An Uncanny Coincidence and A Talented Seed-Swapper

 

   Every once in a while, something happens that makes you sit up and think, hmmm... 

   Earlier today, I looked up from my laptop and outside the window were two large blue jays. They were nibbling at the remnants of the dried up crabapples on the tree and eating the bit of bird seed we put out a few days ago. I told R., who also noticed a third blue jay in the neighbour's yard. It was so wonderful to see them. We rarely get blue jays here - I see one or two a year, if I'm lucky. Some years, I don't see any.  

   R. spotted the flag on our mailbox was down, so he got the mail while I continued to watch the blue jays. Just before he came back in the house, they flew away. 

   I received seeds in the mail from a lady who shared a tomato variety I'd been looking for. Imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope: the card in which she had enclosed the seeds featured a picture of a blue jay eating crabapples from a winter tree.

   Is this an uncanny coincidence, or should I be reading up on spirit animals and messengers?

 

 

   Also in today's mail were pepper seeds from a member of an online seed swap group I enjoy.  When people send seeds, the degree of effort and 'extras' varies.  Some people simply mail a small bag or envelope of seeds. Others - most - add a little note, sometimes written in a card that also serves to protect the seeds as they travel through the mail.  Some enclose 'extras', whether than be extra/unexpected seed varieties, stickers, recipe cards, etc.

   This trader really is a standout, and receiving her mail is a special event.  In addition to sending extra seed varieties (in addition to the one I was looking for), she makes her envelopes from colourful scrapbook paper and paints her own cards!  This one is a "keeper".   I love the little bee.  :)

 

 

 

Micro Tomatoes - First Fruit

Here is what the micro tomatoes look like today.  Plenty of flowers... 

 

...and the first little tomato has appeared on one of the Orange Hat plants.

 

 

These two became too tall to fit under the grow light.  They seem to be doing alright on the cat tree, though.  :)

 

 

 

Micro Tomatoes - First Flower

  Early this month, I potted up most of the micro tomatoes that were sown November 22nd of last year.  A trip to Canadian Tire is in order; I need more potting soil for the remaining two.

  One of the Orange Hat micros has produced a flower, with more about to open any day.  :)  They seem to be ahead of Tiny Tim in terms of developing buds.

 

 Time will tell whether my grow light will adjust enough to allow room for these plants.  I read after the fact that some micro tomatoes aren't as "micro" as I thought!  I think these varieties will grow ~6-12 inches tall, but another 4-6 inches needs to be added to that, taking the depth of the pots into account.

 

 

 

Just In Time For Christmas

 

My package of seeds from the Annual Canadian Autumn Seed Exchange arrived right before Christmas.  Perfect timing!  The host of the seed exchange, Nicky North, is very organized and somehow always manages to grant several items from each participant's wish list as well as sending unique surprises.  From my wishlist this year, I received Lemon Bergamot, edible Chrysanthemum, Kalibos cabbage, Scarlet kale, and a few tomato varieties.  In the "surprise" department were sorghum, Pigeon peas, and several varieties of corn, including Floriani and Painted Mountain (both flint, both beautiful).

 

In addition to receiving the ACASE seeds, a generous soul in a seed-trading group online offered to send me some Mémé de Beauce tomato seeds.  A bit about this variety (description from Terre Promise): 

 

In 1995, a carpenter found a bag of about 200 seeds in the attic of an abandoned house, where no one had lived for several years already, in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce. The neighbors claimed that this house hadn’t had any garden in well over 60 years. Mrs. Gérard Parent, to whom they were given, tried to get them to grow; only three germinated. From those three initial plants originate all the current Mémé de Beauce plants found in Quebec.

 

The following are varieties received from this year's ACASE exchange:

 

Flowers 

Bachelor Buttons – “Chocolate” and “Tall Mix” 

Calendula – Festiva Gitana 

Chrysanthemum – Edible Shungiku 

Sunflower – "Little Becka/Elegance" and "Teddy Bear" 

Verbascum – "Milkshake" 

Zinnia - orange

 

Shungiku Chrysanthemum - West Coast Seeds

 

Herbs

Feverfew

Lemon Bergamot

 

Miscellaneous

Cowpea – Blue Goose

Garlic – Georgian Fire

Pigeon Pea

Sorghum – Broomcorn (Technically edible, but apparently better used as an ornamental or a pollen barrier between crops.)

 

Georgian Fire garlic - Garlic Brothers

 

VEGETABLES

Beans 

The Prince (bush)

Velour (bush)

Blue Lake (snap/pole)

 

Cabbage 

Earliana (green) 

Kalibos (red)

 

Kalibos cabbage - BC Eco Seed Co-op

 

Cauliflower

Snowball

 

Corn

Butter and Sugar

Early Sunglow

Floriani (flint)

Painted Mountain (primarily flint)

 

Floriani fint corn - Great Lakes Staple Seeds

 

Greens/Leafy

Kale – "Scarlet" and "Red Russian"

Orach – Purple Leaf

 

Squash  

Hubbard

Pink Hubbard

Table King Acorn

 

Tomatoes

Azoycka

Big Mama (hybrid/red paste)

Blush

Cherokee Purple

Dad’s Sunset

Delicious Beefsteak

Dwarf Champion

Dwarf Golden Heart

Green Giant

Green Pineapple

Lemon Drop

Lucky Tiger

 

Lucky Tiger - Baker Creek Seeds

Pantano Romanesco

Pink Passion (dwarf)

San Marzano

Savignac/Dufresne (Canadian heirloom)

 

Savignac/Dufresne - Ark of Taste

Sicilian Saucer

Speckled Roman

Sungold (orange cherry, hybrid)

Sunrise Bumblebee

White Wonder

Yellow Canary

 

16 Days to Go

   I looked at the clock around 8:00am and was surprised by the time, as it was still quite dark.  We're in the time of year when you can be puttering around the house and have no sense of whether it's 4:00AM or 8:00AM.  It's disorienting if you have to be on a schedule, and can be cozy if you don't.  I went outside just before 9:00am to take this (fuzzy) picture.  R. literally has the days counted down until December 21st, when the daylight will start to increase again.  I am not minding the short days as much this year.  Perhaps, compared to everything else there is to be stressed and fatigued by lately, darkness in the morning is barely registering.

   The weather for the last week has been unseasonably mild, with most overnight temps above zero, and daytime temps between 2 and 8 degrees.  It was 6 degrees out at 9:00AM this morning.

 

   On November 22nd, I decided to try my hand at growing micro tomatoes.  I planted 4 Orange Hat seeds and 5 Tiny Tim.  This picture was taken this morning. 

 

   In recent weeks, I've done three tomato seed trades with people online.  It's a benign and relatively inexpensive vice!  The new varieties I received are:

Dwarf Payette

Dwarf Red Viper

Mary Reynold's

Kozula 24

Neves Azorean Red

Mrs. Bot's Italian Giant

Hubert's Pink 

   Someone also sent some Dwarf Purple Heart, which I was grateful for, as I only have a few seeds of that variety in my stash.

   Later this month, my package from the Annual Canadian Autumn Seed Exchange will arrive.  Looking forward to that!  It is always fun to see what comes back.  Some of my favourite varieties of flowers and vegetables to grow are ones I discovered through this exchange.

   

 

 

Off Topic: The AndyVent Calendar Returns!

 

The annual AndyVent Calendar fundraiser for Feed Nova Scotia has launched!

Each $5 donated = 1 entry for a chance to win the entire 'calendar' of prizes and/or one of the runner-up Prizes.

Entries can be purchased through GoFundMe, PayPal, or by e-transfer.  

The fundraiser is launched in November, though officially kicks off December 1st. That is when prizes begin to be revealed daily on the AndyVent calendar (which can be seen on the main website, Facebook, and Instagram).  

Prizes are generously donated by businesses in the HRM.  Entries can be purchased by people living outside of Halifax (outside of Canada, for that matter).   If the winner lives outside the area, they can gift the prizes to a friend or family member in Nova Scotia.

This fundraiser relies on word-of-mouth promotion through social media, email, water cooler chat, etc.  Thank you for sharing!  

For more information about "AndyVent Calendar 7", see the Facebook page or AndyVent website.

(Image from AndyVent's instagram page.)

 

Hoarfrost and Bohemian Waxwings

 

   It snowed ~2 inches overnight, and judging from the crunchy top layer, the snowfall was followed by a dose of freezing rain.   It was -5 degrees this morning, wonderfully foggy, and everything was covered with hoarfrost.  So pretty.  I waited until the fog had cleared, around 11:00am, before taking pictures.

   Yesterday, I noticed a handful of Bohemian Waxwings in the trees on our street.  I love it when they visit, and usually hear their trill before I see them.  This morning, the number of waxwings had at tripled.  Hopefully, they will linger in the area for a few more days.