permafrog, Author at Shakadoo

Houseplants

The hot weather over the past week has been a boon to my tomatoes. I will post a picture later this week so you can see their progress.

Today, it is raining and hard. The rain is much appreciated after the heat. When it rains like this my gardening thoughts turn indoors. In this location I do not, as yet, have much growing indoors, well make that anything.

There are a number of windows and I can add a few plants to both the living room and kitchen. I have determined the amount of light available, now I just have to decide what effect I am looking for in the rooms.

Indoor plants are an important design element and just as you need to put a plant where it wil get the light that it needs, you need to put a plant where it harmonizes with your overall room design. We will talk more about plants and design over the coming weeks.

I was blogging around looking for some ideas for houesplants when I found the houseplant blog. Good information and the articles on pests and houseplants are a must read.

african violet, very traditional

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Asters

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Tomorrow morning I will finally put the asters in the lot next door. The weather here is hot but bearable and right now it is too warm to plant them so I will do so early in the morning.

This has been a cool and wet season up until three days ago. The heat is welcome and the breeze off the river makes indoors pleasant.

I have delayed planting the asters until now, mostly due to other commitments and am looking forwqrd to getting them in.

I am planting Aster alpinus ‘Dark beauty" the butterflies will love it.

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Wordless Wednesday: Tigers

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Tomatoes

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I am fond of tomatoes, so much so that I eat them in one form or another every day.

I prefer them off the vine, in season, but use them canned and bottled in cooking as well.

I have been growing these delighful and varied fruits for about eight years now and under different conditions, both indoor and out.

in general, I find the tomato easy to care for, they do like heat and water. There are some problems that tomatoes encounter and if you want to grow a healthy crop then knowing what can happen and how to spot it will help.

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Tomato Art

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Today we stray away from the traditional gardening world to explore the space where art and the tomato meet. If you are an artist with a passion for tomatoes or an art lover who thinks that the love apple is the greatest invention since the internet or you simply love art or tomatoes then this event is one that you may want to see.

The Fourth Annual Tomato Art Fest will be held on Saturday, August 11,
2007. The Tomato Art Fest is located in Historic East Nashville’s
Five Points area. Festivities begin at 10AM.

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Broccoli Bolts

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This is not a story about broccoli taking off and running away from it all but what happens to broccoli in the hot summer sun if left unpicked. Broccoli likes some shade and when it does not get it, especially, in the heat of summer, it will go to seed or bolt.

The plant is then beyond the eating stage, but you could save seeds, and it is pretty, so while not a total loss, still you have missed the opportunity to harvest a delicious and healthy vegetable. I was reminded of broccoli’s tendency to bolt while reading Earth toTable. This, in turn, reminded me of a garden that I helped a friend start about four years ago. She wantd to grow some vegetables and had a good size backyard.

Broccoli was a vegetable she enjoyed so we planted it. There was no shade in the yard, direct sun all day, and I advised her that the broccoli would need to be watched closely.

Well she missed a few days in mid-July and, yep, the broccoli bolted. i advised her to leave it grow and it looked good and might self-seed but that year she had to buy broccoli rather than harvesting her own.

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Reel Lawn Mower

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Cut your grass, help the environment and get some exercise and its on sale at Canadian Tire.

Yardworks Reel Lawn Mower, 18" and 20"

Sale: $89.99
Reg: $129.99

Product #60-1526-0

Features

Manual operation
Unique four-wheeled design reduces the effort required to get the job done
Ideal for smaller lawns
Clean and quiet
Available in 18" and 20" mowers

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Wordless Wednesday: Balcony Garden

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Beyond Fried Green Tomatoes

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The sun has been shining for the past three days, not coming out, now and then, from behind rolling rain clouds but actually there all day, from the early morning to dusk.

My tomato plants are loving it. I am still concerned that the tomatoes will appear but fail to ripen. If that is the case i need more recipes than one for fried green tomatoes. There are salsa, and chillies waiting to be made but I need something different.

Surfing the blog world, I found a recipe that I will try. Warm green tomato and apricot salad, I came across this tempting dish when I visited the inadvertent gardener’s blog.

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School Gardens

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Across North America, schools are
integrating gardens into the educational curriculum. School or learning gardens can teach children about plants, nature,
and the outdoors. The gardens can also embrace other subjects as well. Gardens can teach children, for example, about history,
economics, poetry, and math.

If you do not have a school yard that is suitable for a garden, that is no problem. Your garden does not have to be located outdoors for the students to benefit. The garden program can begin indoors, right in the classroom as long as you have a windowsill, cabinet,
or table near a window that gets enough light (4-6 hours) or you can use an artificial light source.

If you are curious and want to see what is possible drop by the Urban Sprouts blog.

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