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Vegetables & Herbs

There are so many benefits to growing your own fresh vegetables and herbs! Creating your own veggie garden, whether it be 1 acre or a few pots on your deck will provide you with cheaper, fresher and more flavourful produce than you will ever buy in a store. The flavour of a home grown tomato beats a store bought tomato any day! Growing your own veggies will keep you physically active and be extremely rewarding. We have all the young plants you will need to grow your own produce this year!

Vegetables & Herbs

 

Vegetables

Choose from a full range of young vegetable plants, including Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Lettuces, Leeks, Squash and many more.

All our hybrid Tomato plants are available in 3 sizes. For a quick crop, check out our 1 gallon plants. We grow an extensive range of Heritage Tomatoes. Choose from a range of amazing colours, shapes and flavours!

Fresh Parsley

Herbs

There's nothing better for summer cooking than having a selection of fresh herbs at your fingertips! Herbs are easy to grow and will perform well all season.

Plant in your veggie garden, mix in with flowers or plant up a container to keep on your deck or at your door. We grow all the popular herbs, including Rosemary, Parsley, Oregano, Chives, Basil and many more.

Newsletter Articles

The following plant information about our Vegetables and Herbs is taken from back issues of our E newsletters. If you are not yet signed up to receive our regular e newsletters throughout the season, you can subscribe here.

 

Orange Banana or Red Pear anyone?

Our Heritage Tomato selection

May 2015

I am continually playing around with our selection of Heritage Tomatoes to freshen up the choices each year. For this season we have added three new varieties. San Marzano is a productive red paste tomato with good crack resistance. It is best used for sauces, canning or drying and is a favourite of Italian gardeners.

Orange Banana is also a paste tomato and is quite unique. Orange, 4" long banana shaped fruit bursts with a citrusy, fruity sweetness. Perfect fresh, canned or dried. Red Pear is a pear shaped cherry tomato which is flavouful and productive. Great for variety in a tomato salad! Check out our other 2015 varieties.

Our 2015 Heritage Tomato Selection

Our 2015 Heritage Tomato Selection

New herbs for 2015

Numerous uses and fun to grow!

May 2015

New herbs for 2015This year, we decided to increase our herb selection by about 30%. This means that we have grown more of each variety as well as adding 6 new additional varieties that our customers have been requesting.

All our herbs are grown in biodegradable jiffy pots, made of peat and newsprint. Choose from the following new herbs:

Great choice of veggie and herb plants!

Enough to satisfy any appetite!

May 2014

We have grown over 60 varieties of veggie and herb transplants, including a wide range of heritage tomato plants. Over the winter, I spend numerous hours researching the best varieties to grow. There are so many varieties to choose from, and not all seeds are created equally! If a variety is selected to be grown by us you can be sure that we are confident it will perform well in this area. All our veggies and herbs are started from seed in March onwards in our own greenhouses and grown on with care until they are ready to leave home. They have not been treated with any chemical pesticides.

If you are new to veggie gardening, do not be intimidated! Veggie gardens do not have to be huge and a lot of work. Growing your own veggies is rewarding, fun and healthy. We can give you plenty of tips to help you be successful. Give your garden the best possible start and check out our veggie selection soon!

We have grown over 60 varieties of
veggie and herb transplants.

Peppers, squash and eggplant

Grow and eat your greens!

Swiss Chard, Kale, Arugula and Lettuce

May 2014

Swiss Chard, Kale, Arugula and Lettuce The health benefits of eating plenty of leafy green veggies have been well proven. As usual, we have grown a good selection of transplants this year, all of which are easy to grow and can be planted out when it is still cool. Just find a sunny spot in the garden with good soil. All veggies will benefit from the addition of some well rotted manure or Nincompoop before planting. If you don’t have space in the garden, consider planting any of these leafy green veggies in containers. Swiss Chard is very easy to grow. Leaves can be harvested when young and eaten raw in salads or left to grow on and steamed lightly. Our ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss Chard is a mix of different colour stems so looks really pretty both in the garden and on the plate. Kale is also very easy to grow and again can be eaten young and raw or older and steamed lightly.

Try roasting some kale to make delicious chips! Both swiss chard and kale will grow all season and do not mind the heat of the summer. They will go on producing well after frost in the fall. Arugula, lettuce and mesclun mix are only eaten as raw salad crops and are more of a short lived crop. They do not like the summer heat and will go to seed, becoming bitter. Plant them early and enjoy. We grow several types of lettuce, including Romaine, Buttercrunch and Red Leaf.

Recipe: Spicy Kale Chips

 

Plant Basil, Make Pesto, Enjoy!

Serve on pasta or make pesto pizza

May 2013

Fresh grown basilWhat better sign of summer than the fresh scent of Basil growing in your garden? Basil is an easy herb to grow, thriving in full sun and average, well drained soil. We grow the variety Genovese Basil which is the best variety for making pesto. Basil can grow about 2 feet tall and forms a large bushy plant by the end of summer. Be careful not to plant too soon as basil is quite frost and cold sensitive so wait until early June to plant outside. When the hot weather arrives, your basil will really take off! Harvest leaves anytime for salads and garnishes or cut whole branches by August to make delicious homemade pesto. Don’t have a veggie garden? Plant in pots or in your flower garden – Basil is easy to please! Check out my delicious and easy pesto recipe.

New Heritage Tomatoes for 2013

May 2013

Green ZebraAs usual we are growing a good selection of shapes, sizes and colours of Heritage Tomatoes. As well as the reliable favourites – Brandywine, Green Zebra, Bonny Best and others we have researched some ‘new’ varieties to try this year. With such an intriguing name, who could resist growing Peking Panda! It’s a yellow pear shaped cherry tomato which is very prolific and also produces early. Isis Candy is also a cherry type, but round in shape. 1” yellow –gold fruit have red and pink marbling and a sweet fruity taste. I know I’ll be trying some of them in my own garden! Our other new selection this year is Nyagous, a medium sized tomato with a deep red / black colour. The meaty flesh has some shelf life and exceptional flavour. Heritage tomato varieties require no different care than hybrid types. Just lots of sun and not too much water. Let’s hope this is a good year for tomatoes!

Our pumpkins are planted!

Pumpkin Patch Kids (PPK) plan a bumper crop!

June 2012

Pumpkin Patch KidsDue to the success of last year’s inaugural pumpkin harvest and sales, our kids Rosalyn, Daniel and Ben who together form the PPK are once again gearing up for a busy year.

In early June, they planted 90 pumpkin and gourd plants – in a selection of shapes, sizes and colours. With such names as Li’l Pumpkemon,  Li’l Orangemon and Caveman’s Club, their gourds are sure to create curiosity! Come and see their selections starting mid September at the Creemore Farmers Market.

Eggplant

A beautiful vegetable!

May 2012

EggplantThose of you who know me well will already know that I have a passion for growing and cooking Eggplant and that I am always encouraging others to try growing some of this beautiful vegetable for themselves! If you haven’t had the run down from me personally, here goes: Eggplant not only are an easy summer crop, but they also look fantastic in your garden. Plant young plants in full sun and good soil.  Large leaves form a rounded clump with small lilac flowers which will develop into beautiful rounded deep purple glossy fruits. Harvest starting in August when the fruits are large and shiny. That’s it!

Once you’ve harvested your crop, you can add to just about any recipe from stir fry, spaghetti bolognaise, lasagna or just slice and barbeque. Why not try out my kid friendly Eggplant Parmesan recipe that’s one of my family’s favourite dishes! 

Herb Planters

Fabulous hostess gift!

May 2012

Our herb planters make a great hostess gift for your next dinner or barbeque gathering or why not just treat yourself to one for your own place? We grow two types of planter – a 14” bowl and a 13” deeper planter pot. The bowl looks great on a table whereas the pot is more suited to being on the ground. Just keep in as much sun as you can give them. In each planter is Genovese basil, curly parsley, Italian parsley, rosemary, thyme, chives and oregano. Clip the herbs as you need them and they will re grow through the season. Great to keep close to the barbeque!

Herb Planter

 

 

Peppers

Hot or sweet & easy to grow!

May 2012

PeppersPeppers are an easy and rewarding summer vegetable crop. This year we are growing a selection of both hot and sweet pepper plants. Hot peppers include Hot Portugal – a fiery hot red salsa type which grows to 6” long, Hungarian Yellow Wax – a medium hot, yellow type which grows to 6” long and Jalapeno – a fiery hot dark green 4” long pepper that matures to red. Use hot peppers raw in salsas or cooked in chilli dishes. In our sweet pepper range, choose from yellow, red or green bell peppers. Sweet bell peppers add colour and crunch to salads and of course can be cooked in your favourite veggie dishes. Both the yellow and red bell peppers will start off green and then will mature to their final colour. They can be harvested at any point, but are best left to mature to their final colour. Both hot and sweet peppers will also store well in the fall if you have to harvest early before the frost. Plant all peppers after the danger of frost has passed, in a sunny and hot location. They can also be grown successfully in containers. Chris likes to keep a planter of hot peppers next to the barbeque on our deck for snacking on while he is cooking!

Heritage Tomatoes
A colour, shape and taste for everyone!

June 2011

Heritage TomatoesThis year, we are growing over 20 varieties of heritage tomato. Heritage, or heirloom tomatoes are varieties that have been in production for over 50 years and grow true to seed. Over the years, as advances were made in breeding, heritage varieties were mainly dropped by commercial growers in flavour of varieties that ship well, are more resistant to pests and diseases and have a longer shelf life. The flavour of heritage tomatoes is outstanding and they are perfect for homeowners to grow.

Check out our 2012 Heritage Tomato collection.

Upside Down Tomato Planters
Grow your Tomatoes anywhere

June 2010

Upside Down TomatoesHave you seen our new Upside Down Tomato Planters yet? There was a lot of talk last year at the horticultural trade conferences about growing tomatoes upside down! Since I felt a bit 'out of the loop', I decided to find out what all the talk was about! The result is a hanging basket with a cherry tomato growing out the bottom and a basket of herbs up top. The planters are looking great with the tomatoes flowering already. These baskets make a great gift for someone without a garden, or try one yourself and have tomatoes and fresh herbs literally at your door. No need to plant, no staking, less worry about bugs and diseases and no weeding - just hang them in as much sun as possible and water as necessary!

Swiss Chard Planters
Decorative yet functional!

June 2009

Swiss Chard Green Sauce for PastaStop by and check out our very cool Swiss Chard planters! Easy to grow, these rainbow stemmed Swiss Chard plants are a delight to grow and eat. The plants will go on producing colourful stems of leafy greens until the snow flies. Keep close to the kitchen door and harvest select stems all season long. We also have various other veggie and herb planters, but the Swiss Chard is definitely the prettiest! Need a recipe idea? Try this one - my kids love it and it can be easily prepared quickly for a week night dinner...

Katie's Quick Green Sauce for Pasta

1. Rinse the swiss chard and other greens well. Shake off any excess water and chop coarsely.

2. Saute the garlic in the oil for a minute until soft and golden. Add the damp greens and saute until they are wilted but still bright green. Sprinkle with pepper and nutmeg and remove from the heat.

3. In a blender or food processor, puree the cooked greens with the ricotta cheese until smooth and evenly coloured.

4. Toss fresh cooked pasta with the green sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese, tomatoes and toasted walnuts or pine nuts. Enjoy and feel good about eating your greens!

New Veggies for 2009
Grow & eat your own greens!

May 2009

Chocolate Bell PeppersThis year, we have greatly expanded our vegetable collection and are growing more than 60 vegetable varieties - enough to satisfy any appetite! New varieties for 2009 include some easy 'oniony' vegetables - Green Onions, Yellow Slicing Onions and one of my favourite veggies (and the Welsh national emblem), Leeks. In the greenery line, try our gourmet Mesclun Mix, a blend of Lettuces, Kales, Mustards and other greens. Just plant, grow and harvest for an instant salad, or try Romaine Lettuce, Chinese Pak Choi and Spinach.

How about some chilled Borscht Soup made from your own fresh Beets? Our squash collection includes 2 new delicious winter storage Squash, Sunshine Squash and Sweet Potato Squash. Fancy a change from the regular green or red Bell Peppers - how about Chocolate Bell Peppers? Check out our new sweet Cherry Tomato, perfect for patio containers - Tumbling Tom Red and last but not least, let's not forget the good old Brussel Sprouts....(Amazing lightly steamed then pan fried with butter and almonds a la Eileen Martin!!) So get planning your veggie garden.... many of the cooler weather crops such as Leeks, Onions, Lettuce, Spinach, Brocolli, Cabbage and Brussel Sprouts can be planted any time now!

Heritage Tomatoes
Easy to grow, amazing to eat!

May 2008

This year we have grown a selection of over 20 Heritage Tomato varieties. Heritage or Heirloom varieties have been around for over 50 years. Often they have been dropped by larger plant breeders as newer varieties were bred for long distance transport or longer shelf life. Heritage Tomatoes come in various shapes and sizes and have amazing colour and flavour. An extra bonus - all our Heritage Tomatoes are grown in biodegradable pots - just plant the whole pot in the ground and the pots will naturally break down. As with all Tomatoes, plant deep for extra root growth and sturdy plants. Come and check out our selection and try something different this year! How can you resist such intriguing names as Black from Tula, Old Flame or Tigerella?!!

Heritage Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes and Specialty Peppers
A taste sensation!

May 2007

Creemore Farmers' MarketLast week at the Creemore Farmers Market, 100 Heirloom Tomatoes were handed out to visitors, all helping to raise awareness of Heritage Vegetables. More gardeners are increasingly becoming interested in Heritage Vegetables and for good reasons. These are the varieties that have been passed by or dropped by plant breeders as they search for qualities such as long shelf life, good shipping qualities and pest and disease resistance. Often Heritage Vegetables have amazing flavour, unusual colouring and interesting histories and names. They are easy to grow in a home garden and offer a change from the more usual varieties. This year we are growing an Heirloom Tomato Collection and a Specialty Pepper Collection. Each 6 pack contains 6 different varieties and comes with an information sheet. Great to plant at home or give as a present!

Heliopsis

Zinnias

Coneflower

Coleus

Globe Thistle

Exotic Impatiens

Bleeding Hearts

Super Bells