Sunday Bits #40 (Sweet Peas, compost, small garden ideas, tackling tomatoes)

You guys, I have had a week! My head was in a whole other space as our mastiff, Hemingway, went to Edmonton to see a vet to find out if surgery is an option. All I did all week was worry about him going through all this without his momma. They are always our babies, even if they weigh 250lbs. Though it gives me great angst, we have decided to give surgery a try, with any luck all goes well and we have another 4 years with our big guy.

Love, love, love this Lofos vine.

The gardens and planters have exploded with all the heat and rain the past two weeks. Such a glorious time! Remember to water your baskets and planters daily, even if you have rain days, as not much of that moisture actually hits the soil.

I will start with the most important news first. It's pretty exciting, you guys! Tomorrow morning Floret Flower Farm opens up for their seed sales. It is a one and done, you guys. Their seeds sell out real fast. I make my list ahead of time so all I have to do is punch in my order in the morning. Here is the link to the seeds, go check it out, make your list : )

By the way, the selection of sweet peas she has this year, is phenomenal! Pick up a few packs and don't forget the calendula (one of the very best flowers for organic pest control). These sweet peas in the picture are not from Floret. You really need to check out the fabulous colours that she has on offer! Amazing hues! I want them all but kept it to just 3... maybe.

I found this article with a collection of small gardens, like this one in the picture above. Is that not super sweet? Love that little greenhouse at the back with potted plants leading the way. Get tons of ideas, affordable and doable ideas from this great read.

Here are two reads about creating a cohesive garden that I really enjoyed. This first one has super tips about how to design a garden from scratch. So many smart ideas. Then, this other one is things to think about that pull the yard together, make it look lovely and relaxing.

You all know that I do organic, no-dig (less carbon), pollinator and critter friendly gardening but I got more ideas from this article to make my gardens and gardening more environmentally friendly. I love the last bit of the write up the most, where it says to care less ; ) Definitely prefer carefree gardening over here!

Do you have a lot of shade and wonder what crops you can grow in 3 or less hours of sunshine? Get some ideas here. I have a small shade bed that gets only 2 to (maybe) 3 hours and all I can say is that things are slow there, lol. They are coming but they are slow. I think maybe I should start with starter plants rather than directly from seed, as it took forever for them to germinate.

How to make your own compost in an easy read. My compost tumbler is the best thing ever. We like it so much that we are picking up a second one. They are perfect for lazy composter types like me! Pretty much rodent resistant, too, as long as you give it a spin every day or two, so they have no time to set up house in your bin.

Are you having issues with your tomatoes? Check out this really good read with Craig Lehoullier. Practical advice, seed saving advice, and best of all, he normalizes imperfect tomato issues caused by nature rather than nurture.

Recipes and Thoughts Bits...

Totally off topic, but are you all watching Season 3 of Sweet Magnolias? I sure do love the friendship that those ladies have! And everyone is so nice! If you haven't watched any of them, start from the beginning, you are going to love it! I've read the books, btw, but still really love this Netflix series.

I pulled one row of potatoes yesterday, some lovely red Norlands (my favourite) and then I saw this tasty looking amazing potato salad bursting with as many veggies as spuds, so it went on tonight's supper menu. Fresh dill, spuds, cukes from our very own garden!

Here are 40 popular summer meal ideas, some desserts, too, that you might like. Pretty much all of these recipes have meat or dairy in them, so not for us veggies without making some changes, but they look so good that is worth our while to give it a go. If you like to cook with cheese, you will love these ideas. See the picture above : )

Not a fancy, staged picture, just wanted to show you what the cupcakes look like without food colouring or frosting. The rest of these gorgeous berries from a local u-pick, are going to be made into jam for my grandson.

If you are looking for a fool proof recipe, the strawberry cupcakes and the blueberry breakfast cake that I shared earlier, are super fast, easy to make, and taste fantastic. You cannot go wrong with either one. I do not make the icing for the cupcakes, nor do I use the red food colouring, etc. I just use the real ingredients to make real food... even if they are sweet treats.

I think that is all for this week's Bits. There are so many little things that I could talk to you about, like how much I love the new annual salvias, how the moths have found my garden, but not a butterfly in sight, how sometimes too many bees are just too many bees, hah! All sorts of baking, canning, and house things, too, but will leave it all for now and see you during the week again for a garden up date.

Momma's baby is home again : )

Have a Great Sunday ~ Tanja