I know we just sent our our February newsletter, but some things are too good to keep to ourselves.  Right now, at Dig This, it's all about savings!

Yes, we have lots of new and exciting merchandise coming in every day - see the items below on our garden furniture and the seed potatoes.  But as the new things arrive, we need to make room and that's where the savings come in.

Right now we are having our annual February greenhouse sale and due to earlier-than-expected arrival of our garden furniture, a head start on the March furniture sale.  In addition, our Broadmead store is moving so they are clearing out many things so they don't have to move everything to the new store!  Not to be left out, the other Dig This stores are doing a little spring cleaning themselves, so you'll find great deals, from 30% to 70% off selected merchandise.

Need a little "shot" of spring?  Want to advance your garden dreams?  Visit one of our stores soon.

By now, most of our newsletter readers know Dig This always kicks off the spring season with our furniture sale.  This year our terrific new line of garden furniture is arriving early, so we're putting it on sale right now!

Until March 31st, all our garden furniture - in stock and special orders - is 20% off the regular price.

Some of the new furniture is in stock now, and more is arriving every day, so come in and see our extensive selection of man-made all-weather "wicker", teak and metal bistro sets.

There's not much left, but the remaining pieces of our balau garden furniture are 30% to 50% off until they are gone.  Still available are rectangular and round dining tables and matching chairs, reclining chairs and folding garden benches.

Balau is a plantation hardwood that performs just like teak outdoors.

Dig This now has organic seed potatoes from Pemberton, BC in stock.  This year we have five varieties to choose from:

Yukon Gold: Early Season. Oval shaped, yellow skinned with shallow pink eyes and yellow flesh. A high yielding variety with a high percentage of large potatoes that keep well.

Sieglinde: Early Season. Gourmet potato. Oblong slightly flattened, smooth tubers with thin skin. Stores well.

Russian Blue: Late Season. Heritage variety. Round oblong tubers with dark purple skin. Heavy setting so give room. Withstands dryer conditions more than others.

Red Chieftain: Mid Season. Oval to oblong tubers with smooth bright red skin. A high yielding variety that stores well.

Cascade: High yielding mid-season variety. Good storage quality. Cream flesh. Excellent for boiling, baking, and French frying.

Russian Banana: The super star of the fingerling potato and a favourite with chefs. Excellent flavour. Yellow banana-shaped, small wax-type tubers with firm texture. Great baked, boiled, or roasted and an excellent salad potato.

Last year, I experimented and grew my potatoes in a compost cage.  After digging over the soil, I put the wire cage in place and put my seed potatoes down.  Then I covered them with compost.  As they grew, I just kept adding more compost until mid-summer, when I just left them alone.  When I dug them in September, I had a bumper crop!  Another space-saving method of growing potatoes is to use old tires.  See our March 7, 2007 Newsletter for more information.  To find the newsletter, go to http://www.digthis.com/newsletterarchive and look for the March 7, 2007 issue.

Dig This at Broadmead Village is moving within the mall.  The new location is right at the 4-way stop as you enter the mall through the main entrance - where the fish & chip shop used to be.  That means a sparkling new store to greet you in March full of all kinds of new items for your garden.

It also means great savings on items in the old store where you'll find savings of 30% to 70%.  But don't delay.  This sale is over on February 28th, when the old store closes its doors for the last time!

Dig This on Johnson Street is pleased to have local horticulturalist and author, Carolyn Herriot, back again to give a series of talks.  This year, Carolyn's theme is "The New Victory Garden - Food For The Future".  When discussing this topic with Carolyn, she said "Anyone can grow some food for their own table - even if it is just a container of herbs on a deck - and many edible plants can be worked into the flower beds." 

Given the growing interest in sustainability and the concept of the "100 Mile Diet", we think this is a topic everyone will enjoy.

Come for a great discussion, plus some nibblies and drinks between 6:00 pm and 7:30 pm on:

• Wednesday, March 12th -  Food Security - Why Worry?
• Wednesday, March 19th - The New Victory Garden - Let's Get Growing!
• Wednesday, March 25 - Saving Your Own Seeds 
   

$10 per session. You will receive a gift certificate equal to the registration fee on the night of the event. Please register in advance by calling 385 3212.
For more information on Carolyn, check out http://www.earthfuture.com/gardenpath 

Seedy Sunday:
Nanaimo, Bowen Park Auditorium, Downtown Nanaimo
March 2nd 10 am to 3 pm

Dig This will be at Nanaimo's annual seed exchange with organic seed potatoes, seeds and sprouts, plus a great selection of tools and seeding starting equipment. For more information, go to http://www.seedsavers.bc.ca/

Central Vancouver Island Botanical Garden Society:
Celebration of Island Gardening
Beban Park, 2300 Bowen Road, Nanaimo
March 7th , 8th , and 9th

CVIBGS's 13th annual garden show will be in Nanaimo next month and Dig This Nanaimo will be showing off what is new for spring. Christiane will be doing a workshop on sprouts and providing samples of sprouts and meals that you can make at home with them. This garden show has a lot to offer with over 40 commercial and community exhibits, garden workshops and free children's programs. The speakers this year are Des Kennedy, Steve Whysall, Carolyn Herriot, Ruth Olde and Heide Hermary. This backed up with door prizes, music, art and many workshops, has the makings of a great weekend.

Check out their website for more information. http://cvibgs.org/newsletters/2008SpringNews.pdf

Growing and Foraging the Ultimate Organic Salad
Saturday, March 15th 9 am - 11 am
Abkhazi Garden, 1964 Fairfield Road, Victoria

Bryon Cook, head gardener at Sooke Harbour House, will share how he grows and forages the wonderful array of tasty greens and flowers that appear on salad plates at the famous restaurant throughout the seasons. Explore the many possibilities of composing your own organic salads with tips on growing and suggestions for unusual seed sources.
$15.00 includes GST
Call 598-8096 for more information
www.conservancy.bc.ca

We have an immediate opening at our Nanaimo store. If you are energetic, love working with people and enjoy gardening, you might like to work with us!
If you are interested, please drop a resume off at the Nanaimo store.