Snap! Just like that summer’s almost over, and today we woke up the dreaded change in the air and the feeling of *gasp* autumn’s imminent arrival. I’ve already noticed the shorter days and soon the temperatures will drop, but perhaps the most decisive sign of fall is seed saving: with each visit to the garden, my pockets quickly fill with seeds – kale (top photo), nasturtiums, coriander, lettuce, calendula, cosmos, California poppies, and more.
Growing cut flowers
I’m a big believer in ‘Garden BFF’s’ and freely intermix veggies and annual flowers in my garden beds. Growing cut flowers brings in plenty of good guys – bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and more, while the veggies provide us with months of homegrown meals. However, I always plant waaaaaaay too many flowers (on purpose) so that I have plenty of blooms to cut and bring indoors. Some of my favourite annuals for cut flowers include zinnias, sweet peas, cosmos, nasturtiums, and snapdragons, but last week I learned that, when it comes to cut flowers, not all are created equal.
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How to freeze berries
Learning how to freeze berries using this fast, easy technique was one of the best things I’ve ever done to improve my family’s winter meals. We grow oodles of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries at our place, and I’m forever looking for ways to allow us to enjoy their homegrown flavor all winter long.
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Succession planting: 3 crops to plant in early August
Oh mid-summer, how I love you! With the recent stretch of hot weather, we’re now knee deep in beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini, and every meal revolves around what’s ready to pick. Yet, as I pull the early crops from the garden – bolted lettuce, spent peas, and mature garlic – it’s time to think about succession planting to ensure that we have homegrown veggies and herbs for the coming months. Here are three of my favourite crops that should be seeded now (early August).
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Pinching annuals to promote dense growth
A few weeks ago, I posted about deadheading annuals, a simple, but essential task to encourage container plants, like petunias, to bloom heavily and for the longest possible time. As I was deadheading last week, I noticed that some of my petunias are looking a little leggy. Maybe even (gasp!) scraggly? Deadheading spent blooms won’t fix that, so it was time to get pinchy. Pinching annuals by removing their overgrown and leggy stems will spur fresh growth, thicken up plants, and encourage a new flush of blossoms.
Three things to do with your zucchini harvest
Are you sick of zucchini yet? Are you foisting your harvest on unsuspecting neighbours and family? I think I hit a bit of a zucchini-eating-threshold each year—if my crop is not afflicted with any zucchini pests or diseases. When I have interesting zucchini recipes at my fingertips, sometimes I’m able to forget that zucchini is even part of the meal. So it takes longer to hope that I’m at the end of my crop.
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