BT Toronto Blogs

So are tiny little small flies buzzing around your home and creeping you out? If so you have either two things: Fruit Flies or Fungus Gnats. Often they get confused for each other but here is a way to identify them and control them:

Fruit Flies:

Identification: Tiny almost flea like flies hovering around ripen fruit, empty and open beer bottles, vinegar and your wine glass…if so you got fruit flies.

Fruit Flies feed on the fermentation / yeast of ripening fruit essentially I guess we could call them alcoholics. The number one way to ride your home of them is to discard over ripen fruit and open alcohol or vinegar containers. Things like wet mops, and open water will also provide ideal habitat for a fruit fly.

Homemade fruit fly trap:

Take an empty 1 liter pop bottle and place some ripen fruit, beer, or wine in the base. Create a funnel out of wax paper or paper and place at the top of the bottle. Make sure the funnel opening is big enough to allow fruit flies in but not out. The fruit flies will be attracted to your bait (booze) and fly in but for some reason will not fly out.

You can do the same by covering a plastic container with plastic wrap and poke some holes in it with a pen. I almost forgot put a banana peel into the container before covering. They will fly in but not fly out.

Finally Fruit Flies do have some benefit ..to science that to the field of genetics. The short, ten-day life cycle of the fruit fly, its avid ability to reproduce, and its large chromosomes make the insect an ideal specimen for laboratory experiments in heredity.

Fungus Gnats:

Identification: If you have several indoor plants and every time you move or walk close to them a small cluster of small flies emerge ..you have Fungus Gnats.

Fungus Gnats require moist conditions and feed on decaying leaves and such. It seems those plants with higher percentage of peat in their soil mix have a great frequency of fungus gnats.

Control:

Clean plants and remove decaying leaves from the base of the plant along the soil line of the pot.

Water properly: Reduce watering and allow plants to dry out in between watering this will create strong roots and healthier plants!!

Purchase Yellow Sticky Strips. Gnats will be attracted them due to the yellow colour and get stuck!!

Some feel that if you sink pots in water for a long duration of time you will help to drown larvae however my feeling is your just create better habitat for them due to the moisture left in the pot!!

BREAKING GARDEN NEWS:

MARTHA STEWART WILL BE VISITING CANADA BLOOMS SATURDAY MARCH 20, 2010..I will keep you posted on details.

The last few days have been crazy! Last weekend I had a wonderful weekend in Stratford speaking at their 10th Annual Garden Festival – those attending gave me a warm welcome by singing happy B-day (See attached video). I also got to enjoy some of the great places in Stratford including a wonderful cheese boutique called the Milky Whey www.themilkywhey.ca a fantastic inn called the Mercer Inn www.mercerhallinn.com and a wonderful meal at Keystone Alley Café www.keystonealley.com. Stratford is such a great place to visit!!

The thing consuming almost all my time is the building of the Canada Blooms Disney Fairy Garden. I must say building a garden out of season does come up with some challenges. I’ve been everywhere looking for plants including Dundas/Waterdown to a great 3 generation nursery Connon Nurseries aka Neil V. Holdings www.connonnurseries.com but it doesn’t stop their I’ve sourced some funky cedars and birch from Oregon and with the help of the Ontario Turf Associations we’ve turned some wire frames into some very cool looking creatures. All and all Canada Blooms this year should be very unique at least our garden will!!

Finally I really want to stress to everyone out there enjoying the weather. Spring is in the air but cooler weather is likely to return. You can go out and clean up the yard by picking up broken stems, branches and leaves but remember it’s way to early to do things like applying grass seed, fertilizer or planting …be patience…my advice purchase some potted spring bulbs to enjoy indoors!!

Off to find some colour for Blooms enjoy the day!!!

Spring is definitely in the air this week!! Temperatures are on the rise and it looks like loads of sunshine to end off the week! Realistically spring is still few weeks away officially that is (spring arrives March 20th this year) however you have the chance to bring spring indoors this week while at the same time supporting a great organization.

The Ontario Lung Associations 13th Annual Tulip Day is this Wednesday March 3
http://www.on.lung.ca/Events-and-Fundraisers/Tulip-Day/index.php

This is your chance to purchase tulips in two ways:
o Fresh cut bunches of five are $6
o Potted tulips with six bulbs are $8

Why Tulips??
They are a low fragrance flower and can be enjoyed by everyone, including people with breathing problems. The Lung Association also like that they are one of the first signs of spring and hopes of better things to come!!

A big thanks to Ontario Flower Growers (www.pickontario.ca) who supported this fundraising event. Local, fresh flowers helping others…now I call that a good thing

* People can buy tulips from a number of on-site locations
throughout Ontario and the

o PATH Walkway system
o Royal Bank Plaza
o Manulife Financial

Enjoy the weather and buy some tulips to help others breath easy this spring!!

Frankie

This weekend I traveled up to the small village of Dorset just out of Huntsville. Dorset was celebrating it’s annual Snowball festival and to take advantage of the awesome weather my family along with the Perry family decided to take our children tobogganing….the rest is documented on my video blog.

love my job!! I always find that it takes me to some wonderful places and yesterday and just another example of the Gem’s we have in the City of Toronto!!

One gem the Toronto Botanical Gardens (of course I knew about this one) is hosting an event this weekend called Jump on Spring at TBG on Saturday Feb 20th from 10 to 4pm. At the event they will be selling wonderful planters made by the “Green Thumb” Volunteers at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre. The volunteers range in age from 50 to 95. The true Gem of my adventure yesterday wasn’t just meeting the volunteers but seeing their work space and growing place. A small quaint little greenhouse attached to Mclean house on the property of Sunnybrook estate (See attached Video). With a root cellar, compost pile, seeding room and a greenhouse packed with plants I personally think this would be the best volunteer job in the City. The group is always looking for volunteers and if you are interested click here: http://sunnybrook.ca/content/?page=volunteer_about

Are you thinking about Seed starting?? If so ask yourself a few questions:

Do you have time to seed start??

Do you have adequate light to support growth after germination??

Do you really need that many plants??

Do you have the space to germinate trays of seed??

Finally if you decide to seed start always remember the number one failure of seed starting is starting plants too early. While this is a great time of year to purchase seeds and get some funky varieties not found in garden centres later on in the season remember to take the time to look at sow suggestion on the back of the package and follow them. Some seeds can be very expensive and I want to make sure you succeed.

My cool seed picks:

Climbing Spinach from Thompson & Morgan…decorative and great in containers.

Mignon Carrots from Thompson & Morgan ..Ideal to grow in containers.

Venus Tomato from Thompson & Morgan Free-fruiting orange skinned cherry size fruit.

Luffa (Bathroom Sponge) from Thompson & Morgan an exfoliating sponge!

Nasturtium “Princess of India” Compact and edible orange flowers.

Tomato Yellow Pearshaped from McKenzie Seeds Yellow skinned pear shaped cherry size.

Amaranths “Pony Tails” from Thompson & Morgan tassel like flower heads help add dramatic impact to the annual garden.

Organic Cherry Tomato “Sweetie” …need I say more.

Mirai White F1 Sweet Corn from Thompson & Morgan pure white cobs with wonderful flavour.

Remember when storing seeds keep them in a dark, cool and above all dry space.

Happy sowing spring lets get going!!
Frankie

Yesterday I was invited for a sneak peak into the construction of the new Evergreen headquarters at the Brickworks. If you’ve every traveled down the DVP you most likely noticed and know the Brickworks. This site is truly amazing and has a long history as the source of red bricks for many of the homes in Toronto and Rosedale in particular. The current project is a total revamp of the site with a goal of maintain it’s history and environmental significance to the area. This site is amazing. It will have a skating rink, farmers market, native plant nursery, host events, educational section to inspire children to get out and garden plus more and more and more…below is a quick video I shot on the site set to open in May. For more info click on the link below:http://ebw.evergreen.ca/

First let me say that any vacation that you get to spend time with family and friends in a tropical destination is a good one. Traveling with two children under 3 is challenging but totally manageable. Yes it does create a little extra luggage we had 3 large suitcases, 3 carry-on bags, a playpen and a stroller. Note we always pack all the baby food in one of our carry-on bags – if we loose our bags at least we can still feed the baby.

Flying with kids is all about entertaining them along the way. Lucky for us we traveled with a group of 10 additional people who gave us support and breaks along the way. Matheson our 10 month feel asleep for most of the trip and Gavin (3) only feel asleep as the planed landed.

This is our 6 trip with Gavin and our 2 with both Matheson and Gavin. In the past we have flown West Jet, Air Canada, Air Transit and most recently CanJet. My least favorite is CanJet (planes are cramped and seats don’t have individual screens to view in flight entertainment), my first choice West Jet (price, space, seating, speed of check in, treatment of customers from staff and in flight entertainment is great).

Our resort: Gran Bahia Principe in Runaway Bay great for value for the money, a large resort so big you don’t even know your in Jamaica (it lack local culture) in fact most of the entertainment staff was from Cuba. My only real issue and I wouldn’t even call it that but it’s located over an hour away from the airport and after a 4 hour flight, combined with waiting for departure and getting up in the wee hours of the morning the additional bus time was a struggle for my boys.

My advice when traveling with kids, be prepared, pack for the unexpected and always keep in the back of your mind as your child is screaming on the plane “the value of this effort is my children face as they build sandcastle and memories that last for a lifetime. “

Here are just a few video I shot along the way.

Orchids last a little longer and the cost is really reasonable these days. I found orchids for as little as $9.99 and I’ve seen them everywhere from the big box stores, garden centres to the smallest convenience stores.

This morning on BT (see above) I outlined some basic info on Orchids. The top 5 things you should know about Orchids.

1. Do not over water and insure water is left off the foliage and especially is kept away from the crown and flowers. Orchids left in standing water will not be happy. The best water is one that is left at room temperature and doesn’t have an excessive amount of salts.

2. Light. There are over 30,000 different types of orchids and each has a different need and wants however most enjoy bright indirect or diffuse light. An east room with a window is ideal.

3. Temperature. Daytime temps of 20-24c with evening temps of 15c-18c. Orchids enjoy a drop in evening temps in the range of 5c.

4. After flowering remove flower spikes back to just above the base of the plant.

5. Humidity. Moth Orchids the most popular are found in tropical climates. Humidity lacks from almost all our homes in the winter. A humidifier will really help the performance of Orchids as they enjoy 70% humidity.

Orchids date back to prehistoric ages, collectors have died looking for them, thousands have been spent on unique varieties and for as little as $10 you can be enjoying them in your home…and for those that don’t know Orchids translated means testicle…I’m not lying.

I’m heading out with my two boys and my partner in Crime Laurie this week for a quick family vacation. Once again on my return I will be blogging about traveling with 2 children under 3. While on vacation I will be tweeting on Twitter (frankferragine) so be sure to follow.

Frankie