Snow Squalls and Tomato Selections

   
   Following several days of mild, Spring-like weather, the temperature dropped and we are in for snow squalls.  We no longer seem to have a solid 4 or 5 months of winter followed by a gradual entry into Spring.  The weather graphs look like mountain ranges all winter long, with temperatures shooting up and down.  Not a lot of stability and the weather patterns aren't as predictable as they used to be.

   I took the bus yesterday downtown, as I needed to have bloodwork done at the lab.  There were few people on the bus (thankfully, and understandably).  It was a strange experience to weave through the streets and see that almost all the driveways had vehicles parked in them at 8:30am on a weekday.  The windows of many homes had decorated paper hearts taped in them.  I read online recently that people were encouraged to place hearts in their windows to serve as an "I Spy" game for those out for walks.  Also as a symbolic, "We're in this together", I would think.  It was surprisingly comforting to see them in the windows.  Some homes had one heart in a single window, and some homes had several windows completely filled with hearts.  Windows in two homes I passed had been decorated with colourful tissue paper and looked like stained glass.  Those windows also displayed small signs with religious messages of encouragement written on them.

   It has been something to visit the websites of seed businesses this Spring.  Most have posted messages thanking customers for their patience in dealing with delayed shipments caused by the unprecedented demand for seeds and gardening equipment.  It is a shame it has taken a pandemic and empty shelves in the grocery stores to remind people how critical an issue food security is. Small, independent seed businesses have had to become creative; most typically earn a large chunk of their income through Seedy Saturday events and Farmers Markets and those have been cancelled.  Prairie Garden Seeds in Saskatchewan held two live streaming events online where customers could ask gardening questions and the owners recommended varieties appropriate to each customer's needs and growing region.

   Everyone should be growing food if they can this summer, even if it's a single tomato plant or a pot of herbs.  HERE is a list of Canadian seed businesses.  One business missing from the list that you might wish to check out is Yonder Hill Farm in Nova Scotia.

   Around March 20th, I started a few pepper seeds:

Anaheim - the first to germinate, as they were fresh seeds, recenty purchased.
Tam Jalapeno - only one has germinated so far. The seeds are a few years old.
Chocolate Bell - old seed.  In fact, I am now wondering what I was thinking when I planted them.  We'll see if they come up.

   The plan was to wait until April before starting tomato seeds. I was feeling snakey and unwell yesterday, so planted them early as a pick-me-up.  This year's tomato varieties are:

Repeats 

Work Release Paste  (pink, heirloom, heart-shaped, paste, indeterminate, large, origin Italian, mid-season ~75-80 DTM) 

Black Sea Man  (brown/black, heirloom, beefsteak, 8-12 oz, rich flavour, slicer, determinate, can be grown in large containers, Russian origin, early, ~ 75 DTM) 

Black Krim  (black/purple, heirloom, beefsteak, indeterminate, very flavourful, slicer, ~ 80 DTM/midseason) 

Hungarian Heart  (reddish-pink, large oxheart (often 1lb or more), heirloom, indeterminate, paste/canner/fresh, crack-resistant, few seeds, origin: Hungary, ~ 80 DTM) 

Striped German  (bicolour – yellow marbled w/red, heirloom, indeterminate, large beefsteak, fruity flavour, ~ 85 DTM) 

Principe Borghese  (red, heirloom, determinate, small, dry, few seeds, good for sundried tomatoes,~ 75 DTM) 

Cole (red, small/round, short sprawling determinate, very early and productive, open-pollinated Mennonite variety from Saskatchewan. ~ 60-65 DTM?) 

Emerald Evergreen (large green-when-ripe beefsteak, heirloom, indeterminate, slicer, mild/sweet flavour, ~80 DTM)

New 

Bellestar  (also "Bellstar" - red, medium/square-round 4-5oz fruits, paste, Canadian heirloom, determinate, compact, early set, ~70 DTM 

Hungarian Italian Paste  (red, 3-4 oz pear-shaped fruit that grow in clusters of 4, paste, productive, open-pollinated, determinate (?), ~80 DTM) 

Jewish  (red oxheart, heirloom, rare, indeterminate, few seeds ~ 80 DTM) 

Candy Sweet Icicle (pink w/gold and orange stripes, mini-roma/large pointy cherry, open-pollinated, indetereminate, pretty, sweet and flavourful, mid-season, 70-80 DTM) 

Cream Sausage (pale yellow/cream, open-pollinated, determinate, productive, paste/salsa, sweet flavour, mid-season, 75-80 DTM) 

Wentzell (red-pink beefsteak, Nova Scotia heirloom (Wentzell family of Lunenburg County - a local strain of pink Brandywine selected for generations), indeterminate, slicer, early)

 The garlic bulbils I started in late December indoors seem to be doing well.  They have been under the grow light until now, which surely helped. 

   Off to make a big mug of hot chocolate.  Afterwards, I'll tackle the dishes.  Thank goodness for podcasts; they make dishwashing a much more enjoyable task!  I have Under the Influence (CBC), Ram Dass Here and Now, That Classical Podcast, and The Unexplained with Howard Hughes queued up and ready to go.