Missing the Spruce

   
   I was kind of sad to see the two big old trees (spruce, I believe) taken down earlier this week. They loomed over the front corner of the house next door, and it looks like our neighbours finally decided to have them removed.  Branches were cut from the base and the back side of the larger one for about an hour before I started taking pictures. It originally appeared much denser and hung over our fence, providing a nice buffer between us and the street. 

   The ravens, who used them as a lookout and resting spot, will feel their absence.  I will too. They were spectacular in the winter when covered in hoarfrost. Our property feels strangely exposed now without them there.

Between the Rakes

Auria Seedlings

Five days after sowing Auria seeds.  This might be a record for the tomatoes I've grown!

Transplant Talk

   Thanks to a string of windy, sunny days, most of the snow has melted.  The lawn and garden plots are still wet, but the raised beds look dry enough for me to begin cleaning them up and pulling out weeds.  Not much is growing outside at this point, with the exception of dandelions.  Those are coming along swimmingly!

   The tomato and pepper transplants are doing well.  The exceptions are the Chocolate Bell peppers (it was old seed, and none germinated) and Hungarian Italian Paste tomatoes (brand new seed, but abysmal germination rates; I planted 30+ and so far only two have come up).  Cream Sausage, Jewish, and Bellestar were slow to germinate but I ended up with a few of each kind, enough to put out in the garden and save seed at the end of the season.  Emerald Evergreen germinated like a champion even though it has been years since it was last grown.  Black Krim and Black Sea Man came up like gangbusters, too.

   Hungarian Italian Paste did so poorly that, out of frustration, I sowed some Auria as a back-up a few days ago.  I was hoping to have a determinate or semi-determinate paste tomato this year.  Last year, I tried growing Polish Linguisa and it was a write-off.  Despite being touted as early and prolific, the plants had barely begun to develop tomatoes by the time the first frost hit! 

   Update:  I have started Hungarian Italian Paste seeds three times since March 27.  As of today, I have one normal-sized transplant, one seedling 1.5 inches tall, and a third seed just showed signs of germination this morning.   I started Auria seeds April 19th.  I just looked at the tray and the majority have germinated.  Wow.  Four days.  I wish I'd planted Auria to begin with!

   The "Pineapple" sage surpassed my expectations and overwintered beautifully inside!  I always overwinter a bit of mint (not pictured), which looks scraggly and rough by the time late May rolls around and it can be transplanted outdoors.   Still, it rebounds nicely and overwintering clippings saves a lot of money.  At the greenhouses here, herbs tend to cost between $3.00 - $5.00 a transplant.

   The garlic bulbils (Spanish Roja, Persian Star, and Duganski) planted indoors as an experiment in late December have held up well.  They miss being under the grow light, I think, but the tomatoes needed it more.

    Starting April 11th, I began sowing some herbs (Summer savoury, Lemon Balm, curly parsley), flowers (Dwarf Sensation and Rubenza cosmos), and brassicas (Lacinato kale, Curly Blue kale, Brunswick cabbage, Cour di Bue cabbage, Golden Acre cabbage, Red Express cabbage, Snowball cauliflower) in milk-jug containers.

The kale (below) and some of the cabbage has already come up!

   New life in the flower bed!  I cannot remember what was planted in this spot.  It will be fun to see what emerges!

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.

Raven Gift

   During the winter months, we sometimes put the old, dried up bits of tinned cat food our cats are finished with out on a large rock for the ravens and magpies.  They seem to relish the treat, especially on very cold days.

   This morning, R. found a "thank you" gift on the mat right outside the front door.  It looks like it might have once been part of an earring.  (Click to enlarge)

  Something similar happened several months ago.  Arriving home from running errands, we discovered a metal "pink ribbon" pin, minus the clasp, sitting on the mat in front of the door.  It had a rusty spot or two, but overall was still quite shiny.  After keeping it as a novelty for a few weeks, I threw it away.  Now I wish I had held onto it.  We are going to keep a little glass jar on hand to stash any future raven gifts we receive!

   Here is a neat article about a young girl who regularly receives treasures from her crow friends.  :)

Oh, Look! It's Warmed Up!

It actually has.  It was -38 this morning.  Ice fog and aching bones.

This ice is on the inside of the kitchen window.

I'm ready for Spring.  In the meantime, some hot chocolate is in order.