Dear Beryl,
As usual I always enjoy reading your gardening columns. Thank you. Since
you have such a wide circle of gardening friends, I wonder if you can
suggest they use coconut fiber instead of peat moss in their potting mixes.
Peat moss comes from peat bogs which take hundreds of years to re-grow
and the harvesting of the peat destroys a valuable ecosystem.
Coconut fiber (or coir) is a waste product in the developing world and
thus helps the economies of those countries. It is very light in weight
to ship and thus not heavy on the use of fossil fuels and it is an excellent
soil amendment to hold moisture. I have used it for several years and
I especially like it for packing away my summer bulbs such as cannas and
dahlias.
The down side is that the stores tend not to stock very much of it and
I found mine right in the back corner of Home Depot a few weeks ago labeled
"Peat Eliminator". It was in 4 slim blocks assembled into a
cube package complete with a plastic bag to measure the water for reconstituting.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) supports the use of coconut fiber in gardening.
You will see their logo on the Home Depot and Zehrs (Loblaws) bags.
Enjoy this glorious weather while it lasts!
Cheers,
Anne Morgan (Kitchener)
...........................................................................................
Hi Beryl,
Thought you'd be pleased to know that you have been missed...
Diane Vaughan
...........................................................................................
This is great information, Beryl!
I'll share it with my mother as well since she doesn't have email. Thank
you for including me.
Patricia
...........................................................................................
Thank you, Beryl!
Such a refreshing treat hearing from you. Keep them coming. Many thanks...keep
well...
Joan Everson
...........................................................................................
Thank you Beryl,
Always a pleasure to hear from you.
Best Regards,
Janet T.
...........................................................................................
Beryl -- Thank you for all that good advice. I put off doing my garden
so perhaps this will motivate me to get moving.
Joyce
...........................................................................................
Dear Beryl,
How lovely to hear from you - it's been a long time. I was just checking
out my vitamins, etc. a few minutes ago, including my glucosamine/chondroitin/msm
and thought of you because many years ago you recommended them to me for
my arthritis. I have been taking them ever since, and am still secretary
to our Norland Horticulture Society as well as working with children in
Pioneer Club and the nursery at Church, plus secretarial duties for our
Norland Volunteer Management Board which is trying to raise enough funds
to put up a community hall addition at our rink up at Ward Park. Wouldn't
be able to do all that if I hadn't started on the supplement that you
so kindly recommended. Hope you are keeping well and I can see you have
been keeping busy, too.
Take care, and my very best to you.
Sandy Stevens,
Norland Hort.
...........................................................................................
Good Evening Beryl,
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy receiving your gardening newsletters!
They are truly wonderful, and filled with such great, helpful information.
I particularly love the poems and stories you include. Thank you for all
the energy you put into this endeavour. I look forward to reading and
savouring each one!
Beryl, my husband and I have recently purchased a wonderful 98 acre parcel
of land in the Emily-Cavan area and will be building a home next spring.
I have so much to learn about forests etc. in order to enjoy my property
to the fullest. I suspect my gardens will be somewhat different from those
I enjoy here in Lindsay, but then, that's half the fun isn't it? Planning
a garden in a completely new area. Since it is located high up on a hill,
there is a lot of wind which will be great to keep the bugs away and to
help lower the a/c bill, but I'm sure it will also represent new gardening
challenges.
This morning, while taking a walk in the woods, I found some small, very
bright red mushrooms. They were quite shiny and slimy to the touch, but
I couldn't get over the colour - they were so bright and sort of bright
red and orange. Do you know what they might be? Also, there is about 40-50
acres of forest, mostly cedars and many different kinds of groundcovers,
ferns etc. Have you any suggestions for books that might be helpful resources?
Thanks so much,
Sheilagh Fertile,
Lindsay, Ontario
...........................................................................................
Hi there,
Thanks for the speedy reply! I will start looking for these books and
they will, no doubt, help to pass the winter. They sound interesting and
I'm sure will be helpful. Thanks also for the tip re Chapters Christmas
sale- I had no idea they even had such a sale!
Your ears may have been burning last night as I had dinner with a group
of friends (we call ourselves the "Dinner Dames") in Peterborough,
and three of the 8 of us are gardeners and met you a couple of years in
a row at the Peterborough Garden Show. I mentioned receiving your latest
newsletter and how enjoyable they were to read, and I also mentioned emailing
you for some tips. Katherine and Wendy also commented on how much they
appreciate receiving your gardening newsletters. So you see, you have
many fans indeed! FYI, I also forward your newsletters to my elderly Father,
in Smith Falls, Ontario, who very much enjoys reading them, especially
the poetry, and to one of my sisters, who just recently caught the gardening
bug!
Well, tomorrow I am finally doing my fall clean-up here at our Lindsay
home. It seems that any spare time we have these days, is spent at the
new property and so I have been neglecting my lovely gardens here in town,
and boy, don't they show it! I'm looking forward to getting caught up
tomorrow although putting the gardens to bed is always a little sad. Take
care and many thanks for your kindness.
Hugs,
Sheilagh
...........................................................................................
Hello Beryl,
Have just read your latest garden news and must tell you how much I enjoy
reading them and how much I learn from them. You are one of my most treasured
friends.
Love,
Kay
...........................................................................................
Dear Beryl,
How wonderful to have you back on the MG chat forum. I missed you and
your charming newsletters. Enjoy this wonderful fall weather!
Short and sweetly,
Tena in Toronto
...........................................................................................
Hi Beryl,
Great column as usual. I liked the idea of the trough filled with evergreens
on the mantel, but wondered about the numerous blocks of oasis (that stuff
NEVER breaks down!). Perhaps a better idea would be to fill the trough
with bent vines or cedar boughs to hold everything in place?
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving,
Anne in Waterloo
...........................................................................................
Hi Beryl,
I so wanted to write to you when you were ill but I have been without
email for weeks. Something got caught in the system and no one could find
it. I have just set up email on my new computer so am able, once more
to communicate.
I am glad to hear that you are feeling better. Was it the flu? Did you
get a flu shot?
I really enjoyed your piece about the moon and even feel inspired to
try forcing a few bulbs. Your directions are clear so I'll have a go.
Liked the recipe for avoiding damp off. I've used No Damp in the past.
Thank you for continuing "Gardening with Beryl". I really enjoy
your hints, timetable suggestions and the poetry. It's wonderful. Stay
well.
Carol
...........................................................................................
Well done, Beryl – excellent as always
Hugs,
Betty (Dr. Betty Fretz, Floral and Hardy Gardens, AHS Display Garden,
Moorefield ON)
........................................................................................... |