Your favorite Southwestern Quebec Gardening Podcast is BACK with some excellent content for all our beloved listeners, and we have a special treat for you all: the debut guest spot appearance of Lumyhna!

Lumyhna is a gardener with an interest in vegetables and flowers, having a few seasons of experience focused on sowing and harvesting under the careful tutelage of her mother, Bethany (co-host). We had a great conversation talking about why harvesting potatoes is like digging for treasure, curating an Old English Fae aesthetic for your shady garden and the start of her journey with a Hügelkultur garden. Big welcome for Lumyhna, we hope to hear how her gardening season went!

In this episode, we recount Justine's "Highs and Lows" for the start of the season (spoiler: radishes? BIG HIGH) and have an in-depth discussion about what to plant if you have a shady area that you want to garden in. Truly not all is lost listeners, there is plenty of options available for you to have a productive growing season!

We also discuss the engineering marvel of trellises, and how they provide much needed structural support for all those tall, tall tomatoes and cucumbers that grow taller than perhaps you were planning for...

Wrapping up the episode, we give the beloved listeners some tips about rainy weather and how to make sure you and your community are safe even in torrential rain storms. Justine's tip? Don't mess around with thunder and lightning! Bethany's tip: have a can opener and learn how to use it (perhaps aimed more at our Zoomer listeners, but a good tip no matter your age!)

Hope you enjoy the episode! Links to things we discussed below:

1) Bethany meant that she is using a Japanese sickle, not a "hori hori". While she loves the hori hori, this is the tool she is using: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTciAFlYW3s

2) Mushroom store where Bethany bought her Wine Cap Mushroom spores: https://growmushroomscanada.ca/?srsltid=AfmBOorSpHPHZ0YsqZaxIP2reN8XZXLDshPcCjhMPyPnt2tWrXf1ZT28

3) Gov of Canada recommends 2 litres of water, per person, per day, for a recommendation of 72 hours (so 6 litres per person in your household). Link for more recommendations: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-drinking-water-safe-emergency.html

Blooming Valley Garden Club Events: https://www.bethanygl.com/bvgc If you are in the area, come join us for our upcoming events!

As a treat for the listeners who can't get enough of Bethany, here is the first episode that Justine and Bethany did together! This is a rebroadcast of "Episode 15: Water for the People" from the podcast "Loud and Proud Mamas".

It's a great intro on the politics of water in our region, and gives details into the water bottling project. The description below is taken from the original podcast episode from "loud and proud mamas"

Enjoy!

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Beloved listeners, the mamas have a treat for you: our very first guest on the podcast, featuring the marvelous Bethany Lee from Protect Our Water Source!

Bethany is a fellow mother, and like Justine, has roots in the city and has fallen in love with the rural Quebec life in recent years. In this wide ranging interview, we talk about loving and belonging in our communities, how being mothers shapes our hopes for the future, and how we should share the most precious public resource: water.

Bethany is the spokesperson for an organization called "Protect Our Water Source", which become organized when it was revealed there would be a commercial water pumping venture in Hinchinbrook. Her community of Powerscourt was both surprised and concerned by the lack of information provided, and the organization has sprung forth to push for more disclosure on how water testing was performed for this project.

She takes us through the timelines of the project, what risks water pumping poses to the nearby farms, how the community has responded and what the next steps are.

It's a fantastic episode, both for locals and all those who have ever wondered: "Who is water for?"

Bethany would say: "it's for the people".

Sources we mentioned:

Protect Our Water Source: https://protectourwatersource.ca/

"The History of the County of Huntingdon [Quebec]: And of the Seigniories of Chateaugay and Beauharnois from Their Settlement to the Year 1838" by Robert Sellers

Gleaner: "Farm To Food" podcast

Eau Secours: https://eausecours.org/

We have a fantastic, wide ranging conversation for YOU dear listeners, discussing all the finer points of water and how our lives and communities interact with it.

Our brave and intrepid host, Bethany, is also part of an organization called Protect Our Water Source, which is organized in the Haut St. Laurent area to do exactly that: protect our water. In this incredible episode, we talk about the great BAPE news of the day, how you can get involved in protecting water in your community, and who are the other great supporting players in this fight.

Links below for your convenience and ease, dear listeners!

1) What is BAPE: https://www.bape.gouv.qc.ca/fr/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSgYJw3VDXs

2) Protect Our Water Source, Bethany’s organization:https://protectourwatersource.ca/

3) MRC Haut St Laurent mayor finder:

https://mrchsl.com/en/council

4) Find your provincial rep: https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/en/electoral-maps/provincial-electoral-divisions/

5) Find your federal rep: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en

6) Template letter for call to action - address to Québec Premier Christine Fréchette and Environment Minister Pascale Déry - this will be available on the Protect Our Water Source website soon. We are finalizing the details.

7) List of organization POWS is affiliated with:

Ambioterra: https://www.ambioterra.org/

OBV SCABRIC (our provincially mandated watershed organization): https://scabric.ca/en/

Mouvement d’action régionale en environnement (MARE): https://mouvementmare.org/

Leadership for the Ecozoic: https://www.l4ecozoic.org/

Eau Secours: https://eausecours.org/

Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement (CQDE): https://cqde.org/en/

Vigilance OGM: https://www.vigilanceogm.org/

Water Watchers: https://www.waterwatchers.ca/

8) Vigilance OGM testing for pesticides fundraiser - https://www.vigilanceogm.org/ameliorer-qualite-eau

9) La Presse article - forthcoming, by journalist Éric-Pierre Champagne

10) POWS call to artists for a water-themed variety show in late August - this will also be available on our website in the coming weeks, so watch that space :)

Welcome back to a new episode of the Blooming Valley Garden Podcast, and please give a warm welcome to our new (hopefully recurring!) guest: Hugo!

In this jam packed episode, we cover a wide ground of topics! Kicking it off, we start by discussing the differences between perennials vs annuals, and then hybrids vs heirlooms! Which one is best your garden? It’s a more nuanced topic than you may think!

We move onto to our newest segment “Insider Tips and Tricks”, where Hugo discusses the finer points of pruning fruit trees to get the MAXXXX yield for your seasonal fruits! The tomato saga continues with Bethany as she has now started introducing fertilizer to her plants. What is fertilizer? Are there different (and better) types? Does Justine learn the difference between compost vs fertilizer? You gotta listen to find out!

We close it off by talking about what we are most excited for this year’s growing season. Justine is hoping to have her first success with eggplants (Aubergines for you fancy folks out there), and has already planned a future lunch including lamb, pita and yogurt if all goes well. Hugo is embarking on a new mission to max out his spicy pepper yield, and talks about the creativity behind bouquets (including stopping on the side of the road if the flower is particularly beautiful). Bethany closes us off with dreams of making a full meal from her garden (gotta angle for that invitation!).

Enjoy the episode listeners! This is our first bilingual, French/English episode, with many more to come!

Hello and welcome to another excellent episode of the Blooming Valley Garden Club Podcast!

Just like Spring, your hosts Bethany and Justine are here bursting with energy and thoughts to share about the very busy of month of May. This week, it’s all about transplanting! What’s the best method, and SHOULD you be burying that stem? Take a listen to find out all about Bethany’s opinions on fixing root-bound problems, the best day to transplant and of course, all of Justine’s questions about the hows and the whys.

We’re introducing a new segment this week called “Rookie Mistakes”, which dovetailed beautifully into the highly acclaimed segment “The Highs and Lows”. What were Bethany and Justine’s highs and lows? I’ll give you a hint… someone is suspected of overwatering :( Listen more to find out how to fix this issue for good!

We finish off this fantastic episode with some book recommendations! For all those who need a literal picture book with step by step instructions, Justine highly recommends “The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food: Step by Step Vegetable Gardening for Everyone”. Bethany speaks beautifully about “Tasha Tudor’s Garden” by Tovah Martin, linked below in the show notes.

Enjoy the episode, beloved listeners! All farms, resources and books linked below for YOUR convenience and enjoyment

Links to the flowers mentioned in our Spring Colour segment:

Poet’s Eye Narcissus, Narcissus poeticus - https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/narcissus-poeticus/

Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum - https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/trillium/

Hellebore, Helleborus - https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-hellebores/

Forget-me-not, Myosotis - https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-forget-me-not/

Valley Recommendations:

France Droulers’ Asparagus Farm in St-Anicet, Ferme Biophile: https://www.facebook.com/lafermebiophile/

Organic Plant Sale on Saturday May 16 and Saturday May 23 at Les Jardins Glenelm in Elgin, 10am-2pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/1503157687866740/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22attachment%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

Plant Sale (annuals, perennials, vegetables) sponsored by the Chateauguay Valley Garden Club, Saturday May 16, 10am-3pm in Ormstown: https://www.facebook.com/commerce/listing/961574006845317/?ref=share_attachment

Two of our beloved garden club members are having a plant sale on Sunday May 17, 9am-3pm in Huntingdon: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10162166788425047&set=gm.27731971603058387&idorvanity=631955743486673

Book recommendations:

Tasha Tudor’s Garden by Tovah Martin

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/189425.Tasha_Tudor_s_Garden

Justine’s Book Rec: The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food: Step-by-Step Vegetable Gardening for Everyone by Joseph Tychonievich and illustrated by Liz Anne Kozik.

If you would like to join the gardening club in person, check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/bloomingvalleygardenclub

The full list of events both past and upcoming can be found here: https://www.bethanygl.com/bvgc

Music by Mike Wise

Welcome to Episode 1 of The Blooming Valley Garden Club Podcast! Hosts Bethany and Justine are thrilled to welcome you to our space dedicated to gardening and sharing knowledge on all things plant life.

In this inaugural episode, we chat about water conservation methods (Bethany has a VERY nifty set up with some rain barrels), the importance of planting in the right space and a how-to guide on hardening your indoor seedlings so you’re ready for the Last Day of Frost (truly a magical day for all gardeners!).

Bethany shouted out Charles Dowding, granddaddy of the No-Dig Garden Movement. More info on him here: https://charlesdowding.co.uk/blogs/no-dig-resources/beginners-guide

Here is some great info on rain barrel capture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2qoLtvTYN0

For your reference, here are some crops that can be planted in early spring (BEFORE the last day of frost): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSDr-2REYCo

Here is 72 cell tray that Bethany uses to start her plants indoors: (Canadian supplier “Indoor Farmer” they're based in Guelph) : https://indoorfarmer.ca/products/bootstrap-farmer-air-prune-propagation-tray-72-cell?

indoorfarmer.ca

And finally, here are some lovely ways to get kids into gardening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOinXg7W1F0

If you would like to join the gardening club in person, check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/bloomingvalleygardenclub

The full list of events both past and upcoming can be found here: https://www.bethanygl.com/bvgc

Music by Mike Wise