New Varieties for 2015

Hi;

There are some new varieties grown out for 2015.  They are listed below.

Peas – Corne de Belier, Penners Russian Sugar, Suttons Harbinger (reintroduced), Amplissimo Viktorianskii, and kids crazy peas.

Beans – Royal Burgandy, Mostaller Wild Goose, Black Coco, Dragon Tongue (aka Horticultural Bean), Landreths Russian, Giant red Tarka, Coco Rubico, Vieux Flippe, Agassazi pinto.

Lentils – reintroducing Ethiopian Lentils

Turnip – Swede Osgarde, and Turnip beets for greens and kimchi

Swiss Chard – Fordhook Giant

Beets – Fuer Kugel – a giant sweet beet from Germany with red and white zones.  Exceptional and at least 6″ around.  Very tasty

Corn – Double Standard bicolor sweet, Painted Mountain sweet corn (multicolored), Gills golden sweet, and Dakota Black Popcorn are available.

Onions – Bernie’s Red, Red Zeppelin type, Yellow Globe, Jaune de Paille, Prince type, Perennial Bunching onions, Noord Bloedrode, and others

Trees and berry shrubs

Chokecherry available again

Scotch Pine for landscaping

Norway spruce – fast growing and beautiful, huge cones

5 Needle Pine – apologies, I have yet to identify this one.

 

Garlic, Jerusalem Artichokes and Potatoes ready now

Hi everyone;

The garlic is harvested and ready to go. They are $4 each head or $3.50 if you order 15 or more.  Let me know as soon as possible if you want any as I am planting it out soon and then availability will be limited.

Have these varieties:  Polish Jenn, Ukrainian Mavniv, Ukrainian Hot, Mr. Kastelic, Gido Krupa, Les Pudar, Korean, Purple Glazer, Chinese purple, Marlene’s, Pink skin softneck, Purple skin softneck, Hutterite Purple, Jumbo Sicilian Softneck, BC Sicilian, Early Portugese Softneck, California organic softneck, Porcelain, Silverskin early, Red Russian, German Red, Dan’s Russian, Dan’s sicilian, Luchka, and more

We have spuds for sale to eat…you can decide what to do with them from there.  I have quite a few and as currently we have all the varieties we had before plus Caribou, Larette Fingerling, Red Cloud (limited availability), Peruvian purple (landrace variety), Emmers purple, Alta Blush, and others, and so if you are looking for something special, ask and I might have it.  I would prefer to send them out now before winter.  $5 for 10 or $3/lb for large orders.

Heather’s Norland – early large, red skin, white flesh, all purpose

Red Norland – early medium to large, red skin, white flesh, productive and all purpose

Cherry red – Early, medium red skin, round and white flesh, all use, great for new potatoes

Warba (1933) – mottled white skin with deeper pink eyes, moist white flesh, fairly early, all use.  A German potato with great flavor.

Sangre – Mid season medium sized, dark red skin, slightly elongated, white flesh, baking, boiling, uses

Sante – mid season, white skinned, dry fleshed firm potato.  Medium yields, good all purpose baker.

Danish – from the world traveler.  A white skinned, medium sized, white flesh tuber which is slightly dry.  Good producers, great flavor.

Irish Cobbler – since the late 1800’s this has been around in recorded history.  This somewhat flattish yellow skinned, yellow moist fleshed potatoe is a standby in any potato salad recipe.  Good yields, taste and good storage qualities.  Somewhat prone to scab.

Ukrainian – A white skin, white to yellow fleshed moist potato, slightly flat, but more rounded than Irish Cobbler.  Good storage, baking and other uses.  Great for pyrogy use.

Carola – a midseason, German yellow fleshed, white skinned type with good moist flesh of excellent taste.  Limited quantities.

Purple Chief – early deep red/purple skinned, white moist fleshed potato.  Good keeper and good yields.

Onaway- a fairly new addition to the potato family, this is a white skinned, white to yellow fleshed moist early potato with good yields.  Used for all baking, boiling and new potato use.

Nordonna – Grown as a replacement for Norland, it has slightly higher yields of round red skinned, medium sized, white fleshed tubers than Red Norland.  Good disease resistance and slightly more keeping capacity.

Shepody – Mid-season, white skin and flesh, large sized oblong tubers of great quality and keeping ability.  Some disease resistance.  Good yields.

Pink Fir Apple (Pink Finger) – early high yields of fingerling potatoes, pink skin and creamy yellow flesh.  Grown for over 100 years.

Caribe – early excellent yields of purple skinned, oblong, medium to large sized white fleshed tubers, store excellent, multi-use and medium moist tasty flesh.

Yellow Finger – mid-season to late, abundant yields of finger shaped and sized tubers, some growing large, skin is yellow as is the moist, almost waxy flesh that is absolutely the best for oven roasted Italian potatoes.  They never need peeling and are tasty and sweet.

Fianna – From the world traveler.  It was bred in Denmark. This smooth oval tuber is white skinned and dry white fleshed, with medium size and medium yields.  Grown to be a French fry potato since it does not absorb a lot of fat.

Timo – From the world traveler during his visit to Finland.  Timo is also known as Hankkijan Timo.  It is a well loved favorite there.  It is early and produces well.  It has white skin and slightly yellow moist flesh, and that is why it tastes great.

Ada’s White –  From the seasoned traveler, this is another find from a local grower who has had it in her family forever.  Ada’s white is oblonged, mid-season, and white skinned, almost brown, like a baker.  The flesh is white and light.

India white – Mid-season, oblong, medium sized, multi-use potatoes.  White  thin skin and moist white flesh.

Nooksack – An Aboriginal landrace variety of brown skinned white fleshed medium moist baker.  Moister than a russet.  Good yields of medium to large tubers.

Toolas – From the world traveler.  It is a small to medium sized fairly round white thin skinned potato with white moist to waxy flesh.  Medium yields.

Green Mountain – a late season potato but worth growing for the huge yields of large, oblong tubers of excellent disease resistance and storage qualities.  Makes great fries.

Agria – early season, yellow skin and flesh, moist large sized potatoes for all uses. It is one of the best tasting early potatoes.

Luke’s Bush Cobbler – a bush variant of Irish cobbler for smaller garden spaces.  Good yields, similar characteristics otherwise to Irish Cobbler.

Red Thumb – deep red skin, white fleshed tubers of medium size, definitely fat thumb shaped and mid-season.  Medium yields.

Chieftain – early red skin white flesh, great yielding potato one of the better keepers for an early potato.  Standby for early boiled eating and new potato taste.

Bintje – 1910. A late white skinned, white fleshed, medium dry baking, boiling potato with exceptional keeping qualities and good disease resistance.

Red Pontiac – A mid-season, deep red skinned, white moist fleshed tuber, good storage and yields.

All Red – medium to late maturing.  These potatoes are as the name implies, a cheery red color inside and out.  Keeps during cooking so you can make wonderful mashed potatoes for Valentine’s day without the need for poisoning food color!

Yukon Gold – medium maturing.  Yukon gold is a yellow skin, yellow tasty flesh, moist waxy potato of great quality and production.  Makes quite large tubers sometimes. Developed in Guelph and released in 1966.

Oma’s Saskatchewan White – obtained in 2009 from a decendent of a German Immigrant who brought these white skinned, smooth tubers from the old country.  They are mid-season, white fleshed and fairly moist with good storage abilities.

Red Cloud – a mid-season, white fluffy fleshed red-skin round potato which makes heavenly light baked potatoes.  Good storage.

Egyptian White – obtained from a seasoned traveler who loves collecting rare varieties.  This white skin, white flesh tuber is abundant and mid-season.  It keeps well.  Tubers are slightly oblong and good for all uses.

Red Gold – Mid-season, medium red skin and golden flesh, moist and good yields and flavor.

Wendy’s Purple – from the seasoned traveler, these potatoes are a variety grown by his neighbor Wendy for many years.  They are purple skinned, oblong and white fleshed, with good disease resistance and performance in all soil types.  Medium sized and medium moist.

Chaleur – Early producer, white skin and flesh.  Potatoes are round to oval, comparable to a Yukon gold.  It was developed for French fry use.

All Purple – also called All Blue.  This one is inside and out a purple/blue which can be hard to find in moist soil.  The tubers are quite large, and make a great mix for potato salads.  More antioxidants exist in potatoes with deep flesh colors. So eat your vitamins.

Early Ohio – early season White potato with white creamy flesh.  Slightly on the dry side.  Yields are good and they keep well.

Roko – mid-season bright red skin and white flesh.  Used for all purposes.  It is high yielding and stores excellent.

 

Jerusalem artichokes – $5 per 5 tubers, or $3 a pound if you want 5 lbs. or more.  Limited availability.  I have all the kinds I had before

New videos and information

Hi everyone;

I wanted to let you know about our farm sister site where we list any extra produce we have for sale.  It is at http://hillanddalefarm.wordpress.com  I have posted 2 videos on the relationship between diet and disease and I think everyone should see them and see the science for themselves.  I am an advocate of taking your own health in your hands and bucking the medical oversights and problems with this barbaric system of health care we embrace.  It is not in our best interests and there is massive unnecessary human suffering as a result.  I live on a farm.  I have as much or more indoctrination as other people towards the westernized view of eating.  I would like to relate these new but old findings about food and human health. It is scientific, it makes sense.  See for yourself.  Afterall it is your life and your body.  Just don’t accept carte blanche anything the media or your doctor tells you.

We are not selling potatoes for seed.  But you can purchase potatoes to eat or do whatever you want with them.  The list is basically the same as last time.  Thanks,

Denise

Also GARLIC is available now.  Limited quantites.  Get it soon as we sell out.  $4 a head.  Plant before Sept 10.  KINDS:  Hutterite Purple, Ukrainian Mavniv, Polish Jenn, Purple skin silver, Pink Skin Silver, BC Sicilian, California Organic Sicilian, Hutterite white, Chinese Purple, Korean Purple, Jumbo Silverskin organic, Les Pudar, Procelain, Gido Krupa, Mr. Kastelics, Marlene’s and a few others.

Hola – It is Springtime!

Hello all in seed land!

I am writing from Mexico and a quick holiday with Family.  Here things are as always blooming and green, big Mangos hang on the trees and the land is graced with many exotic flowers and fruits.  It is not that way in short-season land, but alas we will do what we can.

Back home, Mom and I have many plants started, and as I have not heard from too many people about starter plants, we have nonetheless, as we always do, have some started tomatoes and peppers, herbs and other plants.  I know for sure I will have hot peppers galore and will have an abundance to share if anyone wants to get some for their gardens.  It is still early and of course you will not want to put them out until after the first week of June, earlier, like May 25 if you want to watch and cover for unexpected frosts.  However, no one really knows what the weather will do this year, and we may well have a very early spring.

I have worked up some land that has not been turned in over 20 years this spring.  Before we left, I plowed.  It was April 15.  Unheard of for many years.  I worked up some land for a new garden spot, 50 X 50 feet or thereabouts and another acre or 2 flowing along the field, following the contours of the rolling hills in the spirit of Permacultural principles.  We are experimenting with Restoration Agricultural practices, and making the plow flow along a gradient of the field is working with the idea that the waterflow down the hills will be interrupted and create less runoff, more of it flowing to the surrounding subsoil, penetrating deeper into the area, disrupting erosion cycles and creating more little pools along the sides of the slopes.  We hope to plant trees on the sides of the plowed areas, hazelnuts, raspberries, currants and other berries, with apple trees, and other fruit bearing trees interspersed.  That is the long term plan if we can get the Moose and Deer to leave them alone long enough to sprout up taller than they can reach.  That takes lots of electric fence!  Anyway, we are excited about the project and the possibilities.  Right now, the plowed sites will sit until mid summer or early fall so the sod can decompose and then I will disc it and work it into a plot for next year’s wheat.

Potatoes will go into the ground when I return home, and the garlic was coming up great guns when I uncovered it in early April.  Some of the sprouts were 2″ long under the straw.  I found the straw mulch was perfect insulation for the winter, and we did have lots of snow as well  The straw I used was a bit mildewy, which kept the mice out, and there was no damage from them.  When I uncovered the garlic, some of the oat seeds in the straw had begun to sprout, but it was still cold at night and they were frostkilled which was great because I did not have to worry about them continuing to grow and choke out the garlic, or create a lot of weeding for me or the chickens.  I did actually consider taking over my two favorite hens to follow me down the rows eating all the sprouted grain, but it is better this way, because my chickens also like the newly sprouted garlic greens first thing in the spring.  Last year they were very instrumental in keeping the garlic patch at home weed free by continually scratching around in the straw in the garlic patch, and their browsing on the greens did not seem to harm the garlic.  This year, the garlic patch had grown and I needed to move it to Mom’s, just down the road, so there are no longer chickens there to help.  But it is working out ok so far.

I have sold out of a few seeds, and so if anyone still wants seeds just check with me prior to your order, and I will let you know if I have everything.  Thanks,

Denise

PS.  I have 2 brown roosters and one white one, that I will sell to anyone wanting a rooster.  They are $10 each.  Thanks, D

Fall Harvest

Hi fans of seeds;

It was a good season and I am busy wrapping up the garden produce and cataloguing the new varieties that did extremely well despite the drought conditions.  It is worth it to know that these older varieties can withstand the extremes in temperatures, rainfall, and even frost.  IT was a pretty long season and a hot one and therefore the corn did well as did the squash.  I had a 24 lb. zucchini looking butternut squash and the Fairytale and Galeux de L’Esines pumpkins did very well also.  Beans and peas were good producers despite the weedy conditions foisted upon them and we had a decent harvest of multicolored tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.  The green lentils were abundant and even the cucumbers managed to produce something.  So all in all it was a very forgiving year and I am pleased to announce we have lots of varieties of potatoes and jerusalem artichokes to offer.  I will have some broccoli seed for next year and a few surprises yet to be announced.  Anyone wishing to order seed potatoes now or looking for organic potatoes can give me a call at seven-eight-zero, seven-eight-five, two six, two two.  I am out of town currently, back on Oct 15.  So here is what I have that is new:

Danish – medium sized, white skin, white flesh potato, drier potato

Oma’s Saskatchewan – large white baker, from Seed saver in Saskatchewan, from her grandmother’s heritage varieties.

Egypt – oblong white skin, white flesh, multipurpose, did well in drought

Ukrainian – flattish, white baking and perogy potato, white skin and flesh

Irish cobbler – whiteish yellow flesh, good all round potato from Ireland

Warba’s (similar to Raymond’s Russian) – see below

Raymond’s Russian – medium rounded, white with deep pink eyes, moist potato, land race variety

Green Mountain – big white good keepers, multipurpose potato

Nooksack – brown netted skin, white flesh, moister type baking and fry potato.  From the Nooksak Native tribe

Tolaas – white skin, white flesh, moist multipurpose potato.  From a potato fanatic friend.

Fianna – white skin and flesh, Irish variety from my worldwide travelling potato friend.

Chaleur – good producer of white skin, white flesh rounded potatoes that are mid-season and good keepers.

Wendy’s Purple – purple skin and white flesh, good sized oblong tubers, good producer, multipurpose potato

Caribe – A medium to large white fleshed, purple skinned potato for baking and fries.  Good perogy potato.

Purple chief – Like a chieftain, only darker red skin, almost purple.

Chieftain – Red skin, white flesh, early for boiling, baking, potato salad

Pontiac – prolific producer of red skinned, white fleshed early potatoes

Norland – red skin, white flesh, round and large early potatoes

NorDonna – good producer, comparable to Red Norland, better if irrigated.  It is oblong, no dry hollow centers and red skin and white smooth flesh. A recent introduction.

Heather’s Red – probably a Viking with good sized red tubers of excellent quality, deep skin color and white flesh.  Keeps well for a red potato.

Sangre – red skin, white flesh, drier red type and early potato

Bintje – huge producer of medium to large sized white skin, white flesh bakers.  Not too dry, mid to late season, but worth the wait.

Agria – large sized, good producer, white flesh and round to oblong.  Multipurpose.

Red Cloud – med to small red skin, white flesh, fluffy baking potato

Red Gold – red skin, golden flesh, small to medium round, moist flesh type.

Yukon gold – tan skin, gold flesh, moist potatoes

Onaway – white skin and flesh, sometimes deep eyes and misshapen, heritage variety for early fresh eating.

Shepody – oblong white skin and flesh tubers, medium to large.  Good producer, multiuse.

All red – red skin, red flesh, fun baking, boiling and mashing, remains pink color

All Purple – purple skin and flesh that hangs around in the bowl when cooked.  Large sized tubers, good producer.

Early Ohio – an early white skin white flesh baker and for boiling.

Red Finger – a larger type oblong red skin, white flesh potato.  moist and good for use with skin on.

Lorette Fingerling – white skin and yellowish flesh, good for baking whole or split fries, limited offering

French Fingerling – Red skin, whitish flesh, moist fingerling.

Pink Fir Apple- or pink rose or fingerling, an excellent fingerling potato, pink skin, yellowish flesh, moist and waxy

Yellow finger – late producer of an abundance of yellow skin and flesh waxy fingerling potatoes, does better with ample hilling and water.

I think that is all I can offer.

I have these Jerusalem Artichokes

Passamasquoddy Potatoes – abundant producer of good sized red skinned round squat tubers.

Clearwater – ivory skin, white flesh, squat good sized tubers

Skorospelka – High yielder from Russia, rose/pink skin, white flesh, good sized, excellent

Stampede – yellow skin, white flesh, high yields and fairly smooth for first couple of years.

Beaver Valley Purple – long purple tubers, getting quite big if left in place for 2 years.  Good producer. White crisp flesh.

Corlis Bolton Haynes – white round tubers of good overwintering survival in the soil, similar to Carmen but more knobs.  Good size if left until after first snowfall.

Carmen Heirloom – white roundish tubers of good size,  tend to get overcrowded on one stem.

That is all for now,

thanks, Denise

Stop Bill C-18

Here is the petition to stop bill C-18.  Please read information about it at the National farmer’s Union site at http://www.nfu.ca or through Seeds of Diversity Canada at http://www.seeds.ca

Right to Save Seeds Petition

C-18 — A Corporate Agri-business Promotion Act

Thanks for ensuring that your kids still have the right to grow their own food.

Denise

Your Government is siding with Big Business

Your Government is siding with Big Business

http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/files/Fundamental%20Principles%20of%20a%20Farmers%20Seed%20Act_0.pdf

There is a new bill before the house of Commons that threatens seed savers and farmers across the land.  It is linked to big corps. that want to control your right to food.  Please review this website, and consider organizing a signed petition and sending to your MP.  We need a strong voice on this one to stop Monsanto and the likes from walking all over our food.

What is A’Bunadh about?

I get asked a lot just what we are about and who we are…. so here is my reply to one lady who asked if the seeds she ordered were sourced elsewhere and if I knew the growers…

96% of the seeds I have I have grown myself.

I am a 5th generation farmer and still on the land my Great-grandparents farmed. We use no synthetic fertilizers, all our own manure from our own cattle which are not given antibiotics unless they need it, are not given hormones, or other injections without dire need (vet purposes).

And the cattle are fed feed we grow ourselves including grain and other things.  We do not use sprays or pesticides, no insecticides and we are at the end of a dead end road with a giant natural Alberta lake borders us to the North. Our nearest neighbors are on the other side of the lake and my mom owns all the other land around us.  We farm naturally and with the same practices of soil cultivation, crop rotation, summer fallowing and the like that my great-grandpa did in 1910.  He was the Oat King of North America at the Chicago fair in 1959.  He was proud of his farming abilities and instilled in my mother and grandmother the way to keep things clean and pure.

I am proud to provide quality seeds to people in a challenging growing environment and if I source any seeds it is ones I know cannot grow myself, and cannot be genetically modified out there.  I check out my sources very carefully, and because even I am not always sure I can trust anyone but myself with this guarantee, I have decided after this year I will not be outsourcing anything.  If I cannot grow it myself or form a partnership with others in the area that are sound growers like me, I will not be carrying that seed anymore.

I would like to also mention that I am thinking of making corn my specialty as it is being largely threatened by GMO’s.  It is truly hard to find a corn that ripens in Alberta conditions, and I believe there is a great opportunity to reintroduce some short season sweet corns here. I will keep you abreast of my developments on the website.

Since I am not able to grow everything myself, I often rely on new seed sources from others that are seed savers.  I am open to people who want to grow naturally and possibly be sources of some of my seeds and get paid for it.  Things that are easy to grow which I would be looking for are lettuces, peas, beans, spinach and some kinds of tomatoes.  If you are interested, please let me know,

Good growing, Denise

 

Merry Christmas and Happy 2014

crop xmasHello everyone who follows my web blog and thanks for all your support over the years.  I have been busy working out this year but will continue to do my best to supply new and specialized heritage varieties to the list of our offerings.

News for this year:  I will be teaching at the Master Organic Gardener’s course offered through the Stony Plain Multicultural center in Stony Plain Alberta in February and in September.  I am very excited about being asked and love to present to groups whenever I can.

I will be adding the new seed varieties when I can.  I have a few more kinds of tomatoes and many potatoes, so keep checking back over the next month for those.  I salvaged as much garlic as I could from the crop failures of 2012 and 13 and hope to offer it again in the fall or next year.  We see 2014 as a great garlic year.

I want to start a discussion on CSA’s and see if anyone is interested in that option.  I would look at the program as a viable option for our farm if there is enough interest.  A CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture program that runs like a share option for farm produce.  We have mulled it over for a few years.  We are interested in biodynamic farming as well and would love your feedback on your needs and interests.  Please comment below.

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Again, thank you to everyone who has expressed interest and supported our seed business.  We look forward to a great year and wish you all the best.