Will Spring ever arrive?

 

I'm sure that, this is a question many local gardeners are asking after yet another snow fall and cool temperatures.

 

In the greenhouses and store the staff and I are optimistic that spring will soon be here and we are getting prepared for when it finally comes!

 

Every day there are new products arriving including lots of seeds. Seed companies such as 'Thompson & Morgan' and the 'Kew Collection', 'Livingston Seed Co.', 'McKenzie', 'Burpee, 'McFayden', 'Cooks Garden', 'Farmers Brand' (which has plain packaging and has larger amounts of seeds per package) and 'Pacific Northwest' which comes from Vernon B.C.

 

The selection of seeds continues to grow yearly including a larger selection of organic seeds ideal for the organic gardener, and seeds packaged for kids making gardening more 'kid friendly'. What better way to get kids to eat more vegetables than to have them grow their own? 

 

Kids really enjoy planting their own seeds, watching them sprout, grow and then being able to pick their own beans, carrots, etc and even flowers. It is a learning experience by having their own little garden where they can prepare the soil, then measure out where the rows will go and spacing out seeds, being responsible for weeding, and watering, and then enjoying the benefits of their hard work. When our kids were younger they all enjoyed having their own space in the garden and planting their favourite things and they still enjoy gardening now!

 

The tuberous begonias from Belgium have just arrived in time for planting. February is the time of year to plant tuberous begonias so that they will be in full bloom when it is time to place them outdoors over late spring/summer.

 

If you saved your tuberous begonias from last year, it is time to take them out of their storage spot and plant them. One nice thing about saving your tubers year to year is that the tuber continues to grow in size every season giving you a larger plant every year. (Keep this in mind when buying new tubers, because the size of the tuber will indicate the size of the plant so bigger is always better)

 

When a tuber becomes really big it can be cut in half and then each half can be planted. After the tuber is cut in half apply garden sulphur to the cut edge and allow it to air dry for a few days before planting so the cut will heal, then plant it as you would normally plant a tuberous begonia.

 

We plant the tuberous begonias in peat pots so that they can be easily transplanted in the spring with no disturbance to the root system.

 

Always use a high quality potting soil and never bury the tuber. The tuber should be placed with the hollow side up, on top of the soil filled pot with no more than ½ an inch of soil covering the tuber. Never water directly on the tuber but around the edges of the tuber to prevent the water from pooling in the hollow part of the tuber causing it to rot.

 

Place the planted tuber in a well lit area where temperatures are 17-20 Celsius, and to speed up the process a plastic dome can be placed over the pot until new growth appears which can take 10-35 days.

 

To grow strong, stocky, healthy plants give them lots of uniform light, keep soil slightly moist (never water on the foliage), place in a cooler location and fertilize first with 10-52-10 and later when the plants roots become established switch to 20-20-20 and then to 12-36-12 to get the plant into bloom.

 

Plant them outdoors after all risk of frost has passed because they do not tolerate any frost at all!

 

Tuberous begonias are one of the most beautiful shade loving plants available and every year we grow them in large pots on the North East side of the Kimball road store and get lots of compliments on them. There is no comparison to any other begonia.

 

So even though it doesn't look like spring right now, we can still get ready for it because living in Prince George we know that it when it arrives it tends to come quickly!