Today promises to be a warm, sunny day so I think it’s time to put my two tomato plants into their common pot, and leave them out in the sunshine. They are lovely strong looking plants, one is Early Girl, for early fruit, and the other is Big Beef, for later eating. You get a lot of bang for your buck with the latter plant, it produces big, tasty fruit, wonderful in a sandwich (especially a toasted cheese one). Makes me hungry just to think of it. By the time you read this it’s bound to be warmer, and completely safe for tomatoes and peppers to go outside, and squash seedlings as well — in fact everything except maybe such exotics as orchids. You could also put your indoor plants outside in what is called dappled shade (in other words mixed sun and shade that you’d find under a deciduous tree). African violets are better left inside, they don’t like water on their leaves and it does rain, even in mid-summer. You’ll be amazed what a summer outdoors does for plants usually grown inside. They love it and put on tons of new growth, and almost certainly will need re-potting before being returned to a table in the living room, but they, like all of us, thrive on the fresh air and sunshine. I haven’t mentioned fertilizers in months, and re-planting the tomatoes has reminded me. I like to use fish fertilizer when transplanting tomatoes, believing it improves their flavour (this is probably just my imagination) watering them with plain water between times. For everything else I use MiracleGro, which seems to be satisfactory. At least nothing has died yet although the anemones never did flower, and their foliage looks pretty pathetic so that seems to be that for them this year. I don’t know what I must have done wrong, but there must have been something. I used to grow them in pots on the deck in Prince George, and they were beautiful. Oh dear. I guess you can’t expect everything to be successful, but at this age and stage surely I shouldn’t be making any mistakes. You’ll pardon my hysterical laughter I hope. Don’t forget that the Peninsula Garden Club meets at the Mary Winspear Centre on Monday, June 13. The Gardener’s Forum starts at 6:30 p.m. when Frieda Schilling, Peninsula Garden Club member and master gardener, will demonstrate how to take softwood cuttings. She warns it can be addictive. At 7:30 p.m., Brian Taylor, well-known Peninsula Garden Club member who with his wife Joan, is responsible for the restoration of the heather gardens at Glendale Gardens, has chosen the fascinating title Gardens through the ages; why we do what we do and why we like or dislike what we see. His knowledge and experience is bound to make this most interesting. Non-members are welcome to attend Peninsula Garden Club meetings at a cost of $5. Do you have a gardening question or comment for Helen? Call her at 250-656-5918 or email editor@peninsulanewsreview.com.
