Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. ~P. Aretino

Further to my seed catalouge post, Dave Zeldon, (Waterford's answer to Ed Lawrence) reminded me about Linda Crago and Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm in Wellandport.

Linda runs a mail order business for plants and seedlings each spring and volunteers with heirloom seed exchanges (along with her greenhouse, a CSA, participates in an organic market, producer and supplier for winery restauratns in the Niagara Peninsula and her roadsifde stand and heads up the local chapter of Canadian Organic Growers).

Please visit Linda's website at http://www.treeandtwig.ca/ for more information and if you keep old Harrowsmith's (not weird) check out pages 75 and 76 of the August 2007 issue.

Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do - or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. ~SCrawford

Another fantastic use of time on these cold grey days is to curls up with your computer and a warm mug of tea and discover the world of blogging. I must say I am prejudice to blogging, it is a great creative outlet, a sharing tool for the masses and sometimes you learn a little something along the way.

Here are a few read-worthy Ontario blogs that I follow that come from places of food and garden:

Crackers (http://homemadecrackers.blogspot.com/) is my personal favorite, written by Norfolk County natives Jesse and Melanie Senko (now in Ancaster) about their quest to make more at home, use local ingredients and decrease their dependence on the supermarket. The entries are full of info and really fab photos.

Here are 3 more I discovered on http://www.beerandbuttertarts.com/:

http://seasonalontariofood.blogspot.com/
http://wellpreserved.ca/
http://www.familybites.ca/

Please share your favorite blogs with us!

"Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom." ~EB White

'Tis the season for seed catalogues. Nothing makes gardeners happier in the middle of winter than the promises photographed on glossy pages that conveniently arrive in the mail. My copies of the 2011 William Dam (www.damseeds.ca/) and Richters (www.richters.com/) are already dog-eared with notes in the columns of tomatoes and beans of what worked, what flopped and new things to try.

Chris has been curled up with her OSC Seeds catalogue (www.oscseeds.com/) busily making lists.

I am fortunate to have room to start seeds indoors, but it isn't necessary, you can order seeds to sow straight into the ground come spring.

I will keep everyone posted of details for this years garden as soon as I am in the know!

Keep Warm!