Densely textured, richly coloured and earthy even in their seed form, beets are reminiscent of dirt for Saskatchewan writer dee Hobsbawn-Smith.
Fruit/Vegetables
Putting down roots, part 1: Beets
First We Eat: Taking us back to lands left behind, beets today are the closest we get to eating a mouthful of minerals
Plan for leftovers
First We Eat: Preparing ingredients to do double duty is just good sense
The act of eating occurs repeatedly on life’s continuum, and marshalling your ingredients to do double duty is just good sense.
Powdery scab a puzzling potato problem
Biosecurity, such as avoiding the use of manure from livestock that ate infected potatoes, is a must
Powdery scab, caused by Spongospora subterranea, thrives in cool, moist conditions and can significantly impact potato crops by forming lesions on tubers and galls on roots.
Potatoes Prairie-wide
Practical Research: How Prairie researchers uncovered a serious potato disease’s hiding place
As a consequence of cleaning up potato diseases, the most recent yields in Prairie potatoes, as of 2024, are 20 tons per acre for Alberta and 18 for Manitoba.
How Prairie fruits fared in 2024
Practical Research: Past assessments show fruit trees do best on northwest- or northeast-facing slopes
We had a very cool spring in 2024, followed by a scorching summer for the third year in a row. So, how did the farm fruit gardens produce this year compared to previous years? The answer is “surprisingly well.” Among my contacts across the Prairies from north to south, fruit production varied from good to […] Read more
Geena Luckett
Outstanding Young Farmers 2024: The glamour in the wine takes hard work among the vines
Owning and operating a vineyard isn’t quite as glamorous as Geena Luckett imagined during her university days, as her dad was establishing Luckett’s Vineyard in Nova Scotia’s Gaspereau Valley, not far from the Bay of Fundy. After starting out as an events manager at the winery, then learning about all other aspects of the business, […] Read more
Simon Plante and Alison Blouin
Outstanding Young Farmers 2024: Its acres capped by geography, this market garden operation seeks to grow more per acre
Increasing production on the same land base, which in turn will help make more marketing opportunities possible— that’s the goal of a young Quebec farming couple heading up a second-generation fruit and vegetable operation near Quebec City. Investing heavily in new production technology on the family-owned Polyculture Plante, located at Sainte-Pétronille on Île d’Orléans, is […] Read more
Potato growers’ feedback wanted in final response plan consultation
Potato growers are once again asked to give their feedback on a national potato wart response plan as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) launches a final round of public consultations.
Alberta harvest wraps up
Harvest operations in Alberta are virtually complete for 2024, the province’s crop report said. Combining advanced three points to 99 per cent finished as of Oct. 22 as well as being three points above the five-year average.
Harvest, part 3: Saving seeds
First We Eat: Select the best from your fall harvest to bring forward in spring
Some years ago, I went on a road trip — a research tour for a book I envisioned writing about small-scale organic and sustainable farmers in Western Canada. I drove from my home in Calgary through the mountains into the verdant interior valleys of B.C., then west to the coast, to Vancouver Island and up […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
