A Bloomin' Blog

Some Gardening Humour - "The Italian Tomato Garden"

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:20:29 PST

My heritage happens to be part Italian. I had to laugh when I read this:

THE ITALIAN TOMATO GARDEN

An Old Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty badly because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me.
                                                               Love, Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son:

Dear Dad,
Don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the bodies.
                                         Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his   son:

Dear Dad,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
                                                 Love you, Vinnie

Top 5 Tips for Organic Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:43:49 PDT

My cat, Mini, loves
stomping around in my garden!

Since the pesticide ban in Ontario, we've all had to learn how to garden organically. I have to say that there are days when I feel like Elmer Fudd - "I'll get you, you scwewy slug!" Or cat, as the case may be.

I think the trick is to not expect perfection and to plan ahead. That being said, here are my top 5 organic gardening tips.

Mulch - mulching keeps weeds at bay and helps to keep moisture in the ground.
Don't leave bare spaces - weeds always seem to find that bare patch of garden. Plant something or mulch.
Location, location, location - choose a spot with suitable light, whether full sun, partial sun or shade.
Companion plant - different combinations of plants help each other. Companion planting can attract beneficial insects and deter harmful pests. In fact, you can mix flowers with your vegetables!
Good soil - soil with lots of organic matter is best.

Feel free to share your organic gardening tip in the comment area.

Save the Tulips for the Royal Wedding or It's Off With Their Heads!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:38:21 PDT

The Telegraph reports that the tulips lining the route of the upcoming April 29, 2011 marriage of Prince William and Katherine, are wilting due to the unusually hot weather.

The plan is to dead head the 26,000 tulips found at Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens, unless a way can be found to keep them flowering until the day of the wedding! Horror or horrors!

If found this video on YouTube showing the Gardens in their glory and Buckingham Palace

The British Protected Ornamental Association asks, " ... if anyone can propose an alternative such as covering / shading the beds (wet paper) to help the tulips get through, I am sure that the Royal Parks would be interested.”

Tulip gardeners, send your ideas to save the tulips for the wedding!

When, oh when, will I be able to be in my garden again?

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:55:47 PDT

It's 3 degrees (C) today and raining. The weekend is not looking good either. Bit of a downer as I wanted to start working in my garden.
There's so much to do. Mainly prunning overgrown bushes and "alien" trees that have taken root, before their leaves start. There is one invasive tree that's popped up everywhere. My sister-in-law thinks it's a hawthorn, as it has spiky thorns. The other ones are Maple Tree saplings which, if not yanked out early, quickly become trees. I've got my work cut out for me!

Give Yourself the Gift of a Vegetable Garden

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:44:36 PST

My friend, Dale D'Souza, decided last Christmas to start a vegetable garden during this past summer. Below is his guest post about his experience making his 15' x 15' garden.

It all started last Christmas when a friend gave me a mason jar of tomato sauce as a gift. I love making pasta sauce and decided that I would try to make my own tomato sauce the following year. In the age of 'Google' I decided to do my homework and see if I could make a true scratch tomato sauce by growing my own tomatoes. I discovered that there are two types of tomato plants: Determinate (provides fruit once, in the fall) and Indeterminate (provides fruit throughout the season). It was obvious that I would need all my tomatoes to be ripe at once so as to simplify the sauce making day.

So off I went to the local garden centers. Nobody at the big box garden centres knew what the heck I was talking about. Then I met a lovely lady, Barbara Lawton, who owns Taylor Nurseries. Barbara is a certified horticulturalist and knew all about tomatoes! Based on her advice I purchased 24 Roma tomato plants for about $24.

Now for the big challenge!

3 yards of top-soil
Bone meal
Miracle Gro
Tomato cages
Chicken wire
Wooden stakes

My daughter has a keen interest in gardening and helped me with the planting and layout. Full sun for these babies! We planted two rows of 12, keeping enough space in between to prune and weed. Miracle Gro once a week, daily watering and weeding regularly was our new routine.

In late July we had our first harvest of about 400 tomatoes, followed by a second harvest a few weeks later of another 400 tomatoes. I did have to freeze the first harvest as we were still a few weeks away from sauce. The last harvest before sauce-making produced another 100 tomatoes.

We made the sauce under the guidance of Rob P. (pure Italian) using some pretty cool equipment that he has developed over the years.
The frozen tomatoes did not yield as much sauce as the moisture had crystalized and 'bled' into the pot when thawing.

Total yield was 14 - 1Liter mason jars. I added a couple of leaves of Thai basil which we grew as well.

I plan to plant 48 tomato plants in the spring and see what I can generate in sauce.

All in all a great experience that I highly recommend!

Tomato Plant Prunning Silliness

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:01:47 PDT

My tomato plant obsession continues ...

Before Prunning

The other day I came across a video showing how to prune tomato plants. I knew that the "sucker" branches at the bottom of tomato plants should be removed. This video, however, says that once your tomato flowers are set, all branches that don't have flowers should be removed. This apparently allows the plant's energy to go to the ripening tomatoes. I decided to give it a try.

After Prunning

Now for my silliness (idiocy?) - for some reason I thought he said remove the leaves on non-flowering branches! So I spent an unreasonable amount of time trimming off leaves instead of branches - should have had my computer with me to look at the video while I was doing the pruning. I was thinking that pruning the branches of leaves was ridiculous - and it was!

Not sure if I went far enough or too far. Still, it did give the plants more breathing room and already the green tomatoes of a couple of days ago are red or almost red.

Here is the video - and remember, prune the non-flowering branches, not the non-flowering branches' leaves!

What to do with your fresh tomatoes now that you’ve peeled them

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:12:18 PDT

Make a tomato sauce of course!

Here’s a quick tomato sauce recipe.

Into a food processor, put the following:

18-20 of your peeled, and if so desired your seeded, fresh tomatoes
1-2 onions quartered
2-4 peeled garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1-2 tbl. fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Process all ingredients to puree.
Transfer to a pot.
Bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer, on low, for 2 hours.
Stir occasionally.

Serve over your favourite pasta.

Buon Appetito!

Why I've Not Been Blogging Much

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:33:49 PDT

A Spring Memory - Muscari

I’ve not been blogging much this summer. Though I didn’t completely loose my job, I was made into a part time employee. You would think I'd have more time to garden and blog, but no. I’ve been spending my spare time trying to find freelance graphic design/writing/marketing communications work (this is what I do when I’m not gardening or blogging about gardening!) to make up for the decrease in income.

I’d appreciate your help. Please click on the sponsored links, to the right, if you’re interested in their products. Or, if you’re thinking of buying a book, I hope you’ll buy it through my Amazon affiliate link. Thanks for your help!

My First Crop of San Marzano Tomatoes are Ready!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:46:33 PDT

Growing the San Marzano Tomato
This year I decided to plant the San Marzano variety of tomato. I chose this variety of tomato as they are favoured by Chefs world-wide and are apparently the best when used in tomato sauce.

My first harvest of lucious San Marzano Tomatoes

I’ve been pleased with the results. I planted four plants and each have yielded an impressive amount of tomatoes with more to come. The first harvest gave me about 30 tomatoes.

I’ve read they’re also one of the easiest to peel.

The thought of peeling a bunch of tomatoes usually daunts me so I don’t bother. This year, however, I decided to give it try. I read that the San Marzano variety are one of the easiest types of tomato to peel and it’s true!

See how to peel tomatoes
Watch my video to see how easy it is to remove their skins. I noticed when previewing that the complete video screen is not showing - have to make some design adjustments. Until then, if the complete video screen doesn't show you can view it on YouTube.

You can also see full instructions below, good for any type of tomato that needs to be peeled.

Instructions to peel tomatoes

Cut an ‘X’ into the top of the tomatoes.
Boil a pot of water.
Place tomatoes into boiling water in batches as necessary.
Boil for 1 minute.
Remove from boiling water (I used a sieve).
Then immediately plunge tomatoes into a bowl of ice water.
After about a minute they’ll be cool enough to handle.
Peel the skin from each tomato.

What's your favourite kind of tomato to grow?

Fresh Summer Herbs Are A Must!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:07:17 PDT

If you cook, then you'll want to grow a kitchen herb garden.

The other night, I whipped up a fresh pesto sauce with the Basil and Parsley I'm growing. Then I made Grilled Peppers with Pesto, from License to Grill by Chris Knight and Rob Rainford. Yummy!

Grow your favs!
You should grow herbs that you know you'll use. Italian and French cooking are my favourites, so I've planted:

Parsley
Tarragon
Thyme
Basil
Chervil

I transferred the herbs to larger pots, putting a layer of gravel first for drainage. The soil I used was labelled potting soil. I got four bags for $10. Though most of the herbs are doing well, the Basil is not happy! I believe I should have used the "soilless" potting soil instead. Last year I used the Miracle Grow potting soil. All my plants flourished. So, I guess the lesson is, don't cheap out on your soil!

With gardening, you live and learn.

Zucchini as Torpedoes?

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:57:24 PDT

I was telling my DH about the "mere gardening incident". He is not really into gardening but always has an opinion. I don't necessarily pay attention to his opinions, but here are his thoughts on the matter:

If you don't identify yourself to whom ever is selling you large quantities of fertilizer you could be a suspect in a bomb plot. Before you know it, the RCMP or CSIS could be on your doorstep! They are going to take a very close look at your zucchini, wondering if they're really torpedoes. And are those pumpkins disguised bombs? So, be careful if you buy fertilizer in Canada - they'll be watching!

OMG!

Missing fertilizer a "gardening incident"

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:08:07 PDT

As you may know, the G20 Summit is being held in Toronto. Amidst the preparations for this, a tonne of fertilizer went missing! It was purchased by a man who had a European accent, limped and had missing fingers. Hmmm. That got me worried since large amounts of fertilizer can be used to make a bomb. And the description of the suspect was right out of an Agatha Christie novel.

Thankfully it's turned out to be a "mere gardening incident". Who would have thought gardening could be full of so much intrigue!
You can read the whole story here.

Flowers as organic pest control

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:18:31 PDT

Did you know companion planting flowers with your vegetables can help to naturally control insect pests? In my quest to organically deter various garden interlopers, I've discovered that planting certain flowers with my vegetables will aid in controlling various insects. This year I put a couple of marigolds and planted nasturtium seeds in my vegetable garden.

Marigolds
I've read that marigolds are great near tomatoes as well as asparagus, cabbage and beans. They will send these pests packing:

Beetles
Worms
Flies

Nasturtiums

The nasturtiums serve two purposes. They will, apparently, hold at bay:

Moths
Beetles
Squash bugs
Aphids

These lovely blooms are good companion plants to squash, pumpkins, beans and flowers.
Their second purpose: they're edible! They look fabulous in a salad or as a garnish.

Victoria Day Games Begin!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:09:19 PDT

In preparation for this Victoria Day weekend, last night, Friday night, I visited one of my favourite nurseries. I go to this nursery when I want something interesting and unique. Or to get ideas. The plants are luscious and of high quality. The prices are not!

So last night I did some scouting after work at this nursery. I get ideas for my baskets from their baskets. I was shocked at their prices this year. Prices were no less than $20 CAD for a basket, though I have to say, they were gorgeous.

For herbs, there were some nice sized and beautiful looking organic plants, but they wanted $6.99/ea! I think not! At a local supermarket, I spied a deal of 5 herb plants for $10. I'm going there for the herbs, since I've not this year started my own from seed.

I did find something I've been wanting at this nursery. San Marzano tomato plants. I've been reading that they are the best for tomato sauce so I picked up four of them. They were reasonable. If I had more room I would have bought more.

Get Ready for the Great Canadian Planting Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Sun, 16 May 2010 11:26:25 PDT

Here, in Ontario, Canada, this upcoming weekend, known officially as the Victory Day Weekend, but also as Firecracker Day or just the May 24th Weekend, is a 3-day long weekend. Some of us open our cottages, if we’re lucky enough to own one. Some of us set off fireworks, originally in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday, but now I think we do it mainly as a celebration of the warm weather. For many of us it is the official start of the gardening season after our long winter of hibernation. Hurray!

This is the time of the last frost. The time when we can safely plant. Next weekend we will descend like crazed flower-hungry hoards on our local garden nurseries.

Taking Stock

Today, in preparation for next weekend, I’ve been working at preparing my garden canvas. I picked up some soil this morning. I used to buy separate bags of peat moss, manure and compost and mix it myself. Now, though, I just buy bags of ready mixed triple mix. How about you?

In addition, I bought a bag of sheep manure and top soil. The sheep manure will go in my vegetable patch.

Next, garden tools. I confess, I’ve not taken care of my tools. My pruners are very dull and rusted. So I’ve invested in a new pair of pruners. I never realized how many types of pruners there are! There are anvil pruners, Bypass pruners, grass pruners and the long handled pruners, which are actually called loppers. I settled on the Bypass pruners.

Now I have to get out there. Time to turn the earth and spread the new soil around. Hopefully the heavy labour will help me loose some of this winter fat!

Fennel - one more time!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:48:22 PDT

If you follow my blog, then you know about my struggles with growing fennel (anise). In the end, my attempt to grow it was a complete bust. Not only did the garden invaders cause trouble, the mammoth zucchini plants took over, blocking out all sun. Hence, no fennel!

I'm not going to give up though! This year I'm planting it in a different spot. I've also now learned that fennel grows best on its own. So, I've got a special place for it this year. We shall see what happens!

What's Bloomin' -April 2010

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:26:55 PDT

Things seem to be growing slowly this Spring. Though the perennials are sprouting, there are not many blooms! But, I have to say that the anticipation of what and when a perennial will start peeking through the earth, and then watching its progress is what makes Spring blooms so special.

Today, I used Keynote on my new computer to make a slide show movie, which I've posted to YouTube, to show the blooms of my garden. You can see it below. Not very happpy with the quality as it appears on YouTube. Maybe because it was set for Mobile? It's certainly a learning curve!

Oh, To Be A Canadian Gardening Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:28:09 PDT

I've entered a contest to blog for Canadian Gardening. Apparently the more people who "like" or comment on my entry increases my chances of winning. I'd appreciate it if you could like/comment on my entry. It's here:

http://bloggercontest.canadiangardening.com/entry/2183823

The contest closes today, April 6 at 11:59 EST so please hurry!

UPDATE - found out it doesn't close until April 15!

Thanks so much.

We now have the power to put our garden images where we want!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:16:33 PDT

OK, this has nothing to do with gardening. It has to do with an annoyance I, and I'm sure many of you have also had, who use Blogger. Before, when an image was placed, it was forced to be at the top. You could not place it where you wanted, or if you could, it was not a simple process.

Today as I was looking at my blog settings page, I noticed under "Select Post Editor", that there's an option to select "updated editor". And voila, now I can place images where I want them! Not only that, I can resize them and move them around.

Another bonus - with the old editor, when you save drafts of your posts, and then publish them for instance the next day, the day you started writing your blog was used, not the date published. Now it shows the published date.

Don't know why I wasn't informed of this change. Maybe I was but I missed the notice. Anyway, I'm happy about it and I'm sure my fellow Bloggers are too.

Now if only we could add captions ...

Planting Map - Cool Gardening Tool!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:36:49 PST

I came across this great tool on the Gardener’s Supply website that I wanted to share.

Choosing from a selection of 47 items, you drag the items onto a planting map. Each of the squares represents 1 sq. ft. You can also determine the size of your garden.

Now for the cool part. Once done, you are able to generate a plan, which shows you how many seeds to plant, of each item, in each sq. ft. Love this gadget!

Garden Resolutions 2010

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:22:40 PST

As I gaze out at the slushy grey/white snow, I am thinking about some resolutions for my Spring Garden. Here they are:

Fertilize on a regular basis
Plant organic seeds
Extend the vegetable garden – my small patch last year was taken over by zucchini!
Try growing garlic – something I’ve been meaning to do for the past few years.

How about you - do you have any garden resolutions you’d like to share? Please feel free to post them in the comments section.

Winter Garden & Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:14:08 PST

Happy New Year!

The garden is covered with snow and there's not much to do outside. Temperature today is -11 ºC (12.2 ºF). Burr! This is the time of year, however, when I think about what I can do differently and better in the garden for the coming Spring. This is when I start looking at seed catalogues, and looking for ideas in books and magazines. Over the next few weeks I'll let you know of any good garden related books or ideas that I find. If you have books or ideas to share, please do!

Flowering Vine: The Mandevilla

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 05:40:03 PST

This Spring, as I wandered around my local garden nursery, this beautiful Mandevilla Vine caught my eye.

I simply had to have it. I love the sound of the name, “Mandevilla”, as it rolls off my tongue. The name makes me want to do the Samba! Native to the Central and South American tropics, it’s also known as “Brazillian Jasmine”. Here, in the Great White North, the Mandevilla Vine is grown as an annual. If you were to plant the Mandevilla, you would want to plant it in rich garden soil. I decided to leave mine in its original pot and give it a home on our deck.

Throughout the summer, not once did this plant loose its gorgeous, crimson red, trumpet-like flowers.

I would love to keep this vine year-round. I’ve read that I can bring the Vine indoors during the winter. However, I am concerned about pesky insects. Apparently, to bring it indoors, I would need to:

Cut it back to about 6”
Spay it with insecticidal soap
Soak the pot in water for a few hours to get rid of pests hiding in the soil
Leave it in a cool place to go dormant and water occasionally throughout the winter

I think, however, that I’ll try taking some 4” – 5” cuttings, let them root, and then pot the cuttings.

Mandevilla Vine Quick Facts

Available in pink, white and red
They can grow to 10’ in height during one season, and 30’ in their native habitat
They will tolerate slight drought
Outdoors, place them in sun/partial shade
Indoors they prefer filtered or indirect light

Sources:

Annuals for Every Garden, Scott D. Appell
Flowering Vines: Beautiful Climbers, Karan Davis Cutler

It's Voting Time at Blotanical!

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:33:29 PDT

Are you a member of Blotanical.com? It's a great site to find other gardening blogs, and to meet other bloggers. Right now, you can vote for your favourite blog. There are 75 categories! The Bloomin' Blog, did not, sadly make it into the final round. Sniffle. But there's always next year.

I wish all my fellow garden bloggers luck in the vote.

So get on over to Blotanical and get voting.

Tomato Blight Destroys Crops in Southern Ontario

noreply@blogger.com (GP @ ABloominBlog) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:34:19 PDT

This summer I purchased an heirloom tomato plant. It started off great. But look at it now. Very sad. Only two tomatoes. I thought it was me who failed the tomatoes, but it seems there's a blight in Southern Ontario destroying crops, especially organically grown crops, even those grown by experienced farmers.

"Ms. Sosnicki's entire crop of field tomatoes near Waterford, Ont., about 130 kilometres southwest of Toronto, was destroyed this year by late blight – the same fungus responsible for the Irish potato famine. Spores of the fungus have scattered across much of Southern and Eastern Ontario, and the Northeastern United States.

The cool, wet conditions in the last few months has amounted to what agriculturalists call 'the year without a summer.'"

From Thursday's Aug. 20, 2009 Globe and Mail

Being a tomato lover, I was disappointed the heirloom plant became blighted. I just love home grown tomatoes. They have that "umami" flavour that you just can't get from tomatoes purchased elsewhere, unless they're direct from a local farm. I did, however, get a nice tomato surprise. Last year's tomato plants reseeded and those pictured to the right arrived this year. They look much better than the heirloom, but we'll see if they last until they're ready to pick.

For more about blight, this FAQ is an interesting read.