Garden Wisdom Blog

Preserving Summer Morning chill and shorter daylight hours signify the slowing down of the summer garden. We harvest and share the last of our favourites–tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, corn, peppers, but we also want that summer taste in the cold of winter. Saving the Harvest can be accomplished in many ways. Extend the pleasure of a garden by: Dehydrating: Slice fruits and vegetables, including seeded squash, and place in a single layer. In the oven, dehydrate at 52°C (125°F) for 6-12 hours. When dry and brittle, store in mason jars for use in soups, sauces, and baked goods. This technique is...

Yes, we sell seeds, but we also encourage seed saving. When you collect your own seed you need to work with nature and watch plants daily in order to catch the ripe seed before the wind whisks it away or the plant releases it to the soil. How do you know when the seed is ripe and ready to collect? If the seed comes away in your hand, it is ready to collect. If the seed is in a pod or a capsule, watch for the first pod to split and then collect the remaining pods, place in a paper...

It’s the quiet time of the year. The holidays have passed, and with them the whirlwind of social engagements. The dark days are gradually getting brighter, but our gardens are still mostly dormant. It’s a time for garden planning and garden dreaming. Eager to get growing in the gradually lighter and slowly warming days, gardeners take to the seed catalogues and enthusiastically place orders. Before you decide what you’d like to plant, take a moment to reflect on last year’s garden and consider how this can shape your plans for the coming year. Now, you don’t need to get too...

The windowsill can be a great place for a plant to hang out. If you have a bright, south-facing window, you can grow herbs, start seeds, and use the sun to power your indoor gardening endeavors. However, if you’re like many of us, you might not have a big, south-facing window that your plants can enjoy. Luckily, your plants don’t need to take a plane to warmer climates to seek the sun – grow lights make it possible to apply artificial light for seedlings and grow plants anywhere in your home. Plants need light to create the food that they...

There are many combinations of plants for interplanting – which combination suits your needs the most? One way of maximizing the return from garden space is to interplant crops. This is the practice of planting one kind of crop, and then planting a different crop in between the rows of the first. There are a number of ways this can be beneficial. First, you may have an area devoted to larger, summer-maturing crops like cabbage, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts. These crops won’t be approaching their full size until late June. But by that point in the season, some cool-loving, fast...