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        It may be a chilli 5℃ today, but that doesn’t mean you can’t garden.   As I mentioned in my last post,  there are plenty of gardening activities to do to keep green thumbs busy and warm at home during quarantine, including growing tomatoes and leafy greens. 
    Before you begin  know that edible plants can be loosely categorized according to the temperature in which they like to grow (warm or cool), the time it takes to grow from seed to harvest (maturity date), and the best method for starting seeds (directly in the soil or as young transplants).   Read the information on your seed packet.  Warm-weather crops such as tomatoes can be started in the comfort of your home and then transplanted outdoors when nighttime temperatures remain above 13 ℃, sometime in May, after hardening off.   Cool-weather crops like kale, lettuce, arugula, spinach and peas can be planted outside in the garden earlier, even with threat of frost.   You may still want to start certain cool weather crop seeds indoors however to give them a head start, then transplant them outside when seedlings are robust enough.
     I started two types of tomatoes: one large, beefsteak style indeterminate variety that matures in about 75 days and cherry tomatoes with a fairly short maturity date called Tiny Tim (see photos above).
    I put two seeds about 1/4 inch deep in each cell pack filled with good quality, pre-moistened soil, waited and watched for growth.  The instant gratification that accompanies every seed germinated feeds a gardener’s perseverance.  Once seedlings put on a bit of growth, I plucked out (thinned) the weakest of the two and either ditched it or carefully planted it in the soil where there was more room for it to grow.  This goes against most sage gardening advice, but they looked too healthy to throw away and I wanted to grow as many tomatoes as I could.  Besides, what kind of mother throws her babies out if she can save them?
     I have learned the following key things when starting tomato seedlings:
1)Use any supplemental lighting you have.  
If you already perused the tomato growing sites online you may have read that tomatoes can easily be started by a sunny window.   That may be true if you have a greenhouse or live in the south or enjoy growing etiolated vegetable seedlings.  I have found tomato plants need more light than the sunniest window in your home can offer, especially if starting seedlings in late winter, when sunshine and bright light are hard to come by in northern regions like ours.  If you don’t have grow lights, ordinary fluorescent shop lighting will do just fine (no need to get fancy) or order some online.  
2) Tomato plants love heat  
If yours haven’t germinated yet, try placing a little heat under the cell packs.  If you don’t have growing equipment like a heat mat, be resourceful and place seed containers in the warmest place in your home, the top of a fridge or even a clothes dryer when it’s on will do.  Artificial heat mimics what happens in nature when sun warms the soil and hastens germination.   I didn’t have a heat mat and my electric heating pad died (probably from growing too many seedlings), so I used a magic bag by heating it for a few minutes in the microwave then placing the heated bag under the cell pack a few times a day.  Yes, that may seem laborious, but really, what else do I have to do?
3) Tomato seedlings need air
The other thing that helped my seedlings once they germinated is circulating air.  Air circulation helps prevent damping off, a fungus that regularly kills seedlings in too humid conditions.  Air may also help strengthen their stems as they grow.   I simply placed an oscillating fan a few feet away from the plants and set to the lowest speed for a few hours every day.
4) Give your seedlings a little T.L.C.
Although tomatoes are easy to grow from seed, they still require nurturing.  But that's the the fun part about gardening, isn't it?   I check on my seedlings’ progress regularly to ensure they are watered enough and looking healthy.
     You can see from the photo at the top left, that after 20 days since initial sowing, my seedlings resemble miniature versions of mature tomato plants.  Soon it will be time to transplant these babies into individual containers and then hardened off.   
      It is a gratifying experience, to watch something as simple as seeds come to life, first when cotyledons appear during germination and then later with the emergence of their first true leaves.   In fact, now more than ever before, watching life unfold in front of me even from a tomato plant is incredibly fulfilling.  
 

     It's easy to fall into despair when news of more closures, illnesses and death surrounds us daily.  Medical experts warn that is it now more crucial than ever to remain optimistic and stay engaged mentally and physically in activities that will stimulate us in positive ways, especially over the next two weeks when cases of corona virus are expected to spike.  In a world centred around taming the outbreak, hope understandably wanes.

    But here’s the good news: if anyone is capable of hope, it is gardeners.  Every seed sown and plant nurtured is rooted in hope.  Hope that the gardener’s efforts will blossom into to something wonderful and worthwhile.  And most often, it does.

    If you are staying at home like most Canadians are, there are plenty of gardening activities you can do to keep busy and lift your spirits even if there are patches of snow still on the ground outside.  If you live in an apartment and are without a plot of land, that’s ok.  You can garden in containers.  Here are five garden-related things to do now with links to my articles for those who want more ‘how-to’ information:

1)Plan a veggie garden
     It isn’t too late to sow seeds of tomato, eggplant, pepper and other warm season edibles so they are ready for planting outdoors in gardens next month.  If you have a cold frame, a raised bed or if you garden in containers, you can even sow seeds of leafy greens, onions, beets, chives, parsley and other cool weather crops outdoors now that the risk of frosty weather is unlikely.   If you don’t have seeds in storage, look for them online, in neighbourhood grocery stores and from other local sources that have remained open during the pandemic.  Sow only enough seeds that you have the space for or this task can quickly get out of hand.  Also, carefully read individual seed packets for maturity dates and directions.
Heres the link to my article on avoiding common pitfalls when starting seeds indoors
http://www.thesuburban.com/columnists/elaine_sanders_gardens_and_landscaping/avoid-these-common-pitfalls-when-starting-plants-from-seed-indoors/article_f7027501-dd7c-55e7-a86a-630c59789e80.html

2)Turn your compost 
     Who needs a gym when you have a garden to work in? If you have a home compost in your yard, turning the pile is a terrific workout! (but watch your back!) Our household practices composting throughout the year even during winter and by springtime when contents are defrosting,  it needs a good turning.  I use a pitchfork to move the stuff on the outside of the pile to the centre.  Remember to top off any ‘green’, nitrogen-rich materials (e.g., kitchen scraps) with more ‘brown’,  carbon-rich materials (e.g., dead leaves) at a ratio of approximately 3-1(browns to green).  Turning the pile and maintaining the right carbon to nitrogen balance will speed up decomposition so that home-made compost is ready to feed your vegetable plants and flowers to help them thrive.   Making it yourself also means you won’t need to rely on expensive, commercially produced compost which may be difficult to locate right now.

3) Refresh your planters
     Ditch the winter holiday decor (please!) and make a new arrangement for your door-side planters.  You can order spring flowers online from local nurseries offering online purchases and deliveries.  Now's the time to get creative and use materials found on your property such as forsythia branches or crafts you may have lying around in the basement. (see my last post for a photo of my spring bulb planter)

4)Pot up dahlia tubers
     If you have dahlia or begonia tubers either newly purchased or stored from last season, now is the time to pot them up so they are ready to be planted outdoors at the same time as  your tomato plants.
Here is the link to my article on growing Dahlias:
 http://www.thesuburban.com/columnists/elaine_sanders_gardens_and_landscaping/elaine-sanders-get-a-jump-on-the-gardening-season/article_e71c9f9f-9773-5bac-8adb-785a3918c6c8.html

5) Create a terrarium
     Creating a terrarium is easy and fun to do with kids.  Teach kids about the water cycle by using a cleaned out pop bottle.
Here's the link to my article on terrariums:
 http://www.thesuburban.com/life/home_and_garden/elaine-sanders-revitalize-your-home-s-decor-with-low-maintenance-terrariums/article_11880976-8454-530e-999b-babd1a445169.html

     There are many signs of hope around my neighbourhood.  I saw hope in the crocus blooms emerging from their winter slumber, in the rainbows and the Easter decorations adorning home landscapes, in the flitting about of birds and squirrels oblivious to the world’s perils, and in the drawings on the driveways of children eager to return to playdates with friends.  There is also hope in the way essential businesses are adapting to this crisis.  Garden centres for example, are adjusting their services to include online purchase and delivery of plants, soil and other gardening materials right to your door so you can remain at home.  Call your favourite one to see if they offer online delivery and check the garden centres listed in my links page.
What gardening activities have you been doing at home lately?  I’d love to know.
Until next time, please stay safe and stay hopeful.

         Hello everyone and thank you for visiting my  blog.
The Covid-19 pandemic is certainly an unprecedented trying period in everyone's life.  Kids are out of school, adults are out of work and life as we knew it is on pause.  For many of us, there is much to feel anxious about.   Most of us also probably have much more time than we know what to do with.
     One of the best ways I know to spend time and relieve anxiety is horticultural therapy, a.k.a. gardening.  Gardening has not only proven health benefits (read my article on how here), but it is the perfect way to practice social distancing.  Last week, fed up with seeing my dreary, winter front door planter (and, for that matter, those beside everyone's front door in my neighborhood ) I managed to find some colourful spring bulbs to fill it with.  Once I located some flowers (yes, you can find some too! More on that later), it took less than 10 minutes to assemble.
I simply emptied the winter arrangement, leaving most of the earth in the pot and keeping some of the red dogwood branches for contrast then planted the daffodils in the centre and surrounded them with purple hyacinths.  I packed my planter fuller than I thought would fit, gave it a drink of water and, voila!    Although I know not many people will be visiting my home this spring, except for the mailman, this fragrant and colourful spring arrangement makes me happy every time I pass it by.
​        It may seem that life was more certain before this pandemic changed our lives for good, but that was just a fallacy.  All we really ever had then, and continue to have now, is today.  So grab  a trowel  or a rake and go ahead and do what makes you happy right now.  And be grateful for this moment.