Sunday, September 4, 2011

Lessons Learned - Tomatoes

     Here it is, the beginning of September, July a blur of hot and humid days, droplets of moisture on my glasses, making it a struggle to see what I am doing in the garden.  August was dry, busy, and went far too quickly.  


     The lessons I learned this year, I need to have close at hand so that I do not repeat them.   I did know some of these, but was a lazy gardener this year.
1.  do not plant tomato rows so close together - this makes it hard to get in there and pick them, so  
     space the rows 3 feet apart
2.  5 plants per my row, -  reason - see above - I was crawling on my hands and knees and  
     contorting to reach the little red orbs
3.  put the tomato cages on directly after planting - much easier than trying to manipulate those
     branches without breaking them
4. put the pop bottles in right after the cages - why did I stop doing this?  Lazy.  What about the pop
     bottles?  When we first moved here and put in the veggie garden, I had asked my sister -in-law
     to save me all her 2 litre pop bottles.  I then cut the bottoms off, removed the caps, inverted them
     and stuck them into the ground next to my newly planted veggies.  I would fill them with water 
     and then refill them whenever they were next to empty.  This system gave all the veggies a 
     continuous supply of water, but never too much and was a quick way of watering without the 
     overhead system of watering.  Why is this better?  Well, I'm not watering any weed seeds, the
     water warms to air temperature and, as I was reminded this year, as the tomatoes ripened, cold 
     well water on the shoulders of tomatoes makes hard, yellow shoulders.

   Another lesson is not to grow broccoli , cauliflower or brussel sprouts - too 
many flea beetles and earwigs, not to mention little green worms.  I tried row covers, but the earwigs get in there anyway, so I will just concentrate on de-worming the Kale.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

A good day

It was 12 degrees C., with a very cold wind here today, but we didn't have rain.  It was cloudy with a few sunny breaks here and there, and the sun warmed it up a bit outside.  It made the temperature in the greenhouse hit 32, so I had to open 2 windows and prop the door ajar so I wouldn't melt, never mind the plants.

Yesterday DH put in and connected the filters and pumps for the pond and waterfall before it started to rain.  All the fish survived the winter and we have around 20 frogs in the pond.  I am trying to train the fish to eat some fish food, but they aren't "biting".  Normally water hyacinths grow quickly and help to cover the surface of the pond to create shade and thereby reduce algae.  Last year they just wouldn't grow and from reading a few articles, I realized that all the fish in the pond were nibbling at the roots, stunting the growth of the plants.  They love to hide in them and I suppose they just graze away in there, all shaded and protected, so that is why I am trying to get them to each fish food, but only just a bit in the morning.  Too much food will produce too much poop which in turn will make the algae grow too fast and create an unsightly mess in the pond. 

Today I had to transplant the tomatoes and delphiniums into bigger pots.  65 Tomato plants!!!!   Yikes!  I have 18 of my favourite, Polish Linguisa.  I only wanted 12, but I thought that some of the seeds didn't germinate so I sowed some more and lo and behold, they all germinated!  
 
Here are some photos of what is growing in the green house.  The second last one is a picture of my tray of lettuces.  I started them for the first time inside in March and we were able to have some in our salads, and now they and the spinach are ready to be planted out as soon as the night temperatures are a bit warmer.  Next to be transplanted are all the cabbages, kale and broccoli along with some annuals that I seeded as well.

Time to grab my book and put my feet up!

Begonias, Stocks and Osteospermum


Tomatoes

More tomatoes

Sweet young lettuce

More veggies, Cannas and assorteds

Saturday, May 14, 2011

All the Shades of Green

Today's weather:  foggy in the morning and drizzly off and on, temperature of 13 degrees C.
                               rainy this afternoon with a bit of a wind, temp. of 11 degrees C.


Don't you just love all the incredibly bright and fresh shades of green in the spring?  The landscape is just full of them and the only ones missing are the leaves of the Ash and the Oak trees...always the last to leaf out.


Almost all the tulips are in bloom, just a few bunches of later blooming types that will make a first appearance in about a week.   When we planted the 250 tulip bulbs last fall, I didn't know that there are early and later blooming types and only discovered this fact as I was setting out the groups of bulbs and reading the packages.  I am so pleased with all the colours, but was especially delighted with the tangerine coloured tulips.  They sure do contribute a wow factor!


Starburst Tulips




As my DH and I were having coffee on the porch the other morning, we were admiring all the colours of the tulips, but noted that we will have to plant more this fall (oh joy! more shopping!).  DH came up with the great idea of putting in a shim, or any stick of wood would do, to mark where exactly a group of tulips is needed.   This will be hidden during the summer with the foliage from other plants, such as these Peonies and Trollius and will be then visible after the frost has killed the foliage.






This morning was spent selecting potted plants from the tables and potting up plants from the gardens to donate to raise funds for a cause next week.  The next few days I should be transplanting the vegetables into bigger pots.  I don't think that I will be putting anything other than the lettuce and spinach into the garden soon.  The weather sure isn't warming up very fast yet and I couldn't bear to put in the tomatoes, peppers, cukes and zukes, broccoli and cabbage in the coolish soil yet.  

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

15 degrees Celsius at 7:30 and clear skies.


It is another sunny day with thin clouds here and there, with an east wind...not my favourite because it brings a dampness with it, but I shouldn't complain.  I can always hide away in the warm greenhouse and putter.


Today I saw my first Hummingbird, but my DH beat me to it by seeing one at the feeder yesterday and the Orioles have finally arrived as well.  What was once a too quiet spring is now filled with the chatter and music of all the birds come back home for the summer...happy sounds.


Yesterday was spent being 'Little Miss Mover', as I so fondly call a dear friend of mine.  I have never moved so many plants as I have this year, and I firmly believe that she has finally rubbed off on me in that regard.  I don't think that there is a time (except for winter) when we have talked about gardening and she hasn't mentioned that she moved this plant or that and I am finally doing it as well.  


Monday, myself and two other gardening buddies visited the spring gardens of a woman close to Dornoch.  She is a collector of peonies, starts them from seed and has also bred daylilies.  Her gardens are full of unusual plants and she is brave and pushes the plant hardiness zones.  Speaking of visiting gardens, there are quite a few new ones on the Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce Counties  www.ruralgardens.ca and it will be fun to plan our outings again this year!



What's blooming today?

Miniature Iris

Brunnera 'Variegata'

A surprise daffodil bought in a bag of 'various'

Another 'surprise' daffodil!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Saxatilis Botanical Tulip
I really don't mind weeding now and then.  It makes you get up close and personal with your garden.  It reminds you of those wonderful and generous friends who brought you a piece of their garden to enjoy in yours, and surprises you now and then with a treasure you forgot about.   However,  I don't like grass in the garden.  Not the beautiful ornamental grasses, but lawn grass.  When you weed, there is a satisfaction in knowing that that particular weed is out and gone for good.  Not with grass.  Our gardens are raised and lined with rocks that my DH brought in the wheelbarrow from all over the property.  I love the look, but the grass just loves to grow up in between those rocks and into the beds, preferably into the middle of a clump of something.  And so that is what I started on today...de-grassing the beds....yuck.  Not my favorite job, but hey, it's got to be done!



May 6, 2011

I decided today to move the trays of seedlings and potted plants from the basement to the greenhouse and hope that I don't forget to plug in the heater at nights.  It is drizzly and the day is to be overcast so it is perfect to expose the little things to natural light with out burning them.

I love to be in the greenhouse in the spring.  It smells earthy, it is warm and protected from the cool/cold spring winds and I can hear all the sorely missed songs of the returning birds.

I finally took a much needed walk in our woods in the afternoon.  The trails that my DH put through them makes it a joy to walk through without trampling on any of the delicate plants.  It has been at least three weeks  since I was back there and I was so surprised that the woodland plants are out so far.  The forest floor was awash in the mottled green of the trout lily leaves with patches of the Kelly green of the wild leeks.  The red Trilliums are blooming and the buds on the white and pink ones are just breaking.  The Cohosh is up and the felty leaves of the Wild Ginger are up but still folded.  In our woods, there are boulders and big rocks that are split or pitted.   On these beasts there are so many treasures growing, and all conveniently at eye level!  There are violets, Walking Ferns,  Pale Corydalis, Hepatica, Hearts Tongue Fern, only to name a very few.  Each spring I need to see what emerges in the forest before the woodland creatures eat the tender shoots.  When the day is damp or wet, the mosses on the rocks expand, looking like velvet and beg for you to put your hands on them.  It is another world in there.

 

May 5 2011

Today was spent moving plants in the gardens and putting in some that are newly acquired.  Trying to visualize what is there as of last fall, especially since I had moved some things then, made me dizzy!  


I have fallen for Verbascum, the vertical aspect they bring to the garden, their drought tolerance and their long show of blooms, so the hunt is on!


Tip:  Last year I photographed the gardens in each month with my digital camera.  The idea                  is to have a visual record to go back to so that you can decide what to put where if you are planning on moving things in the spring. It also helps for when you come across an emerging plant and you have no idea what it is. 

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sooooooo.......what is blooming today in the cold, cold rain?




Pulsatilla
     
                                      
                                                                           Hyacinth
                                                                       Daffodil
                                                                       Hellebore
                                                                      Early Tulip
                                                                       Mini Daffodils

Spring

After three months of attending to family affairs and then having the heart wrenching necessity of having our beloved Micky's remaining good eye removed, I am finally able to enjoy the anticipation of spring.  Although Micky had extremely limited sight in one eye and none in the other, it has been so very traumatic for him to have no sight altogether.  We are constantly encouraging him and trying to build up his confidence, so that he will enjoy walking the trails again.  Yesterday I walked him over to our neighbors down the road for the first time since his surgery, and his old excitement of visiting them and their Gordon Setter 'Becky' was back...a big break through because he hadn't wanted to walk further than the end of our lane.  It did him a world of good!


Never have I been so late in starting seeds, but I am finally caught up with only the morning glories and four o'clocks to plant.  I soaked the seeds in water yesterday and noticed that they are now ready to plant in peat pots.  Next on the list is potting up the Cannas, which I have had soaking in a pail with a weak solution of fertilizer to feed them after a winter of starvation in the basement.


Yesterday I was able to divide some grasses for two customers who placed their order last fall, but I will have to employ the muscle of my DH to dig up the Arundo Giant Reed and the Miscanthus Giganteus.  The roots of these grasses, although I do not find them invasive, are tough to dig through.


I am hopeful that when all this rain ends I can start to move all the plants that I have on my to do list.  I am just itching to get out there and dig.  Although weeding isn't my most favorite thing to do in the gardens, I enjoy it in the spring, simply because it gets you right down there to see who is waking up and there are always surprises that you forgot you had planted in the fall!  


With all this warm rain, the plants are growing quickly and there are beautiful spots of colour where the daffodils and a few hyacinths are blooming.  Last fall, DH and I planted close to three hundred tulips and daffodils and it will be fun to see them in bloom!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy Days!

    Temp is -5 with a soft breeze, big fluffly snowflakes.       
 Yes, happy days! It's snowing!  After all the warm weather and rain that we had the past few days, the snow cover on the flower beds was gone.   Also, the ski trail the goes from our back door to our friends' four lots down the concession was almost down to nothing.  There is nothing like having the opportunity to put on your skis when the mood strikes and not even have to drive to the location...just go from your door.  The trails meander through woods, regenerating fields and down some pretty good hills, one that makes me scream.  After a non windy, heavy snowfall, you can barely see through the heavily snow covered branches of the growth in the forest.  It is so very peaceful and magical, and can do wonders for your soul.
         Yesterday was spent taking down the Christmas decorations and trying to remember what went where in the boxes...done!  Then the happy chore of going through my box of seed packets and the catalogues and making a list of what needs to be refilled.  Sometime this week, weather permitting, DH and I will go down to Ontario Seed Home Hardware in Waterloo to pick up the majority of seeds.  Because they are one of the major seed suppliers, their seed racks are up and full of colourful packets the first week of January, and their seed starting supplies are on the shelves.   My list is just a guideline, as I am always tempted to try new vegetables, herbs, flowers or grasses, and temptation always wins!  After we come home, I will order other seeds that are not carried by OSC from other sources such as William Dam Seed and West Coast Seed, and then it is time to sterilize the containers before I begin to plant later this month.



Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Year's Day 2011

It is +8 degrees, cloudy, windy and rainy.
       Here we are, the first day of 2011, and the feeling is one of "ahhhhhhhh", I can relax from all the preparations of Christmas and concentrate on seed ordering.  It is time to bring out the seed catalogues, the list of what vegetables tasted the best and what plants performed well.  This will take a while, as there are four catalogues to go through and last years' notations to read.  Hopefully I can place my orders in the next 2 days and then the prepartions will begin in the basement to start sowing seeds, and dream of the coming spring.