Notes from the Blustery Maritimes

I started this gardening season with the noble intention of logging all the windy days in my garden. After a few days, I realized I’d have a much shorter list if I just recorded the few hours instead. Welcome to life on the Maritime coast, where the wind is never a guest and more of a permanent resident.

Wind is such a constant companion here that anything tall in my garden has developed a distinct tilt. Like kids at dance the beans are huddled together on one side of the trellis, and the asparagus fronds have a pronounced eastward lean. Even my trusty oscillating sprinkler can’t resist the breeze; its spray leans so far over it looks like it’s doing the limbo.

The wind here isn’t ‘just a breeze,’ as the saying goes. It dries-out the soil fast. The only solution a yearly application of “mulch.” I am also plotting and planning windbreaks—hedgerows to help shield the wind-weary veggies. This year, I added a row of thornless Triple Crown blackberries and some Sea Buckthorn berries outside the main garden. Here’s hoping they’ll grow up strong and sturdy, and maybe slow the wind to a gentle breeze (a gardener can dream).

It’s July 1st, and only in the past week does it finally feel like things are growing. We’ve nibbled on snap peas, spotted fava beans forming, and admired the tiny zucchini. Some greens have bolted (overachievers!), but the Swiss chard is holding it’s ground and I’ve harvested a few leaves.

The tomatoes and cucumbers—babied started indoors have graduated to the deck and thriving in their sheltered, sun-warmed spot. There’s a noticeable difference in size between the deck dwellers and their wind-battered cousins in the main garden. Location, location, location!

So here I am, learning to embrace the breeze. The wind may have the upper hand for now, but I’m plotting my leafy revenge of hedgerows and windbreaks.