2008 In Review
So far, 25 crates of dahlia tubers have been processed and stored in the milk parlor and about the same number of cannas are waiting to be divided and packed in vermiculite for storage. Phyllis has lifted and is storing all the tender plants from the wedding garden as well as some of the cannas and the pelargoniums from the corner bed.
In all we probably dug about half of the tubers from the corner bed the rest of them have frozen in and will either rot or be cleared in the spring. There should be more than enough tubers in storage for next year’s show.
The vegetable crop was a bit of a bust. We have delivered 991.9lbs of vegetables to the Knight’s Table, just not enough to make four digits. (Last year 1,254lbs, 2006 1,348lbs) The best crop was the onions, the six beds planted delivered about 350 pounds. The tomatoes were disappointing. There wasn’t a lot of blossom-end rot but the fruit tended to split around the stem and much of the crop was deformed and quite ugly. A few pounds of rutabagas have gone to the Knight’s but, without pest control, the leaves were shredded and the roots were well chewed. The turnips were worse affected, with worms boring right into the centre in some cases. I don’t mind cutting away most of the flesh to get some good bits for a stew but I’m not sure the Knight’s Table volunteers appreciate the extra work. The garlic seemed to be trouble free and 11 kilos were harvested from the one bed. It was not all pretty with a pristine white papery cover but the cloves were a good size and quite robust.
There has been a good demand for places at next year’s classes. In 2009, there will be eight classes, going through to the fourth Saturday of April. On the third Saturday in April, a full group working session, outdoors in the nursery garden, will be sandwiched between the last two indoor classes. Getting the whole group working together, digging ditches and raising beds, will perhaps avoid a recurrence of this year’s late start - or not.
If there is any nice sunny warm weather between now and the start of classes, there is still a lot to be done - pruning, clearing, mulching and moving stuff about - so, if anyone gets early cabin fever or needs pre/post-overeating exercise, give me a call.

Day -9 cloudy with snow Wind S12km/h P.O.P.3%
Night -17 cloudy with snow 1.5cm Wind SSE11km/h P.O.P.58%