For the love of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squashes, potatoes, onions, radishes, peas, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, etc… how to grow them in containers, community gardens, and other small spaces.
….‘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 …
A lot of exciting things have been happening in the gardens these days. With summer fully underway I have been harvesting all sorts of goodies. There are new discoveries everyday. Yet none have garnered quite the reaction as when I stuck my right arm into the soil, moved it around a bit and pulled out …
I am still working on getting warm season transplants into the community garden plot. I’m still working on same on the roof for that matter. I was a little gun shy this spring, following on the heels of last year’s June 5 Curcubit killing cold snap. While that didn’t happen this year, I was relieved …
Yesterday I spent eleven hours helping my brother Jay become a container gardener. The original plan was to show up with a few supplies, have lunch, and spend two hours tops setting up. In and out. Back to work by 2pm. Or not. It was just supposed to be two large containers. I didn’t want …
We popped over for a quick mini-visit to the community garden yesterday afternoon. I wanted to bring some kitchen scraps to add to the compost bin on our way to have lunch and run errands. We left the container at the garden with a mind to return to pick it up on our way back …
They say that lightly brushing your hands against tomato leaves stimulates a growth hormone in the plant encouraging radial (aka stockier) growth. I’m still searching for a study that supports this but I chose to believe it regardless, which is why I spend some time each morning lightly touching my young tomato seedlings. I’m sure …
The discussion around inexpensive containers for indeterminate tomato plants in a recent post has brought up a good point regarding how to conceal the clinical blandness of food industry buckets. The conversation in that post reminded me of a brilliant camouflage technique I discovered on a Saturday walk through my own neighbourhood a few years …
I’ve got a question on tomatoes. I’ve recently ordered about nine tomato plants. They’re still kind of babies, but it turns out that they’re indeterminates, not determinates like was expected. In the book it says that garbage bins work well, but if I chose the cheapest ones I found (they’re 13 bucks) that would be …
Just when I thought today couldn’t get any worse and that I might waste the day away wallowing in a pity party for one, seeds arrive in the mail. It’s amazing how such a small thing can cheer me up so fully. I’m very determined to experiment with melon varieties this year. I ordered three …
And the winner in the race to germination is… ‘Purple Calabash’ Tomato. Because I know some of you will ask, I will just go ahead and clarify that the drops of water on the leaves fell from condensation that had formed underneath the “greenhouse” lid and onto the leaves when I removed it and are …
Another Seedy Saturday Toronto has come and gone and like last year I managed, with great effort, to make it around to a few booths and pick up some seeds. The event was more packed than ever this year making it nearly impossible to leave my brother/assistant alone at the table for any length of …