Your favorite Southwestern Quebec gardeners are BACK with a new episode and we are so thrilled to introduce our new guest to the pod: Caroline from the UK!

To kick things off, we start by giving our flowers to Hugo, who bravely stepped up to prune Justine's tomatoes to optimize airflow and sunlight. Thank you Hugo, my family is benefiting from the harvest of your hard work!

Caroline brings in an interesting perspective from the UK, discussing the cultural and agricultural differences between gardening in the UK and in Quebec. We have an interesting discussion of coal mining history in the UK and the now long term damage it's done to the soil in "the Black Country", but fear not, it's not all doom and gloom, we discuss the amazing gardens of the UK in all their aesthetic glory.

And of course, when it's three mama's on the pod, we gotta talk about our kids: we discuss involving children in the gardening and their little jobs, the parallels between raising children and growing plants and teaching them about the life cycle of food and plants.

Finishing it off, we have a discussion of food in Quebec with recommendations for Caroline to try while she is here, and of course, she returns the favor with recommendations for us to try next time we make a trip "across the pond" (spoiler: Yorkshire pudding sounds goooooooooooood).

Links to recipes noted in the podcast:

Fried Green Tomatoes: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/2371-fried-green-tomatoes

Pâté chinois: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/recettes/5541-pate-chinois

Cretons: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/7620-creton-spread-the-best

Macaroni Chinois: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/recettes/6120-macaroni-chinois

tourtières: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/recettes/4924-pates-a-la-viande-aussi-appeles-tourtieres

You have ASKED listeners, and we have ANSWERED! Our beloved cohost Hugo is BACK in the hot seat to answer all questions about facebook nonsense, tomato pruning and truly which pickle recipe reigns supreme.

We kick things off with some Gen Z lingo about who is being mogged by WHAT in the garden, and an update for how the season (a HOT one) has been going for us.

We debut a new segment, tentatively titled "Is Facebook Bull$hitting Me?" where we go through some tips about the best time to water from some dubious posts Justine saw on Facebook, and run them through the Council of Gardeners (Bethany and Hugo) to determine which is helpful and which is nonsense (the answers may surprise you!)

Bethany shares some tips about the wonderful utility of MULCH and why you should take that extra labourious step in your garden to mulch everywhere, especially, if like Justine, you have a Western garden that faces that punishing +37C heat.

Back in the internet rabbit hole, Justine presents Bethany and Hugo the great tomato pruning debate from r/tomatoes: to prune or not to prune? The answer, as always, is nuanced and needs to be listened to ;)

And finally... what is a pickle? What do we mean when we say "pickle"? Who is "we"? Justine and Hugo battle it out in The Great Pickle Debate, and truly listeners, you must decide for yourself... which pickle is best?

A truly wonderful ep where we vibe well, laugh on the mic and share personal stories. An ep for the ages!

Links:

If you are the geographic proximity of Southwestern Quebec, come join our club! We have events coming up soon: https://www.bethanygl.com/bvgc

Les Jardin De Resistance: https://www.cooplesjardinsdelaresistance.com/

The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds: Matthew 13:24-30 NIV -

Ricardo Bread and Butter Pickles: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/6829-bread-and-butter-pickles

Justine's resource of Polish Pickles (and Polish cooking in general): https://www.polishyourkitchen.com/polish-pickles-in-brine-ogorki-kiszone/

Another resource for fermenting pickles if this is your first time, and you would like a Quebec specific resource on how to ferment safely and buy local products: https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/blogs/fermented-vegetables/best-cultured-pickles-recipe/

Your favorite Southwestern Quebec Gardening Podcast is BACK with some excellent content for all our beloved listeners, and we have a special treat for you all: the debut guest spot appearance of Lumyhna!

Lumyhna is a gardener with an interest in vegetables and flowers, having a few seasons of experience focused on sowing and harvesting under the careful tutelage of her mother, Bethany (co-host). We had a great conversation talking about why harvesting potatoes is like digging for treasure, curating an Old English Fae aesthetic for your shady garden and the start of her journey with a Hügelkultur garden. Big welcome for Lumyhna, we hope to hear how her gardening season went!

In this episode, we recount Justine's "Highs and Lows" for the start of the season (spoiler: radishes? BIG HIGH) and have an in-depth discussion about what to plant if you have a shady area that you want to garden in. Truly not all is lost listeners, there is plenty of options available for you to have a productive growing season!

We also discuss the engineering marvel of trellises, and how they provide much needed structural support for all those tall, tall tomatoes and cucumbers that grow taller than perhaps you were planning for...

Wrapping up the episode, we give the beloved listeners some tips about rainy weather and how to make sure you and your community are safe even in torrential rain storms. Justine's tip? Don't mess around with thunder and lightning! Bethany's tip: have a can opener and learn how to use it (perhaps aimed more at our Zoomer listeners, but a good tip no matter your age!)

Hope you enjoy the episode! Links to things we discussed below:

1) Bethany meant that she is using a Japanese sickle, not a "hori hori". While she loves the hori hori, this is the tool she is using: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTciAFlYW3s

2) Mushroom store where Bethany bought her Wine Cap Mushroom spores: https://growmushroomscanada.ca/?srsltid=AfmBOorSpHPHZ0YsqZaxIP2reN8XZXLDshPcCjhMPyPnt2tWrXf1ZT28

3) Gov of Canada recommends 2 litres of water, per person, per day, for a recommendation of 72 hours (so 6 litres per person in your household). Link for more recommendations: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-drinking-water-safe-emergency.html

Blooming Valley Garden Club Events: https://www.bethanygl.com/bvgc If you are in the area, come join us for our upcoming events!