First Casualty of the Season

… a ‘Black Brandywine’ tomato taken before its time was up by an unknown mammalian critter. This kind of thing is like a right-of-passage for food gardeners. Unless you’re gardening in a sterile bubble, you have probably experienced the blow of crushed anticipation when a ripening tomato, eggplant, or pepper is snatched in the night.

A Way to Stake: Wall O’ Mesh

I think this method is called, “Using Whatever’s Available.” It seems to work. I think it’s kind of interesting and matches the hodge-podge style of the space although I don’t think it would score points for curbside appeal with The Better Homes and Gardens crowd. It’s the kind of look I will miss dearly once

Things I Learned While Camping

Homesteading — the kind that involved living in tents and no machinery — was terribly difficult. I’m sure of it. Of course I already knew this, camping merely drove that point home in a new way. Simple tasks take longer, requiring more planning. Who wants tea? Well, first you’ve got to make a fire. This

Blackberry Season

I took these pictures while foraging for blackberries just around the corner from our campsite in Massassauga Provincial Park. The park is a Unesco World Biosphere Reserve. The second biosphere I have visited this year! That smush on the right Polaroid is the remains of an unfortunate mosquito. I like nature, I really do. But

The ReadyMade Gardening Challenge

They did it once a few years back and now they’re doing it again. ReadyMade Mag is looking for contenders for their next Gardening Challenge. Here’s the deal: You send ReadyMade photos of your current “garden” space and plans with innovative but thrifty ideas to alter the space. ReadyMade gives you $300 to make it

And the Winner Is….

….‘Beaver Lodge Slicer’. Although I can’t be absolutely certain since I discovered some ripe ‘Green Grape’ tomatoes hidden beneath their foliage later that evening. We ate those straight-away before I could be bothered to get out a camera. The ‘Beaver Lodge Slicers’ were delicious on a fried egg sandwich with basil. I don’t have anything