First Look at a New Tomato

And the winner in the race to germination is… ‘Purple Calabash’ Tomato. Because I know some of you will ask, I will just go ahead and clarify that the drops of water on the leaves fell from condensation that had formed underneath the “greenhouse” lid and onto the leaves when I removed it and are

The Slasher Movies and Adult Film Title Seed Collection

For the gardener with an unsophisticated sense of humor. Myself included. Tomato’s tend to dominate this theme. ‘Cannibal’ Tomato ‘Bloody Butcher’ Tomato ‘Beaver Lodge Slicer’ Tomato ‘Black Seaman’ Tomato – No matter how I say it “seaman” always gets a snicker from the audience when I mention it in presentations and workshops. ‘Blow Fleisch’ Tomato

Ordering Seeds the Hard Way

I recently sent off seed requests via Seeds of Diversity Canada, a seed exchange organization dedicated to the preservation of heritage varieties that I joined last summer. In the face of online ordering, the ease of PayPal transactions, and good ole’ email the whole experience felt downright old-fashioned, involving about three hours of painstaking reading

Time to Start the Seeds

It’s been decided. The first round of seed-starting 2008 starts today. I considered shooting a mini video how-to of this procedure to post here but decided against it because it is another miserably grey and sunless day in Toronto and video would require the additional hassle of setting up lights. And of course I would

Bob Easter’s Carrots

Organic gardener Bob Easter shows off his harvest at the Sunshine Community Garden in Austin, Texas last week. They are already harvesting carrots! Meanwhile, back in Toronto, home of the never-ending winter, we are only dreaming about the carrots we will grow and harvest in a few months. Sigh. I took this photo last week