Renovation & Design

Renovation & Design

Fruits of their labour

The sweet juicy flavour of fresh fruit may be all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth -- and with less guilt. Rich in dietary fibre, vitamin C, potassium and other essential nutrients, the benefits of eating fresh fruit are well known. Locally grown fruit is a fruit less travelled, hence far less potential for nutrient loss compared with fruit that must travel thousands of kilometres before reaching your grocery store.

In spite of the late start to the growing season, most homeowners and local growers have experienced normal yields for this summer's fruit crop.

Anthony Mintenko, provincial fruit crops specialist, says while there may have been some delay in the ripening process due to fewer heat units, there won't be a problem this fall with insufficient moisture and plants should go into the winter well-watered.

For those of us who don't grow fruit in our backyards, there are plenty of opportunities to stock up on locally grown fruit products to enjoy throughout the winter.

In spite of a devastating fire this spring that destroyed the building that housed all of their equipment including their apple-cider press, John Boy Farms-Apple Junction diversified its product line to include apple syrup and apple jelly and will launch a new product in 2015: apple vinegar.

Demand has been so strong for the apple syrup, says Jean-Guy Cote, co-owner, that production will be scaled upwards. Originally, the Cotes sold the syrup as a topping for pancakes and waffles, but customers are using it in their tea or coffee, as an alternative sweetener on oatmeal, or as a glaze on ham at the end of cooking for a tantalizing apple flavour.

"We were really fortunate that last year's crop was so excellent," said Cote, "because we pressed far more juice than we were able to sell." The surplus juice, stored in freezers, carried their small but growing business through the summer.

"The fire did not put an end to the dream we have for our business," said Cote whose fifth-generation farm is home to a small orchard planted with varieties that include Goodland, Fall Red, September Ruby, Gemini, Prairie Magic and Red Sparkle. Still, the orchard does not produce enough apples to make all of their products and large amounts are purchased from local growers.

The idea for apple vinegar came from Cote's mother, Rita, who has always made homemade vinaigrette from scratch. Cote's mom combines the apple vinegar with equal parts oil in a bowl, adds fresh onion and garlic, salt and pepper to season, whisks with a fork, then lets salad ingredients marinade for a short while before adding lettuce. The result is a light-tasting salad dressing without excess sugar or fat.

Everyone is familiar with jam preserves but flora & farmer's Kimberley Bialkowski has added a twist. With products such as cardamom-spiced apple maple butter, peppery strawberry balsamic, hot and smokey tomato and pineapple, blueberry anise, and so much more, Bialkowski first piqued curiosity and then had customers clamouring for more. Both fearless and adept in the kitchen, Bialkowski's joy of cooking involves the combination of daring ingredients for flavour that is, in her words, fruit forward.

"I select my ingredients to bring out the flavour of the fruit without overpowering it," said Bialkowski who only rarely uses pectin, preferring instead a long, slow cooking process.

Like some spirits with your jam and toast? Try blueberry bramble with gin and lemon, or strawberry ginger orange with port, or perhaps spiced grapefruit marmalade with lime and dark rum. Bialkowski also specializes in boozy pickles.

While she grows some of her own ingredients such as rhubarb, basil and anise hyssop, Bialkowski sources the rest and plans to make more connections with local farmers.

In only her second year of business, Bialkowski has already been approached by 10 local retailers, including Generation Green, Organic Planet, Neechi Foods and Organza.

Visit her facebook page, flora & farmer, for more information on her products.

Another spirited fruit-based product comes from Grant Rigby, Rigby Orchards Ltd., who will launch this fall the first Manitoba-made dinner wine, Borealis Dry Haskap, made from dark blue borealis cultivar haskap berries.

Sulfite-free and with a distinctive haskap aroma, this new red wine is produced at Rigby Orchards in Killarney, Manitoba's only estate winery. Rigby Orchards, a family-owned farm dating back to 1882, was licensed in 1999 which is when it first released Boyne raspberry wine.

Rigby is an organic grower who minimizes disease by mowing down half of his raspberry orchard each spring, allowing new raspberry primocanes to grow free of any contact with inoculums on prior year canes. Rigby also grows Ben Tirran blackcurrants that he ferments with honey into a mead cassis.

Rigby says prevention of soil salinity is especially important for orchard longevity and soil sustainability.

"By enabling plant life to flourish between the rows in the fall and remain alive until mid-spring," said Rigby, "living roots not only prevent salinity but also nourish and develop mass networks in the soil of native perennial mycorhizae which receive energy from plants in exchange for soil nutrients."

Rigby recommends gardeners re-invent garden soil management towards the objective of ensuring garden soils contain living roots at all times and that they consider alternatives to deep roto-tilling.

"Daily close clipping of unwanted plants near ground level via very shallow hoeing or sprinkling vinegar or scalding hot water are proven methods for damaging leaf cell tissue of unwanted plants. As the leaves of unwanted plants are removed, our food crop roots can then integrate with the living mycorhizae they had maintained." The result, adds Rigby, is enhanced mineral density of our human nutrition.

Both saskatoons and haskap are gaining prominence as delicious, highly nutritious berries. Mintenko describes the flavour of saskatoons as a combination of blueberry-almond with a sweet-tart taste experience. Haskap, also known as honeyberry, is newer to Manitoba. Mintenko says it is the earliest maturing berry on the Prairies and has a particularly tart blueberry-type flavour that can be eaten fresh or processed into jams or pureed spreads.

Two different cultivars of haskap are required for pollination and fruit production while saskatoons mostly self-pollinate.

Philip Ronald, owner of Riverbend Orchards Ltd., located on eight fertile, well-drained hectares south of Portage, grows a variety of saskatoons called Smokey. Ronald says Smokey is the sweetest of all the cultivars. The plants are almost 15 years old but still very fruitful, producing close to 9,000 kilograms annually.

While saskatoon berries have earned their reputation as one of the best of the blue berries in terms of antioxidants, Ronald is also experimenting with other fruit. "We are also working with a brand-new plant called aronia chokeberry," said Ronald, adding aronia has the highest antioxidants and phytochemicals of any fruit plant.

Ronald advises homeowners to check with their local nursery if they are interested in growing aronia, which has beautiful fall colour and spring flowers. It is not for eating out of hand, but rather used in making jam or wine. "Treat it more as an edible ornamental or medicinal crop consumed primarily for its health benefits," said Ronald who grows the Viking variety.

In addition to berries, Ronald grows apples and picked about 180 kgs this year.

The plum crop may be the most challenging. "It's been a challenge to get pollination and proper fruit set," said Ronald who adds there is only a brief window of opportunity of about three days in May when the flowers are ready to be pollinated. In order to stimulate pollination, Ronald ordered mason bees this year from Westcoast Seed in Vancouver. Mason bees are smaller, less aggressive bees than honeybees and are more active in cooler weather.

The bees come with a little house, almost like a birdhouse, and over the summer have built their homes throughout the small tubes in the house. In the next month, he will store the house in a refrigerator, bees and all, and put it out again next spring to build the colony even further.

Ronald sells 50 per cent of his fruit crop at the farm gate, starting in the first week of July for about five weeks. His produce is sold at Crampton's Market, St. Leon Gardens, Vic's Fruit Market and The Little Red Barn. Visit www.riverbendorchards.ca for more details.

By Colleen Zacharias
October 4

Renovation & Design

Pink-stained bathtub definitely not the bomb

QUESTION: We have an original cast iron tub. This summer it was refinished and was beautiful and sparkling white until yesterday, when I used a pink bath bomb. During the short soak (20 minutes) it stained the tub a deep, dark pink. I called the bath bomb company and they said to scrub with baking soda and lemon juice. It did nothing. We removed some of the stain with bleach but not completely. I fear we have to again have the tub refinished. Can you suggest anything that might help remove the stain? The bath bomb is from Lush, and apparently the colors are "natural" but they still dye like crazy. Thank you so much in advance for your help. Genevieve (Winnipeg)

ANSWER: With the bathroom vent turned on, put the stopper in the drain and add 60 millilitres of Super Iron Out into the tub. Fill it with water but be careful, the fumes are strong. Wait 10 minutes, drain the tub and rinse it with water. This product is strong but works well. Another option is to leave the tub as is. The dye will likely fade over time.

 

Q: My girlfriend had her brick home vandalized with broken eggs. They have tried many things, but none have worked so far. The eggs are baked on, as this happened while they were away this summer. Do you have a solution? Kathy (Emerson)

A: The easiest technique for removing egg from brick is to spray the area with a pressure washer. Another trick is to soak the area with liquid laundry detergent and cold water. Since egg is a protein stain, hot water will make the stain more difficult to remove. After 30 minutes, wash the area with cold water and rags.

 

Q: Do you have any uses for old tea leaves other than composting them? Marvin (Winnipeg)

A: Here's a little gem you can try: Clean windows, glass and mirrors by collecting tea leaves in a bucket. Cover with rainwater and leave overnight. Strain and use with a squeegee. Dry with a three-day old or older newspaper. Or deodorize your feet by soaking them in a bucket of tea leaves and water. Lastly, sprinkle tea leaves around ferns and rose bushes. The nutrients contained in tea leaves will give your plants a boost.

 

Household hints that measure up:

- Here is an easy trick for measuring shortening or peanut butter. If a recipe calls for half a cup of shortening, measure 120 millilitres of water into a measuring cup. Add shortening until the water line reaches 240 millilitres. Pour out the water, and you are left with 120 millilitres of shortening or peanut butter.

- Before measuring honey, run the spoon under hot water. The honey will slide off with ease.

- When measuring sticky liquid ingredients in measuring cups, spray the cups with cooking spray. Ingredients will slide out quickly.

 

I enjoy your questions and tips -- keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a corporate presenter on how to harness the power of words? Check out my website at reena.ca.

By Reena Nerbis
October 4

Renovation & Design

Beautiful bulbs

With season's end approaching, don't hang up your trowel just yet. For less than the cost of lunch with your friends, you can purchase a bag of flowering bulbs, pop them into the ground just about anywhere and enjoy show-stopping blooms next spring.

Growing beautiful bulbs is easy and there are many surprising ways to use them, both indoors and out.

Karen Loewen, president of the Steinbach-area garden club, likes to place tulip bulbs into pots filled with fresh, well-draining potting medium, not garden soil, before sinking them into the ground, the edge of the pot level with the soil surface.

Loewen plants multiple tulip bulbs into each container, leaving space between each so they are not touching and at a depth that allows for adequate root growth. After watering, she mulches with a layer of fallen leaves. As soon as the ground thaws enough for Loewen to retrieve the pots, she then situates them in the most ideal location for viewing from either her kitchen or living room window.

Although her property is surrounded by trees, squirrels have never dug up the bulbs. Nor have any of the decorative pots cracked in the frozen ground of her vegetable garden where she sinks them. Use plastic nursery pots if you have any concerns about cracking. Upturning a container above ground may provide some added protection but wait until the ground has frozen.

"It's nice to be able to brush the soil off the pot in the early spring and display it in a really conspicuous location," said Loewen who notes that container-grown bulbs bloom a bit earlier.

After lifting, this method also lends itself to combining the tulips in a larger container display with 10 or 15 centimetre pots of cool season plants such as pansies, violas, violets and primroses. These are generally readily available in the spring time at garden centres and retail outlets. Tuck in an assortment for the most pleasing arrangement, insert a few pussy willow branches or other leafless stems and you will have a spectacular front door display after a long winter.

It's safe from rabbits, too.

Do remember, though, that containerized displays dry out more quickly than plants in the ground. Check the soil regularly and water as needed.

Suppose you have had enough of digging or have no interest in getting your hands dirty. Forcing bulbs indoors into winter bloom can be as uncomplicated as you like. One method uses only a pinch-necked forcing vase, pre-chilled bulb, and some water. Bulbs for forcing indoors, such as the ones available in kits, have been prepared by growers so won't need to undergo the weeks of chilling they would otherwise need. Store them away from heat, ideally in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, until they are ready to use. Keep them from touching any produce as the ethylene gas from ripening fruit will have an adverse effect on the bulb's ability to produce flowers.

Tracy Musson Sitar, owner of Portico Indoor & Outdoor Living on Academy Road, has been forcing bulbs for years and says glass forcing vases, in all shapes and sizes, have been popular for a long time. Vintage forcing vases dating to the 1800s can fetch a good price.

Widely used in Europe, the forcing vase features a bulb-shaped reservoir at its base which holds water. The upper pinch-neck or waist of the vase is where the bulb sits, without touching water.

Bulbs prepared for forcing include hyacinths, double tulips, crocuses, daffodils, muscari and amaryllis. Paperwhite narcissus is a popular choice for forcing. If you can allow yourself to start thinking of Christmas this early, imagine the holiday tablescape you could create with a mix of forcing vases or bowls and assorted fragrant blooms.

Sitar says the end of October is a good time to begin. It is a great project for children who will be interested to see the roots growing. To play up the intense fragrance of paperwhites, group vases together or consider using a larger bowl that will hold several bulbs.

Sitar begins by putting a small amount of water in the basin of the bowl and then adds a layer of polished pebbles. The bulbs are nestled into the stones without touching the water which is below the rocks. Again, only prepared bulbs should be used. Hyacinth or tulip bulbs that have not been specially prepared for forcing will require several weeks (eight or more) of chilling at eight degrees Celsius or below.

For growing outdoors, there is a new type of bulb in town. This year, for the first time, Sage Garden Herbs will be carrying only certified organic bulbs. Marketed by Mantel Holland, a major producer that sells more than 15 million bulbs annually, organic bulbs are grown without chemical pesticides or mineral fertilizers and are said to have higher resistance to disease, better flowering results and hardier skin.

Dave Hanson, owner of Sage Garden Herbs, made the decision to switch to organic bulbs out of concern for the ongoing threat to bees whose populations are threatened due to chemical pesticides, groundwater contamination from fertilizers and lack of pollen and nectar.

Since 1994 when neonicotinoids were introduced for widespread pesticide application in both agriculture and horticulture, it became evident early on there was a clear link with declining bee populations. Dutch policy-makers recognized that while bulbs represent a massively important economic engine for their country, environmental sustainability is critical, too. For now, only about two per cent of the billions of Dutch bulbs sold annually are being grown organically, but this is expected to increase.

Are they more expensive and will there be the same number of varieties? The answer is no to both questions. Hanson says he will be selling organic flowering bulbs for the same price as he sold non-organic bulbs in the past. There is a good selection of varieties and these will only increase as more gardeners embrace organic alternatives.

Many gardeners purchase bulbs from mail order catalogues. Dugald Cameron, owner of Garden Import (gardenimport.com), a mail order company located in Richmond Hill, Ont., recommends gardeners rediscover the narcissus. Visualizing the typical yellow trumpet-shaped blooms? Visualize instead shocking white perianths (outer part of the flower) with cups that range from brilliant orange-red, apricot-pink, ruffled pink, even orange and green. Narcissus Mix, for example, consists of 85 different varieties.

Squirrels won't touch daffodil bulbs, says Cameron, who also recommends species tulips that don't seem to be bothered by wildlife. Species tulips bloom much earlier than other tulips and while their size is smaller and the bloom is simpler, they thrive in our climate and increase in number each year.

Daffodils, though, are longer lived, sometimes up to 10 years.

"The key to successfully growing narcissus," said Cameron, "is to plant them in the fall while the ground is still warm. Narcissus needs to begin to root before the ground freezes."

Cameron recommends mulching the planting site before the bulbs arrive as a means to keeping out frost. "When the bulbs arrive," suggests Cameron, "soak them overnight in tepid water so they will root faster. Then mulch after planting to keep the frost out as long as you can."

Site your early-blooming bulbs such as crocus, muscari and scilla on higher ground or where snow melts sooner. As bees emerge in spring, they will thank you for this early source of pollen.

University of Winnipeg Prof. Richard Westwood reminds gardeners to consider planting their bulbs this fall in areas apart from perennial beds.

The majority of butterflies and moths overwinter in the larval stage and some overwinter as pupae."There may be overwintering eggs, larvae or pupae on the plants, at the soil surface or buried in the top fem cm of the soil," said Westwood. Take care to not disturb these sites.

Fall is also an excellent time for planting lily bulbs. Plan to attend the Manitoba Regional Lily Society Fall Bulb Sale on Sept. 27 at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featured bulbs include tall-growing lillim pardalinum, white keynote border lily, double-flowered cocktail twins and many other varieties. Visit www.manitobalilies.ca for full details.

 

colleenizacharias@gmail.com

By Colleen Zacharias
September 27