegetables with a variety of leaf types lettuce that I bought as dandelion seeds, lettuce seeds
to vary shapes and texture in the garden. grow attached to a silky parasol
soon as I saw it for sale at the
This applies whether you have a dedicated that allows them to float around
vegetable patch or whether you’re interplanting market. Of course I have not been on a summer breeze and nestle
your vegetables with ornamentals in the able to find it again! in garden nooks that you would
flowerbed. Picture fernlike dill leaves poking never think to seed. So your
up from behind large, ruffled lettuce leaves. lettuce will pop up amongst
Incorporate Landscape Themes the tomatoes, peas, potatoes,
I grow asparagus as much By themes we mean things such as fences and and even in the asparagus
for its ferny texture and pathways—permanent fixtures in the garden. patch. Where there is space, let
bright red berries in the fall them grow: where there is not,
Don’t be afraid to incorporate themes found in remove them. They will fill the
as for the spears in spring. the rest of your yard. For example, if flagstones holes in your garden for you.
are part of your ornamental garden, use them to s.
d texture
create vegetable garden pathways or a border
urs, sh apes, an ale with
Add Colour around the vegetable garden. If you have a Mix colo m left: ruffled k wer;
Don’t be afraid to add colour to your vegetable deck, you might consider a wood-framed garden From botto ce starting to flo
; lettu ves; po inty
garden, whether flowers or coloured veggies. poppies chini lea ce.
mo ttled zuc pointy leaf lettu
n ions.
green o
39

9. 4
MAKING A VEGETABLE GARDEN
Top 3 Sensible Marking Where to Dig Not-So-Square Beds
If you are planning curved beds, either
Garden-Making Tips dig these out free-form or lay down
Are you a Square Head? a garden hose to use as a guide.
1. Measure and mark the garden first. If you really want right-angled corners in
Sodbusting
your garden, pull out the high-school math.
2. Dig out turfprior to planting. or
smother it
with a flat spade You can use the Pythagorean Theorem.
I was never a math scholar, The first step to making your vegetable
3. A garden does not need to be raised but one of my first jobs in garden is sodbusting. There are no two
ways about it: removing or smothering the
horticulture at the University
lawn (or other vegetation) to make your
Use th of Alberta involved laying
e 3 - 4- 5 vegetable garden takes a bit of work.
rule to
lay out out trial beds for new flowers and
a square
corner. vegetables. “Simple, said my boss,
”
who proceeded to instruct me in the Smother It
Cover the lawn with a removable covering
use of the 2-3-4 rule (Pythagorean such as a tarp for four or more weeks, which
T heorem) for making a garden bed! kills the lawn by blocking sunlight. Alternately,
a2+b2=c2
cover it with a biodegradable covering such as
newspaper or cardboard topped with layers of
finished compost, lawn clippings, and leaves.
Finish with a layer of garden soil on top of the
You must be joking—the organic materials. The effect of this layering is
Pythagorean Theorem in the to smother the underlying grass—but unlike the
garden? I eyeball the corners tarp technique, this method also builds the soil.
and refuse to measure in my
own garden. As you’ve read, we believe that composting
is the ticket to good garden soil. Making a
new garden can be an opportunity for both
46

10. I love the newest hybrid tomatoes
Coaches’ Thumbs-Up Guide: Crops To Make Guests Say Wow like Sungold—sweet, almost disease-
Half the fun of growing veggies is sharing them with other people. And when you have free and early too.
guests who are excited about your garden produce—or when you go to a potluck and
people ooh and ah, then growing vegetables becomes especially satisfying. When I had too many Mexican
gherkins to eat fresh, I brined
Here are some not-too-mainstream-yet vegetables that are sure to elicit glowing feedback. some along with garlic and dill,
with delicious results.
CROP WHY THE
With many pole bean varieties being a bit longer and flatter than bush beans—and with yellow and purple
Beans (pole) varieties too—imagine a veggie platter with raw, crunchy, colourful beans that are perfect for dipping. Colour
is a big part of the wow (the purple colour disappears when you cook them) so serve them raw.
Again, colour is the trick. Carrots come in white, yellow, red—even purple. Serve an assortment
Carrots
of colours, either fresh or cooked, and watch for the smiles on the faces of eaters.
No, it’s not a typo. Yes, dahlia is an annual flower. But it also has an edible root—and we have
Dahlia
market gardener David Cohlmeyer to thank for putting us onto this “wow” crop.
In addition to Florence fennel, with an edible bulb, there’s bronze fennel grown for the beautiful foliage, which dresses up a
Fennel plate beautifully. And then there’s the flowers on both bronze and Florence fennel—
airy light yellow clusters sure to elicit questions and enhance salads.
Though technically a fruit, the ground cherry deserves a place in the vegetable garden. People love
Ground Cherries
to unhusk the cloaked fruit—and then smile as they enjoy its pineapple-like zing.
Size matters. In this case, the size is small, as Mexican gherkins (also known as mouse
Mexican Gherkins
melons) are small, fingernail-sized, pop-in-your-mouth novelties for guests.
Stripes, splotches, striations…tomatoes will give you a patterned delight to make guests say “wow.”
Tomatoes
Add to that varied flavours, and an assortment of tomatoes is very worthwhile.
53

11. SPINACH SUB PLEASE
THUMBS DOWN:
At risk of offending spinach lovers everywhere, let’s just say that fresh garden spinach is a true
treat, but growing it can be…bothersome. You see, summer and long days makes it obsessed with
flowering and setting seed, which result in leather leaves. So we’d like to throw out some spinach
FAILURE TO WOW substitutes for you to try in the garden in between the ideal spinach seasons of spring and fall.
SPINACH SUB INCIDENTALLY
My daughter Kalen talks
Amaranth Also called Chinese spinach. Related to the weed pigweed—
about the asparagus peas which is also used sometimes as a spinach sub.
she grew in Edmonton:
Arugula In early spring and fall usually germinates more quickly than spinach.
“T hey grew really well and were
quite pretty with their bright red Beet Leaves Tolerates warm weather. Not obsessed with flowering like
flowers but the pods themselves spinach—and, of course, roots are edible too.
(even at a very immature stage) Corn Salad (Mâche) Likes cold weather, so from a weather perspective,
were woody and pulpy and tasted similar to spinach and not the best sub.
neither like asparagus nor peas. It
Malabar Spinach Glossy, reddish leaves on an attractive climbing
was confusing, and the whole row vine. Highly ornamental. Hates the cold.
ultimately ended up in the compost
Miner’s Lettuce Also known as claytonia. Highly cold tolerant.
heap after some very unsuccessful
culinary attempts. Maybe there Mizuna Tolerates cold and frost. Deeply serrated leaves
are special preparation techniques are very attractive. Peppery flavour.
that need to be employed to bring New Zealand Spinach Also called tetragonia. Loves the warmth—hates
out their flavour and texture in a the cold—and will not bolt in hot weather.
pleasing way, but for my money, and
Orach Attractive leaves. Plants come in red, yellow, and green varieties.
garden space, regular garden peas
are by far the champion. In the Swiss Chard Use stalk on large leaves instead of bamboo shoots in stir-fry
recipes. Tolerates warm weather. Not obsessed with flowering.
process of ‘editing’ the garden over
time, asparagus peas were not even Weeds! Lamb’s Quarters is a cousin of spinach, and many claim
considered for a second chance.” that, harvested young, it’s a good substitute.
I, too, tried these, and they
were tough and woody for Still have your heart set on growing spinach? Bloomsdale is an old,
me. Thumbs down. dependable, open-pollinated variety. Market gardener David Cohlmeyer—
who has grown a lot of spinach—says it is still the best variety.
T humbs down for the New Zealand spinach. T here is a
bitter aftertaste that stays in the throat.
My hands-down favourite spinach sub is Swiss chard.
55

12. SEED TERMINOLOGY
Heirlooms are older varieties that have become Some seeds are so expensive they are coated
GMO DEMYSTIFIED
Let’s step back for a second to point out that
less common as commercial producers switch to prevent loss in shipping and handling. lingo can be a stumbling block. What in some
to newer ones. Many gardeners choose parts of the world is called genetically modified
heirlooms for historical interest or novel Treated Seeds are coated with protectants (GM) or genetically modified organism (GMO)
colours or flavours—and many people are such as fungicides to control diseases that is defined by the Canadian Food Inspection
concerned about preserving the genetic hamper germination or kill young seedlings. Agency (which reports to the federal minister of
diversity found in such varieties. If the seed is pink, good chance it is treated. agriculture) as genetically engineered (GE).
I grow a tomato variety given Treated seed is not for the Genetically Engineered (GE): modified
to me by my father’s cousin,
organic gardener—the “treatment,
” using techniques that permit the direct
whose father got it from an Italian
depending upon what it is, may kill transfer or removal of genes, including
neighbour named Franco, who recombinant DNA techniques.
brought it from the old country. both good and bad fungi.
For me, the Franco tomato is an
I’m not ethically opposed Transgenic: You might have heard about
heirloom because it has been passed
to treated seed. It’s not a tomato with fish genes a few years
from generation to generation, and
inconsistent with my back. That is what can be considered
it has a story.
preference for a sterile seeding “transgenic,” and it is a subset of the
mix indoors. Let’s put things into broader class of GE (or what many people
My daughter Kalen grows her
perspective: If I use foot powder know as GMO). While that tomato was a
mother-in-law’s beans, brought commercial flop, a transgenic, GE crop
for athlete’s foot, it controls the
over from Bosnia. She now saves disease and also probably kills in common use today is BT corn, which
them herself. some good microbes on my skin… has genetic material from a bacterium.
but hey, that’s life. If you take
Hybrids are nothing more than a cross our advice to try a cheater row Here’s some trivia for you: the Canadian
between two varieties of the same plant: of beans in a cold spring (page regulatory system does not regulate GE
think of a cockapoo dog, a hybrid of a cocker Error! Bookmark not defined.), plants. That’s because it doesn’t regulate the
spaniel and poodle. Along with improved there’s a decent likelihood of the breeding process—but instead regulates the
vigour, hybrids can have traits such as combination of cold soil and rot final outcome, and any plants considered to
improved yield, flavour, colour, and disease organisms killing the seed—and have “new” traits are regulated.
resistance. But…they do not yield seeds in this case, I would recommend
that are likely to resemble the parents. treated seed. Overall, though, gardeners are
distrustful of anything with
Open-Pollinated varieties are stable, non- If Steve is worried about bad soil so little testing and because GMOs
hybrid varieties giving seed that grow into microbes, he needs to use compost
plants like the parent. Cross-pollination by can be certified as organic and
’t
tea to build in a natural defence can get mixed in with the gene pool
wind or insects can happen. See page 158for
more about self-fertile crops that come “true.” system with good microbes. of non-GMO seed, this gardener is
trying to stay away from them.
Organic: Grown following organic Untreated Seeds haven’t been treated
standards on land certified as organic with fungicides. While some untreated For me the bigger issue for
by an accredited organization. seeds may be organic, untreated is people to think about is that the
not the same thing as organic. development of new crops has shifted
Pelleted Seeds: These have been coated so away from government agencies and
that the size of the seed is large and uniform into the realm of large, multinational
and easy to plant by machine or a small child. companies.
57

13. “ R E A L” SOI
L MI X ES
6
Olderbooks
giverecip esforsteriliz
I have don inggardens
e this but th oilintheove
inse cts are e smell is ba n.
killed, le avin d! Besides,
g the g ard in the proce
soil with all ener with b ss, microbes
the sa me p iolog ically “d and
roblems of re e a d” g ard
I’m ban ne g ular soil—p en
d from pu oor drain a g
section on tting soil i e an d stick
harve st ti n the oven
. Th y!
p s , I am a at’s OK… a
llowed carr s
ots i n the w you’ll read i n our
a shing ma
chine .
STARTING SEEDS INDOORS
Top 3 Sensible Seed- 3. Unlessyoubakeitinyouroven, * Ibesuspiciousaboutwhatsortofhumus
fthelabelsayshumus,butnomore,
Starting Tips
gardensoilisnotsterile.Sterility
doesn’tmatterinthegarden,but you’regetting:isitcompostedbark,
whenyou’restartingyourseason’s cowmanure,ormunicipalwaste?
1. Goodlightisthesecret worthofcropsindoors,itsuredoes.
togoodseedlings.
Manycommercialsoillessmixescontainvarying * Itopsoilanddoesn’tspecifythatit’s
sthemixsterile?Ifitcontains
combinationsofpeatmoss,perlite,vermiculite, beensterilized,besuspicious!
2. Speedupgerminationwithheat. groundlimestone,andnutrients.Theyare
generallyfreefromweedseeds,harmfulbac-
3. Watergently. teria,andfungaldiseases—andhavealight Soilless Mixes And Seeding
texturethatallowsmovementofairandwater.
Supplies: Soil
Werecommendusingcommerciallypre-
Thesterilenatureofsuchmixesisparticularly
paredsoillessmixwhenfirststartingseeds
importantforgardenerswhodecidenottouse
becauseitiseasytouseforbeginnersand
treatedseeds,asitminimizestheriskoffungal
practicalforexperiencedgardeners.
diseases,collectivelycalled“dampingoff.”
Soil(Less) Mixes
It’sbuyerbewarewhenitcomestopottingsoil Therearesoillessmixesmadees-
Themedium—the“soil”—weuseforstarting andsoillessmixes:there’salotofcraponthe peciallyforseeding.Akeyfeatureis
seedsindoorsisfrequentlysoilless.Here’swhy: market.Wewouldn’twasteourtimeandseeds usuallythateverythingismorefinely
1. Fromthetimeaseedgerminatesuntil
thearrivalof“trueleaves”(thefirst
withanythinglessthanaprofessionalsoilmix. milled—justasbabyfoodispureed.
leavesarecalledseedlingleaves),the Notsurehowtoreadthelabel? I like to use a specialty seeding
youngplantisnourishedbynutrientsin Herearesometips: mix. It is good for small containers—
theseed.Thatmeansseedsdon’tneed
* Avoidanythingthatpromisesslow-or
anutrient-richmediumtogerminate. and really good in seedling trays
2. Gardensoilpacksdown,makingroot
growthmoredifficult,andlimitingthe
timed-releasefertilizer.Somegranular
fertilizerscanreleaseinbursts.While
with small openings, where one clump
of mix could bung up an entire
notaproblemforlargerplants,aburstof
entryofairintothesoil.Itisdifficultto fertilizercouldspellthedemiseofatender planting hole. I suggest newbies
separateseedlingsfortransplanting seedling—killingitwithtoomuchfood.
outofhard-packednaturalsoil. use the types of soilless mix
78

14. Pricking Out and Transplanting Guidelines
1. Seeifyourseedlingsarebigenoughtotransplant.Afterthefirsttwo“seedling”leavesgrow,
theyarefollowedby“true”leaves.Prickoutseedlingsoncetheyhavetwotrueleaves.
2. Preparenewcontainersforplanting(sothatseedlingroots
areexposedtoairfortheshortesttimepossible).
3. Makelabelsandputthemintrays. When I first started
growing plants from seed,
4. Inthenewlyfilledandlabelledcontainer,pokeaholeintothesoil I seeded only into fine vermiculite
withadibbler.(OK,we’rebeingshow-offswithlingo:thisisjusta
pointedimplementthatcouldbeapencilorPopsiclestick.) so that roots would be easy to tease
apart...but I changed to peat-
5. Removeaseedlingfromitscrowdedhomeusingthedibbler. based mixes as my comfort with
6. Holdtheseedlingbytheleaves,notthestem.Tenderstemscaneasilycrush, transplanting increased.
andtheplantwillneverrecover,whileitcanalwaysgrowanewleaf.
If your space is unlimited and
7. Getasmuchsoilwiththerootsaspossible,thentransport friends are lining up around the
thisonyourhand,anoldfork,oraPopsiclestick. block for your plants, go ahead
and transplant every seed that
8. Ploptheseedlingintotheholeyoumadeinstep2. germinates. Otherwise, if 175 tomato
9. Youwanttheplanttobeatthesamedepthasitwaspreviously seeds germinate and the garden
(exceptfortomatoes,whichcanbeplantedmoredeeply). can only hold 10 plants, thin and
only transplant the best plants.
10. Firmthesoillightlyaroundthestemusingindexfingersandthumbs. (But leave the others in the seeding
11. Waterimmediately. tray until you are sure the ones you
moved have survived.)
Visitwww.GardenCoachesChat.comtoseeourvideoabouttransplantingseedlings.
87

15. From top: ladybugs mating; yellow
ladybug eggs and white, stalked lacewing
eggs; ladybug larvae are black.
Nicotine, pyrethrum, and rotenone are among
the more common botanical insecticides.
Sometimes called “natural insecticides,”
because they are extracted from plants or
plant parts, many people think they have no
effects on humans or non-target insects.
It’s smoking taken to the next
. level: when I sold greenhouse
Alyssum fowers feed beneficial insects supplies, we sold a nicotine bomb
that would kill everything in the
Extermination
greenhouse—applicators included if
We’re not extermination fanatics. You’ve
they didn’t get out in time.
probably gathered that by now. But
sometimes it’s necessary to control a
bug infestation. Exterminating bugs can Microbial pesticides employ bacteria or
be done mechanically—by hand picking, fungi to kill offending pests. Bt is the name
for example—or can be accomplished used for a bacteria-containing insecticide
by applying a product, an insecticide. that kills caterpillars of moths and butterflies
such as cabbage loopers. Some microbial
Mechanical Extermination pesticides can be tricky to keep alive…
This method is easiest with larger insects and are sold out of refrigerators!
such as tomato hornworm or asparagus and
potato beetles. Pick off and squish adults, I only in favour of hand picking
’m
and smear any eggs you find on the plants. insects. Botanical and natural
My favourite memory of low- products are still killers of beneficial
cost extermination involves insects. I have used diatomaceous
my neighbour Dimitrios, who was earth in select cases, but a word of
troubled by earwigs and would
caution for the applicator: it can be
catch them every night by leaving
out bundles of twigs, in which they dangerous if inhaled.
would congregate. Then, every I used to sell pesticides, so
morning, he’d shake out the bundles I’m no stranger to them. But
and do an earwig jig on the driveway I don’t advise using more than
as he attempted to squish them insecticidal soap in the home veggie
before they scurried away. garden. Why? Because I think
that a home garden should be low
Insecticides input. I’m not convinced you’ll
Insecticides are substances that kill insects. save a bundle of money growing
There are natural or synthetic ones and vegetables—but you definitely
broad-spectrum and highly targeted ones. shouldn’t spend a bundle on pest-
Soap is an example of a broad-spectrum control products, organic or not.
insecticide that kills most insects.
117

16. 1 2 3 4 5
8 6
9 7 Clockwise from top left:
(1) artichoke ready to pick; (2) asparagus;
(3) broad bean; (4) beet leaves;
(5) Graffiti, a coloured cauliflower;
(6) plump beet root; (7) bush beans;
(8) arugula in flower; (9) artichoke too late.
129

17. 1 2 3 4 5
8 6
9 7 Clockwise from top left:
(1) squash flowers are edible;
(2) sink full of summer squash;
(3) Tiger summer squash; (4) spaghetti squash;
(5) immature tomatillo;
(6) Donna’s grandson Cohen picks a pumpkin;
(7) Turk’s Turban winter squash;
(8) colourful Swiss chard;
(9) Bloomsdale spinach ready to pick. 143

18. Garden C
bean
broad 53
Index
harvest 128
bush 60
cabbage
dry
A
family 65
harvest 128
frost hardiness 15
frost hardiness 15
harvest 130
planting date 20
alfalfa pellets 111 pole 57;60 cantaloupe
amaranth 59 harvest 130 frost hardiness 15
amendment 19 beds 48 cardoon
definition 22 edged raised 49 frost hardiness 15
raised 48 harvest 132
ant. See pest unframed 48
carrot 57
aphids 115 beet frost hardiness 15
frost hardiness 15 harvest 54;132
artichoke 67
harvest 54;130
harvest 128 cauliflower
leaf 59
frost hardiness 15
arugula 53;59
beneficial fungus 31 harvest 130
frost hardiness 15
harvest 128 bioassay 28 celery
frost hardiness 15
asparagus 53;56 blanching 106
harvest 54;132
frost hardiness 15
harvest 128 blocks 38
celery root
bokashi 30 harvest 132
asparagus pea 59
frost hardiness 15 Borax 13 cell packs 80
B broccoli 68
frost hardiness 15
chard. See Swiss chard
frost hardiness 15
bacteria 22 harvest 54;130
cheater row 20
bark 33 Brussels sprouts
Chinese cabbage
harvest 130
basil frost hardiness 15
frost hardiness 15
150

19. cilantro containers 79 damping off. See disease
frost hardiness 15
corn days to harvest 64
climate and weather 14 frost hardiness 15
frost 14;15 harvest 132 digging 35;47
frost hardiness 15 double 50
microclimate 16 corn salad 59
harvest 134 dill 53
containers 171 harvest 134
make 17 cress
zone maps 14 frost hardiness 15 disease
damping off 78
E
cloches and hotcaps 18 crop rotation 65
coir 91 crop selection 52
cold frame 17;169 climate 64 earwigs. See pest
early spring start 53
cold-temperature injury 15 harvest after the first fall Frost 54 edging
must-haves 54 lumber 49
compost 27 no-sweat 60
activators 28 onion clan 58
eggplant
coarse landscape waste 27 frost hardiness 15
perennial vegetables 56
fine kitchen waste 27 harvest 134
spinach sub 59
fine landscape waste 27 squash 55 electric fence 9
garden waste 27 to wow guests 57
grass clippings 27 electric heating cables 19
greens and browns 27 crumb rubber 33
in-garden 31 endive
leaf 29 cucumber frost hardiness 15
F
municipal compost 35 frost hardiness 15
pile 30 harvest 134
system comparison 30 cucumber beetle. See pest feeding
tea 106
cutworms. See pest commercial fertilizers 110
vermicomposting 31
compost and casting 109
D
worm 31
plants 109
composter soil 109
rotating 30
dahlia 57 fennel 57
compost pile 171 frost hardiness 15
151

20. harvest 134 greenhouse 20 transplant fertilizer 100
urban agriculture 148
fertilizer 90 ground cherries 57 vinegar 122
fish 111 watering early 122
granular 90 guff
worm castings 92
inorganic 90 bean planting dates 20
natural 90 beer 123 gypsum 111
H
organic 90 blend kitchen waste 34
slow release 78 Borax 13
term 90 coir 91
water soluble 90 delayed planting 123 harvest 126
double digging 50 tips by crop 128
flea beetle. See pest homegrown produce 148
hoses, soaker and drip 11 heirloom. See seed
fluorescent tubes 81 hybrid seeds 67 herbicide
front yards 43 ladybugs 123 vinegar 113
Latin names. 11
frost 14;166 loam 11 herbicide contamination
average first fall 166 location 21 laboratory tests 33
average last spring 166 lumber edging 49
killing 15 herbicides 113
May 24 100
vinegar 113
natural balance 122
fulvic acids 111
natural products 13 horse manure 19
fungi 22 north-south rows 45
organic fertilizer 12 hoses, soaker and drip. See guff
fungus gnats. See pest overplanting 100 hotbed 18;170
G
peat pots 92
planning 45 hotcaps 18
potatoes 34
raised beds 50 humic acid 111
garden-making 46
save the world 12 hybrid. See seed
garlic 53 seed retailers 67
frost hardiness 15 sodium 122
harvest 136 soilless mixes 92
soil tests 10
germination 78
start early 92
GMO 61 tomato leaf removal 146
tomato pollination 146
152

21. harvest 54;136
I
miner’s lettuce 59
lettuce 17;53 mizuna 59
harvest 136
inoculate 28 head molasses 111
frost hardiness 15 mulch 32
insecticides 117
leaf bark 33
soap 118
frost hardiness 15 crumb, rubber 33
insects definition 22
lights
beneficial 119 inert 33
J
indoors 81
plastic 33
lime 111 straw and hay 32
wood chips 33
juglone 29 loam. See soil
K M
muskmellon. See cantalope
mycorrhizae 24;88
kale
frost hardiness 15
maintenance 102
daily 104 N
harvest 136 monthly 104
nematodes 119
spring 103
kelp 111 thinning 104 New Zealand spinach 59
kohlrabi weekly 104
north-south rows. See guff
frost hardiness 15 Malabar spinach 59
harvest 136 nutrition
L
manure plant 107
animal manure 31 problems 109
green manure 32 products 111
O
Hot Bed 170
labels 81
mexican gherkins 57
latin names. See guff
microbe 106 okra
leaf miner. See pest frost hardiness 15
leaves to avoid 29 microbes harvest 138
soil 108
leeks onion
frost hardiness 15 Microclimate. meet the clan 58
See climate and weather
153

22. onion maggots. See pest shelling slug 115
harvest 140 spider mites 115
onions 53 snap and snow tomato hornworm 115
frost hardiness 15 harvest 138 wireworms 115
harvest 138 unexpected 121
peat moss 32
open-pollinated. See seed planning
pelleted. See seed
orach 59 access 37
pepper alleys and laneways 44
organic. See seed frost hardiness 15 blocks 38
certified 12 harvest 140 colour 39
definition 12 poor germination 93 considerations 37
gardening 12 exercise 37
matter 12 perennials 56;62 front yard 43
timing 94 kitchen 41
outdoor seeding
pest landscape themes 39
drill 96
animal 120 paper 40
early spring 95
deer 121 precision 38
fall 95
rabbits 120 rows 38
methods 96
raccoons 120 shape 38
plant parts 94
smaller 121 size 40
scatter 96
squirrel 120 sunlight 38;42
scatter and poke 96
barriers, insects 116 textures and shapes 39
spacing 97
control, insect 116 trees 42
timing 94
insect water source 41
P ant 123
cabbage root maggot 115
pollution
lead 44
cabbage worm 115
parsley 41 carrot rust fly 115 potato 34
frost hardiness 15 cucumber beetles 115 frost hardiness 15
harvest 54;138 cutworm 115 harvest 140
parsnip earwig 115 seed 95
frost hardiness 15 flea beetle 115
potato beetle. See pest
harvest 54;138 fungus gnats 91
leaf miner 115 pots
peas 53 onion maggot 115 peat. See guff
frost hardiness 15 potato beetle 115
154

23. S
pricking out 86 seeding indoors 78
calendar 81
protozoa 108 containers 80
psychology humidity 85
sage
garden 102 labels 81
frost hardiness 15
large seeds 84
pumpkin salt 35;122 light 84
frost hardiness 15 road 43 lights and timers 81
R
methods 83
screening 96 pricking out 87
seaweed 111 soilless mixes 78
radish 53 temperature 85
frost hardiness 15 seed timing 82
harvest 140 exchanges 64 transplanting 87
genetically modified 61 trays 80
raised beds 50 germination 97 watering 85
rhubarb heirloom 61 when 82
forcing 56 hybrids 61
longevity 63 seeding outdoors 94
frost hardiness 15
mail order 64 transplanting 94
rock dust 111 open-pollinated 61 seedling
organic 61 care 88
root-trainers 80
pelleted 61 feeding 89
rotation retailers 67 watering 89
cabbage family 65 saving 62;63
crop 65 spacing 97 seedy Saturdays 64
simplified 66 starting 95
self-pollinating 62
storing 67
rototiller 50 terminology 61 shade 42
row covers 16 treated 61
untreated 61 slug. See pest
rows 38 viability 73
sod stripper 47
rutabaga
harvest 144
155

24. soil 22 gender 146 tomato hornworm. See pest
abuse 26 summer
acidic 26 harvest 142 tool
aggregates 26 winter hand-held seeder 107
alkaline 26 harvest 142 hoe 107
amendments 27 hoe, potato 107
stakes 107 leaf blower 107
compost 27
clay 24 sterilizing 80 transplant
cracked 34 definition 60
definition 22 straw and hay. See mulch
harvest-staggering 99
digging 35 succession crops 95;145 outdoors 98
fungi 26 outside, when 97
healthy checklist 22 sulphur 26
loam 11 transplants
sweet potato 60 versus seed-grown 60
microbes 24
organic matter 23 Swiss chard 59 treated. See seed
particle size 24 harvest 54;142
T
pH 26 treated lumber
recipe 23 wood preservation 49
sand 24
silt 24 tillage treated seed. See seed
sterilizing 78 before seeding 94 tunnels 20
structure 23 digging 47
tests 28 newly cleared soil 47 turnip
textures 24 rototiller 50 frost hardiness 15
harvest 54;144
sorrel 56 tomatillo
harvest 140
spider mites. See pest
harvest 142
tomato 57
U
caging 105 untreated. See seed
spinach 17;53
frost hardiness 15
frost hardiness 15
harvest 144
harvest 142
sprawling 105
substitutes 59
staking 105
squash transplanting outdoors 98
family explained 54;55 trellising 105
frost hardiness 15
156

25. V Z
veggiephobia 43 zone maps 14
vermicomposting 31 zucchini 54
frost hardiness 15
vinegar. See herbicide
volunteer crops 94
W
walled vegetable garden 17
walnut toxicity 42
watering
morning. See guff
watermelon
frost hardiness 15
weather
data 14
weeds 59;112
cultivation 112
edible 113
physical barriers 113
pulling 112
wireworms. See pest
wood chips. See mulch
worm bin 30
worm castings 31
157

26. Steve meets Donna; east meets west; boy meets girl;
Gen Xer meets boomer; and the dialogue begins:
We’re good at making
{ We’re professional communicators. So we take the theory and serve it up in yummy,
{
gardening delicious. digestible chunks.
We’re the combined And our points of view are not always the same. Think of a coach’s commentary, or two
{
experience of TWO experts. gardeners yakking over the fence.
We’re schooled in horticulture. We won’t shovel lots of scientific jargon at you, but we can
We’re professionals.
{
make sense of products and practices and give you thoughtful opinions without guff.
We garden A LOT—and we talk to A LOT of gardeners. So we don’t mind telling it as we see
We’re frank and confident. it. If that means some age-old wisdom is guff, we’ll say so.
“… I love your book I think it’s both funny “...this book is going to be snapped
and useful. What a refreshing thing that is.” up in, pardon the pun, spades.”
Marjorie Harris Holly Preston
Globe and Mail columnist and author of Thrifty: Freelance journalist and author
Living the Frugal Life with Style