Vegetable Art--More Fun for Kids

Here is an idea that you can enjoy with your family, by raiding the refrigerator drawer and finding a carrot, a piece of cauliflower or broccoli and a piece of celery. You can also experiment with other things but these are what I used.

You need to get out your acrylic paints, a plastic tray, jar of water some paint brushes, and some paper towel.

Cut the carrot to make your circle shape, cut the celery to make the curved shape, and take a small piece of broccoli or cauliflower from the large piece.  Leave enough vegetable so you can hold on to it.

Use some old paper to experiment putting paint on the pieces and pressing them down on the paper to see the shape they make.

Now you can make cards for your friends and family, using construction paper or heavy paper. You may also like to try using a potato, and cutting out is shaped like a square or a triangle.

Have fun!  Article and pictures by Lanark County Master Gardener, Ankaret Dean

Gardening Activity for Kids

Here is an activity you can try while kids are home waiting for Covid19 to subside.  Try growing some easy vegetables/fruits from scraps. This activity and may spark your child’s interest in gardening.
Some of the easier vegetables you try from scraps are: Romaine lettuce, celery, green onions.
Romaine lettuce, onions, celery. Take the stump cut about 2-5 cm from the end of the vegetable. Fill a container halfway with water, set the stump side down in water. Place in a sunny window and watch for new growth, within a few days. Change the water every couple of days. For those of you on town water, keep some water on hand that has sat for at least a day to reduce the chemicals that would have been added to water. After about 3 weeks you will see new roots start to appear on my lettuce. At this point when roots are a few inch long you can place it in soil water and continue to watch it grow. Or cut off the small amount of lettuce which did regrow and enjoy.
Hopefully during this time your kids would have been excited with watching the regrowth occur.
Have fun and stay safe!  Photo and article by Lanark County Master Gardener Judy Wall

Edible Garden Newsletter March 2020

The Edible Garden Newsletter for March 2020 is now available. This month, our feature article is all about Winterizing Herbs from the garden.  Sage, as shown in the picture, does not need to come indoors as it happily produces all winter long. We also focus on Rosemary.  One gardener tells how she and some friends preserve a tradition by canning Grandma's Chili Sauce.  Finally, a gardener talks about the pleasure of growing blueberry bushes.
I am sad to report that this is the last issue of The Edible Garden Newsletter.  We are combining this newsletter with another existing newsletter, Trowel Talk.  We will be taking the best from the two newsletters and creating one, retaining the Trowel Talk name.  It will be available of the 15th of each month.  If you subscribe to The Edible Garden you do not need to do anything to keep your newsletters flowing.  Thanks to all for your support over the past 6 plus years.

Edible Garden Newsletter February 2020

The Edible Garden Newsletter February 2020 is now available.  In this month's issue, we discuss the pros and cons of growing the various varieties of currants.  They are nutritious and delicious but are also the first step on the process that leads to Pine Blister Rust.  February is the time when people's minds turn to starting seeds.  While it is still too early to start your tomato seeds, it is a wonderful time to get prepared for the big day.  Do you like Pesto? Read on for delicious and different approaches to making Pesto that you love, including using Garlic Scapes.  Finally learn all about the benefits of worm castings (poop)!
However, in our northern forests, Mor soils predominate.  These are soils in which organic matter is practically unmixed with mineral soils below that are more or less matted or compacted.  The forest floor is covered in organic matter, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon.  Within three or four years after introduction, Earthworms can transform Mor soils to mull soils where the organic and mineral layers are mixed.  They can remove the duff layer, disrupting plants whose roots feed in that organic layer.  Plants like spikenard, Solomon's Seal, Bellwort, Nodding Trillium, Large flowered Trillium and Goblin Fern begin to dissipate.  Tree species shift and Invasive shrubs like European Buckthorn and Honeysuckle benefit and thrive and ecosystem disruption ensues.
What on earth(worm) can I do?

Some simple ways to help stop the spread of earthworms and protect our soils in Ontario's Forest Ecosystems are:

• avoid transporting soils, leaves, mulch, and compost to different areas
• wash the treads of your vehicles and shoes when moving from one area to another
• throw unused bait in the trash, not on land or water.

Edible Garden Newsletter January 2020

The Edible Garden Newsletter January 2020 is now available.  Happy New Year to everyone.  On this New Years Day as you are contemplating your New Year's Resolutions, we hope that you will make one to help your garden, more than any other resolution can.  That resolution will be to improve your soil.
In this issue of the Edible Garden Newsletter, we continue our series on soil.  We talk about Soil texture and also introduce you to some simple and fun ways to test your soil.  Your children will love to help out with these tests.  We also compare the properties of sand, silt and clay and how they contribute to the well being in your garden.
Our unusual vegetable series continues with a mouth watering look at Delicata Squash.
We hope that all our readers have a wonderful and productive 2020 and enjoy your upcoming gardening season.

Edible Garden Newsletter December 2019

The Edible Garden Newsletter December 2019 is now available.  In this issue we have an in depth article that discusses how pre-Columbian agriculturists adapt to vastly different climates and geography? How well will we adapt to population growth and climate change? Can we learn from our ancestors, both ancient and recent? Can we develop sustainable gardening practices that respond to the world of today?
Our Bee-Line column discusses how not only is the native bee population declining but also many of our favorite birds and what we as home gardeners can do about it.
This issue completes our sixth year of production.  We wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful and fruitful New Year.

Pakenham Hort Christmas Centrepiece Workshop

Please join us for a Hands On Workshop.  All materials will be supplied.  Learn how to make your very own centrepiece using fresh greenery and flowers.  Cost is $25 for PHS members and $35 for non members.  Space is limited so if interested, please contact Pakenham Horticultural Society.

Edible Garden Newsletter November 2019

The Edible Garden Newsletter for November 2019 is now available.  In this issue we show you that there is more to Edibles than eating as one author combines ornamentals and edibles to create a garden in a vase for all occasions.  Our Bee Line series continues with a visit to a beehive to reap the rewards of owning a share in a beehive.  Our unusual edibles series continues by providing information on lovage, a perennial herb that is beautiful and delicious.   Finally, a small tribute to the fruit, berry and seed producing shrubs that help our feathered friends survive the winter. 
One day in November, I found two apples in a Robin's nest in one of my apple trees.  Not sure if the Robin was saving them for a bed time snack or the Squirrel found it a handy spot to store a couple of apples for later.