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Collaboration Matters e recently announced that the Saanich Peninsula Chamber had combined forces with the Sidney North Saanich Industrial Group in order to make the most efficient use of organizational resources in advocating for business on the Saanich Peninsula. Given our Chamber’s mandate to grow community through business, as we have been doing so since 1912, we are pleased to be providing additional focus to the unique interests of the advanced manufacturers on the Saanich Peninsula. Businesses are competing globally, but the issues we face on the Saanich
W Denny Warner Executive Director Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
BY FAYE AT RUSSELL NURSERY illing your seedlings is easy, but so is growing them to become strong and vibrant young plants. Whether you sow your own seeds or buy starts from the nursery, your seedlings will go through a vulnerable stage of babyhood when you must meet their every need. Some simple guidelines and lessons learned along the way: > Use a sterilized soilless seed starting mix when sowing seeds.
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> Seeds need heat, seedlings need light. A heat mat and grow lights will be the most effective investment you can make if you really want to get into seeding. Once the seeds germinate, keep light about an inch above the seedlings, and only turned on for 12 to 16 hours a day.
Peninsula such as transportation, affordable housing, lack of childcare and healthcare, and shortage of skilled workforce, are regional and can only be solved by involving a wide range of geographically represented partners. In order to capitalize on our competitive sectors and the strategic advantage inherent in operating in this region, we need to mobilize stakeholders from business — start ups to established large manufacturers, the school district, post-secondary institutions, local, provincial and national government, health organizations, agriculture, and community groups — to create a strategy in support of
community development. As we work and talk together, gain common understanding, build collaborative capacity — trust will emerge. Regional (cheer)leaders will surface “to inspire, motivate and empower action in a networked, shared-power world” (Regionalism on Purpose, Kathryn Foster). The values we hold in common are greater than those that separate us. Denny Warner, Executive Director
How not to kill your seedlings > Don’t over crowd. Use scissors to snip off excess seedlings if they are too close to separate. > Once they have two sets of true leaves, start to fertilize. Use a weak solution of liquid fish or seaweed. > Always water from the bottom. Your seeds will have been sown into a tray or cell-packs with drainage. Put these into a non-draining tray, add water to the bottom tray, removing excess water after half an hour or so. Watering the top of the soil encourages damping off, a fatal fungal disease of seedlings. Watering from below encourages roots to grow downward seeking moisture. If you want to be extra kind, water with room-temperature
saved rainwater or de-chlorinate > Harden off. Very important, the your tap water by leaving it little plants need to be gradually sitting out for a day or so before acclimated to cold, wind, rain, using. sun. Direct sun can burn leaves if not properly hardened off. Give > Pot on! Don’t allow roots to them partial days in dappled become over crowded and shade, bring in for the night, tangled; move plants up to 4 gradually expose to more weather inch pots. Hot-weather crops and more sun. A coldframe or like tomatoes, eggplant and cool greenhouse makes this peppers need to be started early, transition easier. yet moved to successively larger pots before planting out.
> Leaving the nest. When it’s time to move the seedlings to the > Grasp by leaves only. Seedling be wary of critters. Slugs garden, stems are fragile and easily love tender young shoots. Slug damaged. If you need to separate seedlings that have been grown together in trays, tease roots apart gently with fork or fingers.
bait is the best defense, along with rabbit fencing. Check after dark to uncover cutworms. > Label everything! Did I mention this already? Knowing the variety and date you planted is helpful when planning next year’s crops. Many good growers maintain a notebook listing plants, date seeded, when planted out, and result. Enjoy the harvest! You’ll be glad you got your babies off to a good start, and they will thank you with delicious produce. russellnursery.com
> Label everything! You think you will remember which flat is which, but you won’t. Trust me. > Pinch back. When plants are 3 to 4 inches tall, with two or three sets of true leaves, nip out the top leaves to encourage branching, more flowers and fruit. Technical bit: plant hormone auxin is in terminal (end) bud, and causes vertical growth but suppresses side growth, so you want to interrupt this cycle. Don’t pinch back tomatoes.
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> Rough ‘em up. Brush your hands gently over the tops of the little plants; this toughens up the cells and prepares them for the great outdoors.
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