Veggies and Flowers and Herbs - Oh My!

Upcoming bedding plant sales in Winnipeg


The time has almost come for us to say goodbye to many of the little seedlings that we've sown, watered, transplanted and 'tucked into bed' for so many weeks now. Our first season of entering the world of 'bedding plants', including the sale of flowers, herbs and vegetable seedlings, we're pretty proud of what we have ready to offer. One of our first sales will be in Winnipeg on Saturday, May 12, as part of the Harvest Moon Local Food Initiative's monthly delivery. It will be easy to order - just go to the [newly re-launched] HMLFI website, click on "Bedding Plants" or our Fresh Roots Farm profile and browse the list to choose what you'll be planting in your garden this year! The website works by pre-payment with credit card in the new system. However, more flowers, herbs and heirloom vegetables will be available at the delivery sites, courtesy of Carissa & Greg DeJong and their seedlings grown at "The Greenhouse at Harvest Moon", which is what it sounds like (proceeds will be going towards the HMS). Note that these products will not be listed online, but available to purchase with cash. If you've never heard of or used the Harvest Moon Local Food Initiative Buying Clubs before, we highly encourage you to check it out - it's simple to go online 1-2 weeks ahead of delivery, choose from a variety of Manitoba-raised meats, grains, honey and vegetables, and simply pick it up at one of four Buying Club sites in Winnipeg (and now one in Starbuck) - see more info here. We will be marketing some of our chickens, and hopefully eggs, vegetables, and even pastured pork this year via this system. All of the food raised by HMLFI producers is done so with a set of standards developed to be safe, healthy and sustainable for you and your families. It's also comprised of a great group of mentors with whom we can gain advice and share knowledge.

CSA Share Due Date Coming Up!
We are very grateful and excited to announce that we have had 33 families sign up for our CSA weekly delivery program, available for people living in and around the communities of Cartwright, Mather, Clearwater, Crystal City and Pilot Mound, MB! We are really looking forward to the growing season (let's be honest, it's already here) and to supply these individuals and families with our vegetables throughout the 16-week season (mid-June to end of September). For more information, see our 'Vegetable' page here. The deadline for CSA registrations are this coming Friday, April 28th, and we still have some spots left - so contact us today!

Facts 'n figures

We wanted to share this table with you, because we think it is astounding to see the vast nutritional difference between organically and conventionally grown vegetables. Empirical data that supports what many have known through their own personal experiences are finally coming to the surface. We can attest to this with the veggies we grow, eat and market. The taste is better and we generally just feel healthier and more alive. Can't wait for those first fresh asparagus, lettuces and spinaches that are right around the corner!

Troy and Michelle

Bedding Plant Top Picks, Pt. 2 - Bodacious Herbacious Herbs

By Michelle

Oh, hello again. Back with another episode of bedding plant top picks, this time with our friends, the HERBS. With a loudly pronounced "H", or, if you're the shy and subtle type, feel free to deem it 'invisible'. Anyways. Many people are afraid or intimidated by herbs, except for perhaps the classic oregano, basil, dill, etc. that make their way into a variety of dishes. After my experience working in the prominent herb haven/greenhouse called Sage Garden, I had a whole new appreciation for the wide array of edible, medicinal, aromatic, ornamental types of herbs. Then comes the hard part - how to actually USE them! I've made it a bit of a life-long quest to discover which herb combinations can spice up a meal and take it from 'blah' to 'TAH-DAH' in a flick of the wrist. Really, it's magic. The number of times I've felt a million times better after a cup of tea made from dried herbs, or witnessed the effects of a tincture on my health, or simply just how the aroma of a lavender, oregano or basil plant can pick up my mood...are many. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, herbs are underrated - and they're just existing waiting for us to find their unobvious talent.

Moving on...I find it really hard to just choose 3 herbs to feature - but, if I must - I will.

1. Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis) - It really is as good as its name sounds (well, the regular one, maybe not the Latin one). This bushy-type herb flowers in the late summer, and until then, you can harvest its tasty foliage for a variety of dishes. It's most commonly used for flavouring green beans, other vegetables, poultry, or infused in vinegar (to make a really great ready-to-use salad dressing). It makes a mean meat pie, and is also popular used as a seasoning for grilled meats and barbecues, as well as in stews and sauces. It has a sweeter, more delicate aroma than its cousin, Winter Savory. And really, who wants to think about winter when we can revel in the short time summer gifts us with heat and sunshine...Unfortunately, summer savory is an annual, not able to last our harsh winters in the ground. However, in the season you do plant it, you'll watch its fast growth  in awe like a proud parent: "Oh, honey, look at the Savory...they grow up so fast, these days. Seems just yesterday I was transplanting its little roots in the ground". Anyways. It might be like that.

2. Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) - It's a member of the mint family, but its leaves have a sweet, citrusy flavour that make a refreshing tea. The leaves are awesome in fruit drinks, and the purplish flowers make a colourful addition to a salad. And did I mention it's medicinal? Aboriginal peoples traditionally made a bergamot tea to relieve symptoms of colds and chest or throat complaints, and for mild digestive problems. In aromatherapy and essential oil form, bergamot can combat anxiety and nervous tension, and also helps the urinary tract and respiratory system. Used topically, it benefits problem skin, especially when it's linked to stress, particularly eczema, psoriasis, and acne. It's not just us humans that like bergamot, however - bees, butterflies and hummingbirds use the plant for nectar - hence it's other common name, "Bee Balm". It's known for its sort of 'bad hair-do', which I can sympathize with, but who can blame it, when it does all these cool things?

Varieties we offer: The native 'Wild Bergamot', which is a perennial, and regular, pink/red-flowered 'Bergamot', which is a tender perennial/annual. 


3. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) - Okay, so I know you're saying: "That's super boring Michelle - couldn't you come up with something more interesting than basil"? The reply to this is a polite "NO WAY, JOSE" - basil has become one of my favourite herbs. It just makes me all-round happy. So I'm including it. Also a member of the mint family, coincidentally. Last year, we grew the classic Italian 'Genovese' variety of sweet basil in our greenhouse, amongst the tomato plants. Upon entering the building, you immediately would get a salivating waft of its strong scent, and we found that the tomatoes really love these 'friends', which helped their growth and production, while also keeping pests away with the aforementioned strong aroma. Basil can be used fresh or dried as flavourings or spices in stews, sauces, salad dressings, vegetables, poultry, vinegar, confectionery products, and the liqueur chartreuse. So basically, EVERYTHING. Some of my favourite culinary uses of fresh basil leaves are in pesto ('Genovese' is the preferred variety for this amazing Italian sauce'), and layered into a classic grilled cheese & fresh tomato sandwich...just makes me drool thinking about it. Takes grilled cheese up a notch, never the same. Oh, and would you like to know its medicinal superpowers? Alright: It's an antioxidant, often used for its digestive and anti-gas properties. Herbalists also recommend it for stomach cramps, vomiting, constipation, headaches and anxiety. So basically, EVERYTHING. Try steeping some basil tea after dinner for a calming, slightly sedating, digestive aid - I dare you. Now I would like to briefly mention the other great thing about basil - it LOVES to be harvested! (This means you can eat it constantly throughout the season.) The trick is to prune it (once it becomes a substantial size) just above a set of opposite leaves on a branching stem. This will encourage it to grow more voluptuous and bushy, and generate exponentially more awesome basil leaves for you to eat. It also keeps it from flowering, which will eventually stop its growth (though the purple mint-like flowers are so very pretty). For those of you with limited garden space, basil makes a great container herb, just give it some full sun love. The other variety we grow is 'Thai' basil - quite a different taste with its anise-like flavour, a staple in much of the South Asian cuisine. (And also good for container gardening.) It is distinct with its purplish-coloured stems, smaller, narrower leaves and mauve flowers.
Have I made my case? Not just the boring old 'basil' you thought it was, huh? Now: let's address the pronunciation. Is it "baah-sil' or 'bay-sil'? My preference is the latter, as I think it sounds highly distinguished, though many will choose to disagree within their right. Plus, 'baah-sil' is that guy who played Sherlock Holmes. So...I don't know what my point is there, but you know where I stand.

Well folks, there you have it. Three fantastical (and also bodacious, whatever that means) herbs, and there's so many more out there. Mostly in there, 'there' being our greenhouse, currently. Just waiting to show you their 'hidden' potential. Won't you let them?

Stay tuned for our full list of bedding plants, including flowers, herbs, and even some veggie seedlings! We hope to market to our surrounding area here at Cartwright, as well as into Winnipeg somewhat, perhaps through the HMLFI buying clubs. We hope that you will find something you like to plant for your very own! In the meantime, we'd love to hear what some of your favourite herbs are and how you use them...feel free to comment below.

On a side note...our very first mass mail-out went out today, promoting our CSA veggie delivery program! If you are in or near the communities of Cartwright, Mather, Clearwater, Crystal City or Pilot Mound, we would love for you to get on board and receive these weekly packages of delicious, in-season produce. Special discounts for bedding plants will apply for customers. For more info, click here.

Bedding Plant Top Picks: Pt 1 - The Powers of Flowers

By Michelle

To be honest, I was never really that into flowers. I grew up surrounded by beautiful flower gardens that my Grandmother, Aunt and Mom relished in designing, planting, maintaining and admiring every year, but I never really got what the big deal was. I mean, you can’t eat them…so what? And herbs – any discussion about these mysterious array of flora pretty much ended with the confusion of, “Is the ‘h’ silent, or not?”. However, I’m thankful that this indifference and perplexity ended a few years ago when I spent one Spring working at Sage Garden, a family-owned, organic greenhouse business on the outskirts of Winnipeg. Dave Hanson and Evelyn Yauk’s passion for bedding plants made me excited about the scent of a basil plant, the vivid red tubular Salvia flowers that guaranteed hummingbird visits, the variegation of a Coleus leaf, and the magic of a Sensitive plant (whose tiny leaves detract themselves by the touch of a finger), among other things. Having the knowledge learned during that short Spring, and engraining a good portion of it in my brain by teaching customers, inspired my newfound love of vegetables, herbs and flowers – and I’m thrilled to say that Fresh Roots Farm is going to be selling bedding plants this year! Of course, our selection is not that of your average high-production greenhouse, but we’re excited about some of the plants that you could take home this spring.

So, whether you’re a flower or herb enthusiast, or not, bear with me. I’d like to share with you some of my favourite bedding plants that we’ll have for sale this May. I’ll do this in a few different parts – why not start with flowers, lah-de-dah.

Flowers:

We all know about geraniums, impatiens, petunias, blah blah blah. We’re going to focus on a few more perennial flowers (this means they’ll come back year after year) that will hopefully provide folks with a hardy, low-maintenance, beautiful, diverse garden. Still, there’s some annuals you just can’t deny. Here’s just 3 selections of what we’ll be growing (and selling) this year, some of my personal Top Picks:

1.     Hollyhocks: Okay, we’ve all seen these massive beauties towering beside an old barn somewhere in the country, fulfilling our romanticized rural visions. They are a biennial (which means they bloom every second year, making it all the more special) and generally drought-resistant, which may make it a good choice for a dry year like it looks like this one will be. Hollyhocks are apparently also handy for maintaining a lady’s modesty. They were planted next to outhouses long ago, so that a visiting lady may subtilely ask where the ‘hollyhocks’ were, in order to be pointed to the direction of the potty. I think that it would be funny, when someone asks where our hollyhocks are, to point to the direction of the toilet. But that would just be bad for business, and just rude. So maybe not.

Varieties we’re offering:  “Ukranian”, “Old Fashioned”, and a black variety from a generous friend’s seed collection.

2.     Painted Daisies: Daisies have always been a favourite of mine – their simplicity and delicate (yet strong) composure remind us that something doesn’t have to be extravagant to be beautiful. These are also perennials that are be one of the first things to bloom in early summer. They also make a great border plant. These long-stemmed, sun-loving flowers come with a bonus surprise – they contain a natural pest repellant called ‘pyrethrum’ that works directly on the nervous systems of aphids, mites, leafhoppers (and, wait for it – mosquitoes!), without harming other animals or plants. Learn how to make it yourself with the flowers here.

Varieties we’re offering: Try the classic “Painted Daisy” in shades of pink, or the white “Pyrethrum, high potency”, specially bred for its organic insecticidal properties.

3. Nasturtiums: I can’t say enough about this rad plant, that probably falls somewhere between ‘flower’ and ‘herb’ – ‘cause it’s so good lookin’, useful, and you can eat it, too! Its Latin name, Tropaeolum, comes from the word “shield”, which well describes its unique large, round-shaped leaves. It’s pretty versatile and can tolerate part shade, or sunny locations. They like well-drained soil, and the poorer the soil, the more abundant their flowers, actually. Its only downfall is that it doesn’t generally survive our Zone 3 winters, so is an easy annual to replant every year. I would suggest planting it in a vegetable garden as a companion plant to many vegetables, such as cucumbers (improves growth and flavour), melons (deters bugs and beetles), and is a great ‘trap crop’ for aphids, especially the yellow-flowering varieties (did I hear some 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from you tomato gardeners?) And did I mention you can eat it?! Seriously, the leaves have a peppery, watercress-like taste that spices up a salad or an alternate for basil in a pesto recipe! The flowers are also edible, and have medicinal qualities (oh, just disinfectant, antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-bacterial – no big deal). Steeping them in white vinegar for a few weeks can help you take advantage of these health benefits.

Or just throw ‘em in a meal as a garnish. Oh, nasturtium – my love for you grows just thinking about you.

Varieties we’re offering: The multicoloured “Jewel Mix” (as pictured), and the elegant-looking “Black Velvet”, which conjures up a vision of Alannah Myles singing into a mahogany-coloured flower petal. For me, anyways.

So – it’s okay – admit that you got a little excited there. I mean, flowers, right – who knew? Go ahead and get so excited that you wet the bed (of soil, silly) and dig right in. Stay tuned for Part 2: Bodacious Herbaceous Herbs. (And for the record, I pronouce the ‘H’, loud and proud. No shame.)    

What are some of your favourite flowers to grow (or just admire)? We'd love to hear suggestions about what to try growing for next year...comment below.

Spring Fever, Already?

Dreaming Up New Ventures...
Well, here we are, half way through February, winter winding down, and looking forward to another season's promise. Not like we have had it too hard this winter. On the contrary, it has often seemed like it has been having a hard time settling in from Fall. Oh well, maybe we got the equivalent of 2 winters last year and we get a break from the chilly climes. It is a leap year, after all.

Michelle and I have been taking advantage of these milder temperatures. On Sunny days, temperatures have been well over +15 C inside the greenhouse! So we've been doing some renovations in it, building higher raised beds and tables which will allow us to do more with it this coming season.

Troy building raised beds in the balmy greenhouse 

CSA
This year we will be giving the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) a try with our vegetable garden. Basically this means rather than taking all of our produce to the farmers market, we hope to pre-sell shares (half and full shares) to households in the surrounding area at the beginning of the season, which would buy them a weekly box of whichever vegetables are in season delivered to them to enjoy. The CSA model has really caught hold in larger centers, but we are sure that we can make it work here too. We believe it represents a better way for us to get to know the people we grow food for and vice versa. Basically, it is a great way to build community and share what we believe is really good quality, local, fresh produce with you.


We would like to keep our deliveries local - within 30 miles of Cartwright - but will remain flexible, depending on where most interest is. Tentatively, we are open to doing weekly deliveries to Pilot Mound, Clearwater, Crystal City, Mather, Cartwright, Glenora, and Killarney. Let us know if people in your community might be interested, as we'd be happy to try and accommodate you. We are also open to on-farm pickup. You can visit "vegetables" on our webpage for info on varieties and pricing.


Bedding Plants
Secondly, we are pleased to announce that we will also be offering bedding plants for sale this coming season! Michelle and I have been busy planting seeds, germinating them indoors so that they will be ready to transplant into the greenhouses come March. The plants we will be offering are mostly perennial herbs and flowers, but we will also have some annual herbs, flowers and, of course, vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, pumpkins, etc. These plants would all be ready to pre-order by the end of March and ready to deliver by mid to late May. We will hopefully have a plant price list up on our website soon, so check back in on the website in March or contact us.

Michelle and her grandma, Dorothy, seeding down some flowers. 

Aside from the CSA and bedding plant sales, we will also be offering a variety of other products, including unpasteurized honey, preserves, free range broiler chickens and eggs, as well as pasture-raised pork and beef later in the fall. Feel free to spread the word to family and friends - we'd appreciate it!

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like further info on our farm offerings. send us an email or call, we'd love to hear from you.  

Hope you are enjoying this winter as much as we have been and talk to you soon!

Michelle and Troy

New Year, New Logo, New Puppy, New Plans!

Happy New Year to all of you - we hope that you enjoyed as much good food and good company as we did this holiday season. Thanks to everyone who came out to the farm to bring in 2012 with us! It was a blast.

So along with this new year that's come upon us, we'd like to introduce a swanky new logo for Fresh Roots Farm, designed by the talented, lovely Danielle Sheedy. She's been toiling away for a while now, trying to find something that 'fit' for us - and this does, beautifully! Take a look:

Speaking of new, a good snowfall was kind of a 'new' thing in these parts lately, and we got a nice one last week. Alas, most of it melted this week, with our +5 temperatures. Can't complain - it's amazing that the cattle have still been grazing on grass, as well as the bales, at this time of year. It just makes me a tad nervous, wondering what the upcoming planting season will be like...

To take advantage of this weather, while it lasts, Troy and I are thinking of insulating our newly-constructed hoop house...so we can actually use it for our veggie transplants this year. This will involve putting insulation on our plywood ends, and ideally, doubling our poly. If anyone out there has suggestions for a double-wall (with blower) design, or another more passive heating method, send it our way! Check out the amazing, creative greenhouse design that our friends Greg and Carissa deJong have been working on for the Spring at the Harvest Moon Learning Centre, here.

Lastly, Troy and I are looking forward to participating in a Holistic Management course later on this month, with instructor Don Campbell, renowned for his great facilitation of the course. Keep updated for our perspectives on what we'll learn in HM, and the valuable things we take away from it to further improve the sustainability of our farm and balance out our general lifestyle.

By the way, check out our brand new puppy, 'Merle'! He's an Australian Shepherd cross with a beautiful 'blue merle' colouring (aren't we creative in our naming?), and he's stolen our hearts away since we picked him up on Thursday. We're hoping he will be a help here on the farm, and know he'll be an awesome companion. More pics of him are sure to come.

Cheers to New Years,
Michelle (and Troy)

...'til the cows came home

So Michelle and I brought our cattle herd home the other day! It is a small herd but, to us, it feels like a big deal. I mean, Michelle grew up on a cattle ranch. I didn't, but have spent a fair bit of time acquainting myself with cattle over the years. And I like 'em! My uncle had cattle; and I have worked as a farmhand on various ranches, including Michelle's folks' these past couple of years. Regardless, raising cattle makes sense to us, we are passionate about it, and is an overall good fit for our farm and the land.


We picked out 20 bred cows from Fraser's (Michelle's dad) herd. They are Angus, Simmental, Charolais crosses and range in ages from 3 to 10 years old. Diversity is strength, no? We were appreciative and fortunate to have the 30 years of knowledge and experience Fraser contributed to the selection process. The bulk of the selection criteria was to pick out cows that would likely be calving later in the spring (May-June), which will be both easier on the animals as well as us. Afterall, we don't have a much in the way of barns and such, which could serve to house animals in need of assistance, especially in the very cold, winter months. By the time our cows calve, the spring will be well under way and temperatures much more conducive to less stress. This is why most other animal species have their babies around that time of year, including deer, elk and moose. It is obvious how it is much easier on everyone when it's not -30C with a howling north wind! 


Bale grazing and the Holistic Management Philosophy


After quite a bit of research and consultation, we decided to try bale grazing our cattle through the winter months. In fact we had to decide on this months ago, as there was much preparation to be done before the cold set in. Rather than feeding hay bales to the cattle as they need them in a controlled feeder at a single location, we set up our hay bales out in a pasture in a grid, spaced out 30 or so feet apart. Our 20 cows will eat about 2 round bales every 3 days, so we give them access to 4 at a time, which lasts them nearly a week. They are prevented from accessing the other bales by way of a temporary electric wire. 


Bale grazing is done for several reasons that really resonate with us.  Firstly, beyond the initial bale setup, we don't need to use a tractor throughout the winter. So we don't burn fuel and therefore don't need to maintain our winter pasture road. Secondly, the leftover (residual) hay from the bales that were fed to the cows remains on the land, breaks down over time, along with the manure, and provides a huge amount of beneficial organic matter to the pasture. The before and after results are staggering as seen here. The nutrient release from the added biomass and manure will continue to show such results for many years into the future. Thirdly, because the feeding location of the herd is changing so often, manure distribution on the pasture is nicely spread out. So we won't need to collect and then spread that manure around, saving more fuel, labour and so on, important resources when we need to watch our costs and focus on a diversity of other things happening on the farm during the summer months. We aren't taking this approach because it is easier than other methods, though it surely is. It just makes sense on so many levels. Michelle and I have been noticing that more and more cattle ranchers are adopting this approach, which is nice to see.         


Bale grazing is a component of a long established philosophy called holistic farm management, which we are very interested in further exploring. It is about working toward and finding a sacred balance between self, land and social relations. It is nice to start consciously thinking about the needs of the land, how we relate to it, how to better care for and enhance it alongside what our economic and social needs and realities are. Bale grazing and the introduction of cattle to our farm is no doubt working towards enhancing our landbase as well as our lives more generally. 


I often pause and think about the herd of 90 million buffalo that once roamed these Prairies. They were part of a sacred balance between animals, land and the people that once depended on them, who therefore took measures to ensure their continuance. It is a tragedy that the buffalo were exterminated. We are also aware of the countless injustices colonizers doled out to the Indigenous people here, a legacy that sadly continues. That is another story for another blog post. For us, we believe cattle, when raised in a natural manner, are contributing to the restoration of that sacred balance that was once here on the prairies and are looking forward to the benefits they will bring to the land, to us and the people who support our farm. 


As always, feel free to get in touch, start a dialogue, ask questions. 


Have a great holiday season and happy new year! 


Troy and Michelle

A few of our cattle grazing at the remains of hay bales.
This is day 5 of 6, so they move onto fresh bales the next day. 

A cross section of our herd genetics: from left, Angus/Charolais,
Charolais/Simmental, Red Angus, Charolais, Black Angus.