Hello young people, hello senior citizens and welcome to everyone in-between who is trying hard to make ends meet and keep afloat on the river of economic problems — in particular, the high cost of food. We’re glad to be gardeners and keepers of the soil.
Cost-wise, it’s hard to eat healthy if you’re eating outside the home, whether at a coffee house or a restaurant, what with so many add-ons. Why is food being taxed? Some in the media have been asking, is tipping getting out of control? Many folks have told me they rarely or no longer dine out, what with GST, provincial sales tax and tipping added to the price of eating out or ordering take-out food. Whether you’re eating out alone or with family, the bill adds up pretty fast. Let your MLA and MP know if you don’t like paying taxes on food.
Here’s an old but very true Chinese saying: Better to light one candle than to complain of the darkness. Gardeners are caring people. If we as humans can help out one person or many along life’s way, then our living shall not be in vain. There’s a song that has been set to such words.
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Consider new ideas on the farm with a learner mindset
When people want some influence and agency to try something new, and are faced with “This is the way the grandparents always did it,” enthusiasm and creativity can be dampened.
I’ve more to tell you about carrots — in fact a whole lot more, and it comes as a result of hearing from Sue Kraft who hails from west-central Saskatchewan. Shortly we’ll get right down to the meat and potatoes of what Sue has to say, after a tip of welcome from my old faithful hat that has been with me through the thick and thin of life for a good long while. Reminds me of a cowboy’s sing around the campfire folk song from a long time ago, about a range rider who laments his horse in a song called “Old Faithful.” It was recorded by Eddy Arnold and others, and I recall spinning both the 78 r.p.m. and LP (long play recording) records on air when I was a disc jockey a good many moons ago. Here are words to verses and the refrain as I recall them.
Refrain
Old faithful, we rode the range
together,
Old faithful in every kind of
weather,
When your roundup days are over,
There’ll be pastures white with
clover,
For you old faithful pal of mine.
Verse 1
Hurry up old fellow,‘
Cause the moon is yellow tonight,
Hurry up old fellow‘
Cause the moon is mellow and
bright.
Verse 2
There’s a coyote howlin’ to the
moon above
So carry me back to the one I love,
Hurry up old fellow,‘
Cause we gotta get home tonight.
From: Susan Kraft
“Good morning, Ted. Happy New Year! My name is Susan M. Kraft. I enjoy your articles in the Grainews. I just finished reading your article in the January 3, 2023, Grainews about carrots. I’m always learning something new. I grow a big garden every year and always plant a whole package of Nantes carrots. There are only two of us now at home, but our children and grandchildren love getting homegrown produce from us. We live on a farm between Cut Knife and Unity, about an hour from Lloydminster in west-central Saskatchewan. My partner and I have lived here since 2008. Every year I plant a large garden about 35 feet wide and roughly 65 feet long. I keep a journal of what I planted and when I planted it (generally mid- to late May) and do crop rotation. The carrot variety that I plant is Scarlet Nantes. I like them for their size and sweetness. They also keep well for me. I have planted Danvers Half Long but keep coming back to the Nantes. I use my parents’ garden seeder, which I like because it makes the seeding easier. Using the seeder, I can go the full length of the row and back, giving me two rows of carrots about five inches apart. In the fall, usually late September, I dig all the carrots and bring them into the house in a couple of gallon pails. I scrub them in my kitchen sink and cut the tail ends and tips off. Then I lay them to dry on tea towels. After they are completely dry (turning once), I bag them in clean bread bags, and store them in my spare fridge in my basement. About once every two months, I bring them out and re-dry them and re-bag in clean dry bags again and put back in the fridge. Using this method, I still have nice hard carrots the following June when I’m planting a new garden. Provided there are any carrots left, I will give some away to our children and families. Thanks again for all your knowledgeable information.
Keep on singing! Slainte
(It’s Irish and means health),
Sue Kraft
Scarlet Nantes carrots
Scarlet Nantes is a widely adaptable heirloom carrot that’s been a North American favourite for more than 50 years. It is a workhorse carrot and often outperforms some of the more finicky Nantes hybrids. Expect great flavour from Scarlet Nantes and strong tops on 18-centimetre (seven-inch) carrots. The roots can also be harvested as baby carrots after 60-65 days or so of growth. Nice sized larger carrots are ready for pulling about 15 days later. The points are cylindrical and blunt.
Here are some places you can get Scarlet Nantes coreless carrot seeds:
- Early’s Garden Centre in Saskatoon, Sask., 1-800-667-1159, [email protected], earlysgarden.com
- West Coast Seeds in Delta. B.C., 1-888-804-8820, [email protected], westcoastseeds.com
- Lindenberg Seeds in Brandon, Man., 204 -727-0575, [email protected]
Reflections
There was a time when people gardened because backyard produce was superior and cheaper than anything from the store. To tell the truth, people still garden for the same reasons and homegrown is still superior. Back in the olden days, pioneer days or whatever you wish to call them, people made and used their own compost and homemade fertilizer and recycled back into the soil what couldn’t be eaten. We don’t have to spend a bundle of money to have a really nice garden. Healthy enriched soil equals healthy plants that pass it on once eaten to keep people healthy.
