It's almost gourd season!

I must confess that I'm not super excited to see all the Halloween decorations in the stores.. it's only early Sept!! But, I am excited to follow the daily progress of my autumn gourds.. We grow both kinds - the ornamental (the ones you see at the farm markets with colourful rinds) and the hardshell (the ones that can actually be dried and used for crafts or decor). There are several reasons for this:

1) They grow so frickin fast that I can almost literally watch them grow!
2) The damn deer don't eat them!
3) The variety, shapes and colours are so much fun!

I'm sure there are more reasons, but that's all I can think of at this minute.. :)  I just ran up to the garden to snap a few photos.. I haven't photographed the snake gourd yet - it's just too big right now and in an awkward position under the A-frame trellis.. I will soon, promise, but I think it will be our biggest ever - looks about 4 feet right now! UPDATE - PHOTO OF THE SNAKE GOURD ADDED BELOW.

Also, I'm still seeding for fall/winter, so don't slack off yet.. Yesterday, I put in a bed of arugula, tatsoi and some mixed Asian greens that I have from Baker's Creek Heirloom Seed company. Plus, I have more lettuces, mache, spinach, radishes, mustards, mizuna and much more left to seed. Of course, I just noticed that a young deer walked through this new bed last night on it's nightly pilgrimage to eat my beloved beans. Bugger!! I really am getting that electric fence next year. No more worrying and trying to keep out the deer. I am done with that!

Caveman's Club?? Hope so, there are about 6 of these growing now.
Hard to tell the difference between these and the long
handled dipper gourds.

The flower of a hardshell gourd. The ornamental gourds
have the typical pumpkin-like yellow blooms.
(See the bee!)

Huh? Who are you.. thought this would be a cannonball
gourd, but it's not so round..?  Whatever it is, it is
8-inches from stem to blossom end.

A family favourite, the spinning top gourd!

Funny angle, great gourd. This is a long handled dipper
gourd. 2 feet long

Totally unrelated, but my first Armenian cucumber of
the year! Botanically a melon, this is a great 'cuke'!

I thought (hoped) this was a Caveman's Club, but
now realize it is a long handled dipper gourd.

Ok.. I went back out and tried to photograph
this - the snake gourd.. awkward, but so huge!

Tomorrow - my talk at Mount Saint Vincent University

Just wanted to share that I will be heading to MSVU tomorrow afternoon from 4 to about 5:30 for a dynamic visual presentation on growing year round.. My talk will be about an hour and then (hopefully) plenty of Q and A!

Here's the link if you want more info!

Can't wait! I have a limited number of books to sell as well..

My biggest tomato ever!!

Obviously yes, the tomatoes will be ending soon. Very soon unfortunately, but our slow and steady supply of sun-ripened fruits has been extremely welcome. For the past few weeks, we've all been watching the beauty and waiting impatiently for it to ripen. It's a Persimmon tomato (Renee's Garden Summer Feast Heirloom Tomato Mix) and although I've grown them for about 6 years, this is the biggest one we've ever had! It was 7 1/2 inches across and as for weight, we all had a guess and I won (woo woo!) - 1.75 LBS.. a true beast! Not a bit mealy, just divine..

As for our smallest tomatoes, I've posted about these here and there and it was Mexico Midget - see the size comparison below.. We like this tomato - meaty flavour from a teeny tiny fruit. But.. I don't think I'll be growing it again for a bit. It's a nice tomato, but the plants grow 6 feet in every direction and it's difficult to stake. Next year I really need to be much better organized in terms of staking, mulching, etc. I'm going to concentrate on growing about 40 plants and growing them well. I always take suggestions, so please let me know what you recommend for tomatoes!

On a related note, don't forget Tomato Fest 2012 is happening this Sunday at Annapolis Seeds in Middleton, Nova Scotia. Just click on that link for more info. It runs from noon to 5 pm (drop in anytime) and there will be music, farm tours (of the seed company) and about 80 varieties of heirloom tomatoes to sample! Bring a notepad (or your smartphone) for jotting down tasting notes.

A piece from a Reisetomate (see earlier post)
When I broke it off, it was a perfect heart.. 

I love my tomatoes and my tomatoes love me! :)

More book love - eight months on - and a harvest basket!

With the release of The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, this has been a rather crazy - but awesome - year! Here we are, 8 months after the release of the book and it's still being reviewed or mentioned in the media. I can't tell you how much that means to me.. This long weekend, I've got a mention in the Toronto Star (thanks to the lovely Sonia Day) and a detailed review from Doug Oster in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (Love Doug, but did you HAVE to publish my age!?) :)

Taking some of the bounty to my in-laws!

My tomatoes and some eggplants.. 

Check it out! My book at the Village Emporium in Chester!!
They just got in a fresh shipment and I went in and signed them all
yesterday.. So grateful for the support! Find them on twitter
here.

They even put a copy in their front window!

CTV Morning Live Link! (And Northern Lights Tomatoes)

My biggest one so far - Northern Lights. Had to hold it to
give you a sense of scale. It's pretty hefty!

As promised, here is the link to my spot this morning on CTV Morning Live - click here to watch me speed talk with Heidi! :) Just choose the 'In the Garden' video and you'll be directed to the short clip. So much fun!

Also, I thought I would share the images of my Northern Lights heirloom tomatoes as the crop is starting to come in.. Such a unique fruit shape - rather pleated? - and lovely streaks of colour.. It's my first year for these, but I don't think it will be my last!

Two Northern Lights.. the one on the right is the big one
I'm holding in the top photo..

A handful of summer sweetness! Sungold,
yellow pear, black cherry, Ildi

A Japanese Mandarin tomato (from www.reneesgarden.com) and
Purple Peacock pole beans.. Love the colour combo! (I swear
I didn't enhance the hues - they really are this beautiful!)

Tomorrow - CTV Morning Live at 7:45 am!

What a blast! I just spent a fun few minutes with Heidi from CTV Morning Live, here in Halifax talking garden veggies, heirloom tomatoes and sharing a recipe (my sister's!) for Caprese salad bites. Tune in tomorrow at 7:45 am Atlantic time to the show to catch my segment!

Don't you just love my 'deer in headlights' stunned look!! Or the fact that the decorative tree in the background looks like it's coming out of my head?? :)
 

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Crazy Tomato and my latest Proven Winners Blog Post

I know you're probably tired of tomato photos, but I just can't stop snapping pix of them! Check out this tomato I just picked! It's called the 'Traveller Tomato', or Reisetomate and I got the seed from Baker Creek Seed Company. Here is what they say in their catalogue:

"The most novel tomato we have seen, this tomato is like a big bunch of cherry tomatoes all fused together: an amazing trait that had everyone here asking questions about the alien-looking, bumpy tomatoes. Also called “Traveler tomato” (“reise” is German for “travel” or “journey”) for the ability to tear it apart a piece at a time, with no need for a knife. This type of tomato traces its roots to Central America where the native people would carry traveler tomatoes on trips, to eat as they walked.
Bright red tomatoes taste--well, rather sour, strong and acid. The perfect tomato for those who love raw lemons, but who cares? They are still far-out and groovy."

We like the flavour and this is one big honking tomato! Can you even see my hand? I'll be taking this guy to my upcoming CTV Morning Live TV spot.. Stay tuned for more details!!

On a separate note, here is a link to my latest blog post for Proven Winners - Dealing with Drought! Please check it out if you get a chance and 'like' it at the top of the post..