Last Year's Tomatoes

A look back at warmer and yummier days last fall...

Great production from this variety this summer. Better Boy (vfn). Uniform ripening in the store room picked a few weeks ago before the first real killing frost.

 

Roma

Tomatoes ripening nicely.Here are a few Better Boy var.(VFN) larger red tomatoe, Lemon Boy (var), (yellow) tomatoes, and a few remaining Patio tomatoes (var ?). Still firm and delicious.

shared by members Olivia Shumski and Ken MacDonald

Cardinal Basil from Last Fall

Decorative and delicious Cardinal Basil. Grown in a herb basket, Full sun, with rosemary and tarragon. Very pungent and flavourful. Good for sauces, soups, on pizza, or chopped and served with sliced tomatoes. This variety can be grown in borders and has a colorful deep purple bloom. Very forgiving in comparison to Sweet Basil, and will tolerate dryer conditions. Like when you forget to water it! Leaves are slow to dry but  when ready are crushed and stored in glass jar for use.We are keeping this plant growing inside for part of the winter!

shared by member Olivia Shumski

Rhododendron Update

 Photographed earlier this spring with a few blooms, this Finlandia variety has done well and summer has been good for the plants. Regular feeding, plenty of  and frequent watering, has resulted in good growth, and a large number of buds for next spring's bloom. The plan is not to mulch for winter, but to keep covered with snow. (hopefully the cats will deter mice dining on them).

shared by member Ken MacDonald, October 16, 2012

2014 Membership coming due!

Membership renewal for the 2014 year is coming due. They can be renewed :

• at the Christmas party
• by renewing online at reginahortsociety.com and paying through paypal (after Dec. 1st)
• sending printed renewal form and payment by mail to: RHS c/o Alan Mlazgar, Box 1521, Fort Qu'appelle, SK S0G 1S0

The fees for the upcoming year have remained the same and are as follows:

• Family (2 adults and children under 16) $25.00/year
• Individual $20.00/year
• Senior (over 65) $15.00/year
• Junior (under 16) $5.00/year
• Corporate $75.00/year

For further inquiries/questions please e-mail Alan at membership@reginahortsociety.com

Extending the Season!

I am experimenting with a purchased cold frame to extend our growing season

 

I anchored the cold frame in early October in one of our garden beds. I prepared the soil by adding compost, but kept the kale and some small carrots that were already there. As I anchored the base, I also ensured that it was level. That way, the top pieces would fit better.  After seeding with a variety of lettuce and radish, I build up a bit of soil on both the inside and outside of the cold frame walls. Over the course of the next few weeks, I added leaves and grass cuttings to insulate inside and out, but I added some rigid Styrofoam pieces outside as well.

 

As the weather grew colder,  I covered the unit with a transparent clear plastic sheet. Last week, I topped that with some landscape cloth, to see if I could use that to heat the inside garden during the day. So far, so good

 

We are enjoying a fresh salad every day. The only drawback is that the leaves are very fragile once they are plucked, and have to be prepared right away. Oh, but the taste is wonderful!

 

We will most likely harvest everything before the end of the month. We will use this again in early spring.

 

shared by member Susan Nadon