Garden Wisdom Blog

With the arrival of warm weather comes the barbecue season. Coriander Root Paste is a kind of all purpose barbecue rub or marinade that takes its flavours from the southeast Asian cuisines of Thailand and Vietnam. It makes use of cilantro (coriander) plants that might otherwise be wasted due to bolting. This paste enhances chicken and fish particularly well, and there’s even a complimentary dipping sauce to go with it. As the soil warms up in late spring and early summer, cilantro responds by bolting, or going to seed. From the plant’s perspective, the time for growing new leaves is...

A hands down favourite of the West Coast Seeds staff, Sungold Cherry Tomatoes are one of our most popular tomato seeds. The beautiful tangerine-coloured cherry tomatoes have a rich, fruity and unique tropical flavor when left on the vine to ripen. We found this interesting recipe for a tomato jam from blogger Linda Hoye who writes on her blog A Slice of Simple Life,“I always thought that the words “tomato” and “jam” didn’t belong in the same sentence but I was wrong. This stuff is dee-licious! It will be good served on a cheese tray, as a condiment on sandwiches or burgers, and I might even try...

If you’ve never tried fennel, now is a great time to get acquainted. Although fennel takes more time than arugula to grow, when the two meet up in a salad, it’s a wonderful culmination of your garden – spicy, juicy, with a hint of anise. Arugula is a nutrient-packed dark leafy green that’s loaded with vitamin K and beta-carotene. Citrus, of course, is a vitamin C all-star, and fennel is rich in potassium as well as antioxidants. P.S. This is a great recipe to serve company, too. From the cookbook Broccoli, Love, and Dark Chocolate by Liz Pearson, Whitecap Books:...

Most fertilizers (and many soil amendments) show this formula somewhere prominently on the package: N-P-K. This shows the ratio of the three most important plant nutrients, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Potassium gets a ‘K’ because of its name on the periodic table of elements (Kalium). These three elements are fundamental to the development and success of all plants to varying degrees. A fertilizer with a rating of 4-4-4 is considered “balanced” because it provides each of these major nutrients in equal proportion. Nitrogen (N) is necessary for the growth and maintenance of all proteins. A lack of nitrogen will often...

I love the combination of broccoli and cheddar cheese and for those who agree or to those who want to try a taste new combo, give this soup a try. This soup is made in two parts. The first is the broccoli puree and the second is the cheese sauce and they come together to make a winning combination. Enjoy!                   Makes 12 cups (3 L) Ingredients 1⁄4 cup + 2 Tbsp (60 mL + 30 mL) butter 2 cups (500 mL) chopped onions 11⁄2 cups (375 mL) chopped celery 8 cups...