Food fotos from Wildmint Garden

Maroon on the outside...

Cosmic on the inside! (that one's about 4")

See what I mean about the whole bullseye on LSD thing?

One red tomato, one green, two zucchinis

Disease and pest

I've got some septoria leaf spot on a few of my tomato plants. One Manitoba has been decimated, and the other is on its way. I'm going to have to take them up, and I suppose I'll just have to do fried green tomatoes. The reason, I'm certain is a combination of cool, wet weather with fairly intense tomato planting. This is one of the downsides of square foot gardening. Like a packed city, disease spreads quickly.

Also, while the dry weather has meant the slugs have slowed down (not ceased), there are still earwig issues in the beans and stinkbugs (which come in many shapes and colours) are in many places. I'd like to import a few toads but squishing works for now.

More goodies

It's been hot and dry here the past 4 days or so, and the garden is finally enjoying a reprieve from the cool, damp, weather we've been having. The tomatoes are turning red, zucchinis are growing well, and the cucumbers are starting to hit their stride.

Tonight for dinner we had zucchini (the first full sized from our plant, four more on the way), four small Manitoba tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette (they are very, very tangy; they would probably be improved with a bit of sweetness in the vinaigrette, or perhaps no vinegar and merely olive oil alone) , our first cucumber picked off the trellis (note: cucumbers should not taste like water; they have a distinct taste which reminds me of the smell of freshly weed-whacked wildflowers after a rain; same for zucchini's just different flowers), a whack of yellow rocdor bush and also jeminez pole beans (which are very, very good. Better even than the rocdor yellows. It is like eating fresh, buttery green silk. I kid you not.), a couple of cosmic purple carrots (which are really only cosmic in the Woodstock era sense; the longest was six inches, the other about four inches. They remind me of a psychedelic bulls eye when cut cross-wise); I would grow them just for the visual aesthetic alone.

Judging from the look of things, we're soon to be up to our eyeballs in tomatoes and zucchinis. Suits me just fine. I'm keeping track of yields on our house calendar and will post yield information at the end of the month.

Informal tally

I'll get actual weights and worths in the future, but here's a rough estimation of what we've pulled from the garden thus far:

Yellow beans: 8 crops and counting
Pole Beans: 1 crop and counting
Snap peas (snow peas): 3 crops and counting, despite heavy losses from the damn slugs
Swiss Chard: 6 crops and counting (and delicious)
Beets: 1 crop + greens
Tomatoes: 1 tomato. Had it last night. Was watery and not all that good, actually. Too much rain. Zucchinis: 1. Again, too much rain, not enough heat.
Cucumbers: None yet, though the vines are producing flowers and some small fruit.
Carrots: none.

Pictures of deliciousness

These are a few pics of some of the produce our little patch has produced this year. From the top, you'll see:

a. Beet greens (the beets themselves were about the same size as plums and, as Nicole says: "succulent." They didn't make the pic because they were being cooked already. We ate them with a touch of white vinegar and butter. And yes, they were succulent). I steam the beet greens which are also very tasty. Similar to swiss chard, actually, which makes sense as the two plants are related.

b. The first, and slightly smaller than average picking of our yellow rocdor bush beans. We've had eight crops of these and counting. They're delicious as well; slightly buttery and not a tad bit stringy or tough, they are very tender. Our neighbours, friends and colleagues are benefiting from our surplus and so are our paletes. Suffice it to say that 3 square feet of beans planted in 3'' squares produces ample reward for the amount of work. I haven't had to weed them since the second or third week; their crowns shade out the weeds.

c. the lovely shape of a rocdor yellow bush bean. It's a very attractive bean. Slender, and gently curved.

Kuyperian Gardening...

A fairly accurate moniker for my gardening methods. "Every square inch" is, or will be covered with plants of some sort.

The garden is growing very well. Still major problems with slugs this year, but the germination and growth of all my plants is pretty incredible and I should get very good yields. If there were no slugs, yields would be even higher. Next year, I will have to invest in some some sharp sand to keep them out. For now I use beer traps (what a waste) and ammonia/water mix.

Pics of garden below.

Snow peas. The slugs destroyed a lot, and they had to be replanted, but they're doing just fine now. Harvested one meal's worth already.

A blurry shot of the veggie patch

Yellow bush beans plus one of the boys' shovels.

Beets. I went a bit overboard with planting, but Nicole really likes them, so why not, right? Swiss Chard just behind which has provided two meal's worth; and more to come. The SC is surprisingly tender and tasty; not at all bitter.

Cucumbers with home made trellis. Next year, I will plant cukes directly instead of transplanting. They germinate very quickly and are quick to grow.

Tomatoes, with carrots in front. Skeptical friends: note the height of the tomatoes. I rest my case.

A close up for my skeptical friends. It's a 6' fence, and those plants are about 5' up.

Zucchini plant with boot, a bit blurry.

A view of our garden

This was taken two weeks ago. There wasn't a whole lot peeking through. We'll post more soon to show what it looks like now.

Spring Veggie Garden Update

Tomatoes:

All of the tomatoes have been repotted in 3'' plastic pots and are enjoying the sun. They're not too thick yet, but their root systems are well developed, which should do them well this summer.

Cucumbers:

Cukes were planted on the date suggested below. Germination rate was 9/9 0r 100% in about 4 days. Next year, I will not plant so far ahead as they got very leggy, very quickly. A May 14 planting date would probably suffice for cucumbers. Or, alternatively, plant in compostable pots so as to plant directly in soil. I worry about their being able to handle the transplant from the styrofoam. Also, don't leave greenhouse lid on too long, as I think this is the cause of the legginess.

Zucchinis:

Planted on date suggested below. Slightly slower germination than cukes, but still within 5-6 days, and at a rate of 8/9 or 88%. Looking strong, and no real concerns. Same as cukes with regard to greenhouse lid.

Hot peppers:

Still very very small and weak. Not sure what the issue is, but I'm guessing not enough heat. Will transplant once it gets warmer into larger pots. Very slow growers.

April Expenditures:

279 kg of compost from the city: $20.00
Total Expenditures for April: 20.00
Total Gains: $0.00, much joy.

Planting Schedule Update

Planted today:

Thai hot peppers - April 5
Black Cherry Tomato - April 5
Manitoba Tomato - April 5
Orange Strawberry Tomato - April 5

In the zone

Apparently, we're in Zone 5a. Good to know. See here for more.

Les Oignons

(click for big)

These are my Red Globe Onions from Greta. If you look closely you'll see that there are about 50 little onion plants there out of a approximately 70 seeds planted. There are more popping up every day, so I'd say the germination rate is very good. I planted them on March 2, and they have been up for about 4 days. I simply stuck them in some potting soil that I had crumbled finely and moistened and placed in a danish package from the grocery store. Not a bad little greenhouse when stuck on the fridge. The key now is to strengthen them up. I'm not sure how to do this, but this blog (seems to be a Canadian from Brantford!) says that you can trim them back to 4-5'' to prevent them from getting too leggy. As you'll note from the pic, that's a concern. I'll wait a few days before taking the snips to them. G&E take note, we sent some of these your way! Get them started ASAP.

Red Globe Onions

Planted March 2, 2009

Germination rate: approx. 67%

Time to germinate: approx. 4-7 days

Concerns: leggy plants

Update (March 15, 2009): There are 48 viable seedlings. They are very thin and fragile after two weeks. Research suggests that I should keep them trimmed to 3'' to thicken the stems.

Update (April 5, 2009): Nicole accidentally killed all my onions by placing the germination tray on the top of the stove while the oven was on. Needless to say, the tender little shoots wilted beyond recognition. I replanted and now they are back at the same stage as the picture above. We might not get good bulbs this year what with being a month behind schedule. But, we'll see. Germination for second round of seeds was over 80% though.

2009 Indoor Planting Schedule

March

Red Globe Onion - March 2

April

Thai hot peppers - April 1
Black Cherry Tomato - April 1
Manitoba Tomato - April 1
Orange Strawberry Tomato - April 1
Mid-east Prolific Cucumbers - April 28
Black Zucchini - April 28

Garden Budget - 2009

Following J.D. Roth over at Get Rich Slowly, Nicole and I are keeping track of our expenses/gains for our garden this year. We're not too concerned about spending a bit more money than we would otherwise for fruit and veg, as we do it mainly for the taste and enjoyment, but it's a good practice in any case. Budgeting: always good, never bad.

So, thus far, we've bought all of our seeds for this year's garden, courtesy of Greta's organic seeds. (There really is a Greta, by the way, and she's just as you imagine her: long grey pony tail, plaid shirt and with a hint of an accent. I think she's Danish) Last year we used old seeds and the germination was terrible. We think they got a bit moist in the move. Thus, we decided to spend a bit more up front and invest in some heirlooms, from which we can save the seeds and use them again and again. We could even barter them, I suppose, if we get good at it.

So, we bought all of the seeds listed in the previous post and a few others for our friends who wanted some. We're splitting the cost three ways, so that saves a bit of money. We also bought a bag of potting soil for starting the seeds.

February
Seeds: -$25.00
Starting soil: -$3.19
Total Expenditures for February: -$28.19
Total Gains: $0.00

I'll be starting my onions today. I've never planted onions from seed before, so we'll see how that goes. We've been saving plastic containers with lids as mini-greenhouse starters; I just need to do a bit of research on how to do it properly.

Longing for Spring

The backyard is still covered in snow, but it's time to order some seeds from Greta. This is what we're going to plant this spring. Look good? As you can see, we'll have way too many seeds for our backyard garden, even accounting for seeds that don't germinate. We'll be splitting our order with friends, but even then we'll have a whole lot left. If you're interested in getting in on some seeds, let us know in the comment section. It will be cheap and a good investment; these are heirlooms so you can take the seeds from the fruit and replant next year! Yes?

Buck buck

The question:

I'm hoping to start a small flock and I have a number of questions which I hope you might be able to answer for me before I place my order:

1. How does a chantecler compare to a Rhode Island Red or Leghorn in terms of laying? I'm interested in the breed for its ability to withstand the cold and its heritage, but want to gauge its efficiency in laying vs. feed.
2. How do bantams compare to their standard counterparts in terms of efficiency of feed vs. laying? I understand that their eggs are slightly smaller, but do they consume the same amount of feed as would a standard bird to do so?

Any help on these questions would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

The answer:

Hello Brian, The Chantecler is a good dual purpose breed which lays quite well. The Rhode Island Red would win out in most cases against the Chantecler in laying ability.The Leghorn would come out on top as the most efficient and highest number of eggs layed. Housing, feeding and environmental conditions will also dictate ultimate laying abilities amongst the different breeds. Bantams do not consume the same amount of feed as standards; however, they lay a smaller egg.

Performance Poultry

Seed catalog time!

This year, we're going to go with heirlooms, as there is a place that sells seeds, just down the road.

For most things: Greta. Here's the catalog.

For tomatoes: Upper Canada Seeds

And, an organic seedfest in Ottawa!

Seedy Saturday

Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre

Saturday March 7, 2009

10:00-3:00