It's that time of year again.....

One of my most favorite times of year is when its time to tap those trees. Maple trees that is. Making one of Canada's most favorite ingredient. MAPLE SYRUP....

How much sap does it take to make one litre of syrup? It takes 40 litres of sap to make one litre of syrup. 

What happens to the other 39 litres?  Sap contains a large portion of water and a small portion of sugar. During the boiling process, the water is released as steam and what is left becomes the syrup.

What are the perfect weather conditions for making syrup?

Sap is likely to flow on a bright, sunny day, after a cold night. As a rule, + 5 degrees Celcius and sunny during the day and - 5 degrees Celcius at night is the best "sap" conditions. The tree gives no outward sign that the sap is about to run. "Sap's running" is a phrase, but actually it drips. How fast or slow depends on a variety of factors.

I Love Tomatoes

Did you know?

It is a proven fact that tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in gardens across North America with hundreds of varieties on the market.
The tomato has come a long way to reach today’s height of popularity. Originating in South America, the tomato was classified into the Solanaceae family, which includes the belladonna and deadly nightshade, when introduced into Europe. In the 16th century, botanists described the fruit as inviting as a peach but unfit for human consumption.

Today, tomatoes are found everywhere from ketchup, salsas, sauces, or fresh in salads or sandwiches. Not only great tasting and versatile, studies are now showing many health benefits, namely the antioxidant, Lycopene which is primarily found in tomatoes and tomato products. Lycopene has been shown to help counteract the harmful effects of substances called "free radicals" which are thought to contribute to many chronic diseases and age related processes in the body.

Tomatoes are very easy to grow. In order to produce fruit before the end of the summer season, they need to be started indoors around the middle of April and then set out when the danger of frost is past, however like myself I start them in February so I have them extra early.  Nothing tastes better then a fresh tomato from the garden.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Sunrise

Starting Annuals

Yep, its that time of year again.  It's time to start the seedling.  Most annuals can be started in March or April for our summer gardens like one of my favorites, marigolds.                                                

However, some need to started in January and February if you want them to bloom this summer.  Most usually bloom within 6-12 weeks, hence sowing them in March and April and can be sown out in the garden hopefully with fingers crossed by the end of May in these parts of the great North.

Not all annuals are actually true annuals.  Some are tropical perennials that we treat as annuals.  Spring bulbs act the same way like my favorite dahlia.  It is a zone 8-10 and would no way life here without lifting them in the fall.

Some do not always want to bloom the first year, so to insure that they do you need to start them in January or February to give them at least a 5 month heads up on bloom time.

There is also quite a few factors involved in starting our seedling and the major one being light.  Sometimes mother nature is not always there for you this time of year so we rely on grow lights.  Fluorescent lighting will also do fine providing they are cool white.  They need to be set about 6" above the seed trays and moved up as the seedling begin to grow.  Using a timer is also a great way to ensure they are getting the needed light.

So what are one of those annuals you ask.  Begonias.  One of the most popular begonias now is the Tuberous Begonia.  The Nonstop Series of multiflora begonias are smaller but have numerous blooms and are quite expensive if bought at your local nursery.  However, the seed is not cheap either, but spending $15-$20 in seed can give you hundreds of dollars of annuals if you were to buy them.  Your gardens will be exploding with massive planting.

They are rather slow at starting and putting them in the pots is rather a challenge too.  The seed is so tiny, you can barely see them with the naked eye.  These gems need to be started in January.  They grow best on the surface and them covered with a plastic dome in a well lit spot at about 24-26 degrees celeius.  Becareful though, they start producing tubers then go dormant if they do not get up to 15 hours of light.  So after all that you should see green in around 20-25 days.

They like to be warm and well lit and only need watering if the soil is getting dry.  After your have reached germination leave the dome on as they like and need the extra humidity. Within a month of germination you can start to see the leaves and this is when it is time for their first transplant.

It is suggested to put a dome over them again for about a week.  Fertilizing is recommended with a half strength all purpose soluble fertilizer every 2-3 weeks.

Soon they will need a second transplant and using a 4" pot is best.  Once again water only when the soil is dry.  Overwatering will most likely rot them.  In late May they can start to be hardened off and by June they can be planted out in the garden in partial shade in hot summer areas or full sun in cool areas.  Enjoy them for the rest of the summer.  It will be well worth it. 

Another begonia is the wax begonia.  They are a little faster and  a little less complicated to grow then the tuberous but equally as small and fragile in the beginning.  They can be started in February but prefer longer days of light, up to 18 hours and can be grown a little cooler at 15-18 degrees celeius once they are up.  Since they are a smaller plant, transplanting them into a 3" pot is sufficient.

Here are a few other annual that should have a earlier start. 

Zonal and Ivy Geraniums

Annual Penstemon

Flowering Maple

Fushia

Lisianthus

Madagascar Perwinkle

Happy Gardening

Cheryl

Wordless Wednesday

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  I am excited for the 2011 year as 2010 did not end so well with  a death in the family days before Christmas.  It sure can drag the Christmas spirit down but yet you hold strong for your young family as they do not realize what has really happened.  So today as I was going through so pictures I thought it would be nice to recap some of the past year.   

Long pasted are the days of these. Ahhh, spring.  The glorious meadow of trillums, otherwise known in these parts as the Mayflower.  I can already smell their aroma.

And the birth of nature....Killdeer eggs. These beauties were actually in the same field as our 400 cows and were never ever stepped on.  They are simply stunning.  Mom always tried to get me to turn the other way but faking a broken wing.  Amazing how nature takes care of itself.

This is my favorite picture of summer 2010.  Our three beautiful children playing at our beach.  They always play till the sun goes down.

Tiger lilies standing tall. They are special to me since they come from my grandmothers gardens years ago.  A little piece of her proud in the garden.

Fall, my favorite season however spring is just on its tail.  Just some of the 200+ acres of corn to be harvested. 

Natures beauty.  The maple bush.

Sure don't blame this dahlia for not opening.  I wouldn't either if I had a cap on my head like that.  Burrr....

I hope you enjoyed my little recap of the year gone by. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR GARDENING FRIENDS!

Cheryl

10 Things About Snow

1. Lots of snow is good - seriously! Good snow cover is important for the winter survival of hardy perennials because it keeps the ground temperature stable. Uncovered ground is subject to rapid fluctuations, known as the freeze-thaw cycle. Freezing and thawing of the ground shifts the soil, which can heave plant roots up out of the ground. Unseasonably mild temperatures can fool a plant into budding; when the temperature turns seasonably freezing again, the tender parts get "nipped in the bud", which can affect the development of the plant or even kill it.




2. Every snowflake is symmetrical. When you examine individual flakes, some will be unsymmetrical, but this is because they have been damaged. Scientists are not certain why the crystals form symmetrically, though there are theories about surface tension and microcosmic fluctuations in temperature. (Huh?)

3. What to do with burlap. Covers and tents for evergreens in winter are not meant to keep them warm but to protect them from sun scald and the drying effects of the wind. The trees still need plenty of air circulation, so it is recommended that you not wrap your evergreens but build a frame around them to make a little tent that does not touch the branches.



4. Big snow. Snow takes up eight times as much space as liquid water. Try it for yourself: if you put eight inches of snow in a straight-sided glass and take it inside, you should have roughly one inch of water when it melts.

5. Plant 'em if you got 'em. Snow doesn't necessarily stop you from planting bulbs, if the ground isn't frozen. If you can dig a hole in the earth, you can put a plant in it, even with the snow flying around you. The same is true with bulbs. Planting season isn't over until the ground is frozen solid. (As a procrastinator, I know this from experience!)

6. Watermelon snow. Some snow is pink and smells like watermelon, but not around here. Watermelon snow is most commonly found in the high-altitude Sierra Nevada of California, where snow is present through the long days of summer. The colour comes from a kind of algae called Chlamydomonas nivalis. It's a cold-loving alga that contains bright red carotenoid pigment. The phenomenon of watermelon snow, which turns to deep blood red when compacted, was reported as far back as the writings of Aristotle.

7. Frost flowers are beautiful, ephemeral flowers made of ice. A gorgeous phenomenon in wetlands, frost flowers are the result of ribbons or hairs of ice extruded through plant stems. It happens when the sap in the stem of certain flowers freezes; high water content causes the sap to expand and squish out through thin cracks in the stem. They're very delicate, and they'll break if touched. To catch sight of them, you must find them at dawn before the sun melts them away.

8. Frost is not bad for every harvest. Some wine growers love frost and snow. Some of the finest, most world-renown wines in Canada are harvested well after the first frost; ice wines require grapes which have spent two nights at -8 degrees Celsius. And those super strong dessert wines go for well upwards of $40 per 375-millilitre bottle. On the other hand, if you're a vintner not into ice wine, a good freeze before harvest will be disastrous.



9. Where did the snow go? Even if temperatures remain stable, snow does not. If it only snowed once but the temperature remained below freezing, the snow would disappear over time owing to a process called sublimation. Sublimation, essentially, is the phenomenon where a solid (the snow) changes to a gas (water vapour) without passing through a liquid state. For deeper explanation than that, you'll have to consult a chemist!

10. Pukak snow. You may have heard that First Nations languages include a great number of words for snow. One of those words is pukak, and it describes the layer of deep snow next to the ground. This layer, though it starts as an even mass, breaks down as heat rises from the earth inducing the snow to form into ice crystals, forming air pockets. Small rodents break through the walls of these air pockets and create a system of tunnels they use to get around.

**Note - When shovelling your walkways it is a good to pile snow onto the base of trees or your shrubs and perennials, keeping the roots covered. If a salt or ice melter has been used, push the piles away from trees and shrubs' dripline area as this could poison them when it is spring and the thaw is on.

10 Things About Dormancy

1. Why go to sleep? In dormancy, metabolism virtually comes to a standstill to conserve energy. Dormancy is triggered by environmental changes, such as decreasing temperatures, but living things are also affected by light. In plants, dormancy can also be triggered by drought and heat, such as when lawn grasses turn brown in midsummer.


2. Hibernation. Plants aren't the only living things to utilize dormancy. Animals hibernate, decreasing heart rates by as much as 95%. Hibernating animals prepare for this state by building up reserves of fat to provide them with the fuel needed to get through the winter. (Is that why many humans gain weight before Christmas?)

3 . Diapause. Certain animals, such as roe deer (native to Britain) and marsupials, and some insects enter a state called Diapause. For higher animals, this results in a delay in the attachment of the embryo to the uterine lining, ensuring offspring are born in spring. Insects that enter this state simply suspend their development and growth.

4. Aestivation is almost the same as hibernation, but has opposite causes. Aestivation results from exposure to very hot or very dry conditions. Garden slugs, snails and worms are subject to this type of dormancy.

5. Brumation is similar to hibernation but it happens with reptiles, which can go months without food. They can stay in brumation for as long as eight months. They will occasionally "awake" long enough to get a drink of water, but they do not eat in this state. Brumation can be triggered by cold and reduction of sunlight.

6. Viruses can also go dormant, remaining quiescent in the cells of the human body for long periods. An example of this would be the V aricella zoster virus which cause chickenpox, then sleeps for years until it awakens as shingles ( Herpes zoster). Bacteria can also go dormant.

7. How do they know? Some plants have a kind of biological clock to alert them about when to take a rest. Houseplants, for example, often stop growing when the days get shorter, even though the temperature never varies. You should stop watering as much now and avoid fertilizing.

8. Seeds can also go dormant. When a ripe seed is given all the right conditions but fails to germinate, it is considered dormant, not dead. A 1,300 year old lotus seed was germinated after recovery from a dry lakebed in Northern China. Do you still believe in the end of the world?

9. Deciduous trees and shrubs, as you know, also go dormant, losing their leaves and halting photosynthesis. But they do still need some water in the soil to survive, so be sure to water in late October or when the tree has lost all its leaves. These trees store food reserves of sugars n their roots. (Cold-hardy deciduous trees will not survive indoors in winter, so bonsai growers let them go dormant before storing them in a cool place for the season.)
10. Evergreen trees. Evergreens don't go completely dormant in winter by they slow right down, retaining some moisture in their needles which are protected from desiccation by a waxy coating. They continue to photosynthesise at a reduced rate (which is why their leaves look grey or black as the temperature drops). Help them out by keeping late winter sun glare from drying out their needles. Build a sunscreen (but don't let the burlap touch the needles because it acts like a wick, drawing water away from the tree). You can even simply rough up the snow in front of your evergreen on a south facing lot to deter the drying effects of the sun's reflection off the snow.

Vegetable Colours

Ten Things about Vegetable Colours

1. Orange. The many varieties of orange-curd cauliflower on the market now are all descended from a sport-a chance mutation-that was found growing in a farmer's white cauliflower crop in the Holland Marsh, near Bradford, Ontario, in the 1970s. Seeds from the sport were taken to Cornell University, where stable, tasty orange hybrids were developed.

2. Red. Carrots have been popping up in many colours lately, including red, purple, yellow and white. Orange carrots, however, were not the norm until the 17th century when they became all the rage in the Netherlands. A popular myth is that orange carrots were developed by Dutch botanists to honour William I of Orange, but the story doesn't hold up under deeper digging. (If you don't believe me, check out http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history2.html for a good survey of evidence.)

3. Purple. 'Purple Royalty' and other varieties of purple pole beans get their colour from anthocyanin pigments, which are unstable. With certain balances of heat, oxygen and pH, they break down. When you boil your pretty purple beans, they turn green. The same can happen with carrots in the purple-red spectrum.

4. Blue. The colour of some of the dark blue and purple potatoes is not only skin deep-many have flesh ranging from pink to purple. Although this colouring comes from anthocyanins too, the colour doesn't break down when the potatoes are baked.

5. Green. Beautiful lime-green Romanesco cauliflower (sometimes called Romanesco broccoli or broccoflower) isn't a new variety at all. It's been in cultivation in Italy for centuries. The pointy spirals of the curd are entrancing and the texture of the vegetable when raw is superb, perfect for a crudités tray.

6. White. White asparagus is a delicacy in Germany. It is grown by hilling soil over the sprouts as they grow, denying them of sunlight. The spears grow quite fat and are fantastically delicate of taste and texture.

7. Fuschia. Swiss chard 'Bright Lights', an All Americas Selection for 1998, has stems with fantastic colour. It deserves full credit for reinvigorating chard in the modern mindset.

8. Pink. Pink peppercorns (okay, not really a vegetable, but a funny colour with an interesting fact) aren't properly pepper (genus Piper) at all. They come from a completely different tree, Schinus terebinthifolius , more closely related to cashews than pepper. And if you pay a fortune for them, you might be miffed to know that they are actually not hard to grow at all in hot desert climates; in fact, they're invasive.


9. Black. The chilli pepper Capsicum 'Black Pearl' is a real beauty. The leaves are a very deep purple-black, and the fruits are cherry-sized shiny black spheres that turn striking red when ripe. Generally grown as an ornamental, the peppers are extremely hot without being all that tasty.

10. Yellow. Tomatoes come in a vast variety of colours and sizes (including yellow), with a range of shapes and textures from smooth and even to slightly hairy and deeply ridged. These aren't genetically modified franken-tomatoes but tried and true heirloom varieties that fell out of favour because they didn't keep well for the commercial mass market. Many of the tomatoes have superb flavour, too.


All pictures and contect belong to Ontario Garderner/Pegasus Publications

Skywatch Friday ~ Sunset

Sunset up against the storm clouds.  The clouds evenually won to a cold snow shower and a very windy evening, as you can see on the lake.

Skywatch Friday

A New Life is Beautiful

As most of you probably know I work on the family beef farm.  Right now is prime time for calving season, 350 + babies on the way.  We are up to 167 as of yesterday.  So yeah, its busy between the farm, the gardens and the endless dance practices for my daughter, I do not have much time for much.  Yesterday though I watched as one cow mom gave birth and for some reason I looked at her differently.  To me normally a cow calving is okay one more to write down in the book and one less to calve.  It truly is a beautiful thing, no matter human or non human and sometimes you just have to stop and sit back and enjoy. 

Okay now if any of you have a weak stomach I suggest maybe not looking at the pictures.  I did not take any of the process but right after she had her little one.

Mom was not so sure if I should get that close.  One can never tell with a mother sometimes, before birth you can pet them but right after they can give you a run.  Instinct kicking in.  She on the other hand was not cross.

Hey mom, watchya doing to me. 

Now that I have you in stand up position lets try getting up young one.

Baby had a different plan.  How about you clean the rest of me off and I'll try later when I'm dried off.  This little guy was a lazy one and never got up for another half hour.  Unfortnately as much as I would have liked to stay, I couldn't and had work to do. 

Seagull looking on, almost congratulating her.

I hope no one was to disgusted, but life is a beautiful thing.

Wordless Wednesday - Sunset

Macro Monday - Tulips

Tulips.  The sure sign of spring.  There would be not spring without a tulip gracing your flower beds.  So this is why I chose this one for today. 

Happy Gardening!

Skywatch Friday #1

This was one of our last snowstorm of the season.  The skies parted and gave way to this glorious sight.

Wordless Wednesday

Buds and Blooms

Buds and blooms, a sure sign of spring and the future of a wonderful summer.  It was a great day to take pictures of buds and blooms on a overcast day.  They bring me so much hope as a new life is once again beginning.

One of my most favorite spring flowers is the Forsythia.  They are a ray of sunshine.

The Maple Tree.  Soft maple.

Lilac buds.  I can already smell their sweet aromatic fragrance.

Apple Tree bud.  Lets hope Jack Frost holds off till fall so we can have some apples this year.  Last year the trees blossomed and the frost came days after.

The tiger lilies took a little beating already.  We are having a early spring, but along with that can come the frost.  The tips are frost bitten but the growth is still good.

Sedum.  Love the look of the petit cabbages according to my daughter.

New growth on the junipter. 

Boxwood showing signs of life.

Crazy periwinkle growing like a weed once again!

Cannot forgot the grass.  What would spring summer be like without a fresh cut lawn. 

Our newest bud.  Meet Polar, our new Siberian Husky at 8 weeks old.  He is a my new baby and I just love him despite the fact that he likes to ripthe bottom of my pants.