Well, howdy folks howdy! It’s a brand new year. 2023 has arrived. I once entered a song I wrote more than 25 years ago into an international song writing competition. It became one of 10 songs chosen that received “honourable mention” from among thousands of entries received. I still sing all verses of that song not just on New Year’s Eve but throughout the year. Here are a few lyric lines from “Happy New Year All.”
“As this New Year moves on may all of its days,
Bring good things to you and good things to me,
Then let them remain ‘til it’s a New Year again,
With a heart full of love may it be.”
My “Canadian Weather Song” has six verses and a refrain, and I get to sing it often during all seasons of the year. While on the subject of weather, perhaps a touch of folklore deserves a mention next, but draw your own conclusions as to worthiness or to be taken with a grain of salt.
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Go plant beans and peas when the moon is light,
And you will find that this is right,
Plant potatoes and carrots when the moon is dark,
And to this line you should always hark,
If you follow this rule to the end,
You shall always have some money to spend.
Look to the sky for it does not lie,
Watch what happens as time goes by,
When stars above begin to huddle,
Earth soon becomes a moist puddle.
Springtime crescent moon hangs like a cradle,
Dry summer persists, think not to be a fable.
I remember when the door-to-door Watkins salesman came by our home periodically with his suitcase filled with quality products and oodles of variety. Chamomile herb and calendula flowers (both of which I plant) are two basic ingredients in their moisturizing, gentle cleansing and enhancing formula recommended for dry brittle hair, coloured and permed hair. My mother always bought Watkin’s medicated ointment for relief of colds when we were kids. It was also applied for relief of earaches and massaged into back of the neck and forehead for headaches, arthritis, sinus congestion and general aches and pains. Another formula that really caught my eye (as a practitioner of foot and hand reflexology) was rejuvenating menthol foot cream with aloe and other botanicals for relief from leg cramps, sore muscles and painful joints. I was trained by the expert reflexology team from “Stories the feet can tell” and “Stories the feet have told,” going back many years ago now.
So what else is on today’s menu of words? My thoughts tell me it’s all about carrots as a result of an email from a reader in Manitoba’s Interlake area. Before I give a tip o’ my hat, I’m heading to the fridge for a glass of carrot juice followed by some hot porridge with milled brown flaxseed stirred in, produced out of Willow Bunch, Sask. (see their website www. doschorganic.ca). I’m topping off my intro with a tip o’ the hat, a hearty, happy yodelers trill and my welcome to all.
From: Shirley Rosenfelt Subject: Carrots
“Good afternoon Ted. Hope you had a great gardening season. I was wondering if you would have any idea on what might be eating the top of my carrots on the attached photo. It looks like something is burrowing into the carrots. Any idea on what kind of insect that might be? I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.”
Shirley Rosenfelt, Arborg, MB.
Ted’s reply: Good to hear from you Shirley. From picture observation (photo below) I would probably agree damage is inflicted by insects, but there’s no guarantee it’s always insects as rodent pests such as mice, voles, moles and rabbits are also root crop lovers and like nothing better than carrots. A city gardener once said to me, “Try a cat too. Nothing works better than a darned good cat for mice but good mousers are few and far between these days.” I feel readers on farms and small rural holdings might tell us they’ve got the best mousers in the world. If you’ve got such a cat, send me a picture showing the cat and include yourself if desired with a bit of your mouser’s history.
Naughty carrot rust fly
Native to Europe, the rust fly (Psila rosae) is found in many parts of Canada including southern Prairies and into B.C. Slender and shiny adult flies are less than one-fifth of an inch long. Their bodies are dark with yellowish-orange eyes and legs. Adult rust flies emerge from soil about mid-May or sooner once temperatures warm. The flies lay their eggs on young carrot seedlings and sometimes on celery and parsnips too where stems and roots meet the soil. Once hatched tiny young larvae move below ground to feed on root hairs for a couple weeks and some plants may collapse. Later, one-quarter inch long mature larvae will tunnel into carrots and other root crops to feed in July and August.
Yet another soil-borne pest known as wireworms come by their name honestly by wiry appearance and quick pace. Wireworms are the offspring of half-inch long, brown to black coloured, bullet-shaped click beetles noted for the ability to click and right side itself up again when placed on its backs. Wireworms have become an increasingly common menace in vegetable crops. There are also other types of destructive insects such as carrot weevil and all have become an increasingly common menace in their own way to vegetable crops including carrots, onions, sweet corn, potatoes, sugar beets, beans and peas. Crop rotation to a different area of the garden tends to help reduce incidence of pests.
Consider growing Flyaway carrot seeds come spring. This variety was bred to be unattractive to the carrot rust fly and has been given approval by numerous gardeners. Flyaway has the best sweet flavour and crisp texture of all the Nantes varieties. The roots are moderately long with a small core and excellent flavour having won the Award of Garden Merit. You can request a complimentary 2023 WCS seed catalogue and/or purchase seeds for Flyaway carrot and Volcano carrot (photo at top) from West Coast Seeds, Delta, 5300 34B Ave., B.C. V4L 2P1, phone toll free 1-888-804-8820, go to westcoastseeds.com or email [email protected].
Jump-start carrots
Remove all stones, clods of soil or any debris thoroughly then moisten each row and let it soak in before starting. A sprinkling of wood ashes in the row at seeding time will also help eliminate carrot root maggots. To avoid seeding too thick, mix carrot seeds with four parts dry sand in a clean salt shaker with appropriate size holes. If you are adept at seeding by hand, or from a tiny cut-open corner of the seed package, that’s OK too. Space seeds about one inch apart then press seeds into soil by palm of hand to ensure solid seed-to-soil contact. Next cover seeds lightly with a one-quarter inch layer of fine potting soil or screened compost then sprinkle with a fine mist of water on top. Cut two pieces of moistened burlap fabric to cover seeded carrots with a double thickness of burlap. Such dampened burlap fabric should be secured at row ends with upside down U-shaped fasteners. Dampened burlap helps retain constant moisture in soil required by carrot seeds. Check daily under the burlap for signs of germination and remove burlap once carrot seedlings appear.
Carrots have anti-cancer properties
Carrots are awesome but simply don’t get the publicity dollars of pomegranates and olive oil. Carrots are loaded with fibre, are low in calories, contain one of the highest concentrations of natural salicylates (ASA-like compounds), help lower high blood pressure, improve life expectancy and are one of the finest anti-aging foods. It has been said that carrots are among the biggest friends with urologists because they contain one of the best-known percentages of potassium and very little sodium.
