Sweet Talk

Liz Corbett and Mary VanderDussen were the guest speakers at the March Meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. The topic of the meeting was the importance of honeybees and pollination.


Through a power point presentation, Liz “whose life is bees” showed members the role that honeybees played in the nature’s ecosystem.

Bees are the most financially feasible way for farmers to improve the quality of their crops. One third of all agricultural crops require pollination. Pollination by bees improves the quality of the crop which in turn leads to more income for the farmer and supplies more food for the consumer at lower prices….a “win win situation”

Bees are the most efficient pollinators and their hives can be transported from orchard to orchard or field to field. This does cause some trauma to the bees.

How can we as gardeners help promote pollination in our gardens….

•plant flowers that will bloom throughout spring, summer and fall

•have a water source in the garden

•let dandelions grow!

•asters, clover and golden rod are important sources of pollen…plant them!

•allow pollen producing plants to grow around the perimeter of fields…golden rod, clover

The informative presentation concluded with a short video clip…”Wings of Life” that captured the essence of the presentation.

For more info about bees, the following websites were given:

1. Quinte Beekeepers Association…ebcorbett@yahoo.ca

2. Ontario Beekeepers Association…www.ontariobee.com

Honey, pollen, beeswax candles and skin cream are available at their store Twin Sisters Hive and Honey Products located at 231 Frankford Rd. Stirling. The store is open Saturdays starting mid April. Call for more info 613-827-7277



APRIL MEETING…Tuesday April 3, 2012

Don Clost of Connon Nurseries will speak about the operation of Garden Centres.
BUS TRIP:

The annual bus trip to Canada Blooms at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto is Friday March 16. Cost is $55. Price includes admission and motor coach.

LOVE OF GARDENING SHOW:

The annual show is April 5-7 at the Evinrude Centre in Peterborough. Admission is $6.00. A group from the Hort Group will be carpooling on Friday April 6th from Quinn’s Parking lot in Tweed at 8:45 am.

Heirloom Seeds and How to Plant Them

Karyn Wright from Terra Edibles shows how to make a quick and easy seed planter at the recent Tweed Hort meeting.

Tweed and District Horticultural Society welcomed Karyn Wright from Terra Edibles located in Foxboro as their first guest speaker for 2012.


Terra Edibles sells heirloom vegetable seeds. The company has about 9000 catalogues mailed throughout Canada and they have over 120 varieties of heirloom tomatoes!

During her presentation Karyn showed members a cost efficient way to start their heirloom seeds. She uses washed milk bags folding the top twice to make a “cuff” then cuts drainage holes in the bottom. She adds a “seed starting mix” and 3 seeds to each bag. As the plants grow, she will pull out 2 seeds to transplant and leaves the centre one in the bag. She unrolls the “cuff” and adds more soil to her milk bag. When the seedling is ready to plant, she simply cuts away the milk bag and plants into the ground or container.

Seed saving tips were also shared during the presentation. The benefit of heirloom seeds is that they will reproduce the same quality of vegetable/fruit compared to hybrids.

Karyn discussed the process of saving squash and tomato seeds. Again Karyn uses a very cost efficient method. For squash, simply scoop out the seeds onto a screen, rinse the seeds, place on paper plate to dry and label the plate with the name of the seeds. When the seeds are dry, store in a paper bag labeled with the name of the seeds and year. Tomato seeds need to have the “jelly “removed. This is done by washing the seeds, placing in a jar and covering the jar with gauze for about 5 days and washing well after the five days to ensure that the “jelly” has disappeared. Then the process is similar to saving of squash seeds.

Members were invited to attend the “Seedy Saturdays” where they can buy/trade seeds. Future dates are….Feb 25 –Picton, Mar 3 Ottawa, Mar 4 Perth…for more information about the Seedy Saturdays, contact Karyn at 613-961-0654.

MARCH MEETING…Tuesday March 6, 2012

The topic of the meeting will be “Bees” and their importance to the process of pollination.

BUS TRIP:

The annual bus trip to Canada Blooms at the Direct energy Centre in Toronto is Friday March 16. Cost is $50 before February 19 and $55 after that date. Price includes admission and motor coach.

Christmas Potluck

Once again members of the Tweed Horticultural Society showcased their culinary talents at the group’s annual Christmas potluck dinner on Tuesday December 6, 2011. The tables were decorated with evergreen intertwined with ribbons and balls. Poinsettias added the final Christmas touch and several members won the poinsettias at the conclusion of the evening.


A delicious assortment of hot dishes, salads, rolls and bread as well as mouthwatering desserts was enjoyed by the members.

Janet Kennedy was presented with a gift to thank her for her term as President of the Society.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2012!

The next meeting will be on Tuesday February 7 at 7:00 pm at the Tweed Library. Please note the new start time for the meetings.

Memberships will be available for 2012…$12.00 individual and $16.00 family.

Christmas Decorating

Lynda Akey of Memory Lane in Tweed shared her designing secrets at November’s Horticultural meeting. As Lynda designed the wreath, she talked about some of the “dos and don’ts” to follow when creating floral pieces.

Some wreath designing tips the members learned during the evening….


•when placing lights on a wreath (need approximately 100 for a 30 inch wreath) start with the plug at the base of the wreath

•”fluffing up the wreath” gives the wreath dimension and removes that flat look

•work on the wreath with the lights plugged in

•use three sizes of decorations and use an odd number of the same decoration

•decorate the side so the wreath as well as the front

•if in doubt about a certain decoration….leave it off!!

Lynda recommended using 3M Command Strips to hang up swags on a wall, over a door or around the corners of a door frame.

Members were reminded about the Loyalist Luncheon on Friday December 2 at Loyalist College. Cost is approximately $13.00.



During the months of November and December, Connon Nursery will give 10% of purchase back to Horticultural Clubs…remember to take your Membership card when you are Christmas shopping!



NEXT MEETING: December 6 at 6 pm…..Christmas potluck. Bring your favourite dish. Don’t forget your plates, mug and cutlery.

A Thank You for Us

Al McNeill, chair of the Municipality of Tweed Public Library Board, presents Janet Kennedy, president of the Tweed and area Horticultural Society with a plaque in recognition of the work done by members of the Hort Society to beautify the front entrance of the Library. Hort members, under the direction of Jean Clark, designed and planted the Library gardens this summer.

Apple Talk

Diane and Randy McPherson of Grills Orchards in Belleville were the guest speakers at the Tweed and District Horticultural Society October meeting. They shared the changes that have taken place in the apple industry through the 14 years since they purchased Grill Orchards.

Many of the apple trees in the orchards are being replaced by dwarf apple trees to facilitate spraying (a very costly expense), pruning and picking.

A major change in the business occurred when National Grocers would not accept produce in their stores from local farmers. Since Grills Orchards delivered apples to several grocery stores in the Quinte area, they had to find another outlet for their apples. The result was the opening of a store at Grills Orchards as a way to support local farmers in the area. Locally grown apples, garlic, produce and even meat is sold at his store. The store now boasts a bakery that uses as many locally grown products as possible in the baking of breads and other baked goods. There is even a fudge counter for those with a sweet tooth!

At the conclusion of the meeting, many members had developed an awareness of the need to try and “buy local” in order to support the area’s farmers and economy. As President, Janet Kennedy always says many times throughout the monthly meetings “Buy Local”.

Members of the group had prepared several apple dishes to compliment this month’s topic. Members nibbled on a variety of apple treats…pie, cheesecake, muffins, “wedges”, loaves…..everything simply delicious! Some members were fortunate to win some apples from Grills during the monthly draw.


NEXT MEETING: November 1, 2011

A local designer will share her secrets as she designs and creates a Christmas wreath.

The Annual General Meeting will take place with elections for several positions on the Executive.

Cooking in September

Drew Ferguson and Steve Nicholson, chefs from Loyalist College in Belleville were the guest speakers at the Tweed and District Horticultural Society September meeting. Drew admitted that it was quite a challenge to “have a cooking class without a kitchen” but he managed to give the members a great evening filled with information and yummy treats to sample.


Drew spent some time speaking about water buffalo…meat that is very low in fat. However, the milk products from the water buffalo are very high in fat. As Drew said, “You can’t win them all!”

Drew spent part of the evening providing tips about growing garlic as that is what he is known for in the Tweed area. In a 4x8 plot, he can grow 100 plants. He recommends using organic materials to help the bulbs grow. Although he uses straw to keep the weeds out of the garden plot, he told members not to till the straw into the soil at the end of the season as it is too much fiber for the soil.

Drew and Steve served members water buffalo meatballs and a pasts dish with “Pronto Tomato Sauce”….as Drew said with all the tomatoes in people’s gardens, he thought this recipe would be a good way for members to use their tomatoes without having to cook sauce for hours on a hot summer day! For the sauce he used tomatoes (suggested Roma tomatoes), red onion, fresh basil, salt, pepper and garlic scap. As usual, Drew doesn’t give exact measurements!! The sauce can be heated and mixed with pasta (as the chefs did at the meeting) or used as bruscetta on bread or served over chicken……members raved about the sauce and some lucky members won some sauce as the door prizes!

NEXT MEETING: October 4, 2011

A local supplier will speak about what is involved in growing apples. President Janet Kennedy encouraged members to bring apple creations…either a craft or food to share for the meeting!