We will be online with Christa Realba and the Ambitiousmamapodcast on March 17, 2021 at 11:30 AM MST and we will be doing some giveaways, so be sure to attend.

https://www.instagram.com/christarealba/

On Mar 21, 2021 instead of seeing you all in person, we will be presenting online a beginner gardening presentation for the Virtual Edmonton Seedy Sunday event, at 9AM MST. Link is at http://www.edmontonseedysunday.org/

We are still filling new orders and getting some help from Kara Watson in Calgary with our seed catalogue to hopefully have an easier to read and scan catalogue. Bear with us and will also pass on her contact information to anyone who is in need of a professional editor.

Right now, this week is a free health Summit online offered here. I encourage you to take it in.

https://scienceofhealingsummit.com/main

Enjoy all of these events and remember to check out other online seedy Saturday and Sunday events at http://www.seeds.ca as there is probably one near you through your computer!!

Until we meet face to face!

Do you know where to find our information on Facebook? We are @abunadhseeds

We recently posted the first of our seed saving tips and tricks there, including this one

https://www.facebook.com/abunadhseeds/inbox/?source=diode&notif_m=alerts_page&notif_id=1615362686822372&notif_t=page_message_reminder&ref=notif

We can be found also on Instagram, much as we disagree with their terms of service, @deniseaoreilly

https://www.instagram.com/deniseaoreilly/

We are also on Telegram, which is a great free speech platform, as Grow and Learn. So join there for all our videos and other health links.

I know, its not like we need more screen time. But I get so many gardeners ask me for advice and rather than repeating myself I have decided to create some free content for the website, in quick, bite sized bits of video to discuss the most common questions I get and new and experienced gardeners are likely to ask. I am hoping to organize them into categories, and possibly start a YouTube Channel or you can get them by downloading the Telegram App, and following the listing there under Grow and Learn.

These are the topics we hope to address: If you have others, please message us to have them added.

1. New grower tips on starting out, what to know about starting plants, growing in pots, soil selection and amendments, seed types and best practices, setting up the garden for success, weed or food, when to water or not and with what, when to harvest, what to do with the harvest and long term storage or canning/freezing suggestions.
2. Advanced gardener tips to success, pruning techniques for trees and tomatoes, hand pollination of varieties, fruit tree propagation techniques, seed saving of all varieties, permaculture, regenerative agriculture and other permanent bed techniques, advanced plant breeding, etc..
3. All about soil, Soil health and its affect on your health long term.
4. Fun flowers to grow
5. Food crops vs. other crops
6. Green manures and no till practices
7. Small scale or large scale management
8. Areas to create income or community from the garden/acreage/farm.

Of course, I am in full swing with seeds and plants most of the year, so bear with me as we get this together and online for you. Follow us @hillanddalefarm on wordpress or abunadhseeds on Facebook for postings of when we launch this project or add your name to follow us here!

The Master Gardeners Association of Alberta is a great resource for gardening information. They have the following great courses coming up:

https://www.mgaab.org/events/eventdetail/51/-/no-til-gardening

No Til Gardening

Friday 05 February 2021, 06:30pm – 07:30pm
  If you love to garden but hate weeding and watering, join us as we explore no till gardening with Kim Ross.   Kim will share with the MGAA members in a 1-Hour presentation how she made the switch and in just two years of no till gardening has enjoyed higher yields with fewer plants, significantly less weeds and reduced watering on her 26,000 sq ft garden.   Kim is a fifth-generation farm girl with a 26,000 sq ft garden that feeds her family of six all year around as well as provides veggie baskets for customers throughout summer. She has her Bachelor of Science, Master of Photographic Arts, Master Gardener and is teaching several classes for the University of Saskatchewan. In addition, she is working on her Prairie Horticulture Certificate in both the Greenhouse Crop production and Vegetable and Fruit Production streams. Join Kim on her Facebook page @Rossdale Farms as she shares her love of gardening with others.   This talk is FREE for Active MGAA members and $10 for the Public.   Please register using EventBrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mgaa-notill-gardening-with-kim-ross-tickets-138052866841.  

Contact Susan at events-north@mgaab.org if you require assistance.

Medicinal Benefits of Herbs

Thursday 25 February 2021, 07:00pm – 08:00pm
Join Denise O’Reilly for her talk on the medicinal benefits of Herbs, wild and cultivated.     Denise O’Reilly has lived most of her life on her family’s farm in Cherhill Alberta. The farm has been in the family since 1910 where they believe in quality food, enhanced through regenerative agricultural practices and soil nurturing. Work with nature, not against it and always chemical free.   She is also teaching several courses for the Stony Plain OMG program.  

Denise achieved her Forestry Diploma with NAIT in 1986 and worked in the field for several years, as a forest Technician. She renamed the farm Hill and Dale Farm after what her great-grandparents had called it, and they now sell free range meat products, cheese and dairy produce (when available), wild foraged mushrooms and 20 kinds of garlic and related products to direct markets.    

She sells Local Alberta-Grown, Short Season Open-Pollinated and Heirloom Seeds locally and abroad, by mail order and through Seedy Sunday events, hosted by the Seeds of Diversity Group. https://abunadhseeds.com/  She started A’bunadh (pronounced a-boon-arh) Seeds in response to the lack of availability of locally produced seeds. She has been working on building up a seed saving co-op with those who also want to get into seed saving, as well as building her farm intensively to make the most of the space she has.  Also, on her farm, in season certified organic strawberry and vegetable Upick, farm store with fresh items and preserves. On farm workshops and courses, farm stays and internships available.  

Denise is actively involved in the Alberta Mycological Society where she has won numerous awards for her photography. Denise conducts local summer mushroom hunts and identification courses. She writes for newspapers and magazines and is current president of the Sangudo and District Horticultural Society.   Please register using EventBrite at

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mgaa-herbs-wild-and-cultivated-with-denise-oreilly-tickets-139796574317

  Contact Susan at events-north@mgaab.org if you require assistance.

Hello beloved gardeners! The Sangudo Horticulture Club will present their annual spring Garden Workshop online via a Zoom event this Saturday. The day promises to be exciting, with guest speaker Dr. Bob Bors, head of plant development at the University of Saskatchewan! You will not want to miss this one. Register by contacting the Sangudohortclub@gmail.com

See this poster for more details!! And see you all online!

• 

Because I am passionate about our soil and its relationship to nutrient rich food, I am always amazed when people do not see the relationship but then, once I started to understand why, I was driven to write down everything I had learned in the last 25+ years. If you are wondering, see this article below….

Soil and health

https://wordpress.com/post/ruralmusingsofafarmer.wordpress.com/5

“We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” – Leonardo Da Vinci, Artist and inventor

I have also recently recorded a talk I did about Modern Farming Techniques and Soil Health as it relates to you and your food. You can find that here:

https://www.loom.com/share/b241bdfaafb049e28aa5d72cbd96a343

As you can appreciate, farmers are hard working folks. They do what they do because they are working to feed the world and their families. They should be supported in any way you can. Thanks everyone for your interest in continuing education.

All you need is seed. And saving it is easily learned and done. Practice is the key. I am hosting a seed saving workshop on the farm at 56417 RR 51 in Lac Ste Anne County, Sunday Oct. 4, from 10 to 3. Cost is $35 and you must confirm with me by sending an etransfer to reserve your spot as space is limited, given covid. We will also do a potluck lunch outside. Bring a lawn chair, gloves, face covering and dress for the weather. If you have food allergies or sensitivities let me know.

We will have lots of time for hands on at this workshop with plenty of time for questions. We are pinned on google maps if you search for A’Bunadh Seeds. If you are having trouble or would like specifics call 780-785-2622. We will start promptly at 10 with a powerpoint introduction and go from there.

Also, given our extended season, there will probably still be strawberries at the upick and so if you are interested bring containers to pick into. We will have a special rate for all you helpers. Thanks, and look forward to seeing you all there.

Check out the online review of our Rural Roots Farmer Showcase event and other local farms for Alberta Open Farm Days here or on Adrienne Lamb’s CBC program Our Edmonton this Saturday (10 AM) and Sunday (11 AM) Mornings and on Monday at 1.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/open-farm-days-adrienne-lamb-denise-o-reilly-dawn-boileau-1.5684935

web story is up:  https://twitter.com/cbcedmonton/status/1294641852482760705?s=12

We have a somewhat dismal mushroom year, but will host a wild foraging and mushroom hunting foray August 29, 2020. 9 to 3. Bring a potluck item for lunch, rain or shine. Cost is $35 per person; call to register as space is limited 7807852622.

Here is a great site for what to bring: https://www.albertamushrooms.ca/2018/12/05/foray-guidelines-what-to-bring/

Directions to the farm are:

from Edmonton take Hwy 43 N to Whitecourt, off Hwy 16 West. Watch for RR 50, Turn Right. Go to second stop sign, (Twp 564) turn left. One mile to RR 51 turn right follow road to end. Address 56417 RR 51. Park by the farm store at the end of the road in the UPick Parking lot. We will meet there. Farm store is a steel shack at the end of the dead end road. We will start promptly at 9 AM. Journey from Edmonton takes 1 hr.

From Whitecourt or points West, take Secondary rd 764 North of Cherhill, 3 miles to Twp 564, turn East to RR 51, end of road as above.

See you all then.