The way I progressed through the various huge jobs that I had to do, was refer to them as “marathons”. So if I had to (by hand…) fill 2500 pots with dirt, it was classed as a “marathon #2″. When I had to seed out my last wave of vegetables, namely cucumbers, squash, etc…it was “marathon #6″ And so on. Therefore yesterday, I ran my last marathon…Lucky #7! And what was #7? Transplanting all those “veggie babies” that just happened to germinate almost 100%! 500 plant plugs in less than 6 hours. Hurrah!...I am done for the year!

Soooo…folks, ALL of the vegetables and herbs are ready for offering. About 60% of our Heritage Tomatoes and 50% of the Heritage & Open Pollinated Peppers have sold, so get here soon if there are some special ones you might be looking for. We have one of the best selections of Herbs ever this year. About 9 different fragrant Basils, including a new one called “Red Genovese“. Lots of “Silver Thymus“, gorgeous “Silver Sage , Florence Fennel, Dukat Dill, Curly (soup) & Red Stemmed Celery, Red Veined Sorrel, Pineapple Sage and Mojito Mint“! And lets not forget 4 varieties of Rosemary, too.

Oh, before I forget, I had 30 trays of onion starters and I have only 6 1/2 trays left. So if onions are something you might want for eating and storage, don’t forget to get some while a decent inventory remains.

This was the part I have been looking forward to. Now I can relax and enjoy my time with my friends, gardeners and customers. Even the garden can wait! +4C every night is still too cold for planting anything except onions, peas or radishes.

Something I have noticed. Through my doors walk some of the happiest (smiling) customers I have ever seen anywhere. (Ya…they might be mad at me for retiring, but they certainly understand) I feel very blessed and honored. I relish in the numerous hugs and great wishes I am receiving. (And the tears, too)

God Bless you all for making my last journey what it was! I could not have done it without your encouragement and participation! May you have great success in your gardens, this year and for years to come! And remember…I am there for you!

Happy Gardening!

MANDY

Just a wee bit of info. regarding what’s happening at our greenhouse.

We will only be open for one day this week. (That’s probably more for me than for you…L0L!)

Please try to understand, that for the sake of the weather, sweet potatoes slips will not be available (yet) as neither will cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, melons, zucchini or watermelons. The reason being, if the fore-mentioned were kept for a long period of time in their pots, the roots becoming a tangled mess, causing these to take an unscheduled vacation once planted in the garden. The end result…a midget that never grew larger than the pot it was confined in! This would truly be a loss for you the customer. I found this especially true for the sweet potato slips, the last 2 years.

Almost all of the tomato varieties will be available, as well as hot and sweet peppers and members of the cabbage family like kale, chard & cauliflower. Most certainly, after last year’s quick sell-out, I have managed to seed out a bundle of Husk Tomato/Ground Cherries. And of course some Chufa, Peanuts, Leafy Greens, Lettuce (is coming in nicely…) and a great selection of herbs as usual.

Oh, I almost forgot! I enlisted the help of a great onion grower (an old friend of mine…) to help me out with my collection of onion varieties. OMG! They are absolutely beautiful, big and healthy! Only one problem, (what I thought was a small amount of seed…) turned into TONS of flats of onions! I need help, getting them into YOUR gardens! Prices have been updated as we speak. There is a great variety and I pride myself in offering one of the largest collections in Canada! The best time to plant them is when there is still some gentle chill in the evening air. They like it rich, moist and cool to develop a larger bulb. So, come on down!

Here’s hoping we will continue to have great “spring like” weather. (Today was BEAUTIFUL!) I see many folks raking like mad and burning it up. A donation of leaves and grass clippings would be perfect for dumping on the garden instead of burning it! Hello! Yes, yes, sitting around a wee fire, right after a blustery winter is always welcome…BUT sitting around a barbee, whilst a large steak is roasting would be even better…yum!

Ok…back to work! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Till we met (your house or mine…) don’t work too hard! And watch out for those brush fires and winds. Be safe and careful.

Happy Growing,

Mandy

In the last couple of months, I have been coupled with some new challenges. My parents are getting old. My wonderful Mom is 80 this year and my Dad is 89. They have done quite well for their age and up until end of March, were both living at home in their gigantic bungalow. Due to rapidly declining health, my Mom had to be placed in a care home quite suddenly. Father could no longer met the challenges Mom gave him.

In addition to this, my Dad’s health is also failing him. AND he needs to move out into a smaller abode, certainly closer to Mom. Because of certain conditions, my sister, brother and I have been through the “wringer”, time wise to met sooooo many issues, as a result. What makes this all so flustering is “other” folks not doing their legal part, or at least not giving us all the facts. Hard to do one’s job when there are “holes” in the Swiss cheese.

Both my sister and I come from Nursing backgrounds. Having to go through all this, despite our experience, was the hardest thing, first to accept and then to process. We always thought…ya, others have this problem. Suddenly…WE have this same problem!

All my life I remember our parents…working together. Working, working…working. They never went on a vacation. Always home enjoying the fruits of their labor and doing what they knew best…slave to the farm.

It got me thinking. I am a slave too. I always believed that I needed to do my part in this world. My mission was to expose as many people as I could touch, to the wonders of heritage vegetables. I did it in as many ways as I could, talking about them, offering them as seed, growing/trialing them out and finally offering them as plants. I truly lived and breathed HEIRLOOM VEGETABLES! AND I loved it! I realized that I had been doing this since 1989. That was 24 years ago! 2014 will be 25 years, a quarter century of lovingly growing heritage vegetables. A fitting number to add to my “growing” history.

What I am really trying to say (by my headliner) is this: All my life I have been working, since I can remember from a wee mite of 6 years old. And I think I worked quite hard. It seemed the “thing” to do…and I truthfully, enjoyed it. But, what has happened…I never took time to enjoy the great beauty around me and appreciate what our world had to offer. I was too busy holding down sometimes as many as 2 and half jobs! The realization of this is suddenly NOW staring me straight in my face!

I want to get off the roller coaster ride, that I have put myself on. Having said this…

I looked my hubby square in the eyes last week and made the announcement: I have had enough! (As I was dragging another 5 gallon pail of water to the small GH…) He said “I was wondering how long it would take you to finally admit that” Having said that…this is the last year that I will be offering plants at my Green House. Next year, I will be selling off what seed I have acquired & left, till beginning of May. After May 30th, of this year, I will no longer be shipping plants by bus.

I will keep my website on line, if nothing else except to be a resource for future gardeners alike. And I will gladly be available to help out anyone who consults with me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll start a consulting company? “How to grow a garden the wrong way…” L0L!

Yes folks. I’d admit this might come as a shock. But in my mind the best time to walk away gracefully is when you are at the top of your game. AND I FEEL at the top of my game! No regrets!

What a rush! What a journey I have been on!

Kind Regards!

Mandy

p.s. As I can find time, I will be posting photos of my last G.H. vegetable activities. Hopefully my hubby (the photographer) will do the moments justice. It will take some courage on my part to offer this rare glimpses, as I generally avoid the lens like it was the plague!

I am in the process of transplanting the tomatoes in their first round of 3 transplantings for the season. It has dawned on me that the reason I become so overwhelmed at this time of year, is because I don’t know when to quit! Sooooo I have hardened my heart and decided to cut down on the individual quantities that I usually have available per tomato variety.

What makes it so darn hard this year, is that the germination went crazy this time! Almost everything was close to 100%! The only thing I did different, was seed out on the Black side of the moon. That was April 1st. So now I have to throw out almost 30% of the germinated seedlings! That growing pile in my garbage can is breaking my heart! BUT it must be done.

For those folks who managed to pre-order, all is well for you. BUT it will mean that I won’t have the quantities available for those folks arriving with their huge lists AND they did not let me know their Wish Lists. They will have to make do with what is yet hanging onto their pots! Maybe this is a good thing. They will then have lots of opportunity to try OTHER new ones…LOL! (which is what we are about…crazy variety)

Having said that, I always notice what returning customers are ordering from one year to another. And what I have noticed (for only some…) that they are not bravely going out and trying “other” varieties. They seem quite content to purchase the same varieties, over and over. I do agree that the varieties that they have chosen are awesome (I have to brag here…) but I would like to see a “mild” stepping out once in a while. Just a wee, eneey bitsy wee bit…..

Ok….time to get back into my greenhouse “cave” of greenery. There is now where else, in this gloomy weather, I’d rather be….really…

Happy Plant Hunting,

Mandy

In the news, our folks across the line are receiving even more than we presently are. Heavy snow & blizzard like conditions are primarily across N. Dakota. They say that Bismark will be the hardest hit and expectations of one and half FEET to be expected! “This storm will likely be the most widespread & disruptive snow of the winter season”….senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel (US). This snow will add to the growing threat of a major flood in the North Dakota Rivers, especially the Red River.

So what does this mean for us? We are directly north from this area and what happens to these poor folks will also happen to us, as the Red River (strangest of strange…) flows north! Also the weather systems that they experience, usually travels our way. We might not always get the intensity, but sometimes we get even more precipitation.

On the bright side, many folks in the central US have been experiencing grave drought conditions. Some relief has been found as some of the cold fronts from this system is resulting in thunderstorms further down in their areas. If only we could send ALL of this moisture to them and balance this terrible situation out!

Ok folks. We are in for another rough ride! Spring might not come as we hoped and not by the time we thought. Prepare yourself. That is all we can do.

Take care,

Mandy

Farmers have called for a national day of action to stop the introduction of genetically modified alfalfa. In Winnipeg, we are participating with a film screening of “ The World According to Monsanto” , followed by a discussion panel. This will take place at the Convocation room of the University of Winnipeg on April 9^th at 7Pm.

 We would like to personally invite you to this event! .

The World According to Monsanto is a 2008 award winning documentary film directed by Marie-Monique Robin. The film is based on Robin’s three-year long investigation into the corporate practices around the world of the largest purveyor of genetically modified crops.

Monsanto’s GM alfalfa could be registered for use in Eastern Canada this April. GM Roundup Ready alfalfa varieties have just been cleared for the last step before they hit the market – all they need now is a final registration rubber-stamp by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The Canadian Seed Trade Association and its corporate members including Monsanto, Pioneer and Forage Genetics International are also actively trying to get support for the release of GM alfalfa.

Every year, Manitoba farmers grow over 2 million acres of alfalfa. It is a major staple for Manitoba’s beef, livestock and organic crop rotation. GM alfalfa contamination threatens export markets and organic farming. GM0s threaten the health of our children and grandchildren.

David Suzuki, Canada’s trusted geneticist and environmental expert, does not think gene-splicing technology is safe as it is currently practiced.

Dr. Suzuki says, “What bothers me is we have governments that are supposed to be looking out for our health, for the safety of our environment, and they’re acting like cheerleaders for this technology, which is in its infancy and we have no idea what the technology is going to do.”

“Anyone that says, ‘Oh, we know that this is perfectly safe,’ I say is either unbelievably stupid, or deliberately lying. The reality is, we don’t know. The experiments simply haven’t been done, and now we have become the guinea pigs. I am most definitely not in favor of release of GMOs in the food stream and given that it’s too late, I favor complete labeling of GMO products.”

 Great research on this subject can be viewed on this Canadian website: www.truefoodfoundation.org

Hear what MP Alex Atamanenko in BC is saying about this issue.

 http://www.truefoodfoundation.org/articles/id-rather-eat-bugs

 For more information please visit www.cban.ca

Sincerely

Rose Stevens R.T.

Holistic Practitioner

Support your Local Manitoba Farmers.

 When: April 9 at 7PM

 Where: Convocation Hall at University of Winnipeg

 Panel discussion to follow screening of film “ The World According to Monsanto” – See attachment!

 GMO GLOBAL ALERT! Professor SERALINI STUDY FROM FRANCE

http://www.localssupportinglocals.ca/videos/gmos-global-alertnone-them-are-safe-allbig-business-likes-profit-not-you

“A few years ago I was selling garden veggies at a local farmer’s market and had a similar experience to yours. A woman held up my bunch of half a dozen beets (about the size of mandarin oranges) with lovely fresh leaves on them and said scornfully “A dollar, for that?” I guess she didn’t check the price at any of the grocery stores or she would have known what a good deal she was getting (she didn’t buy them). Anyone who gardens knows the work involved in a few beets, from the tilling, sowing, endless weeding, then pulling, washing, picking out all those black thready bits, bunching, packing everything up and driving it all 20 miles into town, all the time lugging crates of heavy produce around from garden to hose, to sorting table, to truck and finally onto the tables for customers to buy. I remember feeling very hurt at that comment.

Interestingly, I never had a single complaint about the prices of the perennials and ornamental plants I was also selling. I really should thank her, I suppose, because I soon learned to focus on the ornamentals instead, and made a much better profit for my efforts compared to selling veggies.

I feel it is the sad truth that the great majority of people truly do not care where their food comes from, as long as it is cheap. Truth is, most people don’t even know what questions they should be asking, never mind what the answers might be. It doesn’t help that our government appears to be in the pockets of the big processors, even allowing them to deceive consumers with such poor labeling. Most of us know how many names there are for MSG, because this is something the companies don’t want us to recognize. Why is there not legislation requiring all labeling to use a single name? The only answer is that our government is a partner in the deception.

Measuring precisely how much of what ingredients are in their final Do you know that canned and bottled foods don’t need to list 2% of the ingredients in the container? What if the 2% is strychnine? Or more realistically, what if it is wheat, being consumed by a celiac, or fructose or peanut residue for people with intolerances? This kind of loose labeling is not tolerated in most European countries and should not be allowed here. Processors with equipment capable of measuring precisely what combinations of additives will make a particular food taste “good” to their target market, are also capable of how much of what ingredients are in their final product.

Protection for the bullies in the food processing arena is the name of the game for government. They’ve already usurped the term “organic” and attached so many rules and regulations that no small producer could afford the costs involved with being able to legally use that term. And the big guys are continually lobbying to dilute the restrictions involved in the legal definition of “organic” to allow them to do things with our food that no small producer would ever have done, before the right to proclaim his product “organic” was stolen from him by his own government. The final indignity is expecting us all to believe that these things are done solely for the protection of the consumer. Here’s a quote from former U.S. president Ronald Reagan:

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are:
” I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”— Ronald Reagan

Until our own government gets behind the little guy and at least gives him a level playing field with the big boys, we will all be diminished by fewer and fewer choices about everything that affects our lives. Between the massive corporations who are only looking out for their own interests, and the government which also preoccupies itself with looking out for their interests, ordinary people have little recourse but to eat the manipulated “food-like substances” of the big grocery outlets, to take the medications produced by self-serving and self testing big pharmaceutical corporations, to accept the horrendous levels of waste in both our environment and our governments, and to do it all while paying levels of taxes that would have appalled people of just a couple of generations ago.

Things can be made to change, but it will never come from government of it’s own accord. I am old enough to remember the tremendous changes made by Ralph Nader in forcing manufacturers to make our vehicles safer, and what we need now is another Ralph Nader to get a firm rein on our food industries.

In the meantime all of us who are aware and care need to maintain our own personal convictions about what is sustainable, ethical and necessary and live our values and try, gently, to influence others. The most powerful
way we can influence this situation is by simply not buying the products. Another favorite quote,

“Any close and worthwhile contact with the earth tends to make one original or at least detached in one’s judgments and independent of group control.”—L.H. Bailey

I’ll step down off my soapbox now, and thank you for the opportunity to sound off, Mandy! My apologies for being so long-winded. Think I’ll go and start some more seeds now…”

“Cassandra”

Having said that, I broke my cardinal rule and went helplessly “hunting” again! Which leads me to tell you…I have a few more NEW ONES!

New Red/Rose Beefsteak, Medium, Cherry & Early varieties: Money Maker (…rec’d the seeds from Roger & Dorcas Brown, of Wpg., MB) Bush Beefsteak, Yasennichki Yabuchar (…rec’d seeds from Ken Cook of Dunbarton, NH), Cosmonaut Volkov (…back by special request, Neil ), Galapagos Island Pear, Sugar Lump, Red Pear, Flamenco and Swt – Tee (Given to me by my Potato guru John Safroniuk of Wetaskwin, Alb.)

New Bi-Color Tomato varieties: Blush, Golden Pineapple (and the debate will rage again!) Polish Pastel and Scabitha.

New Black Tomato Varieties: Black & Brown Boar, Black Roma, Black Zebra Cherry, Blue P20 (OSU Blue), Blue Streak, Cherokee Chocolate (a gift), Gypsy Black/Purple (a gift) and Indigo Rose. In regards to ones like “Blue P20″ and “Indigo Rose”, I have been told there are several breeders who have been working for a number of years trying to develop a “true clean blue” skinned variety and they may have been quite successful. Apparently the (present day) deep purple black forms are a “muddy version” of these real blues, now making a debut. Been told that wild species have the “clean” gene already in them. Still lots of work ahead in this area. Check out these awesome varieties…

New Climbers, Long Keepers and Green Tomato varieties: Climbing-Trip-L-Crop, regular leaf (Ken Cook), Radio (Roger & Dorcas Brown), Rev. Marrows Long Keeper, Yellow Flesh Red Interior Long Keeper, Chile Verde Green, Green Pear, Malachite Box (Ken Cook), Topaz and Frosted Doctors (a gift).  Well…the “Radio” has returned! We will see if it matches the story book tale and description, that has been scribed to paper of years gone by!

New Novelty Tomato varieties: Big Yellow Zebra, Giallo a Grappoli, M’s Mystery Striped Roma, the “Centiflor (Multiflora) Hypertruss” series of Yellow, Pink, Rose & Red (Ken Cook) Pink Fuzzy Boar, Primary Colors, the Stick/Curl and Turks Muts (?Nuts). I almost fell over when I saw some of these! And once you see them, (warning…)  they will be immediately addictive !

New Orange, White and Yellow Tomato additions: Caro Rich, Sun Sugar, Ivory Pear, Weissbehaarte, White Wonder (…yup, now there is a tomato by this name…) and Golden King of Siberia.

New Roma, Oxheart and Mini Pot varieties: Frank’s Oxheart (2 colors), Wes (finally the true big oxheart), Zorica’s Croatian Bull’s Eye ( gift from Ken Cook), #506 Bush, Aladdin’s Lamp, Ernie’s Plump, Memorial Polish Paste (is back! Thanks to a surprise gift from my friend Micky Taylor of Kansas) and last but not least…San Marzano Gigante #3. Could this one really be improved any more?

As you can see, I have been around! Everything is game and as we all know, heirlooms and the new varieties being released very year (done by natural old fashioned methods) are some of the most interesting I (and now you…) will ever see. As I always says, read, sow, grow and be amazed!

I can hardly believe it! Where did the winter go? It is already March and the planting of huge amounts of seed, is knocking on my door!

We had one of the coldest winters for some time. Snow fall was also generous. I drove to our local town of Garson, on their side road only to be reminded what our winters used to be like, when I saw the 7 feet tall snow banks on the side! Well, if the fall proved too dry for our soils, this added moisture (providing it melts slowly…) will be very welcome!

Below are some photos, a friend of mine, Sandra Cote sent me. (By the way she does some fantastic photography work…) She said they were of her friend’s yard. They could almost be the road on which I traveled the other day! The first one reminded me of the old Johnny Cash song, titled…”Ten feet high and rising!”

I am sure many of you have some unusual tales to tell of your childhood. I remember traveling to my first grade school house in a grey thin cement finished canvas covered, wooden framed ? sled, totally enclosed! This only happened on the occasion when the snow became soooo deep that only the poor horses could get thru. Yes, you are right. This grey beast was drawn by a team of heavy work horses! AND there was a place in the front, right hand side for a small wood stove if it became really cold, chimney hole and all! 2 wooden benches were placed across to sit on (with no backs) The reins were “threaded” thru 2 small slits, right under the windows in the front. And yes, it had windows all the way around and a small one at the very back.

This wonderful old covered sled was eventually retired and became my imaginary play house. I would not trade my childhood for anything in the world. In the years that I have been on this earth, I feel like I traveled through several lifetimes and zones! So much has changed.

Ok folks, I will catch up with you later. Don’t forget to place your orders for tomato plants as the time to plant them is creeping closer. Otherwise you’s gets what you’s gets. AND that wouldn’t be such a problem either! L0L!

Take care,

Mandy

Some new Bean varieties are: Blue Lake Bush, Cannellini Runner Large, Golden Roma, Hutterite Soup, Jacob’s Cattle Gold, Jumbo Roma, Kilimanjaro Speckled, Koronis Purple, Light Red Kidney, Pigeon Pea, Portugal Pink Kidney, Provence, Purple Royalty, Spanish Tolosna, Thibodeau Du Comte Beauce, True Red Cranberry, Yellow Brittlewax, Hidatsa Shield Pole, Neckar Konigin, Steeves Caseknife and Sunset Runner.

New Beet varieties are: McGregor’s Favorite and commercial Sugar Beets

New Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower & Chard varieties: Brunswick,Violetta Italia and Orange Oriole.

New Carrot varieties: Atumn King, Muscade, Purple Haze, Purple Sun, White Satin and Yellow Pak

New Corn varieties: Cutie Blues, Little Indian Baby, Oaxacan Green Dent and Painted Mountain

New Cucumber varieties: Ernest Family White Burpless, Horace Boyette Burpless and Richmond Apple

New Kale varieties: Kale Tronchuda and Flowering Kale

New Leafy Green varieties: A number have been discontinued, but in place of I am offering: Celery Curled, Celery Giant Red (Reselection), Collards Georgia Southern, Quinoa Temuco and Spinach Heather’s Uncle.

New Lettuce varieties: Buttercrunch and Early Curled Frilly Simpson

New Melon varieties: Green Fleshed Pineapple

New Novelty Plant varieties: Asparagus Argenteuil, Sunflower Large White seeded, New Sweet Potato and Potato varieties will be updated as they are checked.

New Onion varieties: Leek Autumn Giant, Winter Egyptian (the), Gold Multiplier, Shallots Red Skinned, Onion Walla Walla and Onion Yellow Globe

New Hot Pepper varieties: There are sooo many different ones of varying amounts of EXTREME heat offered this year. To list them all here would take quite a while. You are welcome to look yourself anytime! In all fairness, I think I have finished this section for now, doing my best to offer ONLY Open Pollinated and Heirloom types. Some are in limited supply, so get your requests in soon. Last year was a banner year, especially for the hottest and we sold out of them, early in the season.

New Sweet Pepper varieties: Again I have dropped the F1 hybrids in favor of Open Pollinated and Heirloom varieties. Just too many to list. However everyone is certainly welcome to check out the great ones I have found. So many to choose from, from the very thin and rich to the very thick and juicy! AND of course…very sweet and productive.

(to be continued shortly…)