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QUESTION We are planning to put in a small vegetable garden at our cottage but our property has a shortage of topsoil and an abundance of herbivorous animals. Can you provide any tips that will increase our chances of success? Terry Beettam, Bancroft, Ont.
ANSWER "There is a reason there aren't a lot of farms up there," says Cathy Dueck, manager of the Ecology Park with Peterborough Green-Up, a program that supports environmentally sound gardening. Vegetables need about a third of a metre of fertile soil, eight hours of full sun, and fairly neutral soil. Cottagers gardening on the Canadian Shield face a double threat before even taking critters into consideration - thin, acidic soil and forested shade. If you still want to persevere with your garden plans, Dueck advises using raised beds and filling them with either bags of sterilized topsoil or loose soil delivered from a local source. (Importing soil from elsewhere might introduce non-native weed seeds to the area.) You should also augment the soil with lime, to neutralize acidity, and well-aged manure or compost, to up the nutrient levels. (But only do this if the garden is at least 30 metres from the water.) Robert Allen, owner of Northway Gardeners, near Utterson, Ont., says cool-weather crops such as lettuce and spinach, which can be planted earlier in the season, will tolerate partial shade. Try growing wild leeks, a native vegetable easily cultivated in your area. Low-maintenance crops - those that don't require regular feeding and are resilient to frost, such as carrots, peas, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes - should also do well, provided they get enough sun. Dueck also suggests mulching with a non-acidic material such as clean straw to keep moisture in and weeds at bay.
No matter what you grow, it will be a veritable smorgasbord to passing wildlife. Enclosing the garden in chicken wire is your best defence against marauders, with one notable exception. "Deer are really good jumpers," says Jan McDonnell, wildlife biologist at the Ministry of Natural Resources' (MNR) Bracebridge office. "So, you need a fence that's eight feet tall." McDonnell, an avid gardener, solved her deer problem by erecting an eight-foot-tall, black plastic mesh fence adorned with aluminum pie plates and holographic scare tape. "It looks really tacky," she says, laughing. "But you know what? I don't care." Kate Barker
* Published in the June 2006 issue of Cottage Life |