Community Compost Exchange Program Makes Food Accessible
Paige Lockett from PACT talks about garden-based experiential learning.
We chat with Paige Lockett, the director of operations for The PACT Urban Peace Program in Toronto about garden-based experiential learning for at-risk you and about a Community Compost Exchange Program.
Garden-Based Experiential Learning
Through its Grow to Learn partnership with the Toronto District School Board, PACT provides experiential garden-based learning at three gardens and one orchard located on school properties.
The gardens are used to teach subjects as diverse as English as a second language to carbon sequestration. Lockett says that the vermicomposting program is especially popular.
Community Compost Exchange Program
The community compost exchange program provides participants with bags in which they can contribute home kitchen waste for composting. In exchange, they are given “PACT dollars” that can be used to purchase fresh produce at the PACT produce market.
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 Community Pulls Together to Save a Garden
Nathan Larson, Director, Cultivate Health Initiative
We chat with Nathan Larson, Director of the Cultivate Health Initiative in Madison, Wisconsin.
A Community Space
When we visited Madison in summer 2019 to attend the National Children and Youth Gardening Symposium, Larson gave us a tour of a wonderful community garden—the Troy Community Garden.
There are currently about 100 families growing food there…although at one point it looked as if the land on which the garden stands would be sold off for a housing development.
“It was a much-loved open space.”
Larson talks about how people and groups pulled together to find a way to save the space.
“It’s one of those inspirational stories of a group of neighbours that got together.”
The plot of land was reimagined to include:
community garden plots
an urban farm with a CSA
a kids garden
some housing
a tall-grass prairie restoration project
a food forest
Garden-Based Learning for Children
When we visited the Troy Community Garden, we were struck by signs for a “worm city” and the “mud pie kitchen.” Larson is passionate about garden-based education.
The garden now includes a pizza oven that is used for weekly nights, along with music.
He is the author of Teaching in Nature's Classroom: Principles of Garden-Based Education and serves on the advisory council for the School Garden Support Organization Network, along with the Wellness Advisory Council for the local school district.
Cultivate Health Initiative
The Cultivate Health Initiative is a joint public-health project of Rooted and the Environmental Design Lab at UW-Madison to grow and sustain the school garden network and movement in Wisconsin.
A Garden Space Built for Sharing
Sarah Dobec is the Carrot Green Roof Coordinator
We check in with Sarah Dobec, the co-ordinator of the Carrot Green Roof, an inspiring rooftop garden that we visited for the first time earlier this year.
Dobec explains that this unique community space was originally imagined by architects and landscapers—and also by artists and community members.
Of the approximately 8,000 square feet on the rooftop, approximately 2,000 square feet is used to grow food. There is also a meadow garden, bee hives, and a low-growing area with sedums.
This year, because of the pandemic, more space is devoted to growing food.
A Community Space
The community space on the roof, which includes tables, chairs, and a food preparation area, is used to bring people together. Dobec says that the space is rented out for private functions—and is provided for free for those sharing knowledge that fits in with the values of the Carrot Green Roof.
“The space was built to bring people together.”
The programming in the community space is different every year. Dobec recalls one year when a group performed a play on the roof, using the garden space all around the community space in which to perform.
“They used the whole garden space to have a play.”
Connecting Food and Community
“This past Friday we harvested 34 pounds of food.”
The 34 pounds of food harvest this past Friday went to a nearby market.
The Carrot Green Roof has partnered with Building Roots, a social venture with a focus on providing access to fresh food.
Building Roots sells the harvest in pay-what-you-can baskets at Toronto’s Moss Park Market. “Everything that we harvest off our roof goes to them,” she says.
Challenges of Rooftop Growing
Weight is an important consideration for a rooftop garden. Because of that, many parts of the garden have only 4” of soil.
Dobec says that she didn’t hold out much hope this spring for the cabbages, planted in a mere 6” of soil. But they’ve done extremely well.
Tantalizing Tomato Harvest Recipes
Gardener and chef Signe Langford shares tips for cooking homegrown tomatoes.
We get an update from gardener, chef, and author Signe Langford on her hay-bale garden, and then talk about tips for using fresh tomatoes in the kitchen.
Langford, the author of the book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs: Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden, has joined us on previous episodes to talk about keeping chickens and growing vegetables in hay bales.
Cook Homegrown Tomatoes
Langford suggests using fat to soften the acidity of fresh tomatoes. She likes mayonnaise, olive oil, or butter.
Some people use sugar to soften the acidity…but she prefers fat—and says her favourite fat to use with tomatoes is with butter.
“It’s a lovely way to soften the acidic bite of a tomato sauce.”
For a quick, easy tomato sauce, Langford suggests mashing fresh tomatoes, adding basil, and butter (a “generous knob” of butter). Add salt and pepper, and then heat and serve.
“Fresh tomato sauce is a wonder.”
Langford suggests rubbing the fresh tomato against grilled bread to capture the tomato flavour in the bread.
Using Bread with Tomatoes
Bread, she says, is part of the “Holy Trinity” of enjoying tomatoes. The other two ingredients are cheese and the tomato itself.
Langford’s bruscetta tip: For the best bruschetta, use fresh basil—and fry the bread in olive oil.
Soggy Sandwich? Langford says a common failing in a tomato sandwich is that the bread gets soggy from the liquid in the tomato. The simple solution is…more butter. The butter (or mayo) she explains, is a barrier that keeps the bread from absorbing the juice and prevents a sandwich from becoming a soggy mess.
Slices of grilled bread are perfect for serving tomato. Rub tomato against the grilled bread before topping it because the bread acts like a microplane, capturing tomato flavour as the tomato rubs against it.
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.”
REWIND: Grow Fruit in Cold Climates, PART 2
In part 2 of a program first broadcast live on the radio show in 2018, we continue our chat about growing fruit in cold climates with Dr. Ieuan Evans, a forensic plant pathologist and a former Provincial Plant Pathologist for Alberta Agriculture.
Along with his work in plant pathology, Evans is passionate about growing fruit in cold climates.
In this segment, he talks about edible mountain ash, plums, pears, apples, damsons, and apricots. And we talk about how he grows figs in Edmonton.
“Growing fruit on the prairies is not a problem at all—you just have to take a new angle.”
Fruit Varieties for Cold Climates
Evans says there are many cold-adapted and delicious varieties of plums, apples, pears, and apricots suited to his zone.
But because he does not live in a fruit-producing region, it’s up to amateur growers to promote and share the varieties.
“I could take you to gardens here where the plums are superior to anything you could buy in the store.”
He notes that many people think sour cherries are inferior to the less cold-hardy sweet cherries. To that he says:
“ A sour cherry’s got all the flavour…It’s like comparing water to wine.”
Edible Mountain Ash
While mountain ash is normally grown as an ornamental tree, Evans has found and shared a columnar variety of mountain ash with sweet, edible fruit.
Grow Figs
Evans talks about his fig plants, which he grows indoors under a skylight over the winter.
Greenhouse
In addition to growing cold-adapted fruit varieties outdoors, Evans grows more tender crops, such as his ‘Red Haven’ peaches, in pots in his greenhouse.
Urban Farming to Grow Social Change
Jessey Njau and Misha Shodjaee of Zawadi Farm
Toronto urban farmers Jessey Njau and Misha Shodjaee join us to talk about their journey into growing food and using food and farming as a tool for social change.
Zawadi Farm
Their farm, Zawadi Farm, began on land provided by a local garden centre.
They now farm Njau’s yard, other yards in their neighbourhood, as well as space at Toronto’s Downsview Park, which has land dedicated to urban agriculture.
(This year, Emma is helping manage the Zawadi Farm tomato crop at Downsview Park. Follow Emma on Instagram to see harvest pictures.)
The Path to Growing
Njau explains that he was deeply inspired by Vancouver urban farmer Michael Abelman, who uses urban farming as a way to build community and effect social change.
Looking Ahead
Success for Shodjaee and Njau is growing an interest in food production—not growing the amount of space they cultivate.
“We want to be able to grow farmers.”
Broken Crayons Still Colour
Njau explains the significance of the phrase on their sweaters, “Broken Crayons Still Colour.”
“Soil doesn’t ask you questions … I don’t care if you had a broken past.”
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!
REWIND: Practical Ways to Grow Fruit in Cold Climates, PART 1
In this portion of a program first broadcast live on the radio show in 2018, we chat about growing fruit in cold climates with Dr. Ieuan Evans, a forensic plant pathologist and a former Provincial Plant Pathologist for Alberta Agriculture.
Along with his work in plant pathology, Evans is passionate about growing fruit in cold climates.
He talks about some of his favourite pear and apple varieties for cold climates—varieties that he says taste much better than store-bought apples or the apples from trees sold in local nurseries.
The Evans Cherry
When Evans first moved to Edmonton, Alberta, he was told that nothing would grow there.
Yet he found an incredibly fruitful cherry growing on a derelict property near town.
He propagated and shared that cherry widely. It’s known now as the Evan’s Cherry.
Challenging Conventional Wisdom
Evans says that to successfully grow fruit in a cold climate, it’s necessary to change the rules a bit.
He suggests:
grow in a bush instead of a tree form
graft at ground level instead of above ground
don’t plant on south-facing slope; instead, plant on north-west facing slopes
pay attention to rootstock (for example, he grafts pears onto cotoneaster)
Grafting Made Simple
Evans shares his tips to make grafting simple.
He says that grafting wax is unnecessary…and a sharp utility knife will work just fine.
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?
Teaching Life Skills in a Garden Classroom
School Garden Educator Shannon Stewart
A Seedling
School garden educator Shannon Stewart thinks of herself as an emerging seedling amongst old growth forests.
Stewart, who teaches in San Diego, California, says that this is her second career—and as a “seedling” in the the field of school gardens, she often turns to others for inspiration and ideas.
It Started with a School Garden
She explains that her involvement in school gardens started when the principal at her son’s school approached her about helping to start a school garden.
That project opened the door to a big life change: She took the leap from working as an exotic animal trainer to becoming a school garden educator.
Stewart says that while it’s a big change, both roles involve understanding and caring for living things.
Life Skills
The garden classroom presents an opportunity to teach more than just how to grow plants. Stewart uses it to teach:
health and nutrition
science
critical thinking
teamwork
and even public speaking
“That is the most powerful part of garden education, is giving kids that authoritative power to make decisions on their own.”
Keep it Moving
Stewart talks about engaging students with a pollination-sequence play, enacted to the music Flight of the Bumblebee.
“I’m all about getting the kids moving outside because they do not need to sit there and listen to me talk for 30 minutes.”
Using Stories of Animals While Teaching in the Garden
Stewart says that students love it when she includes animal stories in the lessons.
For example, when teaching about Japanese beetles (and the Japanese beetle grubs that eat plant roots) she shares the story of how a dolphin she was training was fascinated by the colourful beetles that she showed it—and how the curious dolphin then ate a beetle!
REWIND: An Engineer Grows Figs in NJ
William Muzychko grows figs in New Jersey.
In a program first broadcast live on the radio show in 2018, we chat with Bill Muzychko of Bill’s Figs in Flemington, New Jersey.
Growing Figs in Containers
Muzychko grows over 180 varieties of figs—all in containers—and all in zone where they would not normally survive without winter protection.
Figs with Sub-Irrigation
Muzychko sets up his containers with a sub-irrigation system that provides the fig plants with a steady supply of water.
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
Creating Change with Fruit Trees
Virginie Gysel talks about transforming the grounds of a local church into an edible garden and founding TreeMobile.
Neighbourhood Church Garden
Virginie Gysel joins us to talk about transforming the grounds of a neighbourhood church into an orchard and food garden.
It started when she approached the church about growing vegetables on the property in exchange for looking after the flower gardens. She didn’t have anywhere sunny to grow tomatoes in her own yard.
It led to an orchard on a south-facing hill and lots of community engagement.
She gives bags of produce to church members, donates the harvest to those in need, as well as sharing the harvest amongst volunteers.
“I didn’t have anywhere to grow tomatoes.”
TreeMobile
Gysel founded the volunteer-run project TreeMobile that supplies food-bearing trees and shrubs at a low cost to home gardeners.
“Everyone is talking about food security, but I think we need to start planting for it.”
Gysel says that this self-supporting program also gives grants to schools, church groups, and community groups.
Designing Landscapes
Gysel loves her work in landscape design. When clients are interested, she likes to integrate edible plants.
“I just realized this is the most amazing job in the world.”
She shares some of her top choices for home gardeners thinking about growing fruit. Currants top the list.
“If you have a boring old hedge, why not rip it out and plant a hedge of currants.”
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.
