Another true hodge podge of a HodgePodge column this week starting with my favourite column topic – my garden. Mother Nature now seems determined to continue her mysterious ways again this summer. The current oppressive heat seems adamant to kill any of my surviving transplants.
We struggled with seedlings through a cool, wet, early February wanting to push away dull depressing winter cold grey skies. We had been trying to get a jump start on vegetables to make up for last year’s disaster of failed food crops due to squirrels and crappy weather. I had hoped to hit this Spring running with healthy plants ready for the yard.
The plants were good but the rain was even better. Too better. As in ‘too gooder’ Tez and I started a number of seeds such as corn, tomato, lettuce, beets, radishes, with great success. The rain never ended, and the seedlings never stopped being seedlings, eventually getting to long and skinny. The corn survived, lettuce eaten, but others did not.
More plants seeded, bought and/or replanted but this time work or forest fire smoke got in the way of the planned for chronology.
So Tez and I just revisited (yet again) our favourite hangouts The Greenery, Art Knapp’s, Home Hardware and any other place that flaunts flora and spent way more money than we can afford too on plants. We proudly placed them in our crowded greenhouse and on our outdoor table. Just the perfect spot for the massive heatwave we have just learned about to do most damage. Which it did.
Now we have a massive stack of hot plants struggling through a huge heatwave. Hopefully we will get them in the ground later today and tonight before the heat dome we have just been informed about arrives. It may hit 37.
Common sense suggests one should actually stay inside an air-conditioned home during such a dangerous heat wave and avoid sun stroke.
While one is protecting themselves a cool beverage is a good idea – as is putting one’s feet up to circulate the blood.
If you are going to go to all that effort to relax the body you may as well see what’s on t.v. Look – by gosh if there isn’t a Stanley Cup hockey game.
Well, if you can’t garden, the next best thing to show your Canadian colours is to watch a hockey game. Grow Canada grow!
