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Our tomatoes are lush and gorgeous in my backyard in Manitoba . The plants that I put into the ground have turned into meter high shrubs, heavy and sagging with fruit. They mock me, the tomatoes; they are all green with a small flush of pink. I am afraid I will have a mountain of ripe tomatoes all of a sudden. If that happens, I am in big trouble. I need to prepare. There are oodles of ways to enjoy the fruit (and vegetables) of your labour all year round.

One of the easiest ways to preserve is a root cellar. Once a common sight across Canada, they are slowly making a comeback. This is evident in news stories  as well as this great web site called root cellars rock,  that focus on food preservation and historic cellars. Items such as potatoes, apples, onions, squash and carrots can all be stored there. Even without a root cellar in your home you can still create one in your garden by burying a large bucket or steel trash bin in the ground, ensuring that you have good drainage away from the container and a good, tight fitting lid. Once the bin is full, seal and then cover it with a bail of hay to insulate the bin during the Winter. Of course, this project may not always be in the cards so Buy Canadian First member Springwater Woodcraft have a beautiful potato bin  that would grace any kitchen or cold room.

The freezer is an awesome and easy way to preserve your harvest. Items such as berries, grapes, tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis and carrots can be taken from fresh to frozen with little preparation. Berries can be washed and frozen on baking sheets to later be used in yogurt, smoothies, pancakes or just as is. I usually cut the top off my tomatoes and freeze them in large freezer bags whole. The best part is that when you are ready to use them, just immerse in hot water and the skins will come right off. Blanching and freezing is also easy. Vegetables like beans, corn, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and even dark, leafy greens such as kale and spinach can all be processed in this way. Each vegetable has it's own processing time and later can be used in any of your recipes. Buy Canadian First member Paderno and their stainless steel cookware  can help with the process for many harvest seasons to come.

What I adore about these preserving techniques is that the food remains as close to its natural state as it can. With that said, some days nothing compares to a delicious jam on your peanut butter sandwich or pickles, with my favourite being bread and butter pickles. In jams and other conserves, sugar is used to preserve the fruit. While pickled items such as cucumbers, onions, asparagus, peppers, carrots and radishes use acid and salt with seasoning. This will extend the shelf life of your precious harvest in the tastiest of ways. Of course if that is just too much work, Buy Canadian First member Crofter's Organic  has a scrumptious variety of jams for you.

Wish me luck with my endeavours with my tomato harvest! I will soon be hard at work making salsa and sauce to enjoy the year through!

How do you preserve your harvest?

image credits: Buy Canadian First members;  Springwater Woodcraft, Paderno and Crofter's Organics

I realize our fabulous Canadian Summer is still upon us and we don’t want to rush into Fall. However after this tip, it’s my bet you’ll be eyeing up your nearest hydrangea in a real hurry!


 

1. Leave the hydrangea blooms on the bush until the end of the season. When the petals JUST begin to turn slightly dry on the tips, pick them ASAP.

2. Set the blooms upright in water and leave them until the petals are fully dried. The water keeps the petals from shriveling.

Tips: It's best to dry them in the container they’ll be staying in if possible, because the petals are very fragile once dried. 



Try drying at different times for different coloured hues. The above was from a blue hydrangea bush in late fall. Pretty amazing how they changed, isn't it?

Happy hydrangea hunting this Fall to you!

 What kinds of fresh flowers do you like to dry?

Photos are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. You can find the full tutorial HERE.

For all of Donna's DIYs on Buy Canadian First , click HERE.

 

Just a bit of potting soil is all it takes. I also like to hide the soil with Spanish Moss. It fills in some gaps as well making potted plants look full and lush.

  

If you ever come across an old wheelbarrow, bound for a nearby dump, grab it! They make amazing planters for your Canadian garden.

This design resembles a miniature or fairy garden. A birdhouse, a machine part to hold water and little rocks for a pathway is a charming start. However, the elements soon disappear as the flowers take over in a big way!

Here are some perks in using a wheelbarrow for a planter:

• The height of the wheelbarrow allows for a lovely cascade which gives your garden an abundant feel. 
• If the wheel is intact, your planter can be moved for easy weeding, lawn care or just a different location from time to time.
• Wheelbarrows are large enough to hold enough soil to ensure your plants don't dry out too quickly.

How to create a wheelbarrow planter:

1. Drill some drainage holes, especially near the tire if the unit is sloped.
2. Add a small layer of crushed gravel over the holes to allow for drainage.
3. Add your soil. Mix your soil with a peat moss mixture and fertilizer for proper drainage, water retention and growing power.

Once you try a wheelbarrow planter in your garden, you'll wonder why you didn't have one sooner!

What creative planters do you have in your garden?

Photos and design are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors

I am told that this weekend is the time to get my seeds in the ground in Southern Manitoba . So, the girls and I are heading outside and we'll officially start our garden this Mother's Day weekend! Once we get the beds ready, we will be planting them with some red onions, pumpkin, zucchini and radishes and in our container's we will be growing red and blue potatoes, carrots, beans and peas.

We are very excited as this week, I received two yards of dirt from Brunet, a local construction company. We were also given nearly a dozen, five gallon pails from the school my middle child attends, as the pails would just have been thrown away otherwise. Last night I visited Hillbilly's Garden Centre . I couldn't resist it when I saw the "shamrocks" and ivy and knew that planting them would be a great activity for us this evening.

As we move through Spring, the girls will be a great source of help in the garden and will, I hope, feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when the vegetables start coming. I would like to give them something that they can plant on their own and nurture. So, when the risk of frost has waned, the girls and I will go back to Hillbilly's Garden Centre and they will each have a chance to make their own container gardens. I saw the Tubby Containers  by Buy Canadian First member Garant in several awesome colours there and the girls will have the opportunity to choose their own plants and colours for their Tubby.

I love the idea of a child's garden and envision it as a space they can call their own, to dig in, plant and tend to plants. While space is limited, I would like to cordon off a corner of the yard and fill it with their Tubby containers and large natural elements like logs, stumps, large rocks and maybe even a pile of dirt to dig in and explore. I would adore watching them within this mini, natural playscape. One final detail I keep forgetting about is getting some catnip and cat grass seeds to plant. My handsome Mitty Kleeburger loves to play outside with us and his latest joy is to dig, burrow and play in my two yards of soil. I'm sure that cat grass would be preferable to just soil!

Are you going to plant a child's or a pet garden in your yard this Spring?

Image source: Andrea Williowcat, Melissa Lacelle and Buy Canadian First member Garant. 

I love gardening but am terrible at it. I have even written about my Manitoba gardens here before, even though most of them have been mediocre in their successes. Last year I moved into my apartment. It has its own outside entrance into a lovely back yard and patio. It was mid-July when I started a small garden last year. Sadly, the groundskeeper thought that my small plants were weeds and "took care of them".

It's a new season, though and according to my co-worker, I am already a slacker, as I should have started my tomato and pepper seeds three weeks ago! Maybe if I keep a gardener's journal like this  one from Buy Canadian first member Lee Valley, I would have better results.

I need a fresh batch of seeds to start. I am interested in buying heirloom organic seeds. These seeds are open-pollinated and genetically diverse, free of chemical treatments and not genetically modified. In fact, unlike your standard seed and plants, heirloom plants often have unique characteristics and colours. A few Canadian seed sellers on Etsy have just what I'm looking for. Hollis and Hunter,  as well as Cubits, offer a varied selection of fruit, vegetables and herbs for Canadians. Salt Spring Seeds has seeds, too and also offers legumes and grains including oats, flax, quinoa and buckwheat.

I do have two small gardens that I can use in the back this year,  but the rest of my gardening will have to be in containers. Container gardening seems, in theory, pretty simple.You can plant in almost any container, from old coffee cans to claw foot tubs and everything in-between. Buy Canadian First Member Garant  has colourful 40L Tubby containers that would make great planting containers.

Make sure that the container has drain holes and do not allow the plants to become too dry or too wet. Adding mulch to your containers will help to retain moisture. 

I will be starting radishes, carrots, tomatoes, swiss chard and cucumbers for sure this Spring. Do you container garden?

images: Buy Canadian First members Lee Valley and Garant and A. Ryder via Andrea Willowcat  

Sheds are mighty handy outdoors. But, rather than just stop at necessity, why not create an amazingly fun focal point for your Canadian-made backyard at the same time?

This is my little wood shed out back. It’s very funky and junky and is a fair representation of everything I love. It currently provides a new function these days: holding firewood. It used to be a greenhouse. Starting with the beat-up greenhouse framework, the plastic was removed and reclaimed fence boards and old barn windows were simply screwed in place, adding tons of unique character

. 

A found firetruck parts crate was painted out and annuals were added for an easy-to-keep-up flower box.

Old signs and tools were hung for both decoration and to stake up plants and flowers. Pallets were added for mini walkways and a front step. They simply flip upwards to mow the lawn. This little shed truly brings new meaning to a place meant just for storage. Decide on the look that you desire, then start collecting and hanging your favorite things to create your own desired look! 

Do you have a creative storage shed in your yard?

Photos and design are courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors. The full four part series of this build can be seen HERE. 

 "I am a Haunter ...  a person who decorates their yard, house or sometimes even creates amateur 'haunted houses' at their estates."   - Victoria L. Wolf,  Ontario, Canada.

A couple of weeks ago, maybe even in September, my husband and I were driving when I noticed a graveyard that hadn't been there before. It was complete with tombstones, gargoyles, cobwebby stuff and various bats and other creatures of the night.  It spanned the front and side lawns of an otherwise unthreatening bungalow. A woman was raking leaves around a tombstone. "Huh" I thought.

Two blocks down, what do I see but yet another spooky cemetary! They seem to be popping up everywhere! Sure, haunted houses at Hallowe'en are nothing new. But every year, more and more Canadians  are turning their yards into scenes from a nightmare or horror movie.

Of course, Dollarama and the other dollar stores make it incredibly easy and really inexpensive to put together the tomb of your life, but who knew just how many people would jump on the band wagon? Or should I say 'hearse'? It's all about supply and demand though. The people must have demanded more Hallowe'en stuff.

When was the last time that you saw Santa and his sleigh and reindeer on the front lawn of someone's house at Christmas? Maybe one lawn or two per neighbourhood? Remember how people used to go all out at Christmas and your folks would drive the family out to see all the displays? Does that still happen? It seems that, around here, anyway, Hallowe'en decorating is far more popular! I'm not saying that I don't like it! I just think that the shift in interest is interesting!

The Ontario Haunter's Association  site is dedicated to providing links to the locations of haunted houses and yards in Ontario.  It also has some great pumpkin carving tips and templates. Check it out, too, for decorating how-to's and ideas  for creating your own haunted house or yard. They also link to Canadian suppliers of scary decorations.

You may also enjoy The Hallowe'en Project,  which lists even more links to haunts across Canada! I think that it would be fun to have a look and see if I can put together a little tour of our local haunted yards and houses to go on!

So, tell me, are you a haunter ... yet? 

:: images courtesy of W. T. Gibson and the Ontario Haunters Association

When it comes to planning the layout of our backyard, I keep in mind the focal points. Simply put, focal points draw the eye and give you something nice to look at when you enter the yard or when you are relaxing in it. Our main focal point is a made in Canada  vignette that I created with a bird feeder and a bird bath. These are at the bottom of the yard, in a tiny wooded section, perfect for birds and other backyard wildlife! We can see them when we are sitting in our little gazebo and, truthfully, it is better than cable! The drama that goes on between the grackles, the squirrels and the blue jays, is enough to keep us on the edge of our Muskoka chairs, sometimes!

Our birdfeeder 

The ingredients for these live daily shows are quite basic: a good bird feeder that will withstand squirrels, sunflower seeds for the blue jays and cardinals and mixed seeds for the sparrows and chickadees, a birdbath and a field guide to Canadian or North American birds. A pair of binoculars are invaluable and, of course, your camera, too, makes for perfect bird watching gear. A notebook or journal can be really useful if you want to keep track of the birds that you identify. Plus, you will need committment. Once you start feeding the birds, they will come to expect it, so keep those feeders full! It is worth it!

 A great way to learn about backyard birds from Outset Media! 

Field guides are the books on my What to Take to a Desert Island list. I have had a collection of field guides since I was a little kid. You can get them for anything and everything, including birds, wildflowers, herbs, stars and fish, at Chapters-Indigo . I know you are waiting for me to bring my iPhone into this, so let me tell you about the amazing and free  Peterson's Guide  to Feeder Birds of North America app that allows you to identify birds, keep track of them and even play their calls with your smart phone! I have several Peterson field guides but having one that plays the bird calls has made a huge difference of my understanding of who is who back there!

 Heavenly!

Our reward this Summer for putting up a feeder  is a blue jay family! They made their nest above our gazebo and put on the most amazing aerial battles against marauding squirrels that I have ever seen! The mated pair split up to attack the squirrels from each side in a very dramatic show of teamwork! Sometimes it all happens too fast to take pictures and I can only sit back and enjoy! I will never forget the splat of that squirrel as he bounced off the top of the gazebo! (He's okay!).

What birds put on a show in your back yard? 

:: images courtesy of Buy Canadian First member, Outset Media and Wendy Gibson