Ted Meseyton

Ted Meseyton

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This is Ted Meseyton the Singing Gardener and Grow-It Poet from Portage la Prairie, Man. I salute all gardeners and farmers who help make our world a little safer and more ecologically balanced, and who toil to provide health-giving produce to others who cannot produce their own. It takes all sorts to make a world. One half of the world doesn’t know how the other half lives. The best physicians are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet and Dr. Merryman.

Stories by Ted Meseyton

Ed Brecknell holds a foursome of freshly picked wild morel mushrooms harvested on his property. Their distinct taste is difficult to describe, but proclaimed by many as unsurpassed. They may be prepared either battered or pan-fried, and as a key ingredient in a cream sauce poured over peas and carrots, broccoli or pasta.
FarmLife

Info on edible wild mushrooms

One word of caution — never eat any mushrooms that have not been properly identified

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Had an informative and enjoyable visit with Bagot, Manitoba-area resident Ed Brecknell in mid-May of this year where I learned about distinctive and edible morel mushroom (Morchella elata) and edible oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). Both are wild fungi without chlorophyll and grow randomly on his farm property. There are also oyster mushroom lookalikes and poisonous […] Read more
If you want bees, butterflies, other pollinating insects and hummingbirds, consider the following perennial from the bee balm group. It’s easy to visually fall in love with delightful red bergamot (Monarda didyma). Both leaves and flowers make a pleasant and soothing tisane. A highly esteemed essential oil is also extracted from bergamot.
FarmLife

The many benefits of tea

Singing Gardener: Plus, Ted shares excerpts from a phone visit

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Is it the age we’re living in, or are we all getting older? How time flies. As a kid I recall seeing a message on a huge sign along the Trans-Canada Highway (I call it the Tea Can for short). The sign said: Time flies and then eternity. Speaking of tea, ’tis said ordinary black […] Read more
Shown are stalks of German Wine rhubarb ready for harvest. Ted says it’s time to make a low-cost refreshing beverage and provides easy-to-follow steps for “No-Fuss Rhubarb Slush.”
FarmLife, Fruit/Vegetables

Planting and raising raspberries

Singing Gardener: Plus, sauerkraut from crock to jars and making refreshing rhubarb slush


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Planting raspberries — and memories of Prairie songs. Also, yours truly had a chance to talk with gardener Margaret Gluska from Cranberry Portage, Manitoba. She’s seeking seeds for Pilgrim tomato and apparently they’re as hard to get as pulling hens’ teeth. As I get older, thoughts sometimes return to childhood days. A number of Prairie […] Read more
Améthyste artichoke produces purple, uniform, heavy, tight heads with multiple secondary buds on an upright spineless plant that can take up 
to 100 days to reach maturity.
FarmLife, Fruit/Vegetables

Some info on growing artichokes

Singing Gardener: Plus, Ted shares more feedback from readers

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As always, lots to write about in Grainews Singing Gardener page. Am sharing more feedback from readers, so thanks to folks who take time to write. Got some thoughts on the best days to go fishing once the rod and reel season opens in your area. Here where I am we’ve got the Portage Diversion spillway that […] Read more
Canadian Shield rose bush is the first introduction in the 49th parallel series developed by the Canadian Nursery and Landscape Association in conjunction with the Vineland, Ontario Research Station. It produces large and awesome deep-red roses with up to 50 or more petals each, throughout summer and into fall.
FarmLife

A rose to celebrate Canada’s birthday

Singing Gardener: Plus, some good sources for tomato seeds

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Some who haven’t heard me sing have asked: Do you really write and sing your own songs? My answer is — Absolutely! My latest one commemorates Canada’s 150th birthday. I call it: “That’s Who We Are.” This page includes an Alberta reader’s experience with water dowsing; a subject I covered several times in past Grainews […] Read more
Start your own hybrid Guelph Millennium asparagus from seed. Plants have good cold tolerance 
and produce high yields of very uniform 100 per cent male spears.
FarmLife

Start asparagus plants from seeds

Singing Gardener: Plus, what is Paruresis and some tips if you have it

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Late March and early April are the times of year I begin scratching around the soil to see what’s popping up besides dandelions and daffodils. Depending on weather, I may soon plant, or will have already planted a short row or two of radish seeds in a sunny sheltered microclimate spot. I share a short excerpt from […] Read more
Captivator is a nearly thornless gooseberry. Fruit becomes dark red and sweet as berries ripen.
Farm Life, FarmLife

Inspiration from a centenarian — grow gooseberries

Plus, info on blight and Ted shares reader’s opinion on earthworms

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Now what’s Ted up to on this occasion you ask? Here’s a clue. Remember that handwritten letter from Alberta I mentioned last column? Read on and learn what the next mini-story is about. Also, more on late blight-resistant tomatoes. I’m including gooseberries for the very first time and my inspiration is a centenarian. Time for […] Read more
Adora is an attractive buttery all-purpose, low-carb potato with smooth, thin skin.
FarmLife

Meet Adora potato — read the info and see the photos

Singing Gardener: Plus, try Ted’s mashed potato pie crust pastry recipe

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Anyone who has diabetes will be familiar with two words that follow. A home medical dictionary describes “hyperglycemia” as excess blood sugar and “hypoglycemia” as a condition in which the level of blood sugar is abnormally low or reduced. A doctor’s book of home remedies calls diabetes “the disease of civilization,” and explains how diabetes […] Read more
In recent years, late blight has been a common issue among a lot of home tomato growers. Mountain Merit has good resistance to multiple diseases including high tolerance to late blight. Compact determinate plants produce a concentrated set of medium-size red tomatoes mid-season during a harvest window of four to five weeks.
FarmLife

Start thinking about potatoes and tomatoes this month

Singing Gardener: March is the time to sprout spuds and start seeds

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March is a good month to begin sprouting potatoes and starting tomatoes. Also, will be sharing Part 1 of excerpts from two pages of a handwritten letter. Top that off with where to buy late blight-resistant tomato seeds. There’s a song that says, “I need attention bad.” Did I get yours? Thank you folks for […] Read more
Shown are unnamed and ready-to-be-washed sweet potato tubers freshly harvested in the field along with segments of vines and even some flowers.
FarmLife

More potato and tomato information

Singing Gardener: Plus, a bit about Jerusalem artichokes

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Hey there — hello gardeners and welcome farmers. Are you striving to become more self-sufficient with what you grow in the garden? Tubers of the vine and tomatoes get some attention today with some focus placed on storage tomatoes. Add to that a source for rooted short-season sweet potato slips from an adventurous grower and […] Read more

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