See, typically strawberry seeds need to overwinter (a.k.a. freeze) in order to germinate. Having one germinate on the vine seemed more than a little unusual.

Well, I’m all about local so I decided to give our very own Driedeger Farms, a local strawberry farm dating back to the mid-1940’s, a chance to weigh in on the topic.

Rhonda responded to my query asking a few identifying questions that I couldn’t answer about what kind of strawberry it was. “Uhm, a red one” was about as specific as I could be.

In the end Rhonda did her research online and found me a link where the comments below referred to strawberries being planted in soil and sprouting that way. I appreciate that, but it was a bit disconcerting that the strawberry expert relied on eHow.com, even more so when  her parting comment was, “It was definitely interesting to see them in their ‘natural” state.’” Mind you, I can cut her some slack given that strawberries naturally propagate via runners and on a farm that’s 65 years old it’s not likely they’ve needed to rely on seeding in quite some time.

By mid-July the “tee pee” was completely covered in greenery in a combination of peas, snow peas and giant pole beans.

The garden in mid-July 2010

The tee pee is covered in delicious greenery

By early August most of the brightly coloured snapdragons were finished blooming, the rhubarb was in full spread, and the broccoli was well on it’s way to growing a lovely head. The beet greens continued unabated and the carrots were still a bit too small for harvest. In the photo below you can see that the snow peas are on their last legs, turning brown and suffering from a powdery mildew.

Garden greenery on August 11, 2010

By last August, the peas were long gone, the snow peas had died and been removed, and only the pole beans continued to produce a few beans here and there. The broccoli has all been harvested and one row of carrots has been partially harvested which allows more room for the rainbow chard to flourish. The dwarf tomato plant in the foreground is heavily laden with fruit but none has ripened yet. Brussels sprouts are on the rise, and most of the pole beans (behind the chard) have been removed.

Garden August 23, 2010

We also dropped a gauntlet re: whose recipe is better.

A crisp and a crumble, it turns out, are the same thing but which term you use depends on whether you favour the American or UK terminology. True to my Canadian roots, I favour the latter. (Also note the spelling of “favour”, people).

Below is my current favourite recipe for rhubarb crumble. I like to increase the amount of fruit or decrease the amount of sugar, or even a little of both, for a slightly more tart flavour.

I also demand that only real ice cream be used in the dolloping of this dessert. Anything else, like “frozen dessert” or “whipped topping”  is likely a petroleum byproduct and not real food (check your labels, people!).

Rhubarb Crumble

• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup quick cooking rolled oats
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups sliced rhubarb
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

[Note: you can use slightly more fruit and/or a little less sugar with equally good results]

In mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, butter and cinnamon; mix together until crumbly. Press half of the brown sugar and oats mixture into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Top with the sliced rhubarb.
In a saucepan combine 1 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and the 1 cup of water and vanilla. Cook together until clear, then pour over rhubarb.

Top rhubarb with remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream. [Note: I usually cook it ahead, then heat it up when company’s on it's way. It caramelizes the sugar nicely and makes it slightly gooey.]

Bon appetit!

Related post: Rhubarb: Fruit or Vegetable?

It’s late in the season to be worrying much about bugs, but I’ve heard several people say things like “aphids got my beans” or “I had a real problem with whiteflies this year” so it’s worth taking note for any winter gardening you may do, as well as prepping for next year — after all, isn’t the whole purpose of autumn to plan for next year’s gardening?

Below is the recipe I got from a gardener I know. Search “garlic pepper spray” online for other variations.

• 2 hot peppers
• 1 large onion
• 1 whole garlic bulb
• 1 gallon of water

Pulverize peppers, onion and garlic bulb in a blender with a little water. Cover mash with a gallon of water, let stand 24 hours and then strain. Spray directly on plants. Effective against aphids, cabbage maggot, carrot rust fly, leafhoppers, mites, thrips and whitefly.

Related posts:

Slug Patrol 2010
Garlic Rust Fungus

Tomatoes are at their peak of ripeness and deliciousness in September and vendors will be bringing out their best varieties – roma, beefsteak, cherry…the list goes on.

Always wanted to try an heirloom tomato but intimidated by all the different colours and strange names? Try something new at the sampling tables.

Tomatoes don’t just taste great – they look great too! Check out the Tomato Beauty Contest where tomato growers will bring out their biggest, best, and most beautiful tomatoes for judging.

Kids will love the Tomato Scavenger Hunt where they will meet local farmers and learn about — as well as taste — many different kinds of tomatoes.

Related posts:

Food Labels: Heirloom or Heritage
Why Quality Seeds Matter

The farm produces a wide variety of produce and fruit that is  sold weekly at the Salt Spring Island farmers market, at local stores and select restaurants on Salt Spring Island, and in Vancouver and Victoria.

Foxglove Farm provides a variety of workshops throughout the year, below are the workshops available this month.

Register online or call 250-388-6800 for more information:

August 24 – 27 Small Scale Grain Production
This workshop is intended for anyone wishing to grow grains for their own consumption or for supplying small-scale regional users such as bakers, maltsters, or livestock producers.

August 29, 10-4pm Preserving the Harvest with David Mincey (Camille’s Restaurant)
There is nothing like cracking open a jar of tomato sauce, pickles or jam in the peak of winter and being instantly transported back to the flavours and smells of summer.

August 31 – September 3 Growing Tree Crops for Home & Market
Join orchardists Harry Burton, Bob Duncan, and Michael Ableman to learn about site selection, fruit varieties, orchard establishment, soil fertility, grafting, pruning, pest and disease control, harvest, post harvest, and marketing of fruit.

A full list of other delicious-sounding upcoming programs is available online.

The World in a Garden Project was established in 2007 by nutritionist, Tricia Sedgwick in collaboration with the Jewish Family Service Agency. The project’s goal is to teach participants about the seed-to-table process of food, as well as promote cross cultural acceptance.

In addition to the many events — from educational programs to community festivals — food from the gardens is donated to the food bank and local food programs.

The program is self-funded via plant and flower sales, market sales, responsible entrepreneurship programs, garden tours, food and gardening workshops, The World in a Garden products (greeting cards, t-shirts and seeds), community partnerships and an annual film screening.

Each of the seeds on the outside of the strawberry has a green shoot extending out of it, giving it the appearance reminiscent of a just sprouted Chia Pet. Frankly, it looks quite alien.

Normally, strawberry seeds can only be activated or germinated after they’ve been frozen/wintered.

“The key factor in successful germination is the cooling or winterizing of the seeds before planting.”
How to sprout strawberries.

The fact that this one’s seeds all spontaneously sprouted in relatively warm weather is unusual.

I’ve not found anything in my online search travels to explain what happened or whether you can plant the strawberry like this and grow it successfully. If you’ve ever encountered this, I welcome your comments.

For a while earlier this summer it was looking pretty limp and none of the stalks were any more than about 6″ long. I asked my mom,  a long time gardener, if that was because it takes a couple of years for the plant to really take root, but she didn’t know. Well, turns out as soon as I stepped up the amount of water it got, the plant took off like blazes. I harvested 10 cups worth of diced rhubarb earlier this week and that only marginally thinned out the plant.

Note: Rhubarb leaves are poisonous. Keep the kids away and don’t put them (the rhubarb leaves nor the children) in the compost bin.

I took one rhubarb crumble over to a friend’s to share with her and her family. Her daughter’s friend from California had never heard of rhubarb and was leery of trying it, even though it was dessert. We described it — something like celery but very tart — but when asked whether it was a fruit or a vegetable we were stumped.

I got an email this morning with the answer:

“It was nice catching up with you last night Liz. I looked up rhubarb on Wikipedia. Here is what it says:

Rhubarb is a group of plants that belong to the genus Rheum in the family Polygonaceae.

They are herbaceous perennial plants growing from short, thick rhizomes. They have large leaves that are somewhat triangular shaped with long fleshy petioles. They have small flowers grouped in large compound leafy greenish-white to rose-redinflorescences.

Although the leaves are toxic, various parts of the plants have medicinal uses. Fresh raw stalks are crisp (similar to celery) with a strong tart taste; most commonly the plant’s stalks are cooked and used in pies and other foods for their tart flavour. A number of varieties have been domesticated for human consumption, most of which are recognised as Rheum x hybridum by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Rhubarb is botanically classified as a vegetable; however, in the United States a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction in taxes paid.

Thank heavens for Wikipedia, to answer all of life’s burning questions.

The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) has partnered with Farm Folk/City Folk to explore Vancouver’s passion for backyard farming and local food. The large-scale photographic exhibit captures the current momentum behind local food production and urban agriculture.

The exhibit Home Grown: Local Sustainable Food, is a visual feast of 39 Brian Harris photographs set across four seasons, running August 26, 2010 through January 2, 2011.

“With harvest season in full swing and farmers markets bursting with tomatoes, we felt it was the perfect time for MOV to celebrate the city’s backyard farmers,” says Museum of Vancouver’s Director of Audience Engagement, Amanda Gibbs.

Using large-scale photographs Home Grown introduces visitors to the people behind local food. The photos range from proud inner city gardeners to an aerial view of an industrial scale sustainable hothouse. Visitors will gain insight into alternate styles of growing food like house-lot farming and farming co-ops.

“This series of photos is dedicated to those who see the beauty in small scale sustainable farming. Urban agriculture is about how we relate to the physical world and strive to develop a deeper connection to our food. The industrial world doesn’t seem to want people to know how their food is being produced,” says featured photojournalist, Brian Harris.

Harris’ images take MOV visitors to the city’s rooftops where a beekeeper tentatively lifts a tray of bees from a hive atop of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s living grassland roof.

“The living roof is 20 acres of grassland – it’s like a prairie up there – smack bang in the middle of a city, a powerful juxtaposition to the cityscape behind it,” remarks Harris.

The exhibit will also include a Communal Wall of Preserves which will grow with public participation, as MOV hopes patrons will donate jars of home-preserved fruits and vegetables. Jars of all shapes with a maximum height of 11inches or 28cm can be dropped off at the Museum’s front desk.

Upcoming Events

MOV will host a series of food-based events throughout the fall, including a free outdoor summer film, a Food & Beers speaker series, and Talks & Tours.

MOV-ie in the Park August 23, 9pm
Presented by Potluck Café and Catering and Horizon Distributors
Attention all foodies! Roll out a blanket and enjoy Eat Drink Man Woman, a food-themed movie on a giant outdoor screen in Vanier Park, just behind MOV. Free event.

Opening Night August 25, 7pm
Presented by MOV and Farm Folk/City Folk
Join us to celebrate the launch of the new feature exhibition Home Grown: Local Sustainable Food. Event is open to the public. Tickets are $15 and available at www.museumofvancouver.ca or at the door. Members will receive an invitation postcard in the mail valid for themselves and one guest.

Food and Beers Speaker Series
Hosted by David Beers, presented by Tides Canada

• Can The City Feed Itself? October 14, 7pm
  A panel of local food corporate knights from growers & chefs to manufacturers discuss what still needs to be done to ensure a sustainable local food industry in Vancouver.
• How Do We Compare to Other Cities? November 25, 7pm
  Renowned authors of The 100 Mile Diet, James McKinnon and Alisa Smith, return from their travels to share ten local food ideas being trialed in other North American cities.
• Vancouver’s New Food Writing December 8, 7pm
  Meet Vancouver’s food writers as they discuss the current passion for food writing and how urban kitchens are linking their food to the planet.

Talks and Tours with Growers, Activists, and Chefs
Hosted by Farm Folk/City Folk,  held the first Thursday of the month at 7pm. Free with admission.

• September 2 - Chris Bodnar, Glen Valley Organic Farm Cooperative. Topic: A farmer’s direct relationship with his customer through CSA, farmers markets & restaurant delivery.
• October 7 – Karen Howbolt, Salt Spring Seeds and The Haliburton Community Organic Farm
  Society. Topic: The politics of seeds and our local food system with a global view.
• November 4 – Chris Hergesheimer, The Flour Peddler with Jim Grieshaber-Otto, Cedar Isle Farm.
  Topic: Growing local grain and the first grain CSA in the Lower Mainland.
• December 2 - Chef Andrea Carlson, Bishops with Heather Pritchard, Glorious Organics Farmer.
  Topic: Co-creation of our local food cuisine.