Gardening with Mark and Ben, September 2024

For years, you have heard about Mark's gardening experience. For a few less years, you have read about Ben's. Now, a contribution from Mark’s wife/Ben’s mom who has been holding food court at our home for over a generation: now, feeding 7 grandchildren every chance she gets.

Truth be told, the division of labour here for 44 years has been that Mark produces food in the garden and Mary prepares it for consumption.

She has a passion for this that runs generations deep, as you are about to learn.

We hope you enjoy this twist to the Cullen story.

A contribution from the ultimate family foodie and her first ever: with our thanks for this contribution and for years of good health, table conversation, love and care.

Sincerely, Ben and Mark

"I’ve just returned from the UK, where I was helping our daughter get ready to move. The move happened sooner than expected, so her pantry was still full. I spent the week cooking meals and trying to use many of the ingredients from her pantry, so they wouldn’t have to be moved. It was fun and we had some “interesting” meals.

When I returned home, our late August garden had a very similar feel to her pantry…….3 green peppers, 2 zucchinis,6 beets, lots of kale and buckets of tomatoes. Mark gets a lot of joy from sharing his produce but there’s still lots for us (often misshapen)…so I’m left with finding the best way to use it all up.

I enjoy roasting huge pans of tomatoes, onions celery etc….for a couple of hours at 425 degrees and putting it through the “Foley” food mill. I freeze it in smaller portions to be added to soups and stews throughout the winter. For very little work, it adds a lot of flavour.

I have also been using a recipe for spaghetti sauce that was given to my mom, over 70 years ago, by an Italian woman whose family ran a “Fine Foods” store in Toronto. This recipe has never failed us and the beauty of it is that it absorbs a lot of the extra produce from our garden…..

RECIPE

Maria's Spaghetti Sauce

Brown meat, onion and garlic. (I’ve always used 1 pound for the following quantities)

Add tomato paste and 1 can of water. Cook slowly for 5-10 minutes.

Add: 1 can squashed tomatoes

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 green pepper(chopped)

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup water (if garden tomatoes are really juicy, I cut back on the water.

Cook slowly for at least 2 hours…….

Rather than canned tomatoes, I use fresh and put them in boiling water for about 10 seconds, and then slide the skins off when they cool. Chop them into chunks and add to the sauce.

Depending on my audience, I can add carrots, zucchini, beans and even kale! Handfuls of herbs also add to the flavour. After it’s cooked for a couple of hours , I run my immersion blender through it, gently, to blend all the chunks…..it’s a wonderful way to use up the excess and feed our grandkids veggies, without them knowing!

In recent years, I have cut way back on the sugar…..

Lastly…..one more tip that we tried this year on our tomatoes. I have started saving my egg shells and running them through my food processor to grind them down into a fine powder. It creates a bit of dust and is best done in an old machine, as the sharpness of the shells is a bit hard on things. (you might think of buying a used machine at a thrift shop for this)

I turned the ground shells over to Mark and he sprinkled them around the base of the tomato plants early in the season and later on. The calcium from the shells was suggested to reduce “blossom end rot”. Lo and behold…it worked. It may take us a few more years to be sure it wasn’t just luck, but it costs nothing to try and the results were impressive!

Hope you can have some fun with the food you grow or find at local markets……don’t get too hung up on recipes and just have some fun being your own chef!!

Thanks for reading. Mary Cullen"

Mark is the Chair of Trees For Life: a charity dedicated to planting trees in urban spaces where Canadians live work and play.

Last month, our Executive Director Mike Hurley travelled to the birthplace of his father-in-law to a tiny town in the north of Portugal. We thought that you would enjoy his observations of some old trees that no doubt can tell some marvelous stories. Mark and Ben

“My father-in-law is from a tiny town in the north of Portugal called Padrela. And when I say tiny, I mean it - about 70 people live there year-round. And for almost all 70 of them, their entire livelihood revolves around trees - specifically the chestnut tree. They almost all own land on which they have planted these trees and once a year they harvest the chestnuts. For many, that is their primary source of income. To say their lives revolve around trees would be a massive understatement.

There are also many other neat trees in the tiny town that I thought were photo worthy.

A couple of the oldest trees in town (my father-in-law says they think they're 300-400 years old).

A couple of trees in the town square that show how powerful a tree's growth can be - note that the roots are lifting and reshaping the cobblestone

A tree that has roots that are seemingly holding together a stone wall. Both are likely well over a century old. Which came first? The tree or the wall? They are one now!”

TREES FOR LIFE Annual Golf Tournament

On August 24, we hosted our annual golf tournament in support of Trees for Life. It was a beautifully sunny day and our guests enjoyed the stunning Pheasant Run Golf Club.

We are pleased to report that we raised over $135,000 to support tree planting projects.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support our fundraiser.

Save the date, August 21, 2025 for next year’s tournament.

Thanks again for your support!

Mark, Ben and the Trees for Life team.

THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN

Dig and divide. Perennials that flowered in early to mid-summer can be dug up and divided. Replant the divisions around your yard in the appropriate places or give them away if you have run out of space. Be sure that the soil is moist when you dig up the mature perennial.

Plant spring flowering bulbs. The boat has arrived from The Netherlands, and we recommend that you check out the selection at your favourite retailer for the best selection of the season. Fact is, they don't replenish the 'hard to find' varieties of tulips, daffodils, narcissus, hyacinths and the like later in the fall season. Even if you just store your new purchases in your garage for a few weeks, at least you have the varieties and colours that you really want.

Compost: a. empty b. fill. Not to oversimplify this, but your garden needs the natural goodness that is contained in your backyard composting unit and your now-empty composting unit will provide a valuable service this autumn when the leaves fall and you yank your spent annuals and veggie plants out of the ground.

Cut and bring indoors. Many of the flowering plants in your yard, annual and perennial, are in perfect shape for sharing. Cut your monarda, phlox, rudbeckia and the second coming of Veronica that is showing off in your yard. Bring them indoors to bloom on the table. Enjoy the colour and fragrance where you live. Change the water every second day to keep them fresh longer.

Dead head. Perennials and roses that have finished flowering will often produce more flowers come fall when you remove spent flowers before they go to seed.

Harvest your garlic. Ideally, you would have done this 2 weeks ago, but no harm. Dig it, dry it in the sun for 10 days and store it in cool, dry place until you are ready to use it.

Plant fall-flowering sedum, asters, mums, Japanese anemone, rudbeckia (well, it has been blooming for a few weeks now). Check out the selection at your local garden retailer.

September is the best month of the year to sow grass to either thicken an established lawn or start a new one. Also, to lay sod. Make sure that the base is good soil (see “compost” above) and water when dry.

September is also the best month to move peonies. Dig as much of the root mass as you can manage, cut the top by 80% and transplant into good quality soil. Do not bury the top portion of the root mass more than 8 cm deep or flowering will be delayed.

BIRDS IN FOCUS:

Cedar Waxwing

By: Jody Allair

Not all yard birds are attracted to your bird feeder. Some are more interested in your berry- or fruit- producing trees and shrubs. Meet the Cedar Waxwing, arguably one of the most elegant birds found in Canada, and one that will feed on fruiting trees throughout the southern parts of the country during the fall and winter.

Overall, Cedar Waxwings have a smooth, polished, light-brown plumage, with grayish wings, pale bellies and undertail feathers. Bright yellow tips on the tail, black mask, a stylish crest on the head – and of course, the trademark red waxy tips on the wing coverts – give them some added flair. You should also keep an ear open for their thin, high-pitched trills which are often given in flight.

Cedar Waxwing

Photo credit: Yousif Attia

Few birds are as captivating to watch in your neighbourhood as Cedar Waxwings. Their fascinating behaviours include occasional intoxication from eating fermented berries, and males courting females with gifts of flower petals.

How do you attract these sleek-looking songbirds to your yard? Fruit-producing trees such as Serviceberry, Mountain Ash, Crabapple, Chokecherry (which are being consumed in my neighbourhood by Cedar Waxwings as I type this) and even cedars will appeal to Cedar Waxwings. And they won't just cruise by for some good eats; in the spring they may also stick around to nest. I often find them nesting in larger tree saplings, such as Sugar Maple or Manitoba Maple. In my old yard back in Southern Ontario a pair nested in the same Sugar Maple for three years in a row.

Good Birding!

Jody Allair

Director, Communications

Birds Canada

Connect with me on Instagram and X at: @JodyAllair

Harrowsmith’s FEATURE RECIPE

Cherry Tomato Bounty Jam Recipe and 5 Ways to Use it

Cherry Tomato Jam is so simple, versatile and foolproof that you will always want it in your fridge.

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Mark and Ben Cullen

www.markcullen.com| www.cullensfoods.com | www.foodandsheltergoods.com