Eggplants extrodinaire

The eggplants flourished in the greenhouse this year.  We had the pleasure of picking about two dozen of these firm purple gems.  The eggplant is an interesting vegetable to grow as they start as exotic looking purple flowers growing on tropical looking plants.  Then they develop into these extraordinarily beautiful vegetables.  They have such rich purple colour  – something not often seen in nature.  I held this eggplant up for a photograph and the shiny exterior reflected the clouds in the sky.  The true satisfaction of a backyard gardener.

The melons are coming…

There are five melons hanging on the vines in my greenhouse!  In two weeks they went from being walnut size to baseball size.  They all look healthy and strong dangling without any support on the vine.  The melons are coming!

There is actually a sneaky sixth melon on the shelf behind the pots.  It is the largest of them all.  It is growing on a piece of vine that grew out down instead of up.  Six melons are coming!

I am thrilled with the cantaloupes this year.  They are substantial gardening prizes for all my efforts to date.  The golden globes of the greenhouse!

Melons of the North

Settling in to the greenhouse

Gardening is about challenges.  The elusive cantaloupe melon is one of my annual challenges.  For someone who does not naturally have a green thumb, the ability to grow things in a greenhouse with an irrigation system is my only hope.  Last year I planted some Charantaise melon seeds I had received for Christmas.   These are a small french heirloom melon.  The plant was amazing. It grew so much I felt like it was in a Stephen King novel and the vine was going to take over the greenhouse.  Ever weekend when I came up to the cabin I had to go at the plant with my secateurs to keep it somewhat contained and hopefully focused on fruit development.  I managed to get one small fruit which we ate with sheer delight.

Tasty

In with some of the harvest

This year, like my eggplants, I started these plants earlier and on a heating mat to try to fool the little seedlings into believing that we were somewhere in the tropics.  The plants were then moved into the greenhouse when the risk of frost had passed.  This year I planted Westcoast seed’s Halona Cantaloupe seeds.  By the time I transplanted them they looked a little gangly and sickly, but in the warmth of the greenhouse they have become lush and full of yellow flowers.

The vines

Enjoying the warmth

There are two confirmed small melon sightings and many small possible future fuzzy melons so we shall see how the next two months of summer go for these plants.

Grow baby grow

Spotted from the outside

The secret to growing melons in the north is to grow them in a greenhouse and trick them into thinking that they are living down south.

The Queen of the South

Year of the Eggplant

 

And so it begins…fingers crossed we get eggplants.

Last year was our first year of gardening in our greenhouse.  We focused on tomatoes – and boy did we grow tomato plants!  They were the giants of our greenhouse.  We did however, also experiment with peppers, herbs, cantaloupe and eggplant.  The eggplant last year was an interesting success.  Though they never produced a single eggplant, the small little seedlings we had started on April 6 (Westcoast Seeds: Ping Tung Long)  –  were potted in the Greenhouse on June 3.  They bounced back into huge lush plants.  Purple flowers taunted us – but no eggplant.

End of the Season

This year we have declared the “year of the eggplant.”  With the conservative goal of growing one actual eggplant – we shall see how it goes.  With the experience from last year we made a few changes.  We started the seeds earlier on March 17, on warming pads under a grow light – we also selected an eggplant seed (Westcoast Seeds: Traviata) that is better for a short growing season like Alberta.

Eggplants and Cantaloupes on heat pad

Two weeks ago the seedlings were potted in larger pots in the Greenhouse on May 28 and now we wait and see if they can do their magic.

Within a week we saw growth and after two weeks there were clear buds developing.

With the irrigation system providing a twice daily drip, and the miracle grow vegetable fertilizer on the soil, here’s hoping that we have a prosperous year of the eggplant.

 

 

Dance of the sun and the moon

Watched the show from a hayfield

Every weekend nature delivers some sort of interesting gift…maybe a deer or a new bird sighting, or a beautiful sunset or a crazy windstorm. This weekend mother nature really set the bar high! We sat out in lawn chairs at the edge of a hayfield and watched the partial eclipse (about 80%).  While we waited for the show to start we watched the butterflies in the tall grasses darting about in the light breeze.  In the distance we could hear the occasional cow and farm equipment.

Self portrait with rad glasses

The show was spectacular.  Cosmic.  Stunning.  Beautiful.  Nature delivered a stunning performance – the dance of the sun and the moon.  Earth stood by with us – like wallflowers watching the dance (with butterflies).

 

Sometimes the moment is breathtaking

Stunning Sunset

Wow.  Speechless.  Just take a moment to breathe in the beauty.

We had a visitor today.  A very dear friend who had been absent from our lives for too many years.  Lovely how these sorts of friends you just pick up where you left off.  The connection is real and established and just needs reacquainting. She came out to see us – but also our country weekend home.  On this particular evening the golden hour came with a vengeance and delivered these breathtaking skies.

We wandered out to a neighbour’s field and took photos of the golden and pink light on the landscape.  The air was remarkably still this evening – unusual for here.  No wind. There was an absolute quiet still that added to the magic of the evening.

Golden hour in the field

Pink light on the trees

So pretty it is worth sharing another photo!

So lovely to be with my dear friend – so stunning to have such a beautiful summer night. Sometimes the moment is just breathtaking and you have to let it soak into your memory to draw on when you need to be reminded that life is wonderful.

 

 

 

The Greenhouse Experiment Report

Nearing the end of a successful first season

This year we set up a greenhouse at our cabin as we were not having the best luck out in the garden.  It was either too dry or too wet – and our season is short – so we wanted to try the idea of a somewhat controlled atmosphere with some increased warmth.

Except my basil plant which I bought at a local hardware store as a small seedling, everything in the greenhouse was grown from seeds.  I started them back at home in front of a sunny south-facing window.  When it was time to plant them – I planted a lot.  I still had a few extra tomato plants and pepper plants so I popped them into the garden.  I gave them the same luscious compost rich soil but I will admit I didn’t give them much more attention than that.  On weekends I would water them but they were not the benefactors of our irrigation system in the greenhouse.  In essence they became my control subjects.  What is the difference if a plant is grown in the warmth of a greenhouse with a twice daily drip irrigation system?

The control subject (tomato) in the garden by the porch is relatively healthy and has some tomatoes forming

Control subjects (peppers) growing above sceptic tank with onions -show minimal signs of growth

In comparison to the control subjects, the plants that were placed in the greenhouse have for the most part flourished.  Some tomato plants are over 8 feet tall and they are heavy with ripening tomatoes.  The pepper plants have all done fairly well with all of the plants generating peppers and more still to come.

In the greenhouse the tomatoes are like a jungle

The pepper plants are healthy and producing a delicious variety of peppers

The harvesting begins

Overall the greenhouse experiment has been exceptional and exciting.  A verifiable success.  A controlled environment of good soil, some fertilizer, regular drip irrigation, protection from wind,  and most importantly the lovely warmth (approximately 38c most days).

Sweet little berries

Purple fingers!

This year we have a healthy harvest of Saskatoon berries.  We have spent a few hours each of the past weekends gently shaking loose the ripe berries into metal bowls.  The berries are so plump and juicy.  We have a few bushes by our vegetable garden but there are also little secret hidden bushes down in the woods by the pond.

We have been giving away the berries to friends who are ambitious and want to make fresh pies and other baked goods.  We tucked away a big bag in the freezer for future muffins and waffles.  A sweet little burst of fresh berry flavour brings simple recipes to life.

A perfect moment

The best gift of berries that I gave – was to a wonderful friend who not only helped me pick the berries but she sorted and cleaned them – and then best yet she turned them into a delicious Saskatoon crumble that I ate for breakfast (with a fresh coffee and the paper!) Oh yes.  Sweet little berries.

The Golden Era of Hay

Golden hour in the hayfield

The golden hour just before the sun sets is a magical time in the country.  The sky to the east is a subdued version of the sunset to the west.  The light is a warm glow.  When the hay is growing the sun catches the tips of the hay, and if there is a slight breeze to cause them to sway like waves – it is a sight to see.  I also save a little piece of my heart for round hay bales.  I love how they sit out in the fields silently waiting to be collected and taken to feed livestock.  There is also something almost architectural about hay bales.  I don’t really want to know exactly how they are made as I prefer to just see them as little mysterious hay rolls.  During the golden hour they are organic monuments to farming in the golden age.

The Illusive Owl

An rare daytime owl sighting

We have been hearing screeching at night and I did a little internet research as to who might be making this sound.  In our area it is likely the Great Horned Owl.

One very early morning  in early summer, my husband popped outside the cabin and suddenly realized that there were three large owls.  Two on the roof of our cabin and one on the garage roof.  As he realized they were there they all flew away.  Each in a different direction and each with a huge wingspan.

Since that day we have had a few owl spottings – mostly down by the pond.  Just as you realize what you are seeing it has swooped eloquently overhead and through the trees out of sight.  The illusive owl is a wonderful prize.  It is interesting to note that we have very few, if any,  hawks around this summer.  They too are well aware of the appearance of the owls this year.

I captured this photo today down by the pond.  I patiently waited until the owl became irritated enough by my presence to fly out from his tree overhead.