What Do You Call A -27C Morning In February?

Gopher News 41 Comments

A good day to plan the garden;

This year we have finally located a few suppliers of native prairie seeds/plants. It’s time to not only spread the word, but to sell the product. So I’m ordering seeds for around twenty species to start. Who knows, it may be a flop, if so, I’ll at least learn about growing some new plants.

41 Replies to “What Do You Call A -27C Morning In February?”

  2. Ummmmm….every time I tried that, the guys in red showed up to confiscate and burn my plants. I tried telling them it was naitve, but something about a THC content just threw them into a hissy fit…sigh.

  4. I don’t know about planning a garden, I would even settle for -27, as long as there is NO SNOW.
    However i do know one thing & that is that there is a lynch mob forming in Grey/Bruce, Lookout Willie you little hair ball.
    After last nites snowfall we now are at over 115cm of Snow with todays & sundays forcast of SNOWSQUALLS winds gusting 50/60k & More Snow heavy at times, they are predicting another possible 15/20cm or more between today & sunday.
    long.
    The only thing left now for me to plan is what backpain medicine to buy or just stick to Labatt’s Crystal lager.

  5. Brrrrrrrr… this can’t be happening!….with all the sustained hysteria over climate melt down I purchased some cheap frozen bog property NW of Athabaska….speculating that when the tar sands are nationalized and shut down and the promised global hell storm hits, I can put in Orange groves there.
    Just like Kate to bust my bubble by looking out the window. 😉

  7. don’t be silly tomax…. winter wheat grows in the winter… under the snow. I dug some up yesterday…
    Gonna get the combine out next week. I figure that combining should start about the last week of February. Maybe a week sooner if we get a nice cold snap (-20 in the daytime is producing weak plants).
    I am gonna have a good harvest this spring 🙂
    🙂 heheh

  8. Seriously though I can’t wait for spring. (Why is it so cold I thought the groundhogs all predicted an early spring!!!)
    I love the outdoors. Garden, back yard, just laying out on the green grass…mmmmm
    (not that winter is bad,… spring is just better.)

  9. plant chokecherries for the finest jam and syrup in the whole world. They won’t grow in BC and are pathetic in most other parts but Saskatchewan, wow. Don’t know why world wide exporting of this delicasy does not occur.

  10. Time to bring out the sun tanning lotion Kate. This global warming has gone to far…..
    Your right by the way. Its become a Religion of the left. They even talk like the Earth is sentient. With dogma & rights included. Waiting for their holy book to show up written by the Prophet Suzuki. With his ill stared ilk of nature worshipers.
    Already they have started their own form of inquisition. Equating global warming with holocaust denial. What an insulting analogy. They worship man & nature. Man of course having super human effects on the Planet. They think where gods. Gee where have I heard that before? Now we must grovel the Earth Mother with our votary offerings . That being civilizations total deconstruction to meet the hunger of these waco’s craving for any meaning in their useless lives.
    We will add as sacrifices to this cold god our cars, homes, jobs, to go back to caves in honor of the environment & its lesser spirits.
    What a load of rubbish. It gets more hysterical by the day. The lies have piled up so high , it makes Mount Everest look like an ant hill. We live in one of the most superstitious ages in mankind. Even the middle ages cannot compare with the religious hysteria of Earth firsters of the Church of the Mother Goddess in the guise of science.
    Just my opinion.

  11. Revnant Dream: I dunno about the global warming religion evangelists keeping up a constant barrage of BS…ever notice how the media evangelists of climate warming doom turn down the volume and frequency of their harrangs in the midst of Canadian cold snaps? 😉

  12. 11 degrees, sunny, no wind. Shorts & T shirt day, windows open, airing the place out.
    We need it here on the left coast to dry out the fungus & mold that accumulates during the wet season.
    Vancouver may be full of left winguts, moonbats & enviro jihadis, but god was really generous when she doled out the geography here.

  13. All of you should quit complaining re -27. Without global warming it would be -31. You should go over and read the comments re: Harper planning Kyoto coup. Over 240 comments, most condeming the opposition parties for the private members bill. Some basic facts are getting out
    re Kyoto-Strongs connection, will cost billions, and then you have the TO libs saying it is a good thing and if Harper ignores the law (not passed yet) he is a dictator. Some want dion to come up with how he will meet the targets. It also shows that people have good memories as Martins refusal to act on the motion of no confidence that passed is mentioned as is adscam and many other past issues of lib wrongdoing. Again, many phrases of the re-run ads are brought out. Some predict that there will be many no shows of opposition members next wednesday. The media is blasted for not telling the truth or reporting what it will cost, what effect it will have on each of us etc. Many want an election on this as they don’t think dion can explain much during the campaign. The libs are giving Harper 60 days to put his plan on the table, wonder if dion could do it in 35 during a campaign. This bill is a game of chicken and I think it will backfire big time on dion and layton and duceppe. Imagine an election during the que election, after a very vote getting budget. A good number of posters are urging votes for Harper to give him a majority, so the country can quit being held hostage by Que and Ont. The cbc is saying that Harper has been backed into a corner, I think it is the other way around and the opposition and media will be the ones crying in their beer, with popcorn.

  15. Crabgrass: didn’t mean to go bitter etc, just wanted sda readers to know that many of the views here re kyoto are making the g&m. As for gardening, my daughter, who has a horticultural certificate from Olds College, says I am the only person she knows who can kill a plastic plant. My aim in life is to enjoy the fruits of others from their hard work. Can’t wait for my neighbor to bring a batch of fresh rhubarb.

  17. Mary
    I think you are exaggerating and your math is out a bit, it would -26.0000005 not 27! We actually have sun on the island and I’am outside in my shirtsleeves for the first time since November.

  18. crabgrass, use your imagination. (Whoops! It seems you don’t have one.)
    Gardens have everything to do with the environment, hardly a shrinking violet–fun pun!–issue these days. And, indeed, like a garden that’s not cared for, the weeds are entirely taking over.
    Re the new Gaia worship, which has largely supplanted traditional religion in the green lagoons of the secular West, Michael Crichton gave a fine speech, “Environmentalism as Religion” to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on September 15, 2003. (It’s easy to google.) I’ve sent the text of this speech on to a number of my “green” friends. I also made the following comments:
    “I quite agree with Mr. Crichton. Long before attending Earth Day celebrations (for the first/last time) with my downtown elementary school class [many years ago], I’d discerned the new religion of Gaia. ‘Down on the [in the city] farm’ my suspicions were fully realized. It’s a free country and one may subscribe to whatever religion one wants. But the public school system’s not supposed to endorse any particular religion. (Certainly, it turns its back quite decisively on Christianity. I live with that.) But it proselytizes for environmentalism. Not, in my mind, a good idea.
    “I’m highly skeptical of the latest IPCC report and believe that the credulity of many who are willing to fall for it hook, line, and sinker is ominous. I think Crichton makes the case compellingly.”
    Gaia worship: Religion. In our public school classrooms. In our cities. And in rural areas. Right now. Here. In Canada. I’m not making this up.
    Kyrie eleison.

  19. I have studied all of these posts and have decided that we have to call a minus 27 Feb morning
    COLD

  20. We have been told that the temp has warmed 4 degrees since the time of Adam and Eve. Therefore,-27 is 4 degrees warmer than -31. I agree it is cold.
    OT but my grandaughter is now in Fredericton and loves it but I need to have a long chat with her. Her group attended a Suzuki lecture. Says he is an excellent speaker but has a lousy message. So far she has not received insults or been spit on because she is from Alberta. Big difference from Quebec.

  21. I have two mobile greenhouses, purchased from Canadian Tire for around $50 each, I put them in front of my floor length south facing window, and start all my flowers from seed. I have my seeds ready to go, but it’s still a little too soon for planting. With a good south facing window, I don’t need any other special lights. I save hundreds of dollars by growing everything from seed. Plus on a really cold day, I can go water the plants and smell spring on the way.

  22. I’m in your province for the weekend Kate, well, back & forth between SK and AB several times a day, but its not wuite as cold here. I to find myself looking forward to the melt, alhtough a foot or two more of snow would be nice, as you know when you get it this time of year its not going to be around long in any case. It’s always a nice feeling when the stores start stocking gardening stuff and putting the winter stuff away, I find my self appreciating spring a lot more than I did when I lived down in lotus-land. Anyway, good luck with your seeds! Out of curiosity, what are you trying to grow thats prairie native?

  23. Mother always makes bigger fools of the lieberals than the already are, every time they make some headway with the msm over their maurice engineered money theft hoax, she turns on the freezing ass cold to make everyone realize what a lie these clowns are force feeding us.

  24. Back on topic…earlier comment….someone mentioned planting chokecherries…they are wild along the roaside in our area (Northern ON)
    I’d like to try sasktoon berries…any advice?

  27. As my wife and family are gardening fanatics, I love getting the seed catalogs now. great way to engage the kids in biology and just plain dirty fun! 😉

  28. mary T says
    Her group attended a Suzuki lecture. Says he is an excellent speaker but has a lousy message.
    my grandaughter attend the same thing last night in pickering. tried to get her to tell me what was talked about but she clammed up. probably because she knows my views on this new gaia religion.
    as far as wireton willy is concerned he’s either a dipper or a lieberal.
    and for those of you who are planting seeds you should see the contortions my other half goes through. 2 full light growing racks in the dining room and 3 out in the porch. use to be grass in the front and side yard but it is now garden, flowering plants shrubs etc. veggies in other areas. she keeps threatening to do the same in the backyard but so far i have managed to beat her off. have to admit though that flowers and things look great during the summer but not when everything starts dying off in the fall.

  29. Mary T – It’s funny that you mention that bill… it has no teeth – it expects the government to enact the penalties for contravening it. I found the headline to that story more amusing, considering it is the Opposition parties who are the ones attempting a coup.

  30. NP editiorial has a good opinion piece on Kyoto today.
    “Working Canadians and taxpayers had better hope Mr.
    Rodriguez’s legislation fails, because there are only two ways to achieve his goal by 2012, both unpalatable. Either the federal government could force a radical change in Canadian’s lifestyles – restricting automobile use, limiting electrical consumption and shutting down industries employing hundreds of thousands of workers, thereby sending our economy into a tailspin – or it could send tens of billions of tax dollars abroad to buy “carbon credits” from developing and underdeveloped nations.”
    and
    “Canada would have to shutter all its coal-fired plants and Alberta’s oilsands. In the late 1990’s, the Liberals’ own forecasts projected 450,000 lost jobs from such reductions.”
    “…to meet Mr. Rodriguez’s targets, it (Canada) would have to spend another $20-billion to $60-billion (in emissions credits). As well as being a complete waste of money from the point of view of Canadian taxpayers, consider where the cash would be going: the authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin – which is helping to protect Iran’s nuclear program…”
    It is obvious the Liberals want to sacrifice all Canadian citizens on the alter of Kyoto.
    What won’t these lying beasts do to obtain power?
    Harper must oppose this, even if it means engineering his own defeat. The truth must come out and it is the Liberals who must be sacrificed until they are dead, dead, dead.

  31. I should mention that my husband inherited his mothers green thumb. Even tho her garden hedge was confiscated back in the 1930s. An RCMP officer, making his infrequent trip thru the area, stopped for dinner. She and many of the neighbors has planted seeds brought from SD and had a beautiful hedge, and rows and rows of orange poppies. The officer spent all afternoon pulling up all the plants, no one could help him, and loaded his car, then left for the neighbors to do the same thing. Took him two days. Everyone wondered what the fuss was about. No charges were laid. I leave it to your imagination to what he pulled up. He come back every year to make sure the seeds had been eradicated. If those farmers had only known the value of their gardens they wouldn’t have had to suffer so much during the dirty 30s. Good thing Al Copones rum runners never drove thru the area during the day, just at night in their big black cars.

  32. Had an aunt in England with the same problem Mary. Planted some pretty poppies out in the front and back flowerbed that she had dug up in the fields at the old family farm (now a garbage reclamation and forestry site).
    A passing police officer called in a squad of five to talk to her. She was so scared, and pretty mad at me when I laughed.
    I just wish we could grow opium as a cash crop like the government (encourages) in places like Turkey and surrounding area.

  33. Kate before you know it those seeds will sprouting and it will be time to get your bike out for a flexing of the powerband.

  34. Saskatoon berries do make lovely jam & syrup, but so do Chokecherries. They pucker your mouth to eat fresh but cook them down to juice, add sugar to sweeten & yummm…..They also make excellent wine

  35. mmm saskatoons. one of my very favorites.
    Recommendations:
    1. Fresh off the vine while you are picking, that’s the best…mmmmm
    2. Fresh with icecream.
    3. Cooked on the stove then layered on icecream.
    4. A crisp or a crunch recipe. Substitute saskatoons for rhubarb or apples. (may have to also adjust sugar)
    5. Pie….mmm pie.
    6. Fruit salad. Fresher the better.
    7. Fruit pizza. Look up this recipe, basically pie dough with fruit on top then a sugar glaze…mmmm
    They go almost anywhere you would find a blueberry. They are a little more tart than a blueberry, so add a bit of extra sugar.
    Damn… now I am craving, and I’ve been out of them for weeks. grrr.
    Be warned tho Saskatoons are/were banned, that’s right banned in the UK (short term) over health concerns using the precautionary principle and the minor foods clause of the WTO agreement. Since they have not ever been imported in ;arge amounts in the past, a demand was made (to protect their fruit industry) that we prove the safety of the berries… lmao

  36. Now for the real old timers to come out. How about that staple in every farm home, for desert, snacks,fresh bread, fresh cream and chockcherry jelly or syrup. You had to get out early to do your picking for the berries before the hutterites hit the coulees and took them all to make wine.

  37. This is a gardening topic people!…not eating…yes I’m drooling too!…but I need tips on how to grow them….please!

  38. LMAO… I apologise vf, I understood that you were looking for tips on good recipes
    Here is some info that might help:
    Digging suckers, or buying greenhouse started in the easiest, but you can start them from any cutting, seeds, or rootcrown. Seed use is complicated by the fact that genitics are loosely linked to phenotype. (some of the lants you gorw wil be different than what you took the seeds off of)
    Planting: well drained soil, slightly acidic PH (probably 6.0 to almost 7). Cover the roots with several inches of moist soil and pack firmly. Space your plants 2-3-4ft apart. They will sucker out and form a hedge like lilacs. Weed control is important until plant is well established, after several years even grass will not choke them out. (growing grass is sometimes used as effective weed control in mature stands so long as adequate water can be applied) You might try adding peat or compost to the soil before planting.
    Nutritional requirements are relatively low for this plant. The soil around here should be able to provide adequate nutrients. A thin layer of grass clippings around plants will help soil retain moisture and add nutrients as the grass decomposes.
    Weather-related problems include cold injury, wind damage, desiccation and sunscald. So (some) partial shade, access to water, windbreaks and locations that freeze the least often (espically during flowering) are all important.
    Plants generally produce few berries until year 4. (you will probably get some in year 3 and probably n year 2)
    Pruning should be done on mature plants (usually not needed until after 5-9 years) in the spring before growth begins.
    Keep away from deer, antelope etc. They will chew the tips of the branches espically in the winter. This will stunt the growth of the plants.
    Hope this helps ya out more than the eating tips.
    More good info: Paul Hamer’s site:
    http://www.saskatoonfarm.com/proguidea.htm
    Oh and this is important: like any plant different varieitys have different charastics in looks, color, nutritional requirement and most important to the enjoyment is of course taste.

  39. vf, you will have to watch for the starlings when the berries are ripening.
    Commercial growers around here have had to resort to fully netting their bushes. The cost has to be substantial.
    But when something is good, it is good.
    Nothing like chokecherry syrup though…that was until a friend from Wisconsin, sent some *black* raspberry jelly.
    The two tastes are similar but different…but wow! Wonderful flavor.
    I hope the planting of original prairie plants proves to be doable…much like heritage seeds, and old apple types.

  40. Thanks! Great info!!..we are looking forward to our experiment!And the seving suggestion will come in handy…..and thanks Kate…a welcome distraction …gardening is very therapeutic!I’ll think of you all when the chokecherries are growing wild on our roadside!mmmm….

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