Planting a bit of everything!

I spent a few days last week prepping and planting various seeds in 8 additional trays - and I've hit that point where I say to myself "Wow, this is a lot of stuff, but I still need more!". Ideally I don't like to run out to the garden centre for your basic edibles, so starting them on time and making the most of early planting is important. If you plan on actually producing enough vegetables to supplement your grocery bill, you have to do some plant math - How much do I think I need, and then add extras.

Re-organized my seed bin, yet again, I found that my other systems
didn't really help me find what I needed fast enough. Now I sort
by family group or even species depending on how many I have of each.

Much of this math is something you will learn after each season, compounding facts and experiences to get an idea of your needs and also your ability to maintain the size of garden you attempted.

Zucchini for example; How much do you really need? Most families only need one or two plants depending on your actual zucchini preference and willingness to cook it regularly during it's peak production. Then you'll see people giving zucchini away by the bushel! Without growing zucchini before, you might not know that they are heavy producers and each variety has an optimal harvest period. You can eat and deep fry blossoms à la gourmond to slow the production of more fruit. Last year I didn't grow enough - which is bizarre for me, because I almost always go overboard. Zucchini is so versatile, used in so many dishes, I would often run out during the week and have nothing left over for freezing. Any and all zucchini unused for meals during the summer - would be shredded, bagged and frozen. I used my frozen zucchini in loafs, muffins, soups, stews, pasta sauces and lasagna. By the time November came around I was basically out of my zucchini reserves - not a good prepper if you ask me. I'm not making this mistake this year - 7 varieties later and a plant of each started!

 I buy my supplies as I need them or when I find them cheap in stores - I know the ethics of the dollar-store are questionable, but when I find exactly what I need for less then in garden centres, I have to jump on it. For example; I wrote last year about those mini-jiffy pellet trays and they work wonders, I even use them in my classroom! This year I found cell packs for 3/$1.00 and half width "windowsill" trays with 16 sections that fit perfectly beside my regular sized trays on my planting rack. I spent probably 6$-7$ on trays and cell packs. Additionally maybe 5$ on seed starting soil from Canadian Tire. The most amazing part is that I know people spend less on these supplies - but for under $15.00 I can't complain! Especially considering I always recycle most of my new material for the next year and just replace what needs to be replaced and expand as I need to. Buying even a few started seedling can really add up.

6 - 12 cell packs from the Dollar-store fit easily in your basic $1.00 tray from Canadian Tire

One thing I wanted to make sure I did was start at least two or more entire trays of beneficial flowers - nasturtiums, caldendula and marigolds - all of which are edible. Stay tuned for more on these flowers in an upcoming post. I started almost all of my brassicas, including; kales, cabbages, brussels sprouts, broccoli and collards. I also planted a few herbs and my summer squash and a few more flowers.

Peppers coming along nicely - at this stage I can definitely see a difference in the varieties growth rate - Yellow Monster taking the lead with height and leaf size - Cuban hot peppers coming in last with a shorter more compact growth.

First taste of sunlight when the temperature hit +22C outside last week.
Unfortunately they got a bit cold damages when I put them out to early in
the morning and it was still only +3C. 

Freshly started herbs and Amaranth!

Calendula seeds - I bought a mix from Wild Garden Seeds "Flashback Mix"

The tomato grafting project is still a go and I'm excited to see what happens - more seeds starting this week and some infrastructure building expected - as the temperature is dropping back down this week and I don't want to risk killing off direct-sow seedlings. Ah, Canada in the spring.

Urban Syrup & Chickens

The urban tapping and syrup experiment has come to a close. With the daytime temperatures hitting in the high teens and even 23C the sap has official stopped. The ideal sap running temperatures are approximately plus + 5-6C during the day and down to minus - 5-6C at night. This prompts the tree to force sap up and down the sap wood for a period of weeks until it is safe to hold the moisture in the branches and is ready to start forming buds and leaves. Keeping the sap in the branches during freezing temperatures would cause expanding and splitting in the wood. As more sap travels up the sap wood from deeper in the roots later into the season, the natural tannin effects the maple syrup's colour and "grade". Maple Syrup is graded exclusively on colour and we find taste becomes stronger as the colour darkens.

Here's my suburban snapshot of the first when I set-up the bucket on my Norway Maple.
Instagram @theterriblephotographer

My suburban maple syrup project went much better this year! I (My dad) only burnt one batch down. We got about 3 (ish) jars in the end. You can clearly see the difference in colour from one batch to the next. Next year I should get smaller containers so I can keep track of the grade with each boil-off. The first jar would have been much lighter had I not poured some of the third batch into it. However that last jar shows how dark it can become at the end of the season.

Random jar's lined up on the counter from this year's run! YUM!

The first batch has creamy maple sugar settled on the bottom, I can't wait to spread this on my toast. I also realized that I use lots of maple in baking, however I like it to eat when winter comes around again, as I don't really like warm breakfast foods in the spring and summer. Something about using my own syrup is so sacred - I always hesitate - but savoured so.

First batch vs. the second round batch, from light amber to darker grade.

All three together for comparison! I'll have to have a fancy tasting.

A book I bought at TSC this year "Backyard Sugarin'" by Rink Mann

Overall the season went well, it was long enough to gain more syrup then last year. I only wish I had more trees to tap. Three jars just isn't quiet enough. I will definitely try and get smaller jars or containers for the grading test next year - try to boil day to day the sap coming in. I will say that the lighter syrup certainly has a more delicate taste and almost "buttery" flavour? I'm not sure if maybe these favour cues are specific to the Norway Maple or not. Well, one more project checked off the 2015 list and another edible product made from this Suburban micro-farm!

Two types of Olive eggs being laid right now - Love the speckled eggs! 

Chickens haven't been laying as much as I would like right now, the super cold winter and short days, and more recently cloudy days has affected the majority of the egg laying. It seems that some of the hens might need to be culled and replaced - a shame, but a necessary evil. I would like to get more dark brown layers and true blue. I have exciting renovations planned for the coop area - including the introduction of a green-roof rabbit hutch, serving as both an actual rabbit hutch and as a barrier to stop chickens like spike from flying up to the fence and out into the yard. She can only reach the lattice fence into the yard because the back of the run slopes up and it shortens the height for her escape - thankfully it doesn't go the other way around!

Spike up to her usual antics, lay and egg and then fly the coop for the afternoon.

A lovely Euskal Oiloa Mille Fleur with no name...
but I recently used her in an my #shoulderchicken photo - a trend hit on reddit.
So maybe her name is ShoulderChicken? Names don't have to make sense.

#shoulderchicken @theterriblephotographer

Spike peeking at me over the chicken-run gate - she is full of personality.

Another cute no-name - She's an olive egger - She loves human attention and affection!

 The chicken experience has been wonderful - and for everyone who ask about chicken behaviour; they are smart (some of them at least) they are unique, dramatic, talkative, shy, curious and everything in between. Even from hatching my own chickens I can see personalities carried through from chick to hen-hood.

Spring is certainly in our midst! I can see signs all throughout the garden - strawberries reminding me that I need to make a structure to protect them from squirrels and chipmunks this year! I have to get on that - weekend project for sure! So much building to do... and rain is expected.

2014 Tomato Pictures

As promised here are some photos of tomatoes in last year's garden, 2014. It's a very pic-heavy blog post, but that's what you're here for anyways right?

Variegated Tomato in a planter with purple petunias.

"Variegated" again, close up of it's amazing foliage.

"Micro-Tom" first fruit ripening, what a wonderful tomato!

First ripened "Micro-Tom" a very nice tangy flavour.

"Starfire Isis" beautiful striping coming down to a single
point at the bottom of each fruit. Flavour was sweet, a very juicy tomato. 

Not sure exactly which tomato this was...
possibly "Golden Tiger" or "Dark Tiger"
from J & L Gardens, Espanola New Mexico.

"Indigo Rose" 

"Dancing with Smurfs" 

"Pastel Sleeves' 

Some cool variegation right onto the fruit of the plant.
Very interesting to watch grow!

...and another view. 

"Japanese Black Trifele"

"Bosque Blue" 

More views of the "Variegated" tomato plant in action. 

Unripened "Painted Pink"

"Muddy Waters" from Tom Wagner Tomato Seeds

Not sure of this variety, again could be an experimental variety from J & L Gardens.

"Zapotec Pleated Pink" Very heavy, dense fruit!

"Lucky Heart"

An Example of how tall indeterminate varieties can get,
this one grew to about 8-9ft.

"Tlacolula" lots of plant growth
to this practically wild type tomato. 

"Striped Roman"

"Indigo Rose" cross section.

"Painted Pink" prepping for consumption.

"First Mate" It's hard to tell from this photo,
but this tomato really has a nice blueist-grey-green skin to it.

"Pastel Sleeves"

"Starfire Isis"

Random tomatoes ripening on the window ledge.

Oven roasted tomato sauce preparations.

Really brings out that tangy delicious flavour perfect for sauces and cooking.

You'll have to excuse the last few photos taken from my cell phone, not sure why I didn't bring out the SLR, but I got the pictures anyways. Trust me - 2015 is an Nikon SLR only year.

"Blonde Boar" and "Zebra Rita" among these varieties.

"Esmeralda Golosina"

"???" but AMAZING. 

"Pineapple Blues" or "Wildcard Blues"

All purple "Blue Beauty" 

They almost look black! 

"Blue Ambrosia" 

"Snow Cherry" next to "Blue Beauty"