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.

Edible Garden Newsletter October 2019

The Edible Garden Newsletter October 2019 is now available.  Our Edible Gardeners share with us the ways they enjoy their harvest.  One garden has successfully experimented with making Flower Petal Jelly and shares her successes.  Another tells us of even more ways to share rhubarb, a tart and tasty summer treat.  Yet another gardener tells us of an unorthodox approach she took to harvest an abundance of red currants and an even more unorthodox approach to pruning.  Our Bee Line series continues with a visit to the Corner Pollinator Garden. Enjoy.
Still time to register to our Ontario Native and Invasive Plants--Friends and Foes on October 26. For Details see Featured Post to the right.

Edible Garden Newsletter September 2019

The Edible Garden Newsletter for September 2019 is now available.  Many of us look forward to the fresh sweet taste of Ontario Strawberries that we buy at Farmers Markets or go out to a Pick-Your-Own farm but not a lot of us grow our own.  Our feature article this month walks us through the steps to create your very own Strawberry Patch.  Jerusalem Artichokes provide a beautiful daisy like flower and deliver Sunchokes year after year.  Learn all about growing this interesting perennial vegetable.  Our Bee Line column focuses on a different pollinator in a celebration of Monarchs.  Part 4 of our ongoing Introduction to Soil series focuses on Soil Texture.

Edible Garden Newsletter August 2019

Edible Garden Newsletter, August 2019 is now available.  In this issue, we focus on attraction pollinators and other beneficial insects to our garden.  We start with a tour of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, located in the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa right next to the Arboretum.  Another gardener talks about building a simple and easy water feature in her vegetable garden that attracts birds, bees, butterflies and frogs and toads to name a few.  Many people run if they see a Hornets nest but they are another important pollinator and protector from many of the invasive insects that target our gardens.  Finally, we continue our Introducing Soil series with an article on Soil Profile.  Frequently, we are asked "When can I harvest my vegetables?"  We have included a link to our August 2014 Newsletter that describes when your crops are ready and how best to preserve your abundant harvest.

Edible Garden Newsletter July 2019

The Edible Garden Newsletter July 2019 is now available.  In this issue, we are all about growing things in containers.  We describe how to create  Pollinator friendly containers as an additional method for attracting pollinators to your garden.  Also, as many of us downsize our gardens, learn how one gardener still grows vegetables in containers. Gardeners often complain about weeds taking over our garden but in this issue we describe the benefits of eating two prolific weeds--Purslane and Pigweed.  If you grow Plums or Cherries, you may have been impacted by the dreaded Black Knot.  Discover what you can do to treat this problem. Finally a book review of Matthew Biggs book Grow something different to eat.  The butterfly in the above photo found its way to a container on the 9th floor.  A welcome guest.