Growing fruit and using it too.
Guest post by Amy Urquhart This article in today’s Toronto Star is interesting. It’s about people harvesting from neglected or owner-less trees in the city. It made me think about an apple tree that is sitting off the side of the exit ramp I take every day on my way home from work. It’s just …
The blackberry bushes have been incredibly prolific at the Community Garden this year. I’d swear the plants have doubled in size, each vine exploding with fat, juicy fruit. I had thought that perhaps our cold winters curbed their invasiveness but I’m starting to discover that they can take over in this climate too… albeit somewhat …
In an effort to grow new-to-me determinant tomato varieties, I completely forgot to grow tomatillos this year. By the time I realized my mistake it was too late to start tomatillos from seed and none of my favorite local transplant suppliers were growing them. I’m told that tomatillos aren’t a popular crop. For shame. Well …
I’ve been busy over the last few months with a number of workshops and projects but thought I would take a moment to document some of that here before the experiences escape me. I did a workshop called “Grocery Store Gardening” at Ladyfest Guelph back in Sept. Here’s the promo: “Turn the waste from tonight’s …
Things are coming along swell on the rooftop garden. In fact, this is turning out to be my best year ever! The weather has been incredibly hot and dry, and as a result I have been out there religiously watering containers, sometimes as much as twice per day. But the combination of heat and consistent …
Guest post by Zesty ‘Arbolist’ Look up the word. I don’t know, maybe I made it up. Anyway, it’s an arbotree-ist, somebody who knows about trees.’ George W. Bush as quoted in USA today; August 21, 2001 Well the reckoning has finally come. The cute little apple tree in our back yard can no longer …
Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich Method Hitting the road with a cup of coffee in a travel mug, my search for wild roadside apple trees begins. I find what I am looking for, a row of gnarled, unpruned wild apple trees growing side by side on a gravel road. I can see right away that …
Guest post by Eleanor Athens The science of taste is complex and amazing, as anyone who has ever bitten into a sun-warmed tomato in a summer garden can tell you. Much of the enjoyment we get from eating is actually caused by volatile aroma chemicals; we smell our food as we taste it. We can …
If you happen to have a pineapple on hand to eat, (and they are abundant and cheap during the late spring and summer months), then why not take a few minutes and grow your own pineapple plant from the discarded top? It seems nearly mythological that anyone can grow a tropical fruit such as pineapple …