A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum NORTHERN GARDENING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

I am trying to establish a good food source for my family in Eastern Ontario.
We broke the sod last year and manured the garden well in the fall. This spring my partner tilled everything really well.
This year I want to get going on stuff that will be permanent plants. That would be hops, rhubarb, blueberries and perennial herbs.
We went shopping today and bought a lot of herbs and high bush blueberries. Tonight we are supposed to get a hard frost. (-5 Celcius) Wondering how other gardeners in the cold zones are doing.

We've had a light frost two days ago, and the perennial flowers are doing fine - the winter sown seedling and direct sown seedlings as well. I would say go ahead and cover all your newly purchased plants with a tarp, or perhaps move them inside your garage/house for the night. I have LOTS of mint - stupid me planted two roots that someone sent me two years ago. It did nothing and just grew two measly stems - last year it creeped a bit with its runners and took a one by one foot area. This year I have mint up to my ears literlly all over the bed! Nothing seems to hurt them - even frost. If you would like some runners/cutting (I hold no responsibility when it takes over your yard) please message me. I've seen neighbours with asparagus coming up and the frost hasn't done anything to them.

One thing to make sure is that you give the blueberries acidic soil. Hops can be a vigirous vine and can become invasive. Some perennials herbs (any mints, any lemon balm, oregano, etc.) that spread by suckers can be planted in a bottom less pot sunk so that there is at least 2 inches of the pot rim above soil level. Choosing a seedless variety (ie: any type of peppermint including chocolate mint, which I do have if you want some) would make it less invasive. You also have to put 2 inches of gravel in the sunken bottomless pot (before filling with soil and planting) so the runners can't escape under the pot. Trust me, you literally need sheet metal sunk ten feet deep to stop the runners from escaping lol.