New Varieties for 2015

Hi everyone!

It will take me a while to get a new catalogue online, but I wanted to update you on the new varieties available this year.

Beans:  Heritage Bean Mix – a blend of 5 different beans of all kinds, shapes and habits, makes a splendid bean mix, all are abundant producers of green beans for fresh eating (there is one yellow) and can be left for seed for soup mix.  Pink, black, white, beige and orange seed for a fun variety of heritage producers.Heritage mix

Purple rain – produces fat green round beans for fresh eating or if left a delightfully vibrant purple bean with a white eye.  Named in honor of Prince.  These seeds are one of the ones in Richters seed Zoo selection from Africa.  Limited quantities – $4 per package

Purple rain

Black Garbanzo – Like the name says these Chickpeas are black and do produce quite a few seeds in the row.  Make a truly unique Hummus!  Limited Quantities – $4 per package of 25

Fortin Family Heirloom – A yellow bean from Quebec, long in the heritage of the region. Good producer, bush plants.

Fortin

Stringless Green Pod – An heirloom from 1898, bred by Calvin Keeney (Father of the Stringless Bean) for Burpee, this bean is an excellent producer of long green round pods for fresh eating that remain tender on the vine longer than other varieties.  Did well this year in our drought.

Stringless Green Pod

Tanya’s Pink Pod – Long, flattish beans that start green but have a defined pink vibrance as well and produce tan seeds with a darker eye.  Bush type.  Good producer.  Limited offering – 10 seeds for $3

Tanyas Pink Pod

Corn offerings;

Luther Hill – white kernels on 4-6″ pods, grew well in the drought.  Produces a sweet corn that is very flavorful, like old varieties used to be.  Not a supersweet kind.

Black Aztec – 80 days.  Ears start out white and turn various colors finally ending black.  Eaten as a sweet corn when white, or for soups, stews and flour when black.  We found it delightfully sweet and tasty.  Good producer.

Indian Blue Sweet – 80 days.  Grew well this year and produced good sized ears of sweet corn.  IT changes color like the black Aztec, ending up black and full. Sweet at the milk stage.  Sweet when dry.

Dakota Black popcorn – Limited Quantities.  Produced in the toughest drought conditions of many years.  Kernels dry to a dark red, almost black.  Short enough season even for us.

Ashworth – 70 days.  Selected from a breeder in Ontario to be the one thought best tasting by the rodents over winter.  I found the same thing when I was trying to dry it in our facility.  Sweet tasting and yellow full kernels.  Heads good sized.

Pennsylvania Dutch Butter Flavored Popcorn – 115 days.  I was delighted with this popcorn as it is excellent flavored and an excellent producer of huge cobs of popcorn, white and pearl shape.  Great fun.

Eggplants:

Yah, finally an eggplant or two that will produce in Alberta’s short season:  Here were the winners for this year.

Reintroducing Apple green – about 69 days.  Produces one or two light lime green round eggplants of good size.  20 seeds per pkg.

White Egg – about the size of apple green, light white skin and round.  69 days.

Kashmiri Brinjal – A squat purple eggplant, medium sized, great flavor and good producer, about 69 days.

Little finger – Long purple fingerling eggplants, massive producer and good for short seasons at 74 days.

Fast Round – really live up to their name.  Wonderfully purple and round, many on a plant.  70 days.

Morden Midget – miniature versions of the purple store eggplants we all know so well.  Good producer, 76 days.

More to come…

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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

Fall 2014

My apologies to all who have been trying to reach me through this blog.  I have inadvertently locked myself out of my site on my home computer, so until I get that fixed I have trouble reaching you all to update the page.  I can be reached directly at smileyo at xplornet dot ca if you are looking for a quicker response.  I am currently working on another abunadh site that will have online shopping capability but time is limited at this time of year.

I have garlic available this year in very limited quantities.  Bulbs are $4 each plus shipping.  Varieties available are as listed below:

Korean Purple – 6-10 medium sized, deep purple skinned cloves.  Good keepers, great hot flavor.

Hutterite Purple – 4-6 large cloves per head, purple skins. Med. hot flavor.  Good keeper.

Polish Jenn – 4-6 cloves of good sized, light pink skins, good holding ability over winter and medium hot spicy flavor.

Ukrainian Mavniv – 4-6 large cloves per head.  Heads are light pink/purple tinged, store well and of great med-hot flavor.

Ukrainian Hot – 6-12 medium sized cloves, tinged deep pink/purple with excellent hot garlic flavor. Keeps well over winter, but tends to sprout earlier than others.

BC Sicilian – 10-15 flattish medium sized cloves in a loose squat, large head.  White skins, good flavor, milder than others. Keeps ok.

The orders will be placed first come, first served with a limit of one head of each type for now.

I will also have many new potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes if anyone is interested and will update in the next week.  I will also post the new site when it is ready, so keep posted and thanks for your patience.

Talk to you soon,

Denise

By the way…

We have sold out of some things at the shows.  So if you are still wanting to order, email me first at smileyo@xplornet.ca and we will communicate first to see what I still have.  Only have a very few potatoes left.  You are ok if you ordered before the shows, I still have your orders off to the side.  I am excited to be trying a whack more potato kinds this year, some fingerlings and landrace kinds in particular.  If you have kinds to share, let me know, we will do a trade if I do not have them already.  I am looking for one we used to have that my Uncle Nick brought from the Ukraine.  IT was very large and flattish with light purple skin and dry white flesh.  It was his perogy potato and somehow it did not get planted one year.  So if you know of one like that, let’s chat.

You can still order seeds up until about the end of April, so keep in touch,

Denise

Successful Completion

Hi everyone;

Thanks to all who came by our tables at the Seedy Events this year and said hi and picked up some things or signed our petition.  Most people do not know that Monsanto is trying to sneak that bill into the legislation in Canada.  Your support and interest is great.  You are right to be shocked that they are attempting to stop farmers from selling seed and saving and sharing across Canada.  So again, thank you for supporting small farmers in Canada.  In case you did not get a chance to sign it, you can go to http://www.nfu.ca and read all about it and join the fight there.

We had many people come by and ask important questions about who we are and where we are and we did our best to answer you all, with all the volume at our tables.  Thanks to my wonderful daughters Yara and Meaghan for their help and support.  I could not do what I do without them.  Will post a photo when I get a chance.

And mostly thanks to all of you who help support seed saving and sharing in Alberta and across the world.  It is encouraging when so many of you care to grow open-pollinated seeds.

Keep on growing,

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

New for 2014 Not in Catalogue

Hi everyone;

Well, I inevitably leave out a few things in the catalogue listing every year, so here is a supplemental list.

Carrots:

  1. Brilliance – a coreless variety that just happens to be high in beta-carotene content, making these very deep orange, as well as healthy! Nantes type.
  2. St. Valery – Old french heirloom praised for its superb quality, fine flavor and high yields. Large scarlet roots that can reach more than 25 cm long. Shape is straight and uniform. Diameter at the base: 5 to 7 cm. Thick flesh, fine grained. Rich, sweet flavor. For fresh use or conservation. Contains the highest percentage of the amino acid arginine. 70-80 days. From France, 19th century.
  3. Snow White – Pretty white roots with green shoulders. Compared to other whites…very mild and sweet. Nice raw or cooked. Very worth trying. 75-80 days.
  4. Kuroda – oriental variety. Giant tapered roots, about 7” long & 2 – 3” wide. Disease and heat resistant. Roots mature to 500g (1lb) or larger, without losing sweetness and flavor. Should be seeded thinly right from the start. Does exceptionally well in all soils. 70 days.
  5. Belgium White – Records indicate this one has been in existence since mid 1800’s. It has very long roots (often over 1 ft !) which push themselves out of the ground several inches and thus form green shoulders. Roots are not as sweet (great for diabetic diets) or as much flavor as the orange roots, but produce very well. Stores well. 85 days.
  6. Sweet mix is back.  A good mix of long sweet types, all orange.

Lentils – Green – traditional use in Asian and Indian dishes, soups and stews.  Great addition of fibre to the diet.  Can also be sprouted.  Grows well on the prairies.  75 days.

Alfalfa – Non-GMO is becoming more endangered.  Grow one of these plants in a perennial place and harvest the abundance of seeds for sprouting or just to become a source for non-GM seed.  All colors and a sweet fragrance in summer that hummingbirds and bees love.  Makes a nice summer bouquet also.  Great nitrogen fixer, but beware, it will be there for years.

Swiss Chard – Rainbow mix – all colors of chard. Limited quantities.

Kale – I have Russian Red, Green Curled and Dinosaur in limited quantities.

Jerusalem Artichoke tubers are available in the spring.  Email for varieties.

If I come across more, I will let you all know,

Thanks, 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