Time Zones

[queenbee]

Jeannine, Its 23.30 here in the UK what is the time in your part of the world? Just curious. Is your climate similar to here in the UK?

[queenbee]

[Jeannine]

Hi, it is 4 15 pm right now, we are 8 hours adrift from you.

My part of Canada is practically identical to the UK.

I have alonger growing season than you, in fact we have the longest in Canada.

My first frost date is November 15th  and the last  frost day is about mid March

I tnd to give myself a safety margin of 2 weeks though and of course there are always those odd years.

But during the season we have the same rains etc that you have, we are coastal and that keeps us abit warm.

I found the only disadvantage to the UK was with my winter squash, I could not get them out as early and had to be ready to get them in earlier , here they are usually Ok till Halloween. I got round that by planting same time but potting on inthe greenhouse and finally putting out very large plants.

All the roots and brassicas from the UK do very well here.

I can, by pushing the boundaries with fleece, water walls etc, get some other things out here that may not be possible in the UK. Okra for eg I can grow easily enough by helping it along a bit, whereas in the Uk it was very iffy. I don't have the greenhouses here that I had there though as we aren't allowed glass on our  lotties and space would be a problem too as they are so small.

But basically they are very much the same. In my bit..not so in the rest.

XX Jeannine

[earlypea]

But basically they are very much the same. In my bit..not so in the rest.

Intriguing Jeannine - how are the other plots so different?

[Jeannine]

I meant the other bits of Canada around me. The bit I am in just happens to be in a 8b zone, by going even 50 or 60 miles it changes. I am on the West Coast and also sheltered by Vancouver Island.

XX Jeannine

[queenbee]

Jeannine, I always thought allotments were very British. Do they call them allotments in Canada and are the rules similar to ours.

[Jeannine]

No they call them community garden plots.. each one is different. Ours is in a Heritage Park.Nature Reserve so we have lots of rules.. totally organic, no glass, no vegetation the is invasive so mint has to be in a bin as doe horseradish. We have to do 10 community hours a year. You can't sign up until you attend an orientation meeting in April, and are only allowed 1 small plot till you have proved yourself We can only use wood for building that is native to the area so pine is fine but Red Cedar  is not. No uncovered water butts and no netting because of the birds. no treated wood. If you go away for more than one week you have to get a neighbour to look after the plot,and they do take it off you if it falls behind and gets messy, It is a showplace , it is open to the public to show them what organic gardening is, so we get lots of lookie lous..no theft though  and we leave out tools out. We grow food in a special area for the local food banks for folks on welfare to get for free and we all contribute seeds and work to that project. There are children's programmes in there too , to encourage children to start early and respect the environment. It is very posh and everyone is very nice. The par generally is owned by Greater Vancouver Parks Dpt, but the community gardens are all run by volunteers  and no free loaders. I have been asked to do a small plot of seeds to give to newbies at the next orientation, plus to share with other plot holders, The scenery is beautiful with snow capped mountains in the background, we have community rows of fruit bushes and  fruit tress. All in all very good actually,
  You can look it up Colony  Park Farm Community Gardens.. lots of info on the net.
XX Jeannine