Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice, the first day of summer, the longest day of daylight hours in the year, June 20th. However you name it ... it's summer ... and finally we have hot sunshine with a beautiful ocean breeze!

Black Copper Marans in the playpen

It has been very busy around here with getting the garden planted, trying to keep it alive through our cold and unpredictable early Juneuary, watering, pulling weeds, integrating the 4 Olive Egger chicks into the flock and now a pair of adorable Black Copper Maran, 9 week old chicks. They are the final addition to my future colorful egg basket! 'Harriet' and 'Speck' are housed inside a 'playpen' with a big cat cage for a house, all set up inside the chicken enclosure. This allows a safe 'meet and greet' with the 3 older hens and the 4 Olive Eggers. It keeps the new, smaller young birds safe from the chasing and pecking from the existing flock. For the photo I have removed the greenhouse panel that covers the pen to keep everyone in their allotted areas. The new babies have been here a week and the past few days I have let them investigate inside the Ritz. Twice I have let them in the big enclosure under my supervision, to attempt to integrate them. Both times they were chased by a few of the Olive Eggers. The new babies run to and pace around the outside of their playpen trying to get back to safety, so they are not ready yet.

Kale Feast

This morning I finally thinned the volunteer kale and dill weed from the strawberry bed. The chickens were very happy recipients of the extra greens. I also pulled them a Napa Cabbage, for some reason the earwigs are totally destroying the outer leaves but some of the larger heads have a nice clean center that we can use... not so with the one I pulled today, so again the chickens got the greens and the bugs as a bonus!

Since cleaning up the strawberry bed today, there is better air circulation around the plants and nutrients will all now go to the berries. I always complain about the poor June crop of Seascape Strawberries, well, not this year!! I had the 3 older hens 'working' in the garden this Spring in their Chicken Emporium ... digging and eating bugs. They did a great job and left a bit of fertilizer behind!

Solstice Harvest 2021

My Solstice Harvest today ... tons of beautiful dill weed, an impressive bowl of strawberries for June, the first broccoli heads, first Partenon zucchini and 2 fresh eggs in the coop!

I will be busy watering this week with temperatures predicted in the high 20's to low 30C.

Until next time ... Happy Solstice, Happy Gardening ... and Bon Appétit 

Photos by Sally Rae

A Time to Give Thanks

I have so much to be Thankful for ... Denman Island is a safe and caring community, I can grow our own food 12 months of the year, what I don't grow I can buy from local organic farms, we have a beautiful spacious property with stunning ocean/mountain/island views. I'm thankful for the warm dry home that we built, wonderful neighbors we can rely on, a year 'round abundant water supply, four-legged friends who enrich our lives, provide companionship and entertainment ... we have each other for love and support, and between us skills in; cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, hair cutting, dog grooming, building, massage therapy ... to name only a few!

Garden and greenhouse harvest October 5th, 2020

We have remained safe through the Covid-19 pandemic and are happy to stay at home. I am thankful that although our Island is small we have a Medical Clinic, doctors including TCM, a fire department, first responders, paramedics and home support workers. I am thankful for our General Store, Post Office, Hardware Store and the Farmer's Market. Last but not least, I'm thankful for my family, dear friends, clients and neighbors.

As we all prepare for a different Thanksgiving weekend this year, I wish you thankful thoughts, good health ... and a beautiful celebration dinner. From our home to yours we wish you a happy, safe Thanksgiving ...

Until next time ... Bon Appétit

Photo by Sally Rae

Produce grown by Sally Rae

Storm Season and Garden Clean Up

Mercury cukes and Borghese tomato

 

After a rainy, cold June... the hot, dry September produced some bountiful harvests. My tomatoes are slow to ripen because I had to restart seeds after losing 2 trays of seedlings to damping off. The outside tomato plants are struggling and probably won't produce much... but in the greenhouse some are starting to ripen and they are beauties! Also the Mercury cucumbers in the greenhouse are going to be hard to live without in the coming weeks of cooler weather.

Sally's Outdoor Salsa 1lb. 13oz.

Last week I picked the first and largest of my 'Sally's Outdoor Salsa' tomatoes, weighing in at 1 lb. 13oz. Not a record breaker compared to last years ginormous specimen that tipped the scale at my record of 2 lb. 5 3/4oz. I couldn't wait to slice into this beauty, the photo below, a single  'slice' dwarfs a Portofino Brioche Hamburger bun cut in half! For sure I saved seeds from this one! I had too many cabbages to use and left two of the early Taiwan Cabbage out in the garden. When the rain started I didn't want them to split so I picked them. 

A slice compared to open hamburger bun

Of course the slugs and earwigs had a good time with them in the garden that long. Also under each, about 4-6 little cabbages had started to grow at the base. They looked like big Brussels Sprouts!

Taiwan Cabbage

This past week we had the first big wind and rain storms come through our area. There is still so much to get done with garden clean up. Next week we are predicted to have sun and more sun with temperatures up to 8 degrees C. above normal. What a crazy year in many ways!!

September Seascape Strawberries

 The strawberries are still producing... this plate of berries were picked on September 19th, and today I ate a few while working. With the warm, sunny days next week, I expect to pick another small bowl of beauties! 

2 lb. Earlichamp melon

Today in the greenhouse, the last 'Earlichamp' melon released from the vine... a beauty at 2 pounds! The sweet aroma is incredible. If you noticed, I'm struggling a bit with the new Blogger format. I will eventually figure it out but there are a few glitches in this post, sorry, this could be a steep learning curve for me!!

 Until next time ... Bon Appétit and Happy Gardening!

Photos by Sally Rae

September ... Already?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around flipping the calendar to September! It seems the years fly by quickly anyways but so far 2020 has been a bit weird, learning to live with and through Covid-19! A certain amount of isolation is normal for most Denmanites, many of us have been very happy to just stay home. We are very fortunate to have 12 acres to roam, distance from our neighbors and quiet roads to walk. Even more fortunate to grow most of our own food. 

Tomato and melon side of the greenhouse 'jungle'

I made good use of the greenhouse this year... with 5 varieties of tomatoes (Celebrity, Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Yellow Hawaiian and Borghese), 3 varieties of small salad cucumbers (Mercury, Diva and Patio Snacker), a Partenon zucchini (that I rescued from the garden slugs in May),  Earlichamp cantaloupe, Cream of Saskatchewan watermelon and between all that, lots of flowers to bring in the pollinators. Into a small, sunny corner on August 9th, I added Little Gem Romaine lettuce and Celtuce from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. for winter harvest.

First small cantaloupe - September 1st.

I found the first 'Earlichamp' melon had released itself from the vine yesterday. It fits into the palm of my hand and smells amazing! Unfortunately the Cream of Saskatchewan Watermelon had a rough start and by the time it germinated and got going, it was a bit late so I doubt there will be any fruit to sample this year. 
The cucumbers have been incredibly prolific, between 10-17 small cukes every week! I pulled out the 'Patio Snacker' quite early on because it was my first time growing that variety and I was not fond of the spiny skin nor the flavor. The Mercury and Diva are my long time favorites and are more than enough for me to keep up with!

All my tomato starts were late because I lost 2 trays of seedlings to damping off when I transplanted them. The Borghese is from a friend and are mainly used for sun-dried tomatoes. They are small, meaty, oval shaped and grow like a cluster of grapes. In my household these will make a perfect addition to 'Roasted Tomato Sauce'. In mid August I did a severe pruning of the tomatoes... removed leaves for air flow, cut off all the smaller fruit, any new blossoms and shoots. I still have hope that I will get a crop from the greenhouse but the ones outside, in the garden are looking pretty sad. 

Huge Seascape Strawberries

The winter lettuce crop is looking good and is a first time experiment for me. Also for winter harvest I've recently put more cabbage plant starts in the garden... 2 Lennox (110 day) cabbage that will be used in January for my sauerkraut and this year I'm trying 4 Tiara Cabbage for fall harvest. I plant Tiara as an early (45 day) cabbage. They are so delicate, sweet and crunchy it will be hard to live without them on the menu, so this year I'm trying a second, later crop. 

The Seascape Strawberries are in full swing of their second crop and if the weather stays dry, they will continue to produce and ripen into late October. They never disappoint ... huge, juicy and sweet!

Thai Double Blue Butterfly Pea

Another new and unusual seed from Baker Creek was the 'Thai Double Blue Butterfly Pea' ... it was a bit fussy to germinate and an expensive, rare seed. I have seen this flower used to make a blue colored tea that when an acid (lemon juice) is added, it turns to pink. The tea is said to 'refresh the brain and boost its activity and function'. It is also used to color rice and desserts, so I was really excited to find and try to grow this plant! I have it in a pot on the deck, near the door so I can keep a close eye on it. I have been saving the flowers to use later. It is hardy in Zones 10 and 11 so I'll try to overwinter it in my sun-room.

It's time to start planning your garlic bed for this winter. If not already done, sort your seed and get a bed ready for mid October planting. The long weekend weather looks to be sunny and warm here on the Island, so I'm going to take advantage of the great outdoors and start on some garden clean up for fall. I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of my big 'beefs' is hauling huge, unruly, slimy squash plants out of the garden once the weather turns to fall. I'm ready to do that with the summer squash now ... in the sunshine! With the Partenon zucchini in the greenhouse I'll have fresh zucchini for a while into fall I'm sure!

Until next time ... Bon Appétit and Happy Gardening!
Please be safe, stay healthy, wear a face mask and take good care...

Photos by Sally Rae

Summer Spiral Slaw

Second crop of Seascape Strawberries

Hot summer days just scream fresh salads! The temperature in our house is bearable with the cross breeze from the ocean, but most evenings I really don't want to turn on the stove or oven. Right now the garden is producing lots of summer squash (multi-colored patty pans and several varieties of zucchini), cucumbers (Mercury and Diva in the greenhouse and Corentine in the garden for fermented dill pickles), early cabbage (Taiwan and Tiara), huge 'Easter Egg' radishes (that are surprisingly mild and not fibrous), scallions, 3 colors of bush beans, broccoli, figs (Desert King), fresh herbs (lovage, dillweed, oregano, rosemary), red romaine lettuce, Uncle Robert's purple potatoes, the end of the snap peas and the second crop of Seascape strawberries are starting. The garlic is cured, cleaned and cut with seed set aside for October planting. A busy time!

Garlic ~ cured, cleaned and trimmed

Taiwan Early Cabbage

I've given away a few of the fresh, early cabbage heads and one friend commented... "cabbage was on my shopping list, coleslaw is my favorite salad." Hmmm, that got me thinking because coleslaw is not a favorite of mine... BUT ...the early cabbage I grow is so sweet, delicate and tender that I snack on it while cutting or preparing it... so why not try a slaw with a twist (sorry, couldn't resist the pun!) 

Summer Spiral Slaw

With my favorite little spiralizer machine I 'zoodled' some yellow patty pans that got a bit big, a big radish, a seedless cucumber and a few carrots for texture and more color. I broke the vegetable noodles into  4-6" long pieces, tossed in some thinly sliced scallions and thinly sliced Taiwan early cabbage. 
Put the vegetable mixture into a bowl and poured over a recipe of my 'Paleo Vegetable Salad Marinade' posted last December. Let it sit for a few days and OMG, delicious!! Great as a side dish but I also drained some and used it instead of relish on a turkey burger, outstanding!! 
Instead of getting bored with the same old marinated vegetables, I gave this salad a summer twist with cabbage instead of cauliflower and spiralized all the other vegetables  that would have normally gone into the marinade (carrots, zucchini, cucumber, plus the addition of radish). Voila! ...a fun summer make over!

Until next time... Bon Appétit and have fun reinventing your salads!
Please stay healthy, be safe, wear a face mask and take good care...

Photos by Sally Rae
Recipes by Sally Rae 

Garden Under Cover

Started planting with ProtekNet covers

With the Covid19 pandemic, quarantine, physical distancing, sanitation protocols, wearing a mask in public etc ... our 'new normal' will be something to get used to. Even my garden in the woods is masked and undercover this year!

This Spring I was prepared with a 7' x 100' package of ProtekNet from William Dam Seeds and eager to try it out. I'm really excited at how easy it is to use, almost stretchy and fabric-like. Insects can still lay eggs on leaves if touching the netting, so it must be supported by hoops to keep it elevated off of the vegetables.

Black mesh plant trays for shade on the broccoli plants

So far under cover are; 3 varieties of cabbage (Tiara, Taiwan & Lennox), 2 types broccoli (Sibsey Artwork & Calabrese), onions (Patterson, Rosa di Milano, Ailsa Craig, Apache), leeks (Bandit), cylindrical beets, carrots (Bolero), radish (Easter Egg), purple potatoes (seed originally from my Uncle Robert, many years ago!), pickling cucumbers (Corentine), dill weed and nasturtiums.
Since the photos above, I've planted the 2 beds on the far right, one bed with winter squash (Sunshine and Butternut) and the other with summer squash (Partenon and Cassia Zucchini and assorted Patty Pans). 

Burlap over cucumber bed at night

Our weather is still up and down with day to night temperature fluctuations. Daytime, direct sun on the new transplants is reduced in intensity by using the black mesh plant trays. I have used numerous methods for shade in past years. In the evenings I add burlap over the Corentine cucumber bed, removed in the daytime. The garlic is looking great! Compare this photo to 2 months ago...

Garlic planted October 2019

I got the bird netting over the strawberry bed a week early this year. I lost quite a few Seascape plants over winter, so will fill in the gaps with runners later. The robins strategically place their nests near the garden. I find their beautiful blue egg shells on the ground and have seen them chasing the owls away from their nests day and evening! The robins can destroy the ripening strawberries just before they are ripe enough for me to pick, so I'm happy to be ahead of the game this year!

Sheila's Perfume Rose

 
I just acquired another highly scented rose to my collection. This 'Sheila's Perfume' rose is a stunning beauty and has a delicious scent! I was in the right place at the right time and received this as a generous gift from the incredible man who illustrated my cookbook, For the Love of Food. From what I have heard, this is a difficult rose to get your hands on, so I am thrilled ... thank you Peter! 

Until next time... 
Please stay healthy, be safe...  
Happy gardening and Bon Appétit!

Photos by Sally Rae

A Home Garden for Food Security

Cheery Crocus and Narcissus

With the explosion of Covid-19 and a World Health Emergency, we must learn to live a new normal. I've heard from numerous friends who are ramping up their food production this year. In Linda Gilkesons latest letter, she mentioned receiving many emails from first time gardeners wanting to grow food in this year of the pandemic.

We are so grateful to live on Denman Island where much of our small population lives isolated on a normal day. For many of us, growing food is part of our life here and for me, a big part of my heritage that started with my grandparents in 1919.

Garlic Bed; excess mulch removed & watered~Mar. 21, 2020

We are already experiencing climate change. Extremes of hot, dry summers then cold and snow in winter. Hmm, I moved here to get away from that!! The past few years I've noticed how dry it is in March. Last year I didn't notice it until the garlic was limp and leaf tips were turning yellow. We have had a stretch of cold nights lately, so I haven't checked the garden since the carrot harvest. Several days ago I removed the top maple leaf mulch from the strawberry and garlic beds and hooked up the water system. The strawberries, garlic, kale and rosemary were all in need of water on March 21st.

Strawberry Bed; maple leaf top mulch removed

The strawberries have a good start already, even though they were under the maple leaf mulch. Notice in the foreground where the leaf mulch has been removed from covering the plants. Compared to the top right of the photo where the plants are still totally covered with winter mulch. At this point it's really easy to also pull up the little maple trees that have started. A small price to pay for the benefit of the winter mulch! Maple leaves are free, with a bit of raking and bagging they provide a fluffy mulch for the winter rain and snow. I keep extra bags on hand for when the weather gets too cold or if snow is predicted. In that case, an extra layer is piled on the beds and also used to cover the carrot and beet tops. If the mulch gets packed down, another layer of fluffy leaves gives added cold weather protection.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Before all the Covid-19 restrictions and our plunging Canadian Dollar, I ordered some unusual seeds from a very interesting company called Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. I placed my order on March 5th 2020, shipping was free and the parcel arrived 11 days later. I was impressed! Their catalogue is huge and colorful with the most incredible photography, I was salivating after looking through the melon and fruit pages!! I put in a small order of some unusual vegetables; 'Taiwan Yard-Long Beans', 'Little Gem Lettuce' and 'Thai Double Blue Butterfly Pea' ... and a few new winter varieties to try; 'Green Mountain Winter Celtuce' and 'Kyoto Red Carrots'. Every order is sent with a free packet of seed and I got 'Rouge D'Hiver Lettuce', a French Heirloom red romaine winter lettuce. A few of the unusual edible flowers I wanted were already sold out. If you're into heirloom, non-GMO, unusual or rare seeds, take a look through their website. Unfortunately now is probably not a good time to order, but it is entertaining and exciting to browse their collection of seeds.

Bald Eagle down feathers

On my walk near the Eagle nest I found what I think is Bald Eagle down feathers. The most amazing, soft, wispy yet strong strands. To show size, the down is on the finger tip of my black wool glove. The Eagles have been very loud with the female in the nest, hopefully on eggs and the male hanging out in the perch tree. It is exciting entertainment!

Our household has been under self isolation since March 17th 2020. I can't think of a better place to be. We are saddened and shocked with the daily News. We live in such peace and beauty, it's hard to fathom the suffering and loss in the world right now. It is a strange and uncertain time living in the Covid-19 pandemic ... please, take physical distancing and wearing a proper fitted mask as a serious matter, stay home unless it's absolutely essential, keep two meters away from the next person and avoid groups ... all to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus and ease the burden on our health care workers. Continue to follow regular, thorough hand washing, wearing a mask and do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. There are vulnerable people everywhere and we want to do our part to protect everyone.  

Until next time... Please stay healthy and be safe... Bon Appétit!  

Photos by Sally Rae

July Garden Update

Full view of my Denman Island 'garden in the forest'

Yikes!! It's the end of July already!
I've been so busy with the early, warm spring and summer; planting, shading newly emerged winter crops and watering, that I've had little time to sit at the computer these days. I've taken a few weeks off from the salon for my annual summer staycation. Don't get too excited about that, it's 2 weeks I take every summer to 'catch up' on weeding, defrosting freezers, removing thistle seed heads on the property, pruning back Grandma's lilac so clients can get through the gate, cleaning the salon and if I have time ... making some freezer meals and soups for when I'm back at work. And that's the short list!!

Winter carrots and beets under remay

I took some photos in the garden on July 18th and this morning (10 days later) while watering, realized the winter carrots and beets have almost doubled in size, so it's time to get a July update happening! 

Garlic Harvest - 2 varieties July 18th, 2019

I pulled the garlic between rain showers a week earlier than last year. I was worried it would get too wet and a test pull of 2 heads proved there were 5 skin wrappers left, proof it was ready to be pulled and dried. Because the roots were a little more damp that I wanted, I cleaned the heads and removed most of the stalks to hopefully speed drying time. A few years ago I set up some old window screens and a fan system in the garage for drying. It is easy to manage and no threat from the weather.

2019 garlic drying

Most crops for winter harvest on the West Coast need to be in by July 1st. 
I have not grown winter carrots for about 4 years because of the damage from the carrot rust fly. To avoid this pest, the carrot beds need to be covered with remay or an insect mesh until at least October. Remay is great in that it provides extra heat, so the seeds germinate well and grow quickly, but it is a challenge in that it must be elevated by supports to allow the carrot tops room to grow and lifted off the bed to water properly.

Carrot bed #1 covered with remay

I'm so excited for winter carrots that I've put in 2 beds. A small bed first then a second bed including some beets with the Lennox cabbage, a 120 day variety. 

Winter garden bed - carrots, beets (remay) and cabbage       

 

Carrot bed #1 uncovered for watering

  











 
 The beets and carrots will be heavily mulched in the fall and we will use them starting in December and through the winter till March. The Lennox cabbage will be harvested in January. 

I've noticed lower than normal pollination this year. Although I've planted more flowers, including marigolds and nasturtiums between the vegetables, I have been hand pollinating the tomatoes, Mercury cucumbers in the greenhouse and winter squash. 

Sunshine and Butternut winter squash

Next year I will plant more pollinator flowers both in the garden and up near the house and greenhouse.

The second crop of Seascape Strawberries are just starting. A few huge, red berries every few days with stems heavy with fruit to come. The Desert King Fig is almost finished ripening. A crafty squirrel has discovered the figs this year and damaged/eaten quite a few of the fruits. 

Seascape Strawberries and Desert King Fig

For the past 2 years I've been pruning the fig tree into a structure that will produce a high breba crop. Breba is the first crop and this method is best suited to the Desert King that I grow and is in the photo. Because of the heavy pruning each spring, my fig crops have been very small ... and that darn squirrel hasn't helped the harvest this summer! 

Until next time... Happy Gardening and Bon Appétit!

Photos by Sally Rae 

Finally, Welcome Signs of Spring!

Storm #3 Denman Island ~ February 12th 2019

Most of Canada and the US had a rough 2018/19 winter and Denman Island was no exception. The fall brought high winds, broken trees, power outages and rain. By mid January we had high temperatures and spring like weather. Everyone was out pruning orchards, the daffodils hung heavy with buds ready to pop open... on Vancouver Island, Victoria was in bloom! I picked the 4 remaining large cabbage from my garden and made a big batch of Dill Pickle and Garlic Kraut. In the garden, garlic shoots were poking through the maple leaf mulch. We were even contemplating mowing the lawn ... in January!!

Storm #3 Denman Island ~ February 12th 2019

Too quickly all our 'BC weather boasting' went down the tubes as a polar vortex set in. By February 3rd we had a dusting of dry Alberta-style snow and cold winds whipped us from the north. Next came the storm systems, dumping snow in white-out conditions about every second day, to an accumulation of over 31 inches. The temperatures stayed cold and you want to bet I was not happy. I left Edmonton to get away from this kind of weather. We had snow and ice on the ground for almost 6 weeks. I can't remember in the past 29 years on Denman ever having snow on the ground for that long.
Yesterday we finally got the lawn mowed, there has been no rain to speak of for months. Most of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands were already in a state of drought in March! Last month I had to start watering the garden; garlic, strawberries and kale. With the temperatures now at daytime highs of up to 21C and lows still around 6C, if this crazy weather isn't climate change I don't know what is. I'm now seeing the damage from the cold. My rosemary plant has died, the strawberries are slowly growing, the garlic looks okay although much smaller than the April 2016 crop.

Garlic - April 2nd 2019

Seascape Strawberries - April 2nd 2019

Today, April 2nd 2019, I dressed the strawberries with my organic fertilizer mix, they seem to be struggling but some plants have blossoms starting. The garlic beds got a good helping of blood meal and I'm watering now every second day, waiting for rain!

Hardening off the seedlings

My seedlings are in desperate need of transplanting but with the warm days, they are on the deck to harden off a bit, then back into the sunroom for the cool nights. I put up my two little portable greenhouses on the weekend but it is still too cold at night to put anything in them. At least they are ready when the weather changes to warmer nights. I have started squash seeds early following my experiment last summer. 

Portable greenhouses

At the end of April 2018, I put out a 'Partenon Zucchini', a self pollinating variety, and a 'Sunshine Winter Squash', both from William Dam Seeds. Each plant was mulched, covered with a cloche, then straw around and covering about half of the cloche on the outside. It worked!! I was eating zucchini from my garden when others were just getting them into the ground. This year, I am going to experiment with early squash planting on a larger scale. 

I'm anxious to get out in the garden and get dirt under my fingernails ... horray for Spring, finally!
Until next time ... Happy Spring and Bon Appétit!


Photos by Sally Rae