From Market Farming to Italian Seeds
Will Nagengast and Lynn Byczynski, talk about their family business Seeds from Italy, food, and market farming
We head to Kansas to speak with Lynn Byczynski and Will Nagengast about market farming, cut flowers, farm journalism, Italian culinary traditions, and seeds. Their family business is Seeds from Italy.
Byczynski founded Growing for Market, a magazine for market farmers. She is the author of Market Farming Success, The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower’s Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers, The Hoophouse Handbook.
The Journey into the Seed Business
Byczynski says that when the farm wasn’t enough to support the family, she branched out into producing Growing for Market using her background in journalism and newspaper reporting.
She found that the writing and farming fed off of each other: While interviewing people for articles, she heard ideas that they could try on their farm; and things they were doing on their own farm could be shared with other farmers in Growing for Market.
Seeds from Italy
She says the hair on the back of her neck stood up when an advertiser for her Growing for Market newsletter told her that the sale of his Italian seed distribution business had fallen through. “I could just feel this was the next thing we were going to do,” she says.
The first thing that the family did after taking over Seeds from Italy was to take a trip to Italy to meet the owners of Franchi Seeds, the company whose seed they would be distributing in the United States.
Nagengast and Byczynski say that once home, they immersed themselves in the varieties they were selling by having weekly Italian-themed meals cooked with the Italian varieties they distribute.
Italian Seeds in North America
Italy has a varied climate, with many regional vegetable varieties. They list 23 varieties of zucchini! Most of these different varieties, they explain, are regional varieties.
For North American gardeners thinking about what Italian varieties are best suited to their gardens, they recommend looking to areas of Italy with a similar latitude.
Beautifully Promiscuous and Tasty Tomato Project
Joseph Lofthouse
We speak with farmer and plant breeder Joseph Lofthouse in northern Utah about breeding tomatoes, and his work with The Beautifully Promiscuous and Tasty Tomato Project.
Lofthouse focuses on breeding landrace crop varieties that are are locally adapted and genetically diverse.
Living in a mountain valley with cold nights and only gets 100 frost-free days, his work breeding tomatoes started out with the simple goal of breeding varieties suited to his growing conditions. “If I wanted to grow tomatoes, I basically had to breed my own tomatoes,” he explains.
He has found much more than cold tolerance.
The Beautifully Promiscuous and Tasty Tomato Project
Lofthouse explains that when tomatoes were domesticated, most of the genetic diversity was lost. So his breeding work has focused on reintroducing wild tomato genetics, with the hope of finding desirable traits not found in domesticated tomatoes.
Along with cold tolerance, the his tomato breeding has produced tomatoes with novel flavours. He says that tropical flavours such as citrus, guava, and mango are appearing. So, too, are other flavours, including smokiness and umami. One chef described the taste of one of the tomatoes as resembling sea-urchin.
While domesticated tomatoes mainly self-pollinate, wild tomatoes, he explains outcross. They readily cross with each other. Hence the use of the word promiscuous in the project name.
Other traits he has encountered in the trials include:
Shrubby growth — something he thinks could offer interesting harvest opportunities
Dense foliage, which could be useful in shading the ground below to minimize week competition
Sprawling growth like a squash plant
More on Tomatoes
Growing Perennial Vegetables
Ben Caesar from Fiddlehead Nursery
We chat with Ben Caesar about perennial vegetables and salad greens. Caesar, who runs Fiddlehead Nursery, specializes in perennial edibles.
He says that in Western cultures, annual vegetable crops are the norm. But with a shift in thinking, it’s easy to incorporate perennial vegetables into the diet.
That shift to perennial vegetables is good because not only can they be easier for gardeners to manage—they require less soil tilling, which means less release of carbon that’s locked up in the soil.
Top Perennial Edibles from Caesar’s Garden in 2020
Seedless sorrel is his all-time favourite this year, a very productive green that he recommends as a “bombproof groundcover”
Caucasian spinach is a little-known vine with excellent ornamental properties
Cutleaf coneflower is a native perennial that produces edible greens in the spring, and 6’ tall flowers in summer
Oxeye daisy, a common roadside weed in Ontario, is a European perennial that has naturalized, with leaves that he says are delicious
Patience dock has leaves that can grow up to 2’ long, but he says to use them when about 1’ long, fresh, cooked—or as a wrap as is often done with grape leaves
Garlic chives are often grown as ornamentals…and he suggests eating leaves and flowers
Bronze fennel has greens with a sweet, anise flavour, and seeds that can be eaten as a palate cleanser and used in pickles
Honewort is a shade-loving native perennial with leaves that Caesar says are delicious
Tips to get Started with Perennial Vegetables
Caesar says that if you already have a perennial garden, chances are that you might already be growing edible plants. Here are common edible plants that he says many people already have in their gardens:
Hosta
Solomon’s seal
Daylily
Stonecrop sedum
Creating New Tomato Varieties
Tomato expert Linda Crago with Emma at a seed exchange.
Tomato expert Linda Crago joins us to talk about how to create a new tomato variety.
At her Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm in the Niagara Region of Ontario, she raises hundreds of varieties of tomatoes.
This past summer, Emma grew a couple of tomato varieties that Crago released. She tells us what she did to get them—and shares tips on creating new tomato varieties.
Accidental Crosses
“One was an accidental cross and I was delighted to see it,” says Crago as she talks about ‘TT Baby Blue.’
‘TT Baby Blue’ appeared on its own, from a tomato plant that self-seeded in one of her fields. She thinks that it’s a cross between a blue tomato and one of the currant-type tomatoes.
Crago says that she saved seeds from it and grew the seeds the following year, keeping seeds only from tomatoes that resembled the parent. She did this for six years, which she says is often how long it will take before a new variety becomes “stable.”
De-hybridizing a Hybrid Tomato
Crago says that a lot of people don’t save seeds from hybrid tomatoes because there is no knowing what those seeds will grow into. “You might get somethign you like,” she says.
A few years ago she saw a very interesting tomato at her local grocery store. She bought is so that she could save seeds from it. Those seeds gave her quite a great variety of plants. “I got multiple varieties; not many looked like the original tomato,” she says.
But one of those plants had tomatoes with a peanut-like shape that caught her eye. She grew and selected for that peanut shape for a number of years. Once it was stable, she named the variety ‘Zemoltt.’
More on Tomatoes
Downtown Rooftop Edible Garden Gives a Breath of Fresh Air
Saskia Vegter, Urban Agricultural Co-ordinator at 401 Richmond
We’re joined by Saskia Vegter, the Urban Agricultural Co-Ordinator at 401 Richmond, a former industrial building that has been transformed into a cultural hub in a dense downtown Toronto neighbourhood.
Vegter, who previously worked in event management, felt drawn to work in horticulture.
"I just remembered the feeling of connection when my hands were in the soil.”
401 Richmond
401 Richmond is a former industrial building, built in 1899. Vegter explains that the currant owner restored the building to transform it into a cultural hub for artists and creative entrepreneurs.
Tenants currently include art galleries, a book publisher, a film festival, artists with studios, and a daycare.
The Rooftop Gardens
401 Richmond rooftop garden
The rooftop has three garden areas:
A deck-patio area, which includes trees and shrubs in containers
An extensive sedum green roof
The “mini farm,” which has fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers for cutting growing in containers
Tenants use the rooftop for meetings, lunches, to meditate—or just to get a breath of fresh air, says Vegter.
Children from the daycare often spend time on the rooftop, which provides the opportunity for activities such as herb tasting.
Rooftop Crops
Ultra-dwarf apple trees grow in the same containers as the chums (cherry-plums), with strawberry plants at the base
Luffa grows up the pergola
Planters with edibles are planned for edibility AND colour, using plants with ornamental properties
New to the garden this year is a fig tree
Wildlife on the Rooftop
Despite being on a rooftop in a downtown neighbourhood, Vegter says that there are lots of visitors. She laughs as she talks about the squirrel that left her gifts of half-eaten tomatoes during the summer.
She says that other wildlife includes swallowtail caterpillars, hummingbirds, honeybees, and ladybugs.
Getting Ready to Shop for Seeds
Heirloom vegetable grower and tomato expert Linda Crago joins us to talk about seed lingo, saving seeds—and sharing seeds.
An avid seed-saver, she concedes that she has a whole freezer dedicated to seeds alone.
Crago operates Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm in the Niagara Region of Ontario. She also organizes an annual Seedy Saturday seed swap and event in her community.
Linda Crago with Emma at a Seedy Saturday
Crazy for Tomatoes
Every spring gardeners from far and wide trek to her farm for her annual Tomato Days sale—where she has transplants for over 500 tomato varieties.
Crago says there’s lots happening in the world of tomatoes—and that in the past 10 years there has been more change since people started growing them to eat.
Seed Lingo
Hybrid: Crago explains that hybrids can occur naturally. While some hybrids are known for disease resistance, hybrid varieties are not the best choice for home gardeners who want to save seed. That’s because seeds from hybrids won’t be like the plant they came from.
Heirloom: She says that heirlooms are varieties with a history and a story. They have been around for a long time; 50 years is a common guideline when calling a variety an heirloom.
Open Pollinated: These are stable varieties that give seeds like the parent plant (as long as they have not cross-pollinated with a nearby plant.) While all heirlooms are open pollinated, not all open-pollinated varieties are heirlooms.
Artisan: These are newer open-pollinated varieties with special taste or unique appearance.
Hybrid Heirlooms: This term is used by some seed companies to refer to hybrids that look like an heirloom. Crago explains that heirlooms are always open pollinated, making this a misleading label.
Crago points to newer open-pollinated varieties such as some of the blue tomatoes…they’re not heirlooms now, but who knows, maybe they will be in 50 years.
Saving Seeds
Crago says that it’s not necessary to buy new seed every year. Seeds for some crops, such as parsnip, do have a shorter life, but she says that with proper storage, it’s usually possible to get more than one year from a batch of seed.
If in doubt, she recommends doing a seed viability test. Simply put seeds in damp paper towel within a sealed bag, in a warm location. After a few days, check to see how many of the seeds have germinated.
“One of the ways we keep open-pollinated varieties in existence is by growing and eating them.”
Seed Exchanges and Seed Libraries
Crago says that the first seed library in Canada was in the nearby Grimsby Public Library.
She says it’s not uncommon to hear stories at seed exchanges: seeds often come with the story of how they were brought from another country by a relative—and the people sharing them are hoping that someone will keep the variety going.
“The stories are the best and the varieties you get are the best.”
A Zone-4 Garden in St. Paul, Minnesota
Minnesota gardener Mary Schier
We head to Minnesota to chat with Mary Schier, the editor of Minnesota State Horticultural Society’s magazine, Northern Gardener—a magazine dedicated to gardening in USDA Zones 3 and 4.
Schier is a Minnesota gardener and the author of The Northern Gardener, From Apples to Zinnias, 150 Years of Garden Wisdom.
She gardens in St. Paul, where she crams as many plants as possible into her urban lot. Schier says that St. Paul is an urban heat island, so creative gardeners often try to push zone 4 limits.
Her new podcast, called Grow it, Minnesota, features interviews with northern gardening experts.
Tips for Cold Climates
Schier says that when it comes to growing fruit, it’s very important to take the time to research varieties well suited to cold zones.
For example, the Evans Cherry does very well in Minnesota. Sweet cherries do not. (CLICK HERE to tune into our chat with Dr. Ieuan Evans, in a previous episode, where he talks about finding this cherry.)
Another important tip in cold zones is not to start seeds indoors too early. Schier only plants out her tomato transplants on June 1—so she works back from that date and starts her transplants later than gardeners in warmer zones.
Weaving History into Horticulture
Schier’s book, The Northern Gardener, From Apples to Zinnias, 150 Years of Garden Wisdom weaves together gardening tips and historical snippets for cold-climate gardeners.
The historical tidbits are gleaned from the pages of the journals and magazines of the 150-year-old Minnesota State Horticultural Society.
Schier explains that there is a strong tradition of horticultural research in Minnesota. In the early days, many “trial stations” were set up (often, these stations were home gardens with gardeners who were willing to make observations and record what they saw for the State Horticultural Society.)
Get 5 Harvests by Growing Your Own Garlic
Pittsburgh garden expert Doug Oster joins us to talk about growing garlic, getting 5 harvests—and the recipes from his Garlic is Love presentation
Ever thought you could get five garlic harvests from your garden?
Today on the podcast, garden expert Doug Oster joins us from Pittsburgh, PA to talk about growing and cooking with garlic.
Oster, who loves growing and cooking with garlic, shares his love of garlic by taking seed garlic to friends…earning him the nickname “Dougy Garlic Seed.”
Oster recently gave two presentations about garlic at the Virtual Tomato and Garlic Days hosted by Phipps Conservatory:
How to Get Five Harvests from Growing Your Own Garlic
Garlic is Love
5 Garlic Harvests
Oster explains that there are 5 possible harvests when growing garlic.
Garlic greens in the spring (he says that his family is alerted to their arrival because they can smell it on his breath when he comes in from the garden)
Garlic scapes, which grow on hardneck garlic varieties (these are removed so that the plant directs energy to the bulb—and make a great pesto)
The small bulbils, which grow at the end of the scapes (Oster doesn’t leave the scapes on the plant; he explains that scapes that are picked and left continue to grow the bulbils…so he leaves a few in the garden and snacks on bulbils while working in the garden)
Uncured fresh garlic, which he harvests before the papery husk is fully developed
The main garlic harvest
Garlic is Love
In his Garlic is Love presentation, Oster prepared two recipes—in which he used 100 cloves of garlic!
Garlic Elixir, which has 50 cloves of garlic, lemon juice, and chopped olives
Ultimate Garlic Linguine, which has 25 roasted garlic cloves, 25 sauteed garlic cloves, olive oil, and herbs
Doug Oster’s Tips for Growing Garlic
Start with the right garlic: either seed garlic or garlic from a local farm (not store-bought garlic, which might be a variety better suited to another area—or might be treated with something to inhibit growth)
Plant at the right time for your area (if planted too soon, it might sprout too early)
Amend soil with a generous amount of compost
Cover with a thick layer of straw in the fall to prevent sprouting
Grow a Food Forest
Ryan Cullen, field supervisor at Durham College, talks about the new food forest at Durham College.
Make a Food Forest
We chat with Ryan Cullen, the field supervisor at Durham College, about the newly planted food-forest garden at the college’s Whitby campus.
Cullen oversees a diverse market garden that includes tree fruit, small fruit, cut flowers, field vegetables, greenhouse vegetables, and microgreens. He previously joined us on the show in Aug 2019. Click here to tune in to that episode.
Food-Forest Garden
Cullen explains that the idea behind the food forest is to grow a mix of food-producing species, layered in the same way that a forest is. There’s a herbaceous layer at ground level, a shrub layer, and a canopy layer of trees above.
With time, the food forest becomes self-maintaining and, with the appropriate mix of plant species, can have self-renewing fertility.
The top layer of the food-forest garden is the “canopy” layer. Cullen says that they planted this layer with fruiting tree species including cherries, plums, persimmon—and even a hawthorn.
The lower herbaceous and shrub layers, which are still being developed, will be a polyculture—a mix of different plants. Along with edible properties, plants in the lower layers might make available soil nutrients (deep-rooted plants bring up nutrients,) supply nutrients (pea shrubs capture nitrogen from the air,) and attract pollinator species.
Lower-layer plants include bee balm, chamomile, rosa rugosa (for rose hips), strawberreis, and blueberries. Cullen says that this list will grow, as there is still a lot of planting to do in this layer.
Food and Farming Program
The on-campus market garden is part of Durham College’s Food and Farming program, which focuses on urban and small-scale agriculture.
The program has a field-to-fork philosophy. Located on a former industrial site, the market garden produces a variety of vegetables and fruits to supply the on-campus restaurant, Bistro 67.
In addition to supplying the restaurant, the harvest also goes into a community-shared agriculture program (CSA) and farmers market.
Grow Melons, Grow Heirloom Tomatoes: An Interview with Amy Goldman
Amy Goldman, author of The Melon
In a broadcast that originally aired on The Food Garden Life Radio Show, we chat with author Amy Goldman about growing melons, growing tomatoes, her passion for seed-saving, and about her research when writing her books The Melon and The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table. Recipes, portraits, and history of the world's most beautiful fruit.
The Melon
Goldman took nine years to write this tribute to melons that is filled with mouth-watering pictures and information about selecting varieties, growing, seed-saving, and melon recipes.
She explains that when writing the book, she would set aside the best specimens for photographs—and she and photographer Victor Schrager would then enjoy eating them after the photo shoot.
“When we were doing the melon book we would photograph the specimens and then have a feast afterwards.”
Did you know that charentais melons are the true cantaloupes; and that they’re different from the American muskmelons that we mistakenly call cantaloupes?
Goldman says that she babies her melon plants by starting the seedlings indoors, using a black plastic mulch over the soil, covers young melon plants with row covers, and waters judiciously.
Her advice on eating melons? “They’re meant to be shared.”
Images from The Melon
Heirloom Tomatoes
Was the original Brandywine tomato pink-fleshed with a potato-like leaf or red-fleshed with regular leaves? “This is something that only a gardening nerd would care about,” says Goldman. (Incidentally, it’s the latter.)
“Doing the detective work was half the fun of that book!”
“There’s nothing in the world like a homegrown tomato ripened in the full sun. There’s nothing like it,” she says.
Images from The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table
Seed Saving
Goldman is passionate about seed-saving and sharing and perpetuating heirloom varieties. For gardeners new to seed saving, she recommends a book called The Seed Garden, from The Seed Savers Exchange.
“It’s the bible of seed saving.”
Biggs-on Figs Segment
Pennsylvania fig grower Ross Raddi joins us in the Biggs-on-Figs segment to talk about three fig varieties he recommends for gardeners who are growing figs for the first time.
Celeste
Violette de Bordeaux
Hardy Chicago
More on Tomatoes
REWIND: Growing Giant Pumpkins and Giant Tomatoes
Phil and Jane Hunt
In this interview that first broadcast live on the radio show in 2018, we chat with Phil Hunt from the Giant Vegetable Growers of Ontario (GVGO) about growing giant pumpkins and giant tomatoes.
Hunt and his wife, Jane, grow giant vegetables near Lindsay, Ontario.
We first spoke with them when they shared giant-pumpkin-growing tips for our book Gardening with Emma. After seeing them on the news in 2018—for growing a record-breaking giant pumpkin—we invited them onto the show to share tips.
After showing their giant pumpkins at competitions, they collect seeds from them, and then put them on display on their front lawn when neighbours can see them. Hunt says they carve the pumpkins for Halloween—and there are local children who have come years after year to see their carved giant pumpkins.
Grow Giant Pumpkins and Tomatoes
Hunt says that the first thing to think about is getting the right seeds. He recommends joining a club.
The Hunts’ pumpkin plants start off outdoors in tunnels, with ground heated by heating cables.
In the heat of summer, plants can require 75-100 gallons of water per day!
They hand-pollinate the flowers, covering flowers to prevent insects from pollinating.
“Every pumpkin we do is hand pollinated.”
Phil Hunt’s Top 2 Tips for New Giant Vegetable Growers
Get seeds with good genetics
Speak with giant vegetable growers who can give you guidance
“There’s no stupid questions.”
More on Tomatoes
A Passion for Growing Food in Philadelphia
We chat with Millennial gardener Ross Raddi in Philadelphia. He balances a very intensive approach to food gardening with the need to share the yard with his family—who want grass.
Raddi has previously joined us on the Food Garden Life Show to talk about his passion for growing fruit, and about his passion for growing figs. He goes by the nickname “Fig Boss.”
Intensive Suburban Food Garden
Raddi finds that vertical gardening is an important part of maximizing his use of space. “Grow everything vertically if you can,” he advises new gardeners.
He grows one tomato plant per square foot—and trains them upwards, pinching back to a single main stem.
“I think there’s a big misconception out there that you need a big yard to have a lot of food.”
He believes that a food garden can be attractive too. His favourite ornamental-edible combination is blueberries, persimmon, and strawberries. He says that together they creates a bed that is “stunning.”
“Those are some of the most ornamental plants that fruit!”
The Garden in 2020
Raddi says his garden got off to a slow start in 2020, but it caught up and is now ahead of where it would normally be.
This year he’s growing patty pan summer squash as a substitute for bell peppers. He would normally use bell peppers in the kitchen for stuffing—but the summer squash work well for stuffing—and give a much larger yield.
“They gave me so much more food than a pepper would.”
He is trying lots of new crops in the his fall garden, which he has now started to plant.
“When I first started, it [a garden to harvest in the fall] was a foreign concept.”
Tomato Patch
Raddi and Emma trade tomato recommendations.
Looking Ahead
Next year Raddi plants to grow at a local community garden as well as his own yard.
He will be one of the younger gardeners: The mothers of two close friends garden at the community garden. He says his friends laugh when he tells them, “Guys, I’m going to garden with your moms.”
Luay's Urban Farm and Kitchen
Luay loves cooking. A food garden was a natural next step to his passion for cooking.
We talk with Luay, from Urban Farm and Kitchen in Toronto, about how he started growing food, his gardens, some favourite recipes, failure, and tips for new gardeners.
His day job in the engineering industry is hectic and includes lots of travel. Gardening and cooking are his way of unwinding.
Getting into Food Gardening
Luay currently grows in his backyard and at a municipal allotment garden.
But he didn’t grow up gardening. His interest in gardening was piqued by unusual vegetables he got through a CSA subscription.
Once his interest had been piqued, he started small—with a tomato plant on his balcony.
“Gardening is a hobby that turned into a passion.”
His interest in gardening grew into a passion. He now shares that passion on social media and his website.
His backyard includes raised beds, fruit trees, and an area to eat and entertain…but he admits that potted edible plants make their way into all parts of the yard.
“I’m trying to maximize every square inch possible.”
In the Kitchen
Luay loves to cook with what’s in season. As we talk, it’s fresh tomatoes.
The kitchen is his place to unwind.
“It’s also kind of cathartic, because it’s relaxing when you’re in the kitchen and you’re just spending time on cooking and everything else fades away.”
Failure in the Garden
Luay tells new gardeners that failure is part of being a gardener.
He aims to have backup options in case something doesn’t grow in his garden. One way to do that is to keep a few extra seedlings on hand in case things don’t go as planned.
“Failure is part of being a gardener.”
Having a succession of crops to plant throughout the year is another way that he rolls with the season, the growing conditions, and the challenges of a particular year.
“Every year is different; you roll with the punches.”
Tips for New Gardeners
He tells new gardeners to start small. He finds that herbs are a great way to start small.
“It’s important to pace yourself.”
Many new gardeners, he says, feel the need to grow everything from seed. He suggests buying transplants to start.
Growing Food and Urban Gardening with Kevin Espiritu
Kevin Espiritu, author of Field Guide to Urban Gardening and founder of Epic Gardening
In this episode that originally aired live on The Food Garden Life Radio Show, we talk with urban gardener, author, podcaster, and YouTuber Kevin Espiritu from California.
Espiritu, who did not grow up gardening, explains how, after studying business, he discovered gardening.
He made the garden—and teaching people to garden—his vocation. Espiritu is the founder of Epic Gardening.
Front Yard Garden
Espiritu converted his San Diego front yard into a garden. The 15 x 30 foot space is the only sunny location he has to garden. He thinks that the garden, with its 14 raised beds, has inspired neighbours to grow.
He’s in the process of moving…and is building a garden at his new, 1/3-acre property.
Gardening and Failure
Espiritu, who considers gardening to be an ongoing learning process, says failure is normal.
But he says that with gardening, it’s often necessary to wait for a year before trying again after a failure—so he documents his failures so that he can remember them and learn from them.
Field Guide to Urban Gardening: How to Grow Plants, No Matter Where You Live, by Kevin Espiritu
Field Guide to Urban Gardening
He says that he wrote his book, Field Guide to Urban Gardening, in a way to help people who have never gardened before.
Rather than telling people how to garden, he guides them through what to consider as they create a garden.
Tomato Talk Segment
In the Tomato-Talk segment, Emma talks about the harvest at Zawadi Farm, along with challenges and top varieties in her own test garden.
Jeff Quattrone grew up in South Philly where he says most yards had a fig tree.
Biggs-on-Figs Segment
Jeff Quattrone from New Jersey tells us about growing up in a family with a fig tree in south Philadelphia, where he says about 90% of the yards had a fig tree.
“My family tree is literally a fig tree.”
Jeff previously joined us on the podcast in June, 2020 to talk about his work in seed saving. Click here to hear that episode.
In Quattrone’s own family, his cousin Gregorio grew a fig tree that was brought from the family’s home town in Calabria.
“We always had figs.”
Summer Vegetable-Garden Check-in with Niki Jabbour
Niki Jabbour, author of The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, Groundbreaking Food Gardens, Veggie Garden Remix—and her latest book, Growing Under Cover (available for pre-order now)
We chat with garden expert and author Niki Jabbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia to find out what’s new in her vegetable garden this summer, how things are growing, and for tips for new gardeners.
Her top advice for people who want to start growing food but haven’t started this year:
“There’s lots of things you can still plant, even in the coming weeks—so don’t think that you’ve missed the boat!”
Greenhouse versus Garden
Her greenhouse tomato plants are a good two weeks ahead—and far bigger than those growing in the garden
Straw-Bale Update
Niki grows in straw bales every year. They are doing well this year…the challenge in this hot summer is keeping them well watered
Fun Crops
Ever heard of ‘Itachi’ cucumber or ‘Black Kat’ pumpkin?
Succession Planting
Niki has lots of ideas for succession planting from this point onwards, including carrots, beets, and winter radishes
Growing Under Cover by Niki Jabbour
New Book
Niki’s new book, Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden, comes out in December 2020—and is available for pre-order now!
A Passion for Slow Food Grows into a Rooftop Garden
Laura Luciano talks to us about food, the Slow Food movement, and her own rooftop garden.
We chat with Laura Luciano, a graphic designer from Long Island. She loves to find the stories behind locally produced food and the people who grow it.
Her passion for local food grew into her own blog, a column in Edible Long Island, and, eventually her involvement in the Slow Food movement.
Then it grew into an interest in growing her own food. So she created a rooftop garden.
Stories Behind Food
Luciano loves the stories behind the food she cooks.
“Food has a story and it’s supposed to be cherished and told.”
Along with the stories of food, she loves the seasonality of food—and enjoys cooking according to the what’s in season.
Slow Food
She talks about the Slow Food Ark of Taste, explaining that it’s, “A living catalogue of delicious and distinctive foods that are facing extinction.” A local example of a food that’s part of the Ark of Taste is the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin.
“It’s the opposite of fast food.”
Luciano is a Slow Food Governor for New York, and a board member for Slow Food USA.
A Rooftop Garden
“When I got started I did not have a green thumb at all.”
Luciano, who is new to gardening, is in her fifth year of growing. While her property is big enough for an in-ground garden, she is in a rural area with deer—so she decided to create a rooftop garden.
She says that she accepts failure, learns, and tries again.
Tips for other rooftop gardeners? She finds that the rooftop garden is extremely hot, so she creates shade by making plantings that include different plants with different heights.
“Every year I fail at something.”
What's New in the Garden, Q+A, Figs
In our mid-July garden check-in, we talk about what’s new in our garden.
Currants
The currant and gooseberry harvest
How to use currants
Did you know that red and black currants are pruned differently?
Rhubarb
Looking for a delicious rhubarb recipe? Emma shares her favourite
Carrots
Sharing our failures…we stressed out one of our carrot patches so badly that the carrot plants went to seed. Oops. Carrots have a 2-year life cycle—when they go to seed in the first year, that’s a sign they could use a bit more TLC
Beefsteak Tomato Harvest
The tomato harvest is coming along nicely, after some worry about blossom end rot
Fig Q+A
Why are my fig leaves drooping?
What’s going on with my fig leaves?
How do I make my fig into a bush?
Building Community with a Brewery Rooftop Garden and CSA
Danette Steele, Farm Manager at Avling Kitchen & Brewery
We chat with Max Meighen, owner of Avling Kitchen & Brewery, and Danette Steele, the Farm Manager for the rooftop garden.
Rooftop Garden
Steele grows a wide variety of crops on the roof., including greens, tomatoes, herbs, flowers for pollinators—and “flavour crops.”
She explains that the flavour crops are used in the brewing process. A recent example is pineapple sage, which was infused in a local honey. That infused honey was then used in brewing.
Steele, who previously farmed in a rural setting in Nova Scotia, say that she is drawn to urban farming.
“Farming is in my blood.”
She explains that there is a strong community connection with the garden.
“I think that’s why it’s a lot of the urban farming that I’ve done has been exciting, because it just engages community.”
Avling Farm Box
Meighen talks about the Avling Farm box, which includes meat and produce. Half of the produce for the boxes comes from the rooftop garden, half from new and small farms in Ontario.
He believes in connecting the community with food producers. Earlier this year he hosted a meet-the-farmer night where customers mingled with farmers supplying Avling Kitchen & Brewery.
1/4 of the Avling rooftop garden
Blending Art and Garden Activism...and Jersey Tomatoes
Jeff Quattrone talks about seed libraries, the Jersey tomato, and creative ways to share messages about food and gardening.
We chat with Jeff Quattrone about his work bringing seed libraries to New Jersey, plant propaganda (not propagation!), and the Jersey tomato.
Quattrone is an artist, lifelong gardener, and marketing professional.
He founded LIbrary Seed Bank in 2014.
Library Seed Bank
Quattrone talks about his journey into seed saving and helping to set up seed libraries.
“The whole idea that food can go extinct was something that shocked me because I didn’t understand diversity.”
Jersey Tomatoes
He is so passionate about Jersey tomatoes that he has a page devoted to them on his website.
“I think I’ve grown just about every one of them and I love them all!”
Quattrone explains that the traditional Jersey tomato was bred to be a 10-ounce, round, red tomato because of the canning industry in New Jersey.
“Jersey tomatoes, they’re part of our zeitgeist.”
Garden Propaganda
As a marketing professional, he finds that people often have a negative impression of the word propaganda. He looks at the fine line between propaganda and branding—and talks about why he thinks garden propaganda is important.
More on Tomatoes
Tomato and Food-Garden Q+A with Ontario Backyard Plant Growers
Q+A Day
We dig into tomato and food gardening questions from members of the Ontario Backyard Plant Growers group on Facebook.
The Ontario Backyard Plant Growers Facebook Group is a group that shares information about growing plants in Ontario. It's a passionate group with broad knowledge on propagating, growing and harvesting, and tools and amendments.
We Tackle Tomato Questions
Why do some tomato seedlings just stop growing?
If you had to pick three tomato varieties to grow this year, and only three, which would they be? (SPOILER ALERT…Emma picks 5 varieties!)
There are so many methods for staking and propping up tomatoes. Which one works best for you? If you had a small space - room for 6 or 8 indeterminate plants - what system would you use for the most production?
I Love tomatoes - one in particular: The Starfire and cannot find any seeds for it anywhere, anymore - It was not very big but it was Tough - it would give nice, fist-sized (woman fist that is) ... bright red, not too wet fruit I could freeze whole and eat in February in soup and sauce - Loved it! Where is now?
Is it helpful to pinch off some first flowers off tomato plants to promote growth?
How much sun do tomatoes REALLY need.. The minimum I seem to see is six hours direct sunlight but would it be worth it to still plant them if you don't have quite that much sun?
Which tomato varieties yield the most fruit?
Here’s our guide to starting tomato plants from seed.
Choosing Crops
What indoor food plant would you say gives you the biggest bang for the time and effort put in?
What are the best melon varieties for southern Ontario?
What are the best fruit-bearing shrubs for southern Ontario?
What are the first things you plant? What are the last you harvest?
My 3rd year asparagus has turned into 6-foot trees! I was told not to pick any asparagus until the 4th year....help
What plants do you recommend for succession cropping?
Hi, We’re Steve and Emma!
We help people grow food on balconies, in backyards, and beyond—whether it’s edible landscaping, a vegetable garden, container gardens, or a home orchard.
