Talking Potatoes and Squash in Hartney!

The Hartney Horticultural Society invited us back this year for a fall vegetable talk.  We'd done a squash night last year that was great fun!  This year, we thought to focus on potatoes and baking with winter squash.  We've got quite a unique collection of potato varieties: twenty eight kinds!  Figuring that everyone has had a basic red, white and baking potato we took five of our more unique and rare varieties.  Monday afternoon we steamed up German Butterball (like Yukon Gold, but yummier), Russian Blue the all purple potato, Alaska Sweetheart which is all red potato (yes, skin and flesh is pink/red), one of our favorite fingerlings Linzertans Delicatese and the rare fingerling Pink Fir Apple.   We also baked a butternut squash and Hubbard.  The evening was hosted at the delightful Red Door Cafe in Hartney, so we had access to a kitchen.

Farmer Man gave a little info on growing potatoes and different kinds.  We warmed up our five kinds and served out tastes one by one, just plain so that people could really experience the flavor.  German Butterball and the Pink Fir Apple seemed the favorites of the evening!  Next, we talked a bit about winter squash and baking with it.  We served up a taste of butternut and Hubbard plain, simply roasted.  Then, we offered a taste of a loaf made with Kabocha Japanese pumpkin, and Claris from the Red Door offered tastes of pie and cheesecake made with Boston Marrow, a relative of Hubbard that we had gotten to her earlier in the week.  I think everyone had a chance to try something they'd never eaten before, which we love!  And, we shared with everyone just how easy it is to bake with real pumpkins, or hubbards, or butternuts......

Joel Salatin is Coming to Brandon!

The Manitoba Conservation Districts Association (MCDA) is hosting their annual conference December 12 to 14,  2011 in Brandon.  The conference, called 'Inspiring Change,'  has lots of great stuff, of interest to farmers, ranchers, conservationists, environmentalists and regular people, too!  The big item for me is that Joel Salatin will be the keynote speaker on Tuesday.  Joel Salatin is an awesome fellow who has been on the forefront of the fight to support the small farmer, for stepping away from factory farming, for getting back to raising chemical-free local food in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner.  Farmer Man and I aren't 'fan' types, but Joel Salatin is kind of like a rock star to us!  We've read his books, get his articles in different magazines we subscribe to, follow his Tweets!

Further information will be available shortly on the MCDA website here (still under construction).  I have a PDF of the poster and registration which I could not figure out how to get into this blog but I'd happily email it to anybody.  Just leave a comment with your email address or email us at aagaardfarms@gmail.com!    

Hort Day in Hartney and a New Hardy Rose!

One of my favorite things each Spring is speaking to different gardening groups.  After a long Prairie winter it is just great to meet up with people just as rarin' to garden as I am!  One of my absolutely favs is Hartney, Manitoba's Hort or Garden Day!  Always a great turn-out, lovely people, and some super local vendors.  This year I was speaking about compost as the best fertilizer/vitamin pill for your plants, and compost tea as a great way to stretch out your compost.  As well as other things...I have a bad habit of going off on tangents, sometimes.  Perhaps wasn't the most scintillating, sexy topic but nobody appeared to be falling asleep, even if it was directly after lunch!  Thanks, Hartney, for having me over!

 I arrived a little early and had a  great chance to shop around: some beautiful plants, local soaps and lotions, some really interesting berry vinegars and sauces.  The big score is a new rose from the Morden/Parkland family of super hardy roses!  This one is called 'Marshall's Peace Garden Rose', named in honor of the late Henry Marshall who did great work for the gorgeous International Peace Garden.  I had cruised by the table as it was a little crowded.  One of the gardeners in attendance told me I had to 'Go smell that rose!' I back-tracked and saw a lovely double white rose; it smelled awesome.  I was sold the moment I saw the 'Northern Garden Collections' tag.  This means the plant has come to us through Jeffries Nursery in Portage la Prairie; these people are doing some awesome work in introducing hardy plants for us Northern gardeners.  The rose, I was thrilled to discovery, is a sport of 'Morden Blush', a gorgeous, pale pink double rose doing very well in my garden.  With part proceeds of the sale of 'Marshalls Peace Garden Rose' going to support the International Peace Gardens, this made this purchase an all-around good thing!  I have many of the Morden roses and I assure you this one has the best fragrance of all - I wish I had a flowering one here now!  Well worth adding to your garden!  And if you are in the area and have never been to the International Peace Garden on the Manitoba-North Dakota border - that's well worth your time, too!  What a great day in Hartney!

Westman, Check Your Datebooks!

Lots of interesting events coming up in the next little while! Here's a few I've heard about and thought I'd share! First, this Saturday, February 12, Funds Fur Furry Friends and Pet Valu are getting together. Both Brandon locations of Pet Valu will give you a 10% discount on any bag of food that you buy to donate to the rescue. They really need puppy food right now, but they always need dog and cat food. You may be able to meet a few adoptable puppies, too. If you can help, please do so!! FFFF will also be in Shoppers Mall from, I think, 2 - 4 PM with some adoptable pets you can meet! Go lay-a-little-lovin' on a cat or dog looking for a forever home!

Seedy Sunday is February 20th at Brandon's Park Community Center! If you're looking for seed or have saved seed and want to trade or share, this will be a great event. We're going to be there selling seed potatoes from our collection of twenty five different varieties. I don't have any further details at this time, but I'll share as soon as I know more.

New Era School is having a Market Day on Saturday, March 5 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Tables are $20 and all proceeds go to support New Era! They're looking for sellers of baking, crafts and gently used items. There will be a canteen, with proceeds going to New Era, as well. Great day to shop or sell for a good cause! You've got to register to sell by February 24th, you can email Denise at coxb@mts.net or Delvina at kejick.delvina@brandonsd.mb.ca.

Earth Day is April 17th and there will be events in Princess Park again this year. The Green Spot's Spring Garden Fair is April 30 and May 1st this year. Hartney's Hort Day is May 7th and I'll be speaking there. Haven't really settled on a topic yet, but I'm currently rather obsessed with managing soils and garden beds organically. If you'd like to hear about something in particular at Hartney - let me know!

Talkin' Squash in Hartney!

The Hartney Hort Club had talked to me about a fall presentation about squash. Last night was the event - and it was good timing because we still had summer squash as well as winter squash. This was a 'tag-team' presentation with Farmer Man, something we don't get to do that often! We prepped some Papaya Pear by marinating it in balsamic vinegar and olive oil and we baked both a Buttercup and a 'Winter Sunshine' Kabocha. The meeting was at the adorable 'Red Door' restaurant in Hartney, so Farmer Man sauteed some crookneck and patty pan, grilled the Papaya Pear and warmed the winter squash. I talked about the differences between summer and winter squash, different varieties in both groups, growing them, using them and preserving them. Farmer Man came out of the kitchen a few times to add his knowledge! And everybody got to try both raw and cooked varieties! We were quite late arriving (totally on me, I won't lie) and in the flurry to get going I totally forgot to get a picture of the packed restaurant! A great group! Thanks for having us, Hartney!

Small Farm Dreams?

Are you dreaming of running a small farm? Help is on the way! The Manitoba Farm Mentorship program will be running a workshop here in Brandon to help you make your dreams a reality! Check it out here.

Karen Chrest Meets My Worms!

Another gardening segment on itvbrandon.com. Host Karen Chrest came over and met my 'friends with benefits', of a sort. We're discussing worm composting this time. Check it out here!

Composting on itvBrandon!

Yes, I'm back on the Web with Karen Chrest! This time we're having a wee discussion on composting. Check it out here.

I'm on the Web!!

I'm on iTalk with Karen Chrest on itvbrandon.com! Talking about lawns, this time. I really don't like looking at photos of myself and video is even worse......but, hey, check it out here if you care to!

itvbrandon.com Comes for a Visit!

Have you been missing Karen Chrest since our local TV station, CKX, shut down? Well, you can find her on itvbrandon.com. itvbrandon.com is our new 'tv' station, featuring local news, entertainment and sports online. It's fabulous to have! Karen is doing weekly segments on stuff going on around town. She's already covered Earth Day, the new show at the Museum at Shilo and a bunch of other interesting stuff. Now, she's going to be doing a few gardening segments, so she and Nate Bower came for a visit today. We covered some earth-friendly lawn and garden tips and composting, including meeting my worms. Don't worry - I'll definitely have a link when something goes online! In the meantime, catch up on what's going on around Brandon on this great site!

Hartney Hort Day!

Another great day in Manitoba horticulture circles! Today I was in Hartney, and what a great show they organized! I swear half the town was there! An awesome crowd for such a little town. And some great vendors with some excellent products; saw Julie from JR Greenhouses, some beautiful plant material and cut flowers were for sale - I just wish I had had more time to hang out. Great audience with some great questions; I think I introduced at least a few people to the wonders of horticultural fleece! Thanks for having me, Hartney! And a big pat on the back to Edna and Judy - good work, ladies!

Garden Day in Oak Lake!

This time of year, I find myself at a number of Garden Days, Hort Days, etc. 'Tis the season!! I'm often there as a presenter, speaking on garden design, veggie growing, what's new for growing on the Prairies and such. Truth is, if it involves gardening, I delight in talking about it, almost endlessly, and often going off on little side rants about this-and-that! I can't be toooo obnoxious, because people do hire me to come back! One of my favorite Garden Days is in Oak Lake, Manitoba. I've been there before and it is one of the biggest and best shows in south western Manitoba! Great crowd, very enthusiastic and appreciative, and I always come away learning something from them! It was a great morning in Oak Lake! Sorry, one of the pictures came out very blurry; it doesn't do justice to the good looking group at the show!