Tomatoes and Butterflies

 On September 14th they announced frost on my region. That is rather early, although technically possible: the traditional gardener books for here consider the end of the growing season coincides with the Labour Day weekend. Despite that, most of the cool and cold hardy crops are happy to continue. I was scared, since my tomatoes, beans and peppers are still in full production. I was not prepared to lose them. It also prompted me to go to the Centre d'Interpretation de la Courge as soon as possible, since frost usually kills or severely damages curcubits . That is a lovely place to buy pumpkin and squash products, including harvesting them by yourself. It was my birthday, so I went for the full thing (they are also a brewery and winery ;)  ) and came back with a delightful harvest that I could not be able to produce myself. Their fields are an immense valley, fully exposed to the sun, a great advantage my backyard does not possess. A sea of pumpkins! One can carry their preci...

COVID times might have seemed slow to some people, but honestly it has been one busy summer this year for me! And I realized most of the months have had no registry in here, but for the sake of remembering this year's results, I will post backwards so that I will always know what happened!  For now I will start with some highlights.   The bad  The Swede Midge I discovered what is affecting my brassicas, especially the kale. It is an insect called the swede midge, yet another imported pest into Quebec. The larvae eats the new growth part of the plant, usually the tender core. Not only it stunts the plant, the enzymes deform its leaves. One could almost think plant cancer, given the blackened, distorted shapes.    This year was worse than last year's and the problem is that the pulps overwinter in the soil. So crop rotation is more than imperative to stop the cycle. It was a scary discovery, because Brassicas, especially kale, are what grows best for me in my soil...