The arrival of the first seed catalogues has coincided with the end of pumpkin season. My friend Clare had a bumper crop of pumpkins (Curcurbita spp.) at her farm garden in Ontario, and her cold cellar is full of the smooth, round globes waiting for winter pies. She gifted me with a lovely specimen that sat on my porch Halloween night, and now is on the dining-room sideboard. … [Read more...] about Beautiful pumpkins — warts and all
seed catalogs
Dwarf tomato seeds
I’m getting picky about the tomatoes I grow. But wouldn’t you know it — in the hundreds of tomatoes in seed catalogues, it’s not easy to find exactly what I’m after. I hope you won’t abandon me when I say I want to grow tomatoes for ornamental display. Of course, I’ll use the fruits and enjoy them, but I want the plants for containers, combined with flowering summer annuals … [Read more...] about Dwarf tomato seeds
Global warming and plant hardiness
I’m confused. Current winter weather predictions (2010-11) from Environment Canada, the Weather Network and the Farmers’ Almanac all agree that my southern Ontario garden will have normal temperatures and normal snowfall this winter. But does anyone know what normal is anymore? Over the past decade winters have grown gradually warmer with less snow, and 2010 was the warmest … [Read more...] about Global warming and plant hardiness
