KELOWNA CANADIAN ITALIAN CLUB
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • About KCIC and Our History
    • President's Message
    • Vice President's Message
    • Executive and Directors
    • Membership
    • Volunteers
  • NEWS & ARTICLES
    • The Grapevine Newsletter
    • THE ITALIAN GARDENER
    • Kelowna's First Families
    • Pietro's Spazio Sport
    • Book Reviews
    • Mangia Mangia Recipes
  • WHAT'S HAPPENING AT KCIC
    • 2023 Calendar
    • Club Happenings >
      • Joe Avati World Tour
      • KCIC Dinners & Special Events
      • La Nostra Famiglia Italiana >
        • Upcoming NFI Events >
          • NFI - Spaghetti
        • Past NFI Events >
          • NFI - Bisnonno
          • NFI - L'Acqua
          • NFI - Terrazzo
          • NFI - Guerra
          • NFI - Lilia
          • Coming to Pier 21
          • Dalla Terra
          • Dialetti!
          • Sveva Caetani
          • Emilio Picariello
        • Family Tree Workshops
        • Between Neighbours
      • Giuseppe's Cafe
      • La Bella Tavola - Cooking Classes
      • Bocce
      • La Scuola Italiana - Italian Language
      • KCIC Library
    • Il Nostro Lascito Legacy Project
    • Our 55th Birthday!
  • More From Us
    • CONTACT US
    • 50th ANNIVERSARY >
      • 50th Anniversary
      • Mercato
      • Dinner & Dance Gala
    • Miss Kelowna Cdn. Italian Club
    • PHOTOS >
      • Photos
    • Calendar Page
  • Take Out Dinners
  • New Page

IL GIARDINIERE ITALIANO

The Italian Gardener

a little february reprieve from winter

2/12/2021

0 Comments

 
What better way to honour San Valentino than with a freshly picked basket of basil and tomatoes? I can not think of a more perfect Valentine’ Day gift. I hope my spouse agrees.
​
My small greenhouse becomes a very comfortable spot during the winter months. A chair, a small waterfall and a few blooming geraniums give me a perfect retreat to have my morning cup of coffee/tea and complete my daily crossword puzzle.

In my greenhouse I have a couple of pots of basil and a tomato plant that gives us a a few special treats during the winter. I also have several planter boxes, on wheels, under one of the shelves. Equipped with a grow light this cool spot is the perfect place to grow fresh salad greens all winter. Since this lettuce is grown solely with the grow lights, it is also the perfect crop for any inside venue, that is not below freezing.

Inside activities for February also include shelling dried Romano beans. These beans were a mainstay of many of my family. In autumn, many were shelled and then canned. The remainder were left to dry in their pods for shelling during the winter months. My preferred way of consuming them is to add the beans to a pepper and tomato “stew” that I prepare in the fall. Extra containers are added to my freezer. A perfect winter comfort food.

Saving favourite or heritage seeds is a family tradition. Romano beans, lettuce/chicory and tomatoes were part of my family’s seed saving. They bore names such as Mattioda Lettuce, named after the Mattioda family that first gave us some seed. Seed saving and heritage seeds are coming back in fad these days. Groups such as the Kelowna Master Gardeners operate a Seedy Sunday each year. This year, they are holding a free drive-through operation on March 14.

​If you are looking for some seeds, or have extra seeds you want to contribute, go their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/KelownaSeedySunday/ 
or email: kelownaseedysunday@gmail.com

A most important outdoor gardening activities for February is pruning trees. Fruit trees are pruned to increase production and to make the harvesting easier. It is also a perfect time to prune ornamental, deciduous trees. Without the leaves, it is easy to see the structure of the tree. Weak or overlapping branches are easy to spot during the winter months. Well pruned trees make a great visual impact in the winter landscape.
​
Our main February bloomer in the garden is Witch hazel. This small bush is available in yellows and reds. We have ours located along the front side walk, where it provides our winter travellers a hope for an early spring.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Life-long Gardener Don Rampone shares his tips and advice for gardening

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

coming soon to kcic!  - click below to find out more

Giuseppe's Cafe - March 30
JOE AVATI COMES TO KELOWNA JUNE 2
SPAGHETTI WESTERN APRIL 18
57th Anniversary Dinner and Dance

Our Clubhouse

770 Lawrence Ave.
Phone: 250 762 0900

What people Are Saying about us

"Great People, Wonderful Food! So nice to have a little bit of our Italian culture in Canada:)"
"Great people, family oriented and great food of course!"


Join our Mail list

We won't share your information but we will share our news and upcoming events!
Subscribe Here

Contact Us


The Kelowna Canadian Italian Club acknowledges that our clubhouse is situated on the beautiful unceded traditional territory of the Syilx/Okanagan people. Who, for thousands of years, have lived in harmony with nature and continue to this day to offer us so much culture and understanding.
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • About KCIC and Our History
    • President's Message
    • Vice President's Message
    • Executive and Directors
    • Membership
    • Volunteers
  • NEWS & ARTICLES
    • The Grapevine Newsletter
    • THE ITALIAN GARDENER
    • Kelowna's First Families
    • Pietro's Spazio Sport
    • Book Reviews
    • Mangia Mangia Recipes
  • WHAT'S HAPPENING AT KCIC
    • 2023 Calendar
    • Club Happenings >
      • Joe Avati World Tour
      • KCIC Dinners & Special Events
      • La Nostra Famiglia Italiana >
        • Upcoming NFI Events >
          • NFI - Spaghetti
        • Past NFI Events >
          • NFI - Bisnonno
          • NFI - L'Acqua
          • NFI - Terrazzo
          • NFI - Guerra
          • NFI - Lilia
          • Coming to Pier 21
          • Dalla Terra
          • Dialetti!
          • Sveva Caetani
          • Emilio Picariello
        • Family Tree Workshops
        • Between Neighbours
      • Giuseppe's Cafe
      • La Bella Tavola - Cooking Classes
      • Bocce
      • La Scuola Italiana - Italian Language
      • KCIC Library
    • Il Nostro Lascito Legacy Project
    • Our 55th Birthday!
  • More From Us
    • CONTACT US
    • 50th ANNIVERSARY >
      • 50th Anniversary
      • Mercato
      • Dinner & Dance Gala
    • Miss Kelowna Cdn. Italian Club
    • PHOTOS >
      • Photos
    • Calendar Page
  • Take Out Dinners
  • New Page