January can be a dull month for gardeners, but despite the cold weather and the dark days, there are always ways to welcome spring into your home. A windowsill herb garden brings that freshness right into your kitchen, and the startup costs/effort can be pretty light.

This mild weather has meant that lots of plants are still growing, which is miraculous, given the snow-dumps in the rest of the country, but we request you make a final trip to the garden to remove and compost those raggedy tomato bushes and sloppy zucchini plants rotting away in the beds. If you haven't been by in a while, you might be surprised to discover what's still thriving––Christmas kale, anyone?

Fall has been generous to us at the Broadway & Victoria Temporary Community Garden––plenty of sun, warm days, and rain when it counts. A quick glance at the weather forecast, unfortunately, and you'll see those warm days are now behind us.

Alas, it's safe to say that summer is behind us. But for those who love wool, and IPA, and pumpkin-flavoured everything, October truly is the most magical month. Here's to giving thanks for the simple ingredients that made our gardens grow all summer: sunlight, soil and water.

This is an obvious but sometimes necessary reminder to pick and eat your food. There is nothing worse than watching a delicious zucchini turn to mush on the vine because it's gone unpicked for weeks. If you can't keep up with the food coming out of your garden box, why not invite a friend to come harvest for you?

We're well into hot, drought-like weather––beautiful beach conditions, but a real strain on our plants and the watering system at large. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you encounter any leaks or busted nozzles.

We're entering the sweet zone for summer gardening, when everything we planted in spring is fruiting and blossoming and growing like crazy. Snow peas, greens, even those first tomatoes are making their way from the garden to our plates. It's a feast!

With this heat, it's a good idea to plan on visiting the garden every 2 to 3 days to soak your soil. Brian Minter was on CBC's BC Today program last week and imparted the wisdom of early morning watering as the best time of the day to feed your plants. Second best (and perhaps more realistic) is to water during the cooler evening hours. Watering during the hottest midday hours can scald your leaves and fail to penetrate those deeper layers in the soil where you want your roots to dig.

As most of you are aware, city permits have delayed us from hooking our watering system up. But it's just too darn hot not to have water, and so we're bringing in a temporary water storage solution.

The Meet & Greet for the Broadway & Victoria Garden is scheduled for SATURDAY APRIL 21ST, and will run from 1pm to 3pm.

We'll be out on Saturday, April 21st at 1 p.m. to host a meet-and-greet event at the garden. This is a great time to meet your fellow gardeners, plant your first seeds (if you haven't already) and ask us any garden related questions you might have. We'll also have our friends at Victory Gardens selling seeds, bulbs and starts to get you growing. Rain or shine, but let's hope for sun!

Spring is just around the corner––you can see it in the snow bells and crocuses––and that means we can start turning our attention to the business of gardening.

January marks not just another year, but the start of the Great Countdown To Spring. Hey, February's only a month away, which means we're just a month away from planting those first snow peas in the cold, damp dirt. Not so bad, is it?