Seedy Saturday

I went to last year”s Seedy Saturday. A Seedy Satuday is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon perusing tables and attending workshops where you will find all kinds of hard to come by seeds, as well as all of the usual standby varieties. Every seed you need, all shapes and all cultivars under one roof. There is even a seed exchange for those willing to save and share. The very first Seedy Saturday started in Vancouver, Canada on a Valentine”s Day by Sharon Remple in 1989, go Sharon! ‘Come Grow with Us’ Seedy Saturday Saturday, March 19th, 2011 at Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre 656 Elizabeth Street,(formerly Wolseley Barracks) London ON entrance off McMahen & Elizabeth Street 10 am to 3:30pm Admission: $5.00 per adult Featuring vendors of seeds, plants & environmental friendly garden products. This day will include workshops & demonstrations by our Master Gardeners on ‘Starting Seeds’, ‘Attracting Butterflies’, ‘Composting’ & ‘Soil Food Web’. Featured Guest Speakers: 1pm – ‘Invasive Plant Species’ 2pm – ‘Organic Vegetable Gardening’ For information go to www.londonmiddlesexmastergardeners.com Contact Jennifer Grant at 519-652-2734 or jgrantplants@sympatico.ca  Read More

The seeds have arrived!

I am happy to announce that my 2010 seed selection has arrived! I will also tell you that when Sean brought the mail in yesterday and I spied the brown kraft envelope tucked under his armpit, I started to jump up and down (just a little). It was like Christmas all over again. This jumping and excitement came to a quick end when he called me a Farm Nerd! I then ripped the envelope out from under his armpit, tore it open and made sure they were all there. They were all there and accounted for, and Farm Nerd or not, I know that all of you will be interested in knowing what a fellow gardener has planned – you all understand, right? So, without further ado – here is what I humbly have planned: Tomato – Gourmet Mix (small) These tomatoes are promised to grow forth in assorted sizes, colours and shapes. Similar to that of small cherry sized tomatoes. Tomatillos I grew these last year for the first time. They were super easy and pest-free and were also unaffected by the late blight that raced across the area and did in my tomatoes at the end. I made about 6 jars of super spicy, super delicious salsa verde with my crop, so this year I plan to grow even more! Sweet Basil I put basil in all kinds of food-stuff through the summer, I wish I had more basil around when August came eventually for making pesto. This year, I will! Chard – Five Colour Silverbeet I grew this beauty last year and the year before – and we hardly even ate it. I actually was quite happy to just admire it out there in my small but mighty garden. I am growing it again to look at,but also plan on eating a lot more of it. It is so good for you. Carrot – Tonda di Parigi This is a carrot that grows in a ball shape,kind of stunted. I thought it looked intriguing and I can probably freak some people at work out with it in my lunches. I cannot wait to see it take shape in the garden. Tomato – Gourmet Mix Medium Same thing as the small tomato gourmet mix mentioned above, but these are the larger ones, for sandwiches and main dishes. Drool…need I say more? Carrot – Dragon This is a fire-breathing carrot. Just kidding, but you can see (or you will see), why they call it a dragon carrot. It is promised to be dark red in colour and I have heard it has a very light pepper taste to it. We will see. Tomato – Black Giant Its Giant, its black, its a tomato! A very good friend (Hey Nancy!), dropped off 3 beautiful black tomatoes at my door step late last summer. They were so delicious tasting and so intriguing that I decided to grow some myself and maybe I can return the food gift this year. Fingers crossed for no blight for the region this year! So, that is what I have planned so far. I do also plan to head out to the seed exchange that is happening in London this weekend with Stacy, so my collection may grow a little – or a lot! What about all of you? What do have planned? Have you purchased any seeds yet? Did you save some of yours from last year? What are you plans?  Read More

Seedlings and North London Farmers Market Announced

Hello everyone Something really sad happened and I abandoned my blog for a while, I just could not write. But thanks for hanging in and waiting for a post – all of you are the reason I decide to take my nerdy pictures, write my insane comments and continue to spread the news about eating more local. Today, the sun is shining, it is warming up quite a bit out there and I am feeling much better, so I must get back to finding the great tasting, fresh and local food that is starting to sprout up everywhere. I also wanted to share with you this picture of my seedlings that are growing like mad. Are they not lovely and hopeful looking? Unfortunately, some of them did not sprout, I really am not sure why, some of my seeds were older so this could be a reason why they did not germinate. What you see there is tomatoes, brussels sprouts, some peppers and I think maybe some tomatillos. A note about those little paper pots I made – I wrote on the sides of them what I was growing and as soon as I watered them,my little notes quickly disappeared! Oh,I just was not thinking on that day! I will grow some other things as well, but I will sow seeds directly into the ground for that stuff, I will keep you posted over the summer. Some special things of interest, has anyone been watching Food Network”s “The 100 Mile Challenge”? It takes place in Mission, BC and it is a small community that has decided to go local for food for 3 months. It is really good and I am loving it! The idea for the show is based on the book, The 100 Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon and they both appear on the show. Of course, I am not as strict on myself as the community of Mission is being. There are a ton of rules about what they can and cannot buy, it is truly inspirational and it reminds me a lot of the first year I decided to start eating more local – it is like you grow a new set of eyes about food. There is also some super news for Londoners. Some of you may have already heard about this, but for those of you who have not, starting in May there is going to be a Friday Market in North London all summer long. I find this especially fantastic news because it is on my way into work. Can you say CONVENIENT?! Apparently Dave Cook, the same person who runs the Western Fair Market has decided to run a market at the North West corner of the Masonville Mall parking lot. The market will run Fridays because there are no other outdoor markets operating in the city on Friday and there would be less competition for vendors and customers. Cook said the market will have room for 60 vendors and feature local seasonal produce and baked goods. You can find all the details here from the source: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Business/2009/04/16/9134336.html Enjoy the remains of this lovely day! Kelly  Read More

Introducing… my Pot Maker

This is my little paper pot maker. It”s a smart little invention. You take those annoying paper flyers that grocery stores bully your mailbox with, and you use them to grow your own veggies! Here, you can see that I cut the papers into little strips and then rolled them around the wooden base and voila! You have this great little pot for your seedling. According to the directions, the paper just breaks down in the soil as it grows, kind of like compost. I filled them up with some potting soil and got growing. Last year I used those handy little expanding peat pots and I really liked them. They were easy to use and my seeds were successful in them, they were alot less work than this, but this was free and you can”t beat that! Well, I guess I still have to account for the potting soil… but it is cheap! I planted my seeds last weekend and the majority are already sprouting. I will keep you up to date on their progress. This year I went with 4 kinds of heirloom tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, tomatillos, lettuce, beets,and some herbs,but I will also sow some vegetables straight into the ground, if it ever warms up Keep me up to date on what you are all growing!kellygrowxo  Read More