Articles by Judith Cox
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Spring Care for Forsythia, Daphne and Rose Bushes
Greetings fellow gardeners Life has been changing and moving along like a roller-coaster. My basement still hums with a dehumidifier-fan, and I am hoping…
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How to Test the Viability of Seeds
Often seeds will surprise us with their viability, but it is easier to test your seeds instead of taking chances. Greetings fellow gardeners Well,…
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Try Fermenting Tomato Seeds to Improve Seed Quality
I cut tomatoes to open them, scooped out the seeds and put them in a jar with some water. This caused the seeds to…
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Growing All My Peppers in Pots
I found that peppers growing with flowers that attracted pollinators did better that those that were planted by themselves. I think a splash of…
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Organizing My Seeds
The envelopes in the Christmas container can hold my seed catalogues. I am not the most organized gardener, but if all of my seeds…
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Microgreens for Breakfast
Microgreens often start with two little leaves, and then they will get a couple more. This is the time that I clip them as…
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Planting in the Sun
Judith discusses the importance of locating your plants in the sun It is a grey day with various types of precipitation and a heavy…
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Preparing Roses for Winter
Judith’s advice on preparing roses for winter includes netting, breaking off weak branches, mulching, and how to use snow as an insulator. This is…
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Bee Hotel Research
Judith makes observations, including on bee and wasp diversity, as part of research done by a PhD student, as the bee hotel is dismantled…
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Bird Netting for Roses in Winter
This week, Judith shares how she prepares her roses for winter, including the use of netting and the importance of snow cover. The temperature…
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Join a Horticultural Society
This week, Judith reveals the merits of joining a horticultural society, how to prepare fairy gardens for winter, and thoughts on recycling pots. On…
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On Harvesting and Drying Sage
Judith describes her simple process for drying sage. I stopped and drank in the view this morning on my way to open the chicken…
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A Method for Saving Tomato Seeds
Judith discusses a slightly different method of saving tomato seeds, which involves fermenting the seeds to improve their quality. It is a dark morning…
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On Trees around Eastern Ontario
By Owen Clarkin, Ottawa Field Naturalist Club. All photos courtesy of Owen. One particularly interesting story from this summer is a population of apparently…
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Calendula Seeds In an Envelope
For calendula seeds, once it is dry, I shake the seedhead into an envelope and store the seeds in a cool, dark place. They…
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Seed Collection and Saving
Seed collection is always done on a sunny day because wet seeds can go moldy very quickly. Ripe seeds should fall easily from the…
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Going to Seed
Several flowers and vegetables are going to seed. I took the opportunity to carefully collect Sweet Cubanelle pepper seeds. The humidity is oppressive this…
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Cubanelle pepper
Cubanelle pepper, beautiful, sweet, from the species Capsicum annuum, is almost ready to pick. It has gone through some tough times with chipmunks digging in…
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Nasturtium Vinaigrette Recipe
Today I am straining my nasturtium vinegar and making my Nasturtium Vinaigrette. I like to use basil as my herb, but really the herb…
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Zaatar Climbing Herb
Zaatar is an interesting herb and kind of acts like a climbing sage. The leaves are good to eat fresh, and they are quite…
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Magnesium Deficiency In Plants
Magnesium deficiency in plants can be identified most commonly by yellowing leaves while the veins remain green. The lower leaves usually turn yellow first.…
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Colourful Flowers of My Morning Garden
My colourful flowers were so beautiful. The Emily Carr rose that had such horrible winter damage is covered in deep red roses. One of…
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Judith’s Oregano Pesto
Oregano is a woody perennial, so I often harvest only the young plants. I have discovered that my oregano makes amazing pesto! It is…
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Deadhead Flowers For More Flowers!
Deadheading flowers is a very important job to do in the garden as it helps to increase the number of blooms on your plants.…
