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Page 12 of înterest to woinn Yiewpoint - by Ed McCaughtrie Can't Fail Tomatoes I suppose if you were to ask a group of gard ene r s, in any sect, even the mos t modest would tell you about the year he had a bumper crop. There al so would be as many different ways of grow- ing them, and as many different variet- ies - which is a good healthy sign. But t h e r e a re a few basic things that are needed for consistent good crops. Plants from the Seedsman First, buy good plants from an org- an i c g r o w e r , or seedsman, such as C oop e r Smith in Oshawa, or George H u ston in Bowmanvi1le, you will pay a little more per plant, but then you will probably get more fruit. It is easier to care for a few plants than alot, 6plants should be enough for you and those friends who come out from thecity. You may, of course, prefer to grow your own seed, which adds to the interest, and if you have kids, is very educational, (of course you could insist t h a t you are p a y i ng taxes to educate t h e m ). Kids del ight in growing things and c an 1t wait for the seed to sprout. But the s am e r ule applies here, buy good seed from a seedsman. Certainly, you can buy them from a hardware store or s u p e rmarket if you want, but don't expect the best. They aren't in the grow- ing business - they merchandise. Secondly, prepare the ground. This is my w ay. As soon as the ground can beworked, I dig ahole the size of a pail andfill it with leaves that I collected in the fall, and pour a quart of my special tteallover it. Next I heap the soil over the lot and leave it until lIm ready to p l a n t. F o r the 'tea recipe', I1simply throw a couple of spades of manure in a b a r r e 1l1 o r garbage pail and fillwith water. After awhile my 'tea is steeped' and can be used at various strengths. A better root system When the danger of frost has left, choose a day that is not too hot or win- d y , or even overcast. Mix the leaves and s o i I together and leave 4" in the b o t tom plant so that the top two set of leaves only are showing. The roots will form a I I along the stem and give you a Approach ·by Sid Morris Care For Your Easter. Plants Probably by now, you have received aplant for Easter. Thisarticlewill deal with the care of some of our more tra- ditional Easter plants. The Easter liy TheEasterLily (Lilium longiflorum) is the traditional plant for Easter. When youfirstget the plant, there will likely be one or two flowers out. Youwill notice that the anthers (the yel low "bean" shaped structure in the trumpet of the flower) have been removed. This is to prevent the white petals from be- coming stained with pollen. Make sure you don't let the plant dry out, or the life of the blooms will be s h ortened. If you are going away over the weekend, place the plant in a cool w i n do w and water well before going away. After the lily has finished flowering, continue watering until the top dies down naturally. Then plant the bulb in the garden in a weil drained location, when the weather permits. This bulb will likely flower the latter part of August or early September in your garden. If be t ter root system. Water generously and mulch around a few inches deep. If you are going to stake your tomatoes, plant them at the same time. Space your p I ants according to taste. I plant mine 2" ap a r t with a zigzag pattern. I also plant marigold and basil with them. My f avourite varities are "Burpee Delic- i ous Il, Tr ip-l-crop, a climber from D o m i n i o n Seed House, and a toss up b et w e e n Gl1 amour and Rocket. I like Trip-l-Crop because over the years it has been good to me, and it was the one I used when I first went "organic". We livedon a small 35 by 100 lot, so I plan- ted them along the fence and on the TV an tenna. The ones along the fence did well, but the one on the TV tower, with a foot of hay around its roots, grew to 141 tal1 with more tomatoes than we could even give away. Our neighbour was a Mar itimer, and we gave her lots. She r e w a r d e d us wi th fresh baked roll1s. In the fall when the cold started to roll PERFEulT0 MIïUTRDY n8-3706 GARDENING The Radical The Technical in, we h arvested a bushel basket of gr een tomatoes, and that year my wife 1 e a r n e d t o make chow chow as well. The r e 's a good moral in that I guess: 'If you w an t to be a go o d neighbour plant and grow organic tomatoes. Making your garden work for you Remove the suckers from the bottom of the stock, and plant them as you did the pl1 ants. In a short while they will r o o t and g i v e you an additional later c r op. Whatever you do, mulch about a f o o t, it conserves moisture, prevents weeds, and eliminatés the need for wat- ering. Sit back and enjoy your garden. Don't you work for your garden, make it work for you. CHINÀESE FOOD CALL tGftE 668-7021 "And Let Your Taste Be The Judge" rnrr 10% OFF on EKEE Home Delivery Pick Up orders FaSt Take Out Service SUNLIGHT RESTAURANT 116 DUNDAS ST. W. AMPLE PARKING AT REAR the plant is fed a fertilizer during the summer and given a mulch of some pro- tection in the Fall it could flower the following year as well. Hydrangea Perhaps you don't care for the frag- rance of the Easter Lily so you might have obtained a Hydrangea (Hydrangea hortensis) for Easter. You can find the flowerheads coming in various colours (pink, white, red and blue). The name Hydrangea is derived from the Greek word "hydorl" meaning water. There- fore, it is ifmportant to note that'if these plants become even slightly dry, they w i 11 w il1t. So if you are going away, place them in a-pan of water, in a cool place. Hydrangeas can be pl1 a n t e.d in the gar den also, but they require protec- t i on through t'h e w inter, because the f I ower buds for next year will be pro- duced this summer and early fall. If you a r e in possession of a mixed pan, thenyou have a start on your bed- d i ng plants for this spring. The mixed pan could contain some of the following pI a nts: marigold, ageratum, plumosa, f e r n , coleus and dusty miller. These plants can be kept for the garden. It is impor tan t tha t they be kept h e al t h y, so make sure you keep them watered and fertilized every two weeks to keep them growing. Questions can be sent to Sid Morris by w r i t ing in care of the WhitbyFree Press, Box 206, Whitby. 4 DR OIL