Several flowers and vegetables are going to seed. I took the opportunity to carefully collect Sweet Cubanelle pepper seeds.

The humidity is oppressive this morning. I feel like I am in a sauna. With the humidity and the rain, you have probably noticed that there has been more munching on the leaves of your plants. I have noticed that when we have wetter weather we get more slugs, and I have found many baby slugs where I work. I have not seen many here, but I have had an increase in toads. Toads find slugs to be very tasty. 

The too-many cats are spending more of their time in the screened-in porch. I think they can sense that the seasons are changing, and they are watching all the delicious-looking birds and rodents prepare for the upcoming winter. All the little creatures are loading up on calories and enjoying the bounty of the harvest. I am trying to reserve some of that harvest for me!

Going to Seed

As the weather starts to change, I am watching my plants carefully. Several flowers and vegetables are going to seed. The radishes that I have left to go to seed have sweet pink flowers and some little pods that are like tiny pea pods. The potatoes that I planted in the spring flowered earlier and I was unable to collect any seeds. The birds and squirrels are much quicker than I am. This year I decided to try some Peruvian potato seeds. I tried starting some early; I planted some in pots and in special spots but had absolutely no luck. Last week I found that two seeds must have fallen out near the pot that I planted, and they grew! Their leaves are pointier than the potatoes I planted, and they are blooming now. I hope to collect some of these seeds as it would be so amazing to keep them going from year to year.  

Flowers on potato grown from seed.
  Flowers on potato grown from seed.

Yesterday, as I went around the various pots to gather tomatoes for my salad, I came across a ripe Sweet Cubanelle pepper and added that into the mix. It was delicious. I took the opportunity to carefully collect the seeds. I scraped the seeds from the pepper onto a paper towel and let it dry for about two days. After the seed was totally dry, I put it in a paper envelope and labelled it and put it in a safe spot so that I can use the seed next spring. This pepper has been very successful, and I would like to continue growing it. My jalapeno is not doing as well. Last year it was great. Each year seems to be a learning opportunity. 

Fresh picking of tomatoes and cubanelle pepper
  Fresh pickings.

Trowel Talk Live

Last week I gave a talk on Trowel Talk Live. I talked about adding Whimsy to your garden. Trowel Talk Live happens every Wednesday at 12:30pm with a 15-minute talk and 15 minutes of questions. There is a variety of topics on offer. The talks will go on into October and if you want to register you can go here https://mgottawa.ca/Trowel_Talk_Live.php. 

If you can’t make that time, you can review all of the talks on the Master Gardener YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSHn8JmZzjeKnlpBbM-c5Ag. My talk is called Introducing Light and Magic but there are many more and all of them are interesting. A great rainy-day activity. 

I decided to join the too-many cats in the porch. Sipping my tea, watching the rain, and pretending that the nasty squirrels are not looking at my tomatoes. Enjoy your week. Judith (Email:  sghorticultural@gmail.com)  Veggie Bites are available at https://sghorticultural.wixsite.com/website or https://gardeningcalendar.ca/articles/veggie-bites/

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