My Urban Garden Adventure! Georgetown, Ontario

"Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration." Lou Erickson

Hiya followers! If you haven't heard, I've started doing cooking demonstrations! Check out my website to learn more: www.Sarah's Culinary Adventure.com
Well, as you have guessed, I've been busy gardening! And as you can see, I've had to get creative just to fit everything in! I'm sure all you experienced gardeners are cringing just looking at my vegetables. You see, I've kinda ignored the proper spacing and measurement guidelines and have just decided to cram as much in as possible, resorting to pots and buckets in many cases. Right now everything looks neat and today in rows, but I'm sure that in a month, everything will be on top of one another! Ha! Oh well, I just want to get as many veggies as I can! Let's take a closer look!
Oh yeah, if you notice what look like little chives in between everything, they are leeks. I had so many of them, that I just stuck them everywhere I could! Okay, now we're ready to take a closer look!







  Let's start with the pots! In the back I have a large container of mixed lettuces, spinach, two types of Swiss chard, basil, cilantro, strawberries and in the two pots with the bamboo poles, snow peas and green beans (they like to climb). In the big black bucket with holes drilled into it, I have an organic Russet potato with eyes, covered in about 5cm of soil. To learn how to plant your own potatoes in a bucket, just listen to this nifty song! I did!

A close up of the snow peas!

My pot of mixed lettuces. Arugula is my fave and yes, it's in there... Somewhere!

From left to right: Bunching onions, leeks, carrots and beets.

From left to right: Chives, dill (to small to see!), mint, tomatoes (I have no idea what kind, their tag was missing! Ha!), green peppers, broccoli and purple kale.

From left to right: Oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme and parsley.

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes

Step Number Three

Fact: Christopher Columbus found sweet potatoes on the island of St. Thomas, then introduced them to the New World.

 

Hello followers!

Well, as you can see, our little sweet potatoes roots really grew over the last week and the day finally came yesterday when we planted them in the ground! Yay! Being in Ontario, the threat of frost is always looming right up until the end of May, so just to be safe, we waited an extra week. My Dad and I put them under a sheet of recycled plastic, "Why?," you might ask?! This 'plastic mulch' is an effective way of keeping the weeds at bay, warming the soil and retaining moisture. For us, it is a great help up at our 10 acres in Norfolk County, Ontario, seeing as we don't live on the property and with 2 to 3 visits a week, we need all the help we can get! I love the fact that the plastic sheets are made from recycled materials and when we are done with the sheet at the end of the season, it goes into the recycle bin.

I really, really hope the sweet potatoes thrive out there in our country garden (fingers and toes crossed!) and don't worry, I'll keep you all updated!

 

 



Favourite Ontario Asparagus Recipes

"Asparagus inspires gentle thoughts." Charles Lamb

Freshly harvested homegrown Ontario asparagus! Heavenly!

 

Hello followers, feel like harvesting your own asparagus? Head out to Andrew's Scenic Acres in Halton Hills to pick your own. They even provide the knife! Ha!

Also, I have started my own business of doing cooking demonstrations! Please check out my website 'Sarah's Culinary Adventure.com' to see how I can teach you to make delicious hors d'oeuvres, appetizers and other party fare!

Well, Ontario asparagus is currently making it's appearance in every market, grocery store and country road stall around! If you're lucky, it might even be in your own garden! We have our own asparagus patch on our 10 acres of land in Norfolk County, Ontario and we are so happy to be harvesting and eating it after four years of growing. That's right, it takes four years of nurturing your asparagus before you can fully harvest the crop. It has been well worth the wait though, because our homegrown asparagus, which we have grown chemical free, is absolutely delectable! So sweet and juicy, I swear it's the best asparagus I've ever had!





A view from our 10 acres in Norfolk  County, Ontario.

 

So, to celebrate this short season of Ontario asparagus, I have decided to make a collection of some of my favourite asparagus recipes from blogs gone by! I hope really you enjoy them and relish the wonderful taste of Ontario asparagus because it will be gone soon and we'll have to wait until next year to savour it again! Isn't nature cruel sometimes?!

Enjoy the recipes and I will be back very soon with a report on me and my sweetie's garden here in Georgetown and also a couple of garden projects I've been working on! Fun times! Till then, followers!   

 Prosciutto wrapped Ontario Asparagus with Parmigiano Reggiano, Gluten Free

 

Ontario Asparagus Tart with Ricotta, Parmesan and Prosciutto
 

 Ontario Potato Salad with Ontario Asparagus, Gluten Free


 



Ontario Asparagus, Arugula and Cheese (with Ham) Frittata, Gluten Free
 

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes

Step Number Two

FACT: Sweet potatoes are a great source of antioxidants.

 

Hello followers! What a beautiful day!

Well, it's been exactly 7 weeks since I started my sweet potato slips and as you can see, they have done very well! The second step in growing sweet potatoes is to pluck the stems off the top of the sweet potato and to put them in water. Now the slips will grow roots, the final step before planting them in the ground.

I really hope that you've been following along and I cannot wait to see how the roots will look next week! Till then, my sweet potato lovin' followers!

 

 

 

 

Mother's Day Menu

Hello followers! Ontario produce is starting to be seen around town! To keep track of which locally grown goodies are in season, make sure to check Foodland Ontario's Availability Guide. Eat local, eat seasonal!
Well, Mother's Day is coming up this Sunday and I thought that putting together a simple and seasonal menu was a great idea! The recipes for this three course meals are a collection from blogs gone by. Don't just limit yourself to these ideas, though! Search through my Simple and Tasty Recipes page for many more menu options.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there! Bye for now, but I'll be back very soon!

Ontario Mushroom Soup, Gluten Free

Roasted Salmon with Herbs, serve with new potatoes and Ontario asparagus.

Stewed Ontario Rhubarb, serve over vanilla ice cream, Greek yogurt or pound cake.

 

 

Springtime in Norfolk County, Ontario

"The world's favourite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May." Edwin Way Teale

Hiya followers, are you all enjoying the outdoors this weekend?! If you're in the Burlington area, make sure to head over to the Royal Botanical Gardens for all of their great spring time events!

Also, I have started up my own little business! Check out my website and sign up to a cooking lesson today!

Well, earlier this week the family got together and headed out to one of our most favourite places, our 10 acres of land in Norfolk County, Ontario. My parents purchased the property six years ago and we absolutely love it! Five acres of the property are split into two woods, lovingly referred to as the 'big woods' and the 'little woods;' the other five are a former soy bean field. When we first showed up, the soy beans had been harvested the previous year and the land was left baron, looking more like a dried up old river bed than a piece of farm land. So, with a couple of phone calls to the local arbour society and to a farmer with a larger spreader, a few hundred indigenous trees were planted and a few hundred pounds of pasture mix were spread over the old soy bean crop. A few years later, we had successfully turned that five acres into a tree lined beautiful meadow. Since then, we have also cleared a plot for our experimental garden, planted four fruit trees (two apple and two pear), purchased an R.V. (our home away from home! Ha!), a John Deere, built a shed, put together a picnic bench and dug out the ever important fire pit. We are happy to say that we haven't used any kind of chemical, poison or pesticide on the land since we moved in six years ago and with the two types of clover we introduced, we like to think we have a bit of a safe haven for bees, birds, animals and the like!  Needless to say, all our family and friends love the piece of land my parents bought and we all enjoy it from early spring until late in the fall! Hopefully one day we will build a home up there but until then, exploring, gardening, relaxing, camping, hanging out in the R.V. and simply sitting at the picnic bench with a cold beer is more than adequate for us!

 

Our Five Acres of Woods



 Our Five Acres of Meadow (including the garden!)
 

 

 

McIntosh Apple Buds

 



Four year old asparagus, ready to pick! Finally!

Asparagus trench

 

 Snap peas
 

Garlic patch