Homegrown Blog
Growing vegetables? Want to grow vegetables?
The Homegrown Blog gives you seasonal tips for growing vegetables, success in the edible garden, ideas on gardening with kids, and recipes for cooking homegrown food.
Apr 08, 2013
Latest Edition Homegrown: Chard on TV, dahlia bread, husking walnuts
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Jan 20, 2013
Urban Beekeeping
Live in the city but want to keep bees? Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative is hosting a Beekeeping 101 day, for those interested in learning about urban beekeeping. Feb 2nd, $45 per person.
Nov 22, 2012
Latest Edition of Homegrown is Out
The latest edition of Homegrown is out!
American persimmon
Chard on TV
Figs
Cooking cardoon
Click here to get it.
Nov 02, 2012
WIN a Great Vegetable Gardening Book
Win a copy of No Nonsense Vegetable Gardening. Simply check out the review on the Fine Gardening blog, and then leave a comment.
No Nonsense Vegetable Gardening is the American edition of my book No Guff Vegetable Gardening, co-authored with Donna Balzer.
Oct 09, 2012
I'm Cooking on TV tomorrow
Tomorrow evening at 9 pm eastern I'll be on Live Healthy Now, with Bev Miller, talking about veggie gardening and showing her a favourite recipe of mine with Swiss Chard, Sorrel, and Leeks ( http://www.the-locavores-garden.com/spanakopita.html )
Oct 09, 2012
Ag in the City, Veg in Containers
Ag in the City event, Toronto area, Oct 13, 14. Free. Learn to milk, get cooking tips, find out about farming, learn to grow your own, and hear about neat new veggies. I’ll give a talk with tips and ideas for growing veggies in containers and small space.
May 15, 2012
Growing Figs
Read my guest post about growing figs on the blog of garden writer and year-round veg growing expert Niki Jabbour.
May 10, 2012
Plant Sale in Toronto
My gardening friends at the Beach Garden Society are having a plant sale!
Beach Garden Society Plant Sale, May 19
Location: Adam Beck Community Centre, 77 Lawlor Ave. (north of Kingston Rd., west of Victoria Park Ave.)Time: 9 am - 11:30 am (or sooner, if all the plants are gone!).
Special features: Beach Babies, hand-selected Connoisseur Collection, great bargains on member-grown perennials
BEACH BABIESBeautiful combinations, perfect for Beach gardens.
SCENTED GARDENDianthus gratiopolitanus 'Bath’s Pink’,Agastache foeniculum,Lavandula ‘Munstead’,Monarda didyma ‘Raspberry Wine’, Cheddar Pinks,Anise Hyssop,Lavender,Bee Balm,
BOLD AND BEAUTIFULLigularia dentata ‘Midnight Lady’,Hosta ‘August Moon’,Astilbe arendsii ‘Bridal Veil’,Luzula nivea, Rocket,Hosta,False Spirea,Snowy Woodrush,
SHADY CHARACTERSCarex elata ‘Bowles Golden’,Epimedium youngianum ‘Niveum’,Heuchera americana ‘Dale’s Strain’,Polystichum acrostichoides, Golden Sedge Grass,Barrenwort,Coral Bells,Christmas Fern,
Apr 16, 2012
Great Gardening Talk in Toronto Tomorrow
EDIBLES IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE, April 17, 7 pmI’m giving a really inspiring, really fun fund-raising talk about Edibles in the Urban Landscape for the Ontario Historical Society at the historic John McKenzie house in Toronto (North York). Hear about front yard veggie gardens, “veggiephobia,” fun plant choices, and fitting veg into your landscape. It’s a cool venue—and it’s next door to a very cool community vegetable garden, the Parkview Neighbourhood Garden.
Seating is limited, so RSVP, (416) 226-9011 or ohs@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca
Mar 15, 2012
Spot Guff for a Free Book at Canada Blooms
Win a free copy of the book No Guff Vegetable Gardening at the Sheridan Nurseries booth at Canada Blooms.
At 3 p.m. on March 16, 19, and 22, find the Guff postcard marked “winner” and give it to me, Steven Biggs.
To see what Guff looks like, explore www.GardenCoachesChat.com or look in the book at the Sheridan booth.
Mar 06, 2012
Store Leeks + a Soiled Reputation
While I was in Stratford last weekend I dropped by the Stratford Slow Food market.
I met market gardener Antony John, whose farm name I love: Soiled Reputation.
John had fresh leeks for sale, and they looked nicer than the ones I’ve picked from my garden lately. It turns out, he picked these in December.
Here’s how he stored them between December and now, in his cold room: he digs them so there is still a little bit of soil around the roots, and then stands them upright in a box, making sure there is space (an inch or two) between the leeks. The space, he explains, is critical, otherwise they get slimy.
Here are the leeks in my garden a couple of weeks ago: 
Feb 28, 2012
Homegrown: Latest Issue
The lastest issue of Homegrown is out. Read about starting seeds, currants, leeks--and lots of great gardening talks.
Feb 28, 2012
Stratford Garden Festival
Spring is almost here! March 1-4 is the Stratford Garden Festival.
I'll be there Saturday March 3 to talk about (1)Growing Figs in Ontario and Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces and Containers.
Feb 14, 2012
Seedy Events + "New" in Heirlooms
It’s Seedy Saturday season, the time of year when you can go to seed exchanges and trade seeds or buy seed from local seed producers.
Just because these events are about heirloom and open-pollinated seed doesn’t mean there’s nothing new.
Case in point: I was recently talking to Colette Murphy of Urban Harvest (www.uharvest.ca) and asked what’s new in her catalogue for 2012.
She's excited about one of her "new" seeds, Violet Jasper tomato, which is a Chinese heirloom with a violet-purple skin and green stripes.
More than just being really productive and having a neat appearance, this is a variety with a thicker skin, making it perfect for holding up to the cooking in shish-kabobs.
Jan 25, 2012
Latest issue of Homegrown is out
The latest issue of Homegrown is out. Find out about seed starting, storage onions, lemons, figs--and, as usual, cooking ideas.
Jan 21, 2012
Making Holubtsi
”This is delicious!" declared Emma after we made the filling for holubtsi (cabbage rolls). I think she was eating as much as she was putting into the cabbage leaves.
I make the filling the way my great Aunt Anna taught me: rice, ground beef, onions, bacon, bacon fat...and the secret ingredient.
The secret ingredient? Dill. And don't be stingy with the dill.
GARDEN TIP: When dill is plentiful in the garden, I chop and freeze it.
If you allow dill to self-seed in the garden, you'll probably have a nice crop for freezing in late summer.)
Jan 15, 2012
The Untamed Garden: Garden Book Review
The Untamed Garden. Vegetable gardening books reviewed by journalist, horticulturist, and garden coach Steven Biggs.
Jan 15, 2012
Readers Write: questions about growing vegetables and success in the edible gard
Readers write: questions about growing vegetables and success in the edible garden. Answered by Toronto horticulturist Steven Biggs on www.the-locavores-garden.com.
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Jan 14, 2012
Adventures in the Childrens Garden: growing vegetables with kids
Adventures in the Childrens Garden. Get ideas and have a laugh reading about growing vegetables with kids, in Steven Biggs’ Toronto garden.
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