pepper patience

I am trying to be patient with the peppers - they are slowly, slowly ripening. I tried a jalapeno, but it was very mild - like a bell pepper. The Thai dragons are the right size, but still green, too. There was one jalapeno with a touch of red on the end, and it was perfect! So, once they have a touch of red on them, they should be good to go. You just can't rush ripening - but at least it is nice and sunny, and should stay that way for the week. Soon the Thai dragons will look like this, and I will dry them on a sunny windowsill. They will then be chopped up for hot pepper flakes in pasta sauce, chili, etc. Can't wait!!

धनिया dhania

I had originally planted the coriander for cilantro leaves - but the hot weather has caused the plants to bolt and seed - which is wonderful! The fresh coriander seeds are so sweet and fragrant. I will dry them and use them ground in curries in the winter, to remind me of the glorious August garden. Green coriander is good in Parathas, layered Indian flat breads served with a variety of chutneys, relishes and pickles. How to make Aloo paratha - uses green coriander seeds :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHqZlKrfbGg Coriander seed chutney-uses dried coriander seeds: http://spicythali.blogspot.com/2008/02/coriander-seed-chutney.html I am really looking forward to making this tomato chutney with sun ripened tomatoes from the garden: Tomato Allam Nuvvula Pachadi/Tomato Thokku(Tomato chutney with ginger and sesame seeds http://connect.sailusfood.com/2008/06/16/tomato-allam-nuvvula-pachadi-tomato-thokku-tomato-chutney-with-ginger-and-sesame-seeds/ Coriander for health:http://medicinal-plants.suite101.com/article.cfm/coriander_for_healing Such a versatile plant! worth planting in a sunny spot in your garden, or in a pot on your back porch.

Dream come true

I dream about fresh tomato and basil bruschetta all winter long - chop sun-warmed tomatoes and basil, add lots of fresh garlic, olive oil, a bit of lemon juice and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Brush some good bread with a bit of olive oil and toast it, then put your tomato mixture on top under the broiler for a few minutes. Yum! Bruschetta comes from 'bruscare' meaning to roast over coals. Traditionally in Italy, olives were taken to the local mill for pressing in November and December, where the growers would typically take some country bread with them to toast over a small fireplace in the corner of the pressing room. When the oil emerges from the press, the grower would toast bits of the bread on the fire to sample the oil with. The next step is rubbing the toasted bread with garlic. Then, it is finished off with small, diced onions, tomatoes, and herbs. Using the best olive oil you can find or afford is important, as it adds a lot of flavour and will compliment your tomatoes. And flavourful, crusty bread is essential, too - wood fired from Wildfire Bakery is very good ( located at 1517 Quadra St.) I had the privilege of working at a wonderful Italian bakery for a number of years, and learned how to really appreciate good food, eating, and love of life from the owners and their families. The warmth and love of family is present in the food, and it is this I remember when preparing my bruschetta. An Italian blessing for food:

Signore del mondo, il pane della terra ci sostiene, il vino rallegra il nostro cuore e l'olio illumina il nostro volto. Sii benedetto per queste creature, doni preziosi che vengono da te per la consolazione di noi uomini. -->

Translation: Lord of the World, Bread from the earth sustains us Wine gladdens our heart And oil makes our faces shine. May You be blessed for these creations -- Precious gifts that come from you For the comfort of us human beings

Victoria Gardening Events and Workshops late Aug and Sept

Upcoming in August and September: Heritage garden tours (ongoing) check out: http://www.heritagegardentours.ca/ Seed Saving September 26 at Victoria Compost Education Centre: http://www.compost.bc.ca/learn/communityeducation.htm Hatley Gardens has weekly workshops Sundays 10 - 12 and Wednesdays 2- 4 for $25 http://www.hatleycastle.com/ Aug 17 and 21 : Herbaceous Borders, Plants and Designs Aug 24 and 28: Discoveries in the Wetlands Sept. 7 - 11: Stolen Gardens Sept 14 and 18: Backyard Propagation Sept.21 and 25: Small Trees/ Small Yards Carolyn Herriot offers classes on Saturdays, 1 - 4 through The Garden Path for $45: http://earthfuture.com/gardenpath/index.htm the Zero Mile Diet series is great!

Saving Your Own Seeds Saturday Sept 5th With its unique microclimate, there's no better start for your garden than the seeds saved from it. With impending climate instability, bio-regionally adapted seeds offer greater reassurance for a productive harvest. Learn how to collect, clean and store seeds from your garden. We will have a hands-on seed cleaning session.

Planting Great Garlic Saturday October 3rd Garlic is a health-giving sustainable crop, which reproduces readily and is relatively easy to grow. October is the month to plant garlic so after learning about it, we will plant some outdoors in the garden.

ALM Seed Saving Workshop at ALM Organic Farm:http://www.almfarms.org/index.html SEED SAVING It is important to save your own seed for long term sustainability, to improve the quality of your seed, and to save money. Learn how to select, harvest, clean and store seed from your favourite vegetables, herbs and flowers. Which varieties are the easy save and how do you save those that a little more difficult. Practical and hands on taught by a farmer with 20 years experience. Participants go home with 5 varieties of seed. Taught by Mary Alice Johnson and Marika Nagasaka at ALM Organic Farm Saturday, Sept. 12 1 - 4 pm Fee: $40+GST starting Winter veg class at Glendale gardens:

Growing Vegetables In this 2-session course, Philip Young will cover all the basics of growing vegetables. Classroom time will cover theory, including organic methods for fertilizing and disease and pest control. On Saturday morning the garden will cover seeding, pricking out, potting on and planting. Students will go home with winter vegetable starts to plant in their home gardens.
When:	Thursday August 20th - 6:00pm to 9:00pm OR Saturday August 22nd 9:00am to 12 noon Thursday August 20, 2009 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Where:	Classroom - off main parking lot
Cost:	Members: $45.00 - Non-members: $60.00 Just for fun: Medieval Delights Oldfield Orchard at 6286 Oldfield Rd. Presents a four course medieval feast and a medieval performance by a 27 member company. Every Friday night in August from 6pm-8:30pm. Hayrides, archery, costumed song and dance, chamber of horrors, and swordplay. Tickets are $45 for adults and $30 for children. Call 652-1579 (the Orchard) or 595-9907 (Canadian College of Performing Arts), or 384-0332 (Spinnaker’s Pub). Aug. 31-Sept. 2 Vancouver Island Brewery Blues Bash Presents performances of regional and international bands, performing blues and R&B. Free performances will take place in the afternoons at Ships Point, in Victoria’s Inner Harbour, as well as paid admission performances in the evenings at various clubs in downtown Victoria. Contact: (250) 388-4423 or toll free 1-888-671-2112 (from North America only) and of course the Saanich Fair Sept 5 - 7 http://www.saanichfair.ca/

dive into endive

If you love bitter greens, as I do, you will love this curly endive: Green Curled, from Vancouver Island Seed Co.http://vancouverseed.com/visc.html it is ridiculously easy to grow, so plant a whole row, and eat them while still quite small. (Unless you really love them super bitter!~) I make a salad with a bit of blue cheese crumbled on top, but you can also try these ideas: Due to its bitterness, curly endive is more enjoyable drizzled with tangy vinaigrettes. Olive oil suits perfectly, but you can also opt for walnut oil. For your vinegar, choose cider, raspberry or white or red wine vinegar. You may also replace it by lemon juice. Do not hesitate to add spices such as cinnamon, thyme or oregano to your dressing. You may wish to make your salad a little exotic by tossing your curly endive in an oriental vinaigrette made of sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar. (this one from vegpro.com ) Make a nest of curly endive on each plate. Place a thick slice of goat cheese (chèvre) on top; drizzle with a mixture of olive oil, walnut oil and lemon juice; garnish with walnut halves and halved seedless grapes.

Steamed curly endive Steam the endive for about 8 minutes with some apple wedges. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice; season with fine sea salt and cinnamon.

It's good for you, too: In addition to being an excellent source of vitamin K, curly endive is also a source of folate and manganese. In the area where I live, it's easy to grow endive most of the year round.

zucchini happens

If you go away for a few days, and you happen to have a zucchini plant tucked away in a back corner of your garden, you may find a very large surprise awaiting you upon your return, as I did.This one's as big as my cat~ but weighs much more! When I left, the squashes still had their fresh flowers still attached, and were maybe the size of my thumb. I was only gone for 4 days. I plan to grate this up and put it in chocolate muffins to freeze. (The zucchini, not the cat :-))

Rubus ursinus~ First Nations Blackberry

Imagine my delight and surprise, while weeding in the back corner of the garden, to see blackberries growing all round the base of the apple tree! I had no idea they were in there - I thought there was just the usual morning glory and holly bush back there. These berries are not the Himalayan, non-Native species that abound all over the city and beyond. (Rubus discolor) that has "extensive regeneration capabilities." http://www.ufv.ca/biology/biol210/1999/Exotic/Exotic_plant.htm#blackberry These are the more (relatively) gentle, Native species. (Rubus ursinus) It's also known as trailing blackberry, Pacific blackberry and Dewberry.http://www.wnps.org/education/resources/documents/Plant_Cards/Rubus_ursinus.pdf I dug out my copy of "Earth's Blanket-Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living" by Nancy J. Turner (one of my heroes, who, incidentally, has recently won the Order of British Columbia: http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protocol/prgs/obc/1999/1999_NTurner.htm )http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/TUREAR.html this is from gardenwiseonline: Trailing blackberry found wide use among British Columbia’s coastal First Nations. Berries were eaten fresh or mashed for drying into cakes. Older red leaves, considered the most flavourful, were picked by some coastal peoples and boiled into a tasty tea. Medicine from leaves and roots treated ailments from dysentery to sores in the mouth. The vines supported and covered various types of food in steaming pits, and berry juice was used as a purple skin stain. Today, trailing blackberry leaves are used in several commercial herbal tea mixes. The plant’s most important contribution is as one of the parents of the delicious loganberry, which arose as a chance cross in Judge Logan’s garden in California.

Read more: http://www.gardenwiseonline.ca/gw/plants/2005/04/01/wild-about-native-blackberries#ixzz0OHtgvldv

I think staining my skin purple with the berries might be fun! and I'm definitely going to watch for older, red leaves to make tea.

Happy Sneak Some Zucchini into your Neighbour's Porch Day

Top 20 list for successful sneaking: http://www.wellcat.com/august/sneak_some_zucchini_onto_your_ne.htm and this:http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/sneak-some-zucchini-onto-your-neighbors-porch-day now we just need to come up with a national day for leaving Kohlrabies!

feast

Just picked this lovely basket of veggies for tonight's supper - what a great feast!

first tomatoes

Still warm from the sun, chopped up with fresh basil - 'nuff said