Growing Tomatoes in Vancouver

It's time for another little update from the SixBalloons garden!

It has been a real challenge growing tomatoes this summer in Vancouver, as we had an unseasonably cold Spring, and an unusually cloudy July. Now that it's the end of August, I am finally seeing some colour on my tomato plants.

Of course, I love heirloom tomatoes, but I like to grow a mix, along with high-yielding hybrids. The tomato above was tagged as a Sun Cherry seedling at the VanDusen Garden Plant Sale but the size begs to differ!

See the mystery tomato compared to my Sweet Million cherry tomatoes? Speaking of Sweet Million, it is one of those varieties owned by the large seed conglomerate but the yield is amazing. There are endless clusters of sweet little cherry tomatoes everywhere I look.

My mouth waters at the prospect of eating my Black Krim heirloom tomatoes though. They are still green now, but I can't wait for them to ripen! The dark tomato flesh is so smoky and delicious, it tastes perfect with a bit of salt and pepper eaten fresh from the garden.

I'm so glad that the tomatoes are finally taking shape! I just hope the weather holds up so I don't end up with a bunch of green tomatoes on my hands. =)

Linking up a little late to the Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage!

Laurentian Art Pottery Pieces

Hello Everyone! Thank you for continuing to read in spite of my blogging absence. Summer has been great so far and I've been distracted by road trips, and free time in the garden. I have such a backlog of thrifty finds though, that I promise to get back on the horse!

First up is this trio of Canadian pottery dishes. I first read about Laurentian Art Pottery, or Poterie Laurentienne, from Erin's Blog Yard Sale Snoop. She shared a great find with a distinctive marking on the underside. While out thrifting one day, I came across a similar logo on these dishes.

I enjoy using these types of dishes for garlic prawns with cheese melted over them. The depth of the holes on these dishes, and their French Canadian heritage, make me think that perhaps they were intended for escargot. I'm not quite adventurous enough to taste snails anytime soon though!

At a dollar a dish for these pieces, I think these were a great value. When I first picked them up, I felt that they were really good quality and the markings underneath confirmed it. I understand the company was in business between 1939-2005, but I wonder how old these ones are!

Linking up to Sophie's Flea Market Finds!