Table of contents for Summer 2018 in Harrowsmith

AMARYLLIS ADVICE The article about amaryllis bulbs (“Stunning Winter Show,” Winter 2017/18) states that a 24 to 26 cm (9 1/2 to 10 inch) bulb is very common. Where on earth do you find such a thing? Even on Mark Cullen’s website it states that his are 28 percent bigger than average. This at best is only 7 1/2 inches. I would love to get a few bulbs 9 1/2 to 12 inches in diameter. Yours truly, Cathy Suignard, Dundurn, Saskatchewan Editor’s note: Thanks for writing in, Cathy! Since Mark is an expert on the subject, we asked him to reply with his feedback and suggestions. Here’s what he said... From Harrowsmith gardening editor Mark Cullen: Amaryllis bulbs are sold in a variety of sizes. The…

Thirty years ago, my wife, Mary, and I cut through a rusty, tumbledown wire fence surrounding an old hay field and began turning a 90-acre piece of farmland and forest into the home of our dreams. Gardens and orchards were part of that vision, but with them have come unexpected benefits. As perennial flowers, hedges and trees have grown and matured, new birds and animals have moved in, along with plenty of beneficial insects. Bees are my favourite. The more, the better. That’s why I’ve built special accommodations for a little-known pollinating superstar called the mason bee. As populations of other pollinating insects decline across Canada, mason bees hold the greatest promise for maintaining and enhancing the health of gardens and orchards. Supply a little accommodation and they thrive. You’ll…

Shrimp farms don’t exactly come to mind when we think of Ontario growers. Yet in Campbellford, Ontario, just two and a half hours from Toronto, shrimp are being raised for consumption, and by hog farmers, no less. How did this come to be? “Basically, we were hog farmers before, but prices were down a long time and it just wasn’t worth doing anymore,” explains First Ontario Shrimp co-owner Brad Cocchio. “We had empty barns that weren’t that old, and my dad was on the internet, looking at alternative uses, and found some guys in the States, in Indiana and Maryland, that were growing shrimp in old chicken barns, and thought we could do that with our hog barns. So he went to Maryland and Indiana to see them, and took…

Araxi Longtable Dinner Series Pemberton, British Columbia araxi.com/longtable This alfresco dining experience has served to a record-breaking 400 food lovers—the largest long-table meal in British Columbia’s history. In the valley beneath snow-capped Mount Currie, on scenic North Arm Farm, guests are seated at a seemingly endless table to dine family-style on a four-course menu featuring local ingredients, many plucked from the ground just hours before dinner. Dining on the Ocean Floor Nova Scotia novascotia.com/packages/experiences/dining-on-the-ocean-floor/201988 Dine on the ocean floor at Burntcoat Head Park, declared one of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America, on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Savour the best of Nova Scotia food, beer and wine in this exceptional experience, which includes a guided tour and an intimate three-course dinner, followed by an ocean floor…

HELP! Chainsaw advice Last winter, one of our readers, John English of Knowlton, Quebec, wrote in asking about trimming old evergreen trees. He wondered if the sap would ruin his blade if he used his chainsaw, or if there was a way to clean the sap off the blade. One of our readers, Stephen Chandler of Stratford, Ontario, wrote in this answer: An easy way to remove evergreen sap from a chainsaw blade or saw blade is to spray it with insect repellent. To remove it from clothes, put mayo on the sap and then wash the clothing. TIP! Composting trick Save all used coffee grounds in a separate compost pail. Spread them on your lawns for healthy grass growth. It makes beautiful compost for your lawns. – Audrea Wulf,…

At Harrowsmith, we’ve been hard at work (if you can call it that, when you’re pursuing a passion) building our community and connecting with like-minded folk. We’re thrilled to continue featuring beloved Harrowsmith columnist Dan Needles in our pages (page 66), and to have our resident garden experts, Mark and son Ben Cullen, sharing their wonderful advice on how to make the most of our gardens. (Hint: It’s time to make friends with your garden pests! Turn to page 14 to find out why.) Steve Maxwell brings his extensive DIY expertise to the table this issue, walking us through building our very own deep well hand pump (page 48), as well as your property’s newest must-have: a bee box (page 25). On page 56, Vanessa Farnsworth explains why it’s so…

Oh, summer! At long last, we bask in warmth and enjoy potluck picnics … and we tackle projects that may be fanciful or practical or a bit of both. The Summer Project is a seasonal response, a call to action for enhancing life in the great Canadian outdoors, like my husband’s driftwood bench with foot rest and side “tables” and an ocean view, amid a sea of blue chicory flowers. Or, in the case of experimental blackberry mead production, a summer project destined many months later for the great Canadian indoors. It may require many hands and feet to lift a new dock to its watery destination, resembling, as seen from the right angle, a multicoloured human centipede in T-shirts, shorts and sandals lurching downhill. A truly great Summer Project…

Norquay Artisan Painted Paddles It was love at first sight when we spotted these Norquay Artisan Painted Paddles in Summer Sky at Tuck Shop Trading Co. Inspired by the canoeist lifestyle and our northern heritage, each paddle is made from solid cherrywood sourced from northern Ontario and is crafted and finished by hand in Toronto. We love the elegant design and vintage feel, perfect for an idyllic weekend, or week, at the cottage. tuckshopco.com Honda TRX500 Foreman Honda’s new TRX500 Foreman offers reduced vibration, quiet operation, a quick start and powerful output, fuel efficiency for extended range, and excellent driveability and towing capacity. The ATV promises to tackle any terrain and includes three drive modes: 2WD, 4WD, and 4WD with locked differential to optimize traction. There’s also a Speed Override…

That time we’ve been musing about is almost here: summer, with its warm, sunny days and colourful, happy blooms. Seeds are sprouting, and if you’re growing your own, you may soon be enjoying the fruits of your labour. It’s a thrilling time for gardeners and growers, to see plans turn into action, to feel the earth between our fingertips and the satisfaction of working with the land. Foodies in particular are relishing the fresh, local produce, which benefits our neighbourhoods and larger communities in so many ways. This issue, we celebrate those efforts, which help connect us to the land in deeper, more meaningful ways, and contribute to more sustainable living. We chat with Ocean Wise and Langdon Hall chef Jason Bangerter, who walks the talk and champions our local,…

Water is one of the essentials of life, but for the five million Canadians who rely on private water systems, this also means dependency on an electrical grid that seems to be getting less and less reliable. When weather events and grid overload cause power failures in rural areas, it means no water for drinking, cooking, washing or toilets, but a new breed of hand pump is eliminating this vulnerability. The best of these are made to be installed alongside existing electrical pumps already in a well. If you’re interested in disaster-proofing your private water supply, today’s compact deep well hand pumps are a game changer you need to know about . Water doesn’t like to be pumped, and the deeper the water is below the surface of the ground,…

Visionary Women: How Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters Changed Our World by Andrea Barnet (HarperCollins, 2018) In the 1950s and ’60s, Jane Jacobs revolutionized the concept of what a city is, and should be, and challenged modern notions of city planning and development. Around the same time, Rachel Carson was raising red flags about the dangers of pesticides and man’s chemical impact on the environment. These two women, along with naturalist Jane Goodall and slow food visionary Alice Waters, possessed a foresight and understanding of progress that is still topical and forward thinking today. Their stories are beautifully rendered by Andrea Barnet, who takes us along for the ride as each of these paradigm-shifting women take on the status quo, redefining the role of women in…

The Ontario Plowmen’s Association festival will be returning this summer with another round of plowing competitions, music, food and more, in a fun celebration of country livin g. Launched in 1913, the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) is an annual outdoor agricultural and rural-living festival that promotes agriculture, food, tourism and regional economic development in the province. IPM 2018 will take place in Pain Court, Chatham-Kent, Ontario, from September 18 to 22. Hosted in a different part of Ontario each year on prime agricultural land, IPM showcases the host region and builds on the specific features of the region where the event is taking place. For IPM, 800-plus acres of farmers’ fields are transformed into a tented city, competition plowing fields, an RV park and lots of free…