1. What's your name and how long have you been gardening on the West Coast?
I'm Sandi Rideout and I moved to Tofino in July 2003. After some planning time, I started veggie gardening in 2004. I have two small greenhouses and lots of containers built by my partner to my specifications!
2. What's growing in your garden at the moment?
300 garlic plants! Plus Joi Choi, 4 different lettuces (all in greenhouses at the moment), rhubarb, parsley, asparagus, red onions, and potatoes. I have started tomatoes, nasturtium, corn, pole beans, and cucumbers...but rats got into them and I have only 4 corn and 1 cucumber left...the rest are okay!
3. What are you planning on planting in the following weeks/month?
All of my starts will go into beds, along with more onions, spinach, carrots, radishes, chard, and more salad greens.
4. What have you been preparing or doing in the garden lately?
The weather has been a definite factor in delaying the garden this year! But I've been prepping beds, cleaning greenhouses, replacing and or moving dirt, and just generally getting ready.
5. What's your favorite thing to grow and why?
Garlic, definitely. So rewarding! So easy! So early! I do everything at the end of the season in October or so, and then I just have to wait. Give them a good feed of blood meal and manure when they come up in the spring, and just reap the rewards. I learned how to braid my hard neck garlic from a YouTube video last year, and I love to see them hanging in my pantry.
6. What do you love most about gardening?
Being active and outside is the best part. And sharing with and learning from other gardeners. But eating the produce is really great, too!
Get the Dirt is a series of interviews with west coast gardeners meant to educate, inspire, & celebrate community-based food cultivation.