I collected five leaf bags!! of arugula chaf & seed . they are now set to dry in the shed along with the green seeds collected last week
My tiniest fan
This little lady has been growing urbantomato tomatoes since she was a wee babe . . . now, although she is still drawfed by the tomatoes in this miraculous growing season, she is eager to hunt out tomatoes & enjoy the fruits of her labour!
Seed Collecting - Early August
it's the time of year that i subconsciously start filling my pockets with collected seeds. i am cleaning out my seed room & getting ready to smell like rotting tomatoes. for some I will start with some flowers that are starting to go to seed:
Marshmallow. This is a great shot for seed collection how-to because it shows all of the processes a plant goes through when producing seed on one plant. You can see the pink flower on top which gives way to green pods (lower left), and then turn to browned seeds pods (with pink flower on top). They are ready to be picked when brown. They will be filled with many little seeds ready for saving. Dry on a screen.
Mullin starting to seed
Poppy seeds. You can see on my hand just how many seeds come out of one poppy pod. There is often thousands more . . . . Carefully pick the pods & dry them on top of a piece of paper or upside down in a bag, they will shed seeds quickly . . .
Swiss Chard starting to send out it's seeds
After the seeds start to brown (or the pods that contain them) it is time to start Collecting Seeds from your greens. Here is a collection of photos demonstrating how i collected tat soi seeds. usually i dry the seeds upside down in bags, but we thought that we would try laying them out on a sheet. the jury is still out which method is easier in the long run. certainly for photo purposes, this method allows you to see how to collect your own green seeds:
First we laid out all of the stocks of seed pods collected directly from the garden. we had to do this carefully because many of the seeds pods were already starting to pop
This is a close up of many of the seed pods that burst open (& tiny black seeds contained within) as soon as we laid the stocks on the sheet
This is me further thrushing the pods to get the seeds out
& the many seeds that were within
Next we collected Arugula Seeds. Many brown bags of them, They will now be hung-upside down in the barn & will slowing burst their pods allowing us to later seperate the plant matter from the seeds . . .
We collected a whole trailer full of seed stocks from our greens!!!!
urbantomato featured in an UK based blog
Debbie's Gardening Blog featured a posting of their favourite seed based blogs & included urbantomato! Click here to check it out
Threats to the Tomatoes
At this time of year, things are glorious in the world of tomatoes. Since February, I have been talking to people about tomatoes, starting them in greenhouses, nurturing the little babies when they first entered the gardens, tying them up & hacking them back . . . . .
& now, the glory that we have all been waiting for is here, sadly we are not the only one's that want that bounty, and tomato growers are faced by many a threat. I have already shown you how to sucker your tomatoes to send the energy back into the fruit and now I will talk about some other problems that you & I are facing
Threat #1 - The Tomato Hornworm
These little guys can do quite a lot of damage in your tomato patch. They are hungry and will eat through the leaves of your plants & take large chunks out of the fruit themselves. Here are some photos of them on the plants, you can see some of the damage they have done (the stems have no leaves on them where they have been eaten)
& Here is a photo of one that I picked off the plant. The best way to deal with hornworms organically is to pick them off the plants as you see them (look carefully, they are very camaflouged, you can see the damage they have done, and droppings easily). Once you pick them off the plant, you have to decide what is best to do with them. I have always killed them with the scissors that I am using to prune (may sound barbaric, but it is part of being an organic farmer). At the farm I am at now, I feed them to the chickens or the pigs . . . . .
Threat #2 - Blight
Although this is not a picture of my garden, there are signs of blight starting to show in my tomato patches. "Blight" actually refers to a few different things. The first, and most common is "Leaf Spot". Appearing at the end of July, the damage starts out as small round black rotting marks on the lower foilage. The damage will go throughout the plant, but you will still be able to harvest fruit. The second and common blight is "Early Blight", usually appearing in late July, but the spots on the leaves have circles within circles. The blight can spread all over the plant & reduce your harvest
Once blight has set-in, it can be very difficult to control. The best way to beat blight is through early prevention. Because blight is a mould found in the soil, mulching can very helpful in reducing or preventing the on-set. Creating a layer between the soil & the plant is important. Also, do not water your tomatoes at night. Too much moisture on the plant is the ideal conditions to spread blight. For this reason it is important to water the roots and not the entire plant if possible. Remove affected plants and foilage quickly to help prevent the spread . . . .
I have highlighted the two biggest threats I am facing in my gardens, but please email me with any other problems or issues you are facing & I will do my best to post some solutions.Tall Tree Farm Market Booth - July 24th
I helped out at the Tall Tree Farm booth on July 24th. It was a hot & beautiful day & the table was full of beautiful produce.
Rachel Broddie demonstrates her enthusiasm for and getting almost all of the produce to peoples homes, plates & stomachs!!
Havelock - July 23rd
Tomatoes. Tomatoes. Tomatoes!!!!! I am one happy lady, almost a month earlier than last year, I have been picking, eating & enjoying tomatoes . . . . & it is only just the beginning!!
Warning this is the first of many many many tomato pictures to come
beautiful beets
red crimson bunching onions
st.valery carrots
arugula going to seed
perfect peas
french beans
zucchini flowers a plenty
crunchy oakleaf lettuce
Peterborough Community Garden Network Picnic
On August 15th, the PCGN is hosting a community garden picnic & garden tour. Join us to meet & share food with fellow community gardeners, share some stories of your gardens & get inspired by other local gardens! For more information see the PCGN website or contact pcgn@greenup.on.ca
urbantomato featured in Pearl Magazine
Check out this month's issue of Pearl Magazine for an article "Promoting crop diversity and long-term food security through time-tested farmer knowledge", By Shannon Mak. The article on pg. 12 features an interview with urbantomato, and the magazine features many great articles about local food, entertainment & arts
Seed Saving
Believe it or not, it is mid-July already, and that means it is almost time to get into some serious seed saving. Here are some photos of some seeds coming along out in the gardens:
These are some snap peas going to seed. The plant starts to brown & die back, & the pea pods themselves start to yellow & swell with pea seeds (peas!). I would leave the peas on the plants for a week or more after this point. Collect the pods & let them dry on a screen . . . . next year, you'll have more peas to plant!
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