by Leslie Cox; Monday; January 18, 2021

If there is no snow on the ground and the ground is not frozen, it is a great time to get a jump on those weeds.

With many of the bulbs, re-seeding annuals and herbaceous perennials still in winter hibernation, any weeds you may have in your garden will be sticking out like a sore thumb right now.

Regular walks around the garden will reward you not only with fresh signs of new growth appearing but will also expose those opportunistic pesky bad weeds who always like to gain the upper hand on the good plants by showing up early. Just make sure you are pulling an actual weed and not a self-seeded desirable perennial.

by Leslie Cox; Monday; January 11, 2021

Wash out your milk jugs, juice bottles and other suitable plastic containers and set them aside to use as cloches over your transplanted seedlings whenever frost is threatening.

by Leslie Cox; Monday; January 4, 2021

If you have hummingbirds overwintering in your garden or neighbourhood, be sure to keep the hummingbird feeders cleaned and filled. There is not much nectar flowing at this time of year for them.

Be sure to wash the feeder in warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly before re-filling. Even in winter, there is a possibility of mold forming in the tiny feeding tubes. Mold is harmful to the tiny birds. A pipe cleaner works well for this purpose and a stiff bottle brush works for scrubbing the bottle part of the feeder.

We have four feeders but only put two out at a time…one in the front and one in the back. The other two are the ‘standbys’, ready to go out when an outside one is empty…or if it has frozen solid overnight.

If you do not have a spare feeder on standby, a hair dryer works well in thawing a frozen feeder quickly. But be sure you place the feeder on a plate or in a container before you start thawing it. As the syrup warms up, it tends to leak out a bit.

It also helps to have some syrup made up and stored in a jar in the fridge for quick access. But only keep the refrigerated syrup for 3 – 4 days.

by Leslie Cox; Monday; September 28, 2020

Who does not love the flavour of homegrown tomatoes? We sure do. So…when we feel the first frost is just over the horizon, we will pick all of our tomatoes…red and green. It is typically quite a good haul.

Because storage space is usually at a premium in my cool pantry downstairs…what with all the jars of preserves…I utilize beer flats and newspaper to store the unripe tomatoes.

I prepare a beer flat from the liquor store by lining it with 2 – 4 sheets of newspaper. Leaving the blossom stem on, I wipe down each tomato with a damp cloth and lay them in a single layer on the newspaper.

It is a good idea to separate the unripe red tomatoes from the green ones. If you just have half a flat of each, you can use a rolled-up sheet of newspaper as a barrier between the two…if you must to conserve space.

Once the bottom of the flat is filled, I lay a couple of sheets of newspaper over top. You want to keep direct light off the tomatoes to allow them to slowly ripen. This will extend your eating pleasure.

Personally, I find it helps to write the name of the tomato on the side of the beer flat with a felt marker. But you don’t have to.

I can usually fill at least six beer flats with unripe red and green tomatoes each season. And this is where the beer flats come in real handy. They are stackable! Crisscross them one on top of another to about four or five high…depending on the weight of your tomatoes in each flat. You definitely do not want any flat sagging in the middle so it is resting on the tomatoes underneath!

Be absolutely religious in checking each flat every week for any ripe tomatoes! After going to the effort of picking, washing and storing the last of your homegrown tomatoes, you do not want to have to throw any out.

If you cannot eat them fast enough, de-stem the ripe ones and place them in a zip-lock freezer bag. Remove the air from the bag and seal it tight. Properly sealed, they will keep in the freezer for at least a year. They will still be excellent for sauces, soups, chili and stews.

by Leslie Cox; Monday; September 21, 2020

Improve poor lawns with a fall round of aerating, re-seeding and then a top-dressing with ¼ inch (6 mm) of compost before the middle of October.