Sow It Begins

   It is a sunny, mild afternoon here, 4 degrees at 3:00pm.  Slowly but surely, the snow is starting to melt.

   In an attempt to quell my restlessness to grow things, I started rosemary, parsley (Italian Flat-Leaf) and leeks (Giant Musselburgh and Giant Carentan) on March 4th.

   March 13th, I started green jalapeño peppers, Tam jalapeños (they're supposed to be milder than regular jalapeños), and Orange Spice jalapeños (dark orange in colour). I hope to can pickled jalapeño slices for the first time this Fall.

   My intention - the wise thing to have done - was to wait until the end of this month to start my tomato seeds.  Antsiness won out.  I started the tomatoes yesterday (March 14th).  I hope that May is mild so I can harden them off and transplant them by Victoria Day.  Maybe I can get the people I am growing transplants for to take theirs off my hands by then, too.  The house is going to look like a jungle by May!

These are my tomato selections for this year:

Repeats

Early Annie  (red, heirloom, 3-inch round, determinate, early DTM 65-70, canner/slicer)

Scotia  (red, open-pollinated, determinate, medium fruit, origin Nova Scotia, early 60-70 DTM, prolific, slicer/canner)

Dwarf Roza Vetrov  (pink, open-pollinated, dwarf/determinate, small/salad fruit, round pointed fruit, origin Russian “Wind Rose”, early)

Malakhitovaya Shkatulka  (green-when-ripe, heirloom, indeterminate, medium sized fruit, Russian origin “Malachite Box”, early – 70 DTM, slicer)

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

New

Midnight Sun  (yellow & pink bicolour heart,  large fruit, open-pollinated,  indeterminate,  potato-leaf,  developed by Karen Olivier (“Northern Gardener”), early ~72 DTM

Brad’s Black Heart  (dark/”pink-black”, blunt oxheart, open-pollinated, rare, indeterminate, wispy/droopy foliage, classic rich black-tomato flavour, origin: Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms, ~75-80 DTM)

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

Anna Russian (Heart)  (pink, heart-shaped, heirloom, large, indeterminate, juicy, Russian origin, ~75 DTM)

Orange Strawberry (Heart) – (bright orange, heart-shaped, heirloom, indeterminate, droopy foliage but vigorous plants, few seeds, ~80-85 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)

Dwarf Purple Heart  (purple, open-pollinated, heart, heavy yields, 6-16 oz fruit, plant spreads/branches, wispy leaves, dwarf/determinate, early, 70-75 DTM)

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

Polish Linguisa   (red, heirloom, paste/sauce, indeterminate, long & narrow shape ending in a point like a pepper, sweet flavour, 1800’s Polish origin, ~73 DTM)

Coastal Pride Orange  (orange, open-pollinated, dwarf/indeterminate, sweet/fruity flavour, slicer, can grow in containers, ~ 3-4 feet tall, ~ 85 DTM)

   I have done a few small trades in the last three months, mostly for tomato seeds.  I was able to get a few of the oxheart varieties I'd been after (e.g., White oxheart, Brad's Black Heart, Midnight Sun (rare), Dwarf Purple Heart (must be rare, because people are loathe to part with them), Orange Strawberry, Orange Russian 117, Cour di Bue, etc).  One of the unexpected - and funniest - varieties I received is a tomato called, "Evil Olive".  It is an indeterminate, tricolour grape/oval cherry.  The colours look pretty, judging from the pictures I have seen - green, pink, and orange all in one small tomato. In the same theme, another variety name that made me chuckle was, "Sinister Minister"!  It is a brown, plum-shaped cherry.

   In one of the trades, someone sent me Banana Cantaloupe seeds.  I think if we had a nice, warm September, I could pull this off.  The question is, would I have room for them?  Maybe next year, if I'm feeling adventurous.

Update - April 1st 

  The germination rates for the Black Sea Man and Dwarf Purple Heart seeds have been dreadful.  I want some black tomatoes in the garden in addition to Brad's Black Heart (those seeds did fine), so today I started Black Prince: 

   Black Prince  (brown/black, heirloom, Russian origin, indeterminate, round 3 - 5 oz fruit, low acid, rich flavour,  does well in cooler climates, ~ 70 DTM)

   Sadly, the germination rate for Orange Strawberry was very low as well.  It looks like Coastal Pride Orange and Striped German will be my bright tomatoes this year!

Celestial Vegetables

Yesterday, I found this wonderful collection of photographs called Celestial Vegetables. The photographs are by Michael E. Tomb. He describes this collection as, "A fantasy universe where each celestial object is a culinary composition made from vegetables picked fresh from my garden".

The larger gallery (On Vegetables) on the Studio Michaelino site that features the Celestial Vegetables photographs also contains collections showcasing pumpkins, mushrooms, tomatoes, and artichokes, eggplants, and pole beans,  The description of this gallery reads, "Savory Images of the Fruits of the Garden and Field.  Inspired by my City’s History as America’s Center of Commercial Botanical Art in the 19th Century."

You can read more about Michael Tomb and see additional photographs in this article.   

Ice Fog and Seed Trades

After a mild January that saw wildly fluctuating temperatures, February is bringing us what used to be considered typical weather for this time of year.  This morning, it is -38 degrees with ice fog.  Next week's forecast indicates more of the same.  Our windows are covered with condensation inside, and in some cases, with a layer of ice along the bottom.  The furnace is getting a workout.  I am glad there is nowhere we have to be today.  This is hibernation weather.

To keep myself from going squirrelly, I have done a few exchanges for tomato seeds through the mail recently.  Some of the varieties I've received include Brad's Black Heart, German Striped, Russian Orange 117, four varieties of "long keepers" (Ruby Treasure, Clare's, Mystery Keeper, and Winter Gold), Sweet Sue (a dwarf variety), Thorburn's Terra Cotta, and Orange Strawberry.  I'm hoping to grow a few dwarf and oxheart varieties this summer.  Narrowing down the choices is always a challenge!


Monday, February 4 - At 8:30am this morning, it was -41..."feels like -49"...with ice fog.  School buses are cancelled (though schools remain open), the public library is closed, and city bus service is suspended until this afternoon.  I hope the postal workers don't have to deliver mail today!

New Seeds To Try

I participated again this year in the Canadian Autumn Seed Exchange.  This is it's 8th year running!  My return package arrived yesterday.  It is always fun to see what seeds are enclosed and to look up the details of the unfamiliar varieties.

In this year's package...

Flowers 
Lavatera “Silver Cup”
Marigold “Crackerjack”
Marigold “Jane Bright”
Marigold “Vanilla”
Prairie Crocus
Sunflower “Sunspot” (dwarf type)
Sunflower “North Pole” (dwarf type – Sunspot – put out by Canada Post)
Zinnia “Pink Seniorita” 
  

Vanilla Marigolds - Territorial Seed Company

Herbs
Chamomile “Bodegold”
Dill “Mammoth Long Island”
Lemon Balm

BodeGold Chamomile - Adaptive Seeds

Lovage
Marshmallow
Sage – broadleaf (perennial)
Sage - common
Sweet Marjoram 


Beans (bush) 
Contender
Flageolet
Greencrop
Garbanzo “Magic Carpet”
Round Pod Kidney Wax
Wood Mountain Crazy
YerFasal
Zuni Shalako 

Beans (pole) 
Early Riser
Kentucky Wonder Blue 

Kentucky Blue Pole Beans - Park Seed

Carrots 
Rainbow Mix 

Cow Peas 
California Black-Eye Pea 

Garlic (bulbils) 
Persian Star (Purple Stripe)
Spanish Roja (Rocambole) 

Spanish Roja - Territorial Seed Company

Greens 
Cabbage “Early Dutch”
Cabbage “Early Golden Acre"
 Kale “Lacinato” 
Lettuce “Buttercrunch” 
Lettuce “Freckle”
Swiss Chard “Fordhook Giant” 

Leeks 
Blue Solaise 

Peas 
Desiree Blauschokker
Margaret McKee’s Baking Pea 

Margaret McKee's Baking Pea - Heritage Harvest Seeds

Pumpkin 
Baby Boo 

Squash 
Early Prolific Straightneck
Pink Banana
Spaghetti 

Tomatoes 
Amish Paste
Coastal Pride Orange
Manitoba
Opalka
Purple Russian
Sausage

Solar Flare tomato - Baker Creek Seeds

Solar Flare
Tasmanian Chocolate
Virginia Sweet

Missing The Sunshine

I discovered Bea tucked under the grow light this morning, nibbling on the not-quite-ready cat grass that recently sprouted.  She decided to snooze in that spot for a while.  I don't blame her.

Time to set up my daylight lamp, I think!

 

Going Stag

An afternoon visitor!  This fellow wandered through just before 2:00PM. He was alone and seemed a bit lost. It looked like he was trying to head North, back out of town. Usually, when we do see deer, it is early in the morning. Kind of strange to see one in town in the middle of the day.

(The pictures were taken with a basic camera, through winter-grimy windows on an overcast day. Click to enlarge!)


Heading up the driveway...

...and then North...

...taking a detour into the backyard of the property two doors up...

  
....before hearing the (many) dogs in yards across the alley and heading back out to the street, going North again.

Hoping he safely made it where he was going without too much interference from dogs or traffic.