2006 Year in Review

Overall summary for 2006 is as follows, 1,200 seems to be a common number. The total number of volunteer hours was just under 1,200, not quite double 2005's total but close. The total weight of vegetables delivered to the Knights Table was a tad more than 1,200 pounds.
The total cost to run the year’s program was a bit over twelve hundred dollars and the billable value of the material planted in the display gardens as about the same. Assuming I haven’t forgotten any bills, the enterprise should just about break even on the year.
Despite the drab and wet fall, taken as a whole, 2006 was a pretty good year.

The first four beds in the wedding garden were planted to perennials which had been grown and proven in the nursery.
The two new elliptical beds at the main entrance were planted for the first time and, with the help of hundreds of feet of hose strung together from the main building, the flowers just managed to survive the dry weather that ensued as soon as the plants went in. The big bed at the corner of Old School and Heartlake got a long needed make-over. The tatty sumacs came out and the bed was enlarged and made symmetrical. The flower beds at the front of the main building were given backer boards and a mulch path to prevent soil slopping up the walls of the building. At the rear, the flower beds were separated from the driveway using wooden edging to stop people driving over the flowers.
The nursery garden doubled in area to accommodate the new vegetable patch. When that proved to be too small, the three sisters (corn/beans/squash) got planted in the area which was not planned to be used until 2007. By the time everything was planted, around 9,000 square feet were under cultivation.
The new gravel driveway from the road to the nursery gate should improve access but the fall rain demonstrated pretty clearly that surface drainage will be a problem. I can see us having to dig a ditch across the middle of the drive come spring to get the water away. The ‘new’ storage shed did get dragged from behind the barn and into the garden although it's not in it’s proper location. Joe and I did a temporary patch job to cover some holes and the eaves are open so snow will still get in but all the smaller pots were moved into the shed and are out of the sun which should extend their life a little.
We've also received several bread trays for storage and I noticed that the pile of pallets is getting larger. At least we shouldn’t be lacking for pallets to build compost containers next year.Looking forward to 2007.

Answer Jan 3??? a 12 weeks

??? Dormant oil spray
a is banned in Brampton
b is a fungicide
c should be used before buds show green
d. none of the above
+10 with cloudy periods in afternoon


+9 light rain overnight