Finally! Something other than greens. This week marked the first garlic harvest. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that my garlic (about a dozen heads grown at the community garden) had a major case of rust. Rust is a fungal disease that looks exactly like – you guessed it – rust. Not having personally […]
Archives for June 2010
Now Harvesting: mid-June
Okay, I’m a little late for Harvest Monday. But Harvest Tuesday sounds just as good, no? Not much new to report in the way of new edibles this week. I’m still harvesting salad greens by the bucketful (well, bowl full, at least): endive, various lettuces, beet greens, radishes. We’ve also been eating a lot of […]
Solar garden lighting
On hot summer evenings, our recently-renovated back patio is where it’s at. It’s private (well, as much as it can be in an urban setting) and peaceful (well, as much as it can be with kids playing street hockey a few feet away, and neighbours who love karaoke and mah jong). After a long day, […]
Please join Heavy Petal on Facebook
Hello friends! Just wanted to point you toward my new Heavy Petal Facebook page. Please “like” Heavy Petal and I’ll alert you to new blog posts, offer contests and giveaways, share interesting links and new garden-related finds, and keep you updated on my forthcoming book. That’s it! End of pitch.
Now Harvesting: Early June
‘Garden Babies’ butterhead lettuce poses on my balcony. Here in Vancouver, summer is a little delayed. While the incessant rain and cool weather has meant stunted warm season crops, rust on my garlic, and pepper plants that are still biding their time indoors, it’s also meant a bumper crop of lettuce, scallions, herbs, arugula, spinach, […]
Painted Ladies
Another before-and-after post for you this week. This, of course, is a caterpillar, the larva of a painted lady butterfly. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of Lila’s favourite books, so my mom thought she’d enjoy seeing the transformation process up close. Like in a box on the mantle. A few days after my mom […]
A hanging basket story
A couple of weeks back, I received my yearly trial pack of Proven Winners annuals: a giant box filled with six new introductions. Here they are, clockwise from top left: Superbena® Royale Chambray (Verbena hybrid), Golddust™ (Mecardonia hybrid), Lucia™ Lavender Blush (Lobelia hybrid), Supertunia® Pretty Much Picasso™ (Petunia hybrid), Slightly Strawberry™ (Anisodontea hybrid), Superbells® Blackberry […]
Before and after: A leek makeover
I just lined up my posts for the week and by pure coincidence they all seem to be before-and-afters. But who doesn’t like a good makeover story? This story features leeks, the hardy and mild allium. It starts late last summer with the planting of my winter garden. The leeks held strong all winter, really […]