Welcome back to the site!! Happy New Year to all, belated of course!
Our 2011 season was interesting in the garden as many of you may have experienced in Alberta. We had many late starts, hiccoughs in the road, so to speak, but after a late but sure start whatever did not drown was productive and forgiving.
Our garlic went in April 10-20, which is a full 2 weeks late. But it could not be helped, as the weather was cold and the ground covered in no less than 2 feet of snow at that point…..we had over 6! Amazing what 10 days of warm sun will do.
Later in the summer the rest of my garden went in as we had a major building project this year – storage for the seed and garlic harvests. It will largely consume my summer this year as well as we hurry to finish.
We will be attending the annual Seedy Sunday events at Alberta Avenue Community Hall in Edmonton March 18, and the one in Red Deer March 25. See us there!
This year we did manage to add Cylinder beets, and 5 different kinds of Carrots as well as some mixes we think you will enjoy. We had a new kind of dry pea – Kimberley that did well, and a limited harvest of Windsor and Barton Broad beans. We added Olympia, Igloo and a few other sweet eating pea seeds, and some snap peas as well. We had a good harvest of onion seeds as well. Check those sections for updates in the coming weeks.
I am still sorting through the garlic as this year, many kinds drowned out or did not do well for various reasons. In a wet year there is always the issue of keeping quality and the mice found their way into the storehouse and what they did not chew they rearranged tags on so I am still fixing that mess. My apologies to all those awaiting news on availability. I should have more in the coming Month, still in lots of time for planting in April, weather depending, of course!
Make sure to check regularly in Updates and What’s New for 2012 for fresh information from the Garden.
Alberta Avenue farmer’s Market Seedy Sunday event in Edmonton, March 18, 2012. This is a great weekly venue to get fresh stuff also, so make sure you get there early. Their markets are listed on the Alberta Farmer’s Markets site. We will have all our seeds, garlic, onion sets and farm produce there in March only. Anyone interested in free-range chickens, turkeys or beef can see our site at
hillanddalefarm.wordpress.com or dependenceday.wordpress.com for more information.
See you there!!
Hey there local and loyal customers – What’s new in 2011? The harvest is in for this year. Thanks to all who made the garlic festival a success! We had a wonderful day full of sunshine, friends, sharing and of course, fresh produce and Garlic galore. Orders are still coming in from people wanting garlic and we are running low, so if you want some, say so soon.
The seeds are saved and waiting for anyone who wishes to order. We had a good year for most things and all are in the cold storage bin. We grew some great watermelons and cantelopes this year, and we are thankful for the rains when they came and the sun that lasted long enough to harvest all the wheat and bale up the straw. The bins are full and we are stocked for winter!
Keep in mind to visit the sister site hillanddalefarm.wordpress.com to see about your orders for meat or chicken, and other produce and to check up on our local goodness.
As a side note…those interested in off-the-grid living can check into my daughters site at dependenceday.wordpress.com She is 16 and is building her own house out of straw and logs. I am so proud of her and all her accomplishments. Check it out and feel free to comment.
Also please check out this new independent film entitled Food, Inc. IT is a good look at the need for more locally grown produce and the power individuals have to control their own destiny in the marketplace. It is available at
Thanks again, and happy growing into 2011 and beyond!
Denise
A'Bunadh Seeds (A-Boo-Nar) 