About Grunt and Grungy ...

For those of you who don't know about us, a little history to fill you in.

Between the two of us we had over a hundred years of experience gardening. (Now that makes me feel old.) We had gardened in climates that can be described as West Coast Marine, to Sub Arctic wilderness, to flat prairie and finally settled in what we commonly refer to as our little piece of paradise, here in the Creston valley, in south eastern B.C., Canada, located about 10 km. north of the Idaho panhandle and just below Kootenay Lake.
The property lies in a small microclimate that gives us a zone 5/6 Canadian version or 6/7 US version.
We were avid gardeners for years, and about 10 years ago noticed that more and more of the old varieties of vegetables were no longer being offered. Being raised in the generation that thought "if you aren't part of the solution, then you are part of the problem", we decided to start growing heirloom and open pollinated varieties of vegetables (especially tomatoes) and offering the seeds to other gardeners.
Well one thing lead to another and we ended up starting a private seed bank so that our and your grandchildren will be able to have the same tastes that you are having now. This past couple of years we had gone past tomatoes and started seed banking (cold and cool storage) any annual vegetable seed.
If you have questions or would like to contribute to this blog, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Also for those who wish to trade please contact me at the below e-mail address and I will get back to as soon as possible. Thank you.
Cheers,
Grunt
grungysgarden@gmail.com


I am sad to report that Dan McMurray passed away on February 15, 2012 at his home in Wynndel, British Columbia. Dan was 69 years old.

Much of the final years of Dan's journey is chronicled on this blog. He was a man who made a difference to many people, and his family believe that his thoughts in the last years and months of his life, and his work in preserving heritage seeds should remain available.

Disclaimer

What I post about ways, methods, and results is based on what I observe in my garden. Your growing conditions may achieve results that differ from mine. I am putting this blog here to offer a site to exchange gardening ideas and methods, and to exchange seeds.
I welcome questions and discussions about anything gardening. The only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask. I will try to find answers for questions that I can't answer, and may post links to sites that have clearer answers than I can come up with.

Seeds

I do have tomato seeds to offer. The seeds are free, but I ask you to help cover the postage and handling in one form or another.
They can be obtained through trading seeds, or paying for postage at the rate of $2.00 for the first ten varieties or seed packs, and an increase of $1.00 for every ten varieties or seed packs beyond that. Seed packs are approximately 25 seeds each (not counted, just a pinch of seeds). Germination rate usually exceeds that of commercial seed packs. If you have problems with germination, let me know, and I will replace the seeds, either with more of the same variety, or with a variety that I think will give you something similar to what the original variety would have. Please note. I am not a seed company. Iwill only offer seeds from my current trade lists and also if I have lots to spare from previous years. I don't check germination on older seeds, but my experience has been over 80% on five year old seed.

2010 FALL SEED LIST = http://tinyurl.com/4whnxy3 Some seeds from this list may be in limited supply, but I will do my best to fill your request.

Albums containing photos of most of the varieties I have, and other photos that may be of interest, can be found at:
http://www.picasaweb.google.com/tvgrunt, or
http://www.picasaweb.google.com/danvaltrial

When you have made up your list, send me a copy at grungysgarden@gmail.com

Changes ...

The status here has changed substantially, as you can see above. The blog will continue, hopefully with more frequent input than recently.
Seed saving and trading/sharing will also continue. I still want to bank seeds, not just of tomatoes, but I am older than the lead photo on the blog would indicate, and have passed the seed bank on to younger hands.
In the meantime, I will continue to pay it forward, and trade/share seed to all corners of the world, as I did with Val.
This poem, which we both have known since the 1960's gave us much comfort through Val's battle with cancer.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.



Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.


Life comes with no guarantee of quality or quantity. It is up to you to remember to smell the flowers, watch the sunset, hear the birdsong in early morning, and the spring frogs in the evening. What ever happens in your little corner of it, it is still a beautiful world, and you do yourself a great disservice if you fail to see and celebrate what is there.
Grunt

A little footnote here, that will stay at the top of the blog. I have married again, for the fourth time. Another internet marriage, as Val's and mine was, and just as good, although completely different.
I was also diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2011, and started treatment to cure it in late August 2011.
The blog will carry on, in much the same vein as it always has. I will post mostly garden related articles, but also a few comments on things and life in general.
For a while, I thought Gump had it right = sh*t happens. He's wrong = LIFE happens


I am sad to report that Dan McMurray passed away on February 15, 2012 at his home in Wynndel, British Columbia. Dan was 69 years old. His family wishes his blog to remain for those who wish to read Dans' journey.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

How does our garden go - Part Two

Part 2 brings us to the months of May and June and a great speed up in outdoor activities. Please excuse the house - you can tell that Martha Stewart doesn't live here. Most days are spent outside, from can see to can't see.

May - May 1st, I do the final sowing of transplants, with the heirloom or open pollinated melons and squash (thanks to a suggestion by Canada Mike) replacing the now emerged beans.
Also during the first week, the final push to finish adding the amendments and turning the soil is finally done, using a garden fork. (We have about 1000 X 3 feet of raised bed, which equals about 3000 square feet of turning to do. Who needs to go to the gym? We also try to cut the grass during this week, as it provides the first layer of mulch (with all the shredded leaves from last year) on the beds, and it is now growing at that "first flush of green" rate.
Once the beds are turned and the lawn has been mowed, (we are hands on gardeners), Grunt sets up the bean poles and pegs down their strings, runs the side lines for the tomato arms, and generally prepares to start transplanting the tomatoes, and peppers. Since May 4th is our supposedly last frost date, we also sow the beets, carrots, onions, potatoes and other direct seeded vegetables at this time. (If we find the time they can also be planted the last week of April.)
Starting May 15, weather permitting, comes the push to do the transplanting. Grunt takes care of the tomatoes and beans and I (Grungy) commence on the Cape Gooseberry, corn, melons, squash, and peppers in that order. Should we have a nice spring we can generally be done with the transplanting by the end of May, although some years find us finishing it in late June.
Did I mention mowing - every week to 10 days the grass has to be mowed and as soon as I finish my share of the transplanting, I start mulching all the beds. It helps hold in the moisture, provides nutrients as it breaks down and slows or eliminates the need for weeding. Did I mention I HATE weeding?
We grow mostly Open Pollinated (O/P) and Heirloom vegetables. It would be totally this way, except I have yet to find a good winter storage onion, that will come close to "Copra". Anyone have suggestions?

June find us finishing the planting and tranplanting schedule, finishing with the onions. We plant them in a thick line and then when they are about 6-8 inches tall, we thin the first line and transplant the spares into 5 more rows, planting them roughly 4 to 5 inches apart both ways.
Mowing and mulching are in full swing now as we are on agricultural irrigation water and everything is watered at least once a week including the lawns. The garden beds themselves, depending on the weather and the plant uptakes can vary from 1 week down to every other day, for about 2 hours. The lawns receive an eight hour soaking if the weather has been dry. All of our irrigation is done with drip lines, including the lawns. It cuts down on water loss, and most of the plants prefer to have the water applied to their roots (this is especially true of tomatoes).
While we are mulching, we also are weeding. Our worst offenders around here are dandelions, creeping charlie, quack or couchgrass and knapweed, with wild chicory and chickweed thrown in for good measure.
By the end of the month, the tomatoes have taken off, and Grunt finds he is filling his days by tucking in branches that pop out of his side lines. We rarely prune our tomatoes, as we want to see what nature will provide as intended, and we aren't into producing the biggest tomato for the fall fair. (And pruning 300+ plants would just add too much to the workload.) Between mowing and mulching and weeding, and greeting guests, I find my days getting quickly filled, and when our heads hit the pillow at night, we know that we have been doing something. Oh the feel and smell of fresh turned earth!

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