Origami Meets Gardening
Needed some seedling pots to transplant my tomatoes. Found a handy online tutorial for making my own folded boxes from recycled newsprint. When all risk of frost has passed, I'll just transplant these heirloom seedlings into raised beds, newsprint and all! Here's the tutorial.
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Haute Beds
Well, it's that time of year again. Time to make a game plan for this year's garden. Too many weeds last year, and not enough concentrated nutrients for my strawberries and tomatoes. A long time I've eyed up those fancy raised beds and thought they seemed like too much work, but after years of unnecessary weeding and bending I think it's time to give it a try. I cherry-picked the 4' cedar fence posts at my local lumberyard, selected 18" pine stakes for the corners and 1 3/4" screws. I was sure to pre-drill prior to securing the wood to the stakes in order to prevent cracking. I'll be treating the ends of the stakes before tapping them into the ground to prevent them from rotting. Now I need to read a bit about square-foot gardening. Stay tuned!
  
4' cedar raised beds ready for placement and planting!
Haute Colour
Things are heating up in Eden. Magenta and hot. hot reds are appearing in the garden. Time to don my sunglasses and tastebuds. Summer....you're here at last!
For the Love of Nasturtium
 
While Autumn looms heavy and the threat of frost lurks speculatively between early morning blades of grass, shades of summer past still linger in the fading vegetable patch. With flirty and peppery curtsy, nasturtium graces us with one final encore.
There are many lovely was to enjoy the exquisite taste, texture and beauty of nasturtiums.
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Heirloom Tomatoes
Ok, now I can't take credit for these masterpieces. However, if I reserve a few of their seeds, I might be able to boast such beauties next season. These beefy heirloom tomatoes, available in a rainbow of colours were purchased at Old Meadows Organic Farm in Kelowna. The sun may have gone on hiatus, but I can still taste its deeds.
Autumn Jewels
It looks we're in for an Indian summer and the height and profusion flowers on my Golden Cherry Tomatoes tell me that we'll be eating these sweet and tangy little orbs until the end of September. I have a feeling that lemon infused olive oil and basil will be keeping these little treats good company.
Summer Heat
Every year I faithfully plant peppers in the garden in hopes of inviting summer's heat into my winter dishes. Year after year, my plants humbly offer one or two shy little peppers, but hardly a harvest worth my time. Considering how many chilies I must use in any given year, I didn't want to give up just yet. This year my persistence paid off. Instead of planting pepper plants in the ground, I planted them in terracotta pots, which generally radiate a lot of heat. Today I harvested my first chilies, bright and hot to the touch. I can't wait to test their heat in some Indian or Thai inspired dish.
Cherry Bombs
Remember the Sweet~Tarts we used to eat as kids? Those pastel, saliva-inducing rolls you could buy for a quarter and be running on sugar-high all day? Well here's the next best, best thing. I planted hanging baskets of tumbler cherry tomatoes and one large grape tomato plant (which now resembles a tree) that I bought from the Kelowna Farmer's and Crafter's market. After a particularly late planting, a very wet and unseasonably cold June and now a week of 30-plus weather, I have the sweetest, most succulent little cherry bombs you could lay your tongue on. Who needs to cook when you can just graze?
Mouthfuls of Bliss
Cherry Baby, we have waited all the winter long for your arrival. Better late than never as our cherry season came approximately two weeks late. Nothing tastes like ripe Okanagan cherries. Every delectable bite transports me to my childhood where we stood upon the slopes of my grandfather's orchard and proceeded to stuff ourselves with the sumptuous fruits, and then compete to see who could spit the pits as far as the lake. The grade of the slope gave us the illusion that we could. Mmmmmmm
Gems from the Strawberry Patch
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| Fresh picked juicy jewels |
Yummmmmm!!! Now I know that summer has officially arrived. What can be more delightful than wandering into the garden, fresh coffee and pottery in hand, still wearing my pyjamas, for the purpose of collecting my breakfast? This morning I did just that. These juicy jewels accompanied my homemade granola, (recipe complements of M's kitchen) and almond milk quite nicely. What a way to wake up!
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