Getting out in the garden and loving it!
For those of you who made it to the Green Living Show over the weekend, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. What a great event it was! It sure was easy to kill a couple of hours mulling around the show. My most favourite part was the Farm Fresh Fare area and the Grapes and Hops Tasting Pavilion. Both areas sold tasting tickets which allowed you to scour around for yummy samples right up your alley. I enjoyed some delicious Cameron's Dark 266 beer. I'm a big fan of Cameron's, but had never tried the Dark. The verdict: DELICIOUS. Then off to the Farm Fresh Fare to sample Jamie Kennedy's Sour Cherry Smoothie (for those who don't know, he is big on pickles and preserves - and it was quite a treat to taste such great sour cherries). I also enjoyed not one, but two cinnamon buns from Brick Street Bakery who had a stand set up. I feasted on way more delicious food, but am embarrassed to put it all down on paper!!
I've been enjoying the week off work and have been able to catch up on (or start!) some gardening. I finally got some seeds started indoors (and am very late in getting that going), as well as on the back porch. As I have a tiny yard with almost no space to garden in, I'm experimenting with containers. I have many a helpful books I've been consulting along the way (which you'll be able to see in the photograph). I've started tomatoes, basil, thyme, impatiens and marigolds indoors, and planted some lettuce, carrots and green onions outdoors. I bought my tomato, lettuce and basil seeds at the Green Living Show from a very nice woman who gave me tons of helpful advice. She sold me Brookport tomato seeds for my containers, telling me that they're good in smaller spaces as they grow more like a bush. I've never heard of them, but I'm certain they'll be scrumptious. I'm very excited about my little garden, so you'll be hearing lots about it over the season. Do you have any tips/advice/stories for or about container gardening?
Also, I have many great goods left over from my Earth Day giveaways, so be sure to check back regularly for more contests and random giveaways.
Waiting patiently for my goods to grow!
Tags: gardening, green living show, seeds
April 29th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Sweet Bell Pepper is my favorite vegetable to grow, they are easy to grow, all they need is water and sun and did you know that a sweet green pepper is a pepper that is not ripe, if you let it grow it will turn red. I learned that when I forgot to pick one from the plant last year.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I am going to attempt getting my thumb "green". Yup!, you all heard it here. I have a large, wide pot filled with dirt and I want to grow a little herb garden in it. I know I can plant basil...and I probably won't let it die either. So what else should i plant in the same pot? Are there any herbs that shouldn't be planted together? I'm leaving my pot in the backyard...are any herbs dangerous for neighbour cats?
April 30th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I love to garden vegetables in containers. It's easier to move around when you need instant foilage in your yard. There are a lot of varieties of vegetables that you can find in the nurseries that are geared for containers. Last year my garden was littered with pots of Patio tomatoes, eggplants and Tiny Tim cherry tomaotes. I had a bountiful harvest. And right now, I am growing organic meslun lettuce and radishes in containers as they will grow during the cool spring weather. Lettuce is the easiest. Just sprinkle the seeds on top of some soil and lightly cover them. Water and watch them germinate. I just let it grow and pluck the baby lettuce leaves and new lettuce will grow. And soon, you'll have organically grown salad from your doorsteps.
May 14th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
[... read more] The seedlings I planted about two weeks ago have burst through the soil and are healthy and growing like crazy. Can you identify with that feeling of looking in at your seedlings, and seeing some green heads poking through the soil? I was so happy! I can’t wait until it’s time to plant my tomatoes (and other goods) outside and to eat a salad made from produce totally foraged from my very own backyard. I’ve also planted lettuce, carrots, green onions, peppers, nasturtiums, impatiens and geraniums in containers out on the back porch - and there are lots of sprouts popping up in these containers too. I love heading out back when I come home from work to admire all the work I’ve done. It hasn’t even been too much trouble or overly expensive, especially when I consider that amount of produce I’ll be enjoying over the summer (that is if little critters and other backyard visitors don’t enjoy them first!). The advice you’ve all given me in this post has been put to good use. [... read more]