Sunday, May 7, 2017

Mothers Day Gift Idea

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIojWdJz0RE&sns=gp

Here's a pretty simple and yet lasting gift idea you can you make for your mother. A raised garden bed. 

Think how terrific it will be each time your mum harvests veggies, or strawberries, or flowers and thinks of you. 

The video is by Charles Dowding. He's big into compost making and gardening with no till methods. But this is a simple, well-explained project for making a 4'x4' bed. It can be placed anywhere convenient (I recommend somewhere that you'll see it regularly and close to a water supply). 

So, you have a week to get your supplies together. Start looking around for lumber you can repurpose or get for free. Many municipalities give away compost in May, so you may be able to do this project for minimal cost. 

Good Luck! And happy Mother's Day to all of you. 






Monday, May 1, 2017

Tomato & Pepper Plants For Sale + Veggie Boxes



Looking For A Veggie Box?


Available here each week beginning June 1st. Pay by the week or month. Ask us how you can get your locally grown no spray fruits, veggies and herbs. Delivery available.

Today I've been working on signs for our Nursery and Farmers Markets. Tell me what you think. I'm trying to make it easy & flexible to order veggie boxes this year. We are also taking pre-orders for tomato and pepper plants because so many of the popular varieties sold out quickly last year in the nursery. This year we're growing fewer varieties but more of each. Oh and speaking of the nursery, we will soon be open! We just need a dry and calm day to put the plastic back on and then a day or two to stock it. The greenhouse at the farm here is absolutely loaded with plants all waiting to be transplanted into their nice big red and white pots so they can grow nice healthy roots and be perfect for you to plant once the weather has improved. We're not past our frost free date yet so while its ok for many things to get going, the warmer weather plants need about another month yet for the nights to be consistently warm. Not +3C and raining as it is tonight. 

Veggie boxes will be available beginning in June again. This year instead of paying all upfront (which is too expensive for many people) we are doing pay-by-the-week or month options. You can pick up from us at the Farmers Markets in Greenwood on Thursday or Friday, or we will deliver too. As usual, it will be grown to our exacting organic and permaculture based growing standards. And you're welcome to come help us in the garden and see how we grow and care for your food. That way you know for yourself it's organic, locally grown, and fresh!

Pre-Order
Your Plants Today



No Deposit Needed. Get excellent varieties for our climate, delicious flavours, and healthy plants. Locally grown, many organic varieties.
Your plants will come in individual pots ready for planting June 1st to 3rd.



Tomato & Pepper Plant Order Form 2017

Beefsteak -Vine. 80 Days. This bushy vine does best when pruned, you'll get lager fruit and better ripening. Excellent balanced flavour, dark red. Large sized tomatoes are good for one slice sandwiches and burgers. For best flavour harvest when fully ripe.

Brandywine - Vine. 78 Days. The standard for heirloom tomato flavour. Well known for its size and exotic, sweet, tomato flavour. Compact vining habit produces large fruit with a pinkish red flesh.

Early Cascade - Vine. 55 Days. These vines produce heavy yields all season long. Good for canning and eating fresh, these are open pollinated. They are thin skinned and don't keep very long but are well worth growing and eating fresh. Bred for cooler climates like ours.

Gold Nugget -Bush. 56 Days. Gold Nugget cherry tomato seeds produce compact plants 24″ tall. Gold Nugget’s compact size makes it an ideal choice for containers and small garden spaces. The fruit set easily even in bad weather and produce ping pong ball sized golden tomatoes that are mostly seedless until the end of the season. Winner of the RHS Award.

Money Maker - Vine. 75 Days. These 6' tall plants are an old English variety that produce heavy yields over a long time. Deep red clusters of smooth skinned fruit are medium sized and have a classic sweet flavour. They benefit from pruning and staking.

Old German -Vine. 80 Days. If you give this 8-10' plant lots of sturdy support and water, you'll be rewarded with a modest yield of gorgeous yellow and red fruit that are fragrant & nearly seedless. Potato leaf variety from a Mennonite in community in Virginia, circa 1800.

San Marzano -Vine. 80 Days. This is a truly outstanding tomato for making sauce and its delicious! Forget Roma tomatoes, San Marzano Lampadina 2 are the worlds gold standard in sauce tomatoes. All the way from Italy, they are long, blocky and firm with thick skins. Fruit keeps for ages as it has a lower water content and the plants are disease resistant. One of our favourite tomatoes.

Scotia - Bush. 60 Days. Very popular maritime variety that's used for wating fresh and famous for green tomato relish. Early maturity and reliability. Open pollinated. Dwarf plant habit and medium sized globe shaped fruit.

Sweet Million -Vine. 60 Days. Bright red cherry tomatoes. Early maturing clusters of tiny fruit are well rounded, deep red in colour with a delicious sweet flavour. Long harvest time, vines need support and do well in greenhouses. Tolerance to cracking and good holding qualities.

Tiny Tim - Bush. 55 Days. Miniature cherry tomatoes. Dwarf plants are literally loaded with small, firm red fruit about 1 inch in diameter. These do well in pots.

Tumbler - Bush. 55 Days. These are hanging basket tomatoes that produce beautiful red tomatoes. Best grown in partial shade out of the rain, fertilize monthly. Mix a few flowers in for a beautiful basket at eye height. 2-3 plants per basket. Limited quantities.

Plants are available for delivery June 1-3rd. They will be in individual pots, hardened off and ready for planting. We grow varieties that are delicious and also do well in our climate. Regular watering and keeping the leaves dry will promote healthy plants and fruits that don't crack. Add a little calcium to the soil to prevent blossom end rot and prune out the suckers of vining types. For best flavour pick fruits fully ripe and don't refrigerate.


Peppers

California Wonder -The standard for Sweet Bell peppers. These peppers start green and with enough heat and time will turn a beautiful red. The compact bushy plants do equally well in a garden, large pot, or greenhouse with a somewhat concentrated harvest period over several weeks. You'll get sweeter peppers if you let them ripen to red.

Ghost Chili -Ghost peppers also known as Bhut Jalokia, are one of the worlds hottest peppers and really pack a whollop at over 1 million Scoville heat units (SHU). That's 3x hotter than our red Habaneros. We're serious, treat the plants, fruit and especially seeds with caution. We use gloves and are careful to not touch eyes nose etc. Limited quantities available in 2017. They fruit at the end of the season. If you can bring them indoors as a houseplant over the winter you'll be rewarded with a much bigger harvest the second year.

Red Habanero -Another hot one! These ripen from green, to yellow, to red, getting hotter and hotter all the time. Ranging from 100,000 to 350,000 SHU, you've been warned. Like many other peppers you can grow it as a houseplant over winter then back outside the next summer for greater yields.

Jalapeno M -Compared to our other hot peppers, these thick walled and juicy little green peppers seem mild to heat lovers. At a modest 5000 SHU they add a nice warmth to chili, tacos and other foods. They're especially good stuffed and pickle nicely. The small bushes are good in pots on the patio. Deer resistant after the first bite.

Large Thick Cayenne- These are strong upright plants with thick wrinkly fruit up to 6” long. At 30- 40,000 SHU they definitely have a kick, though not as much as their slim cousins. They ripen from green to red and peppers ripen almost all at once so its easy to harvest them for drying. 70-80 days to maturity.

Orange Sun - These sweet bell peppers ripen to a stunning bright orange. The blocky peppers have 3-4 lobes and are juicy with thick flesh. The interior is good for stuffing. Plants reach 24” tall and do well in large containers with good fertile soil. 90 days to maturity, worth the wait. Keep evenly watered in free draining soil.

Paprik -Grow your own paprika! These pepper plants are vigorous little bushes and produce lots of 4” peppers with a small seed cavity. Dry the seed pods at the end of the season then grind finely. We also recommend you try slicing and smoking some before drying and grinding, the flavour is outstanding.

Purple Beauty - Beautiful blocky purple peppers are sweet and good for eating raw or stirfry. Open pollinated, we recommend saving your own seeds from these chunky peppers who ripen from green to purple. Matures in 75 days.