Near North Locavores: crops

Showing posts with label crops. Show all posts

Monday, October 5, 2009

Food, Inc. is Screening in North Bay!

If you are a person in Northern Ontario that is concerned about food and farming, you definitely won't want to miss this!

Food, Inc. is going to be screening in North Bay's Galaxy Cinema on Wednesday October 21st, 2009 at 7:30 pm. The show is being hosted by North Bay Film {go check out their webby for other awesome movies coming to town!}.

This blurb is from North Bay Films info page about Food, Inc.

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

And here is a trailer:

Thursday, August 27, 2009

An Inspiring Story from Cache Bay

Cache Bay woman experimenting with exotic crops
source

Greenery from around the world is sprouting in Cache Bay.

Jeanne Labonte's garden on Anderson Road features purple corn from Peru and a Russian sunflower that towers at three metres -- and it's still a baby," she says.

I look for different exotic things that normally don't grow here," says the 45-year-old, who bought seeds online from around the world.

Her purple corn from Peru surprised her.

I didn't think it would grow here," she says, pointing out a corn stalk that has grown to the roof of her garage.

And with Mother Nature being less than giving this summer, it leaves Labonte to wonder what would happen in a better growing season.

I am sure everything would be a lot bigger."

Monica McLaren, a master gardener with the North Bay's Heritage Gardeners, says it is not uncommon for different seeds to take in this climate.

It depends on the length of the season and how many days are required for the plants full length of maturity," she says.

Seeds can also be started indoors giving those who would like to experiment a leg up on growing.

In Labonte's numerous garden boxes, she has corn of all colours including ruby red, red stalker, strawberry, blue, baby ear and peaches and cream.

And her bean collection -- featuring European Helda, Big Mama lima beans from New Jersey and French purple pole beans -- would put some markets to shame.

Adding to the rainbow are chocolate cherry tomatoes and purple tomatoes.

Her scores of gourds include a batwing pumpkin which is orange on top and black on the bottom.

This year it is kind of like a test garden," she says. Next year, I will actually plant rows of purple corn and stuff I have experimented with this year because I know it will grow in our climate."

And that is the best part. What excites me the most is

seeing what I can produce from a seed and to see if it will grow."

Friday, August 21, 2009

Another Photo Update of the Locavore Community Garden

Just another quick update of how things around the garden are looking. We have some more ripe nightshade toms (yay!), we had surprise chamomile show up in our poppy pot, the bush nasturtiums are blooming, and so are the peas, pole beans and bush beans. Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Sage & Timely Advice About Canning Tomatoes

Thinking about canning tomatoes this year? Go over and read Late blight warning: Don’t can those tomatoes! over at Poor Richard's Almanac (and have a look at the rest of their blog while your at it!).

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Corn Festival at the North Bay Downtown Farmers' Market!

Photo from Vassia Atanassova

Here is info about the upcoming Corn Festival at the North Bay Downtown Farmers' Market from the Market's website:

On Saturday August 22nd the North Bay Downtown Farmers’ Market will be hosting it’s Annual Corn Festival. Bring the whole family to experience a wide variety of quality locally gown and handmade products. Get to the market early on this day to get your cobs for corn-roast season!! Bags and bags of super-sweet corn will be available from select vendors!

Support the Market by visiting the Market Booth (located in or about the centre of the Market) to get your drinks and snacks. And on August 22nd only you can enjoy hot, buttered corn served fresh on the cob and piping hot. Seasoned with salt and pepper and slathered with butter, corn on the cob is a taste treat that is enjoyed by people universally. You can buy a sweet, juicy, delicious cob of corn for $1.00 each. All proceeds from the Corn Festival go towards the dream of a permanent home.

There is lots of FREE parking and the Market is open “rain or shine” every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Bring your friends & family to the same great location --parking lot #11 on McIntyre St. across from City Hall {behind the TD Canada Trust on Main St.}

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Photos from the Locavore Community Garden

Finally here are a few photos of the Locavore garden!

It is a mish-mash of photos from different times, and we will get more taken once there is more to see. ;)

First, the overall layout of the garden:

We started this from scratch...lifting the sod, and then digging about 1.5 feet down and adding compost. No easy task, even with such a small garden! It is a grid of 20 deep beds, that vary in size, but none more than 4 feet across (for easy access).

This is a view facing West, showing the whole garden, including the containers (there are newly planted peas in the recycle bins, and other veggies and herbs in the containers).

Facing South, there are tomatoes in the first bed, then nasturtiums, dill, carrots, and cilantro in the beds behind.

Again facing South, there are nasturtiums, pole beans, bush beans, carrots, onions, chard, and chives in this row of beds.

Again bush beans, pole beans, nasturtiums, chard, lettuce, carrots, and beets.

This is the last row of beds. Pole beans, beets, nasturtiums, lettuce, and spinach.

And now here are some random shots of the garden:

Mint in the shade garden

Double chamomile

Daisy fleabane

Pansies

Chives

Lemon balm

More mint

Thyme

Tomatoes

Sweet woodruff in the shade garden

Lady's mantle in the partial shade garden

More sweet woodruff

Oregano

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Strawberry Festival!

Strawberries by Adriaen Coorte {1696}

Due to the crops not being ready, the North Bay Downtown Farmers' Market Strawberry Festival has been postponed again this year until Saturday July 11th.

Here is a blurb from the Market website:

Be sure to get to the Market early that day to buy your strawberries – all vendors were sold out before 11:00am last year. The Market Booth will have a limited number of flats of strawberries available for sale this year, but they go fast!

Everyone can look forward to many delicious strawberry treats made by the vendors – including Strawberry Shortcakes being sold at the Market Booth the day of the Strawberry Festival. Help support the North Bay Downtown Farmers’ Market as all proceeds go towards making the dream of a permanent home for North Bay’s Downtown Farmers’ Market come true.

Hope to see you all there!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Two Documentaries to Look Out For

For folks who are interested in the politics of food and agri-business, as well as homesteading, you will definitely want to check out these two documentaries!

First up is Food, Inc. (if you are familiar with the title, then you may have already read the book). Here is a small blurb about the movie from the website:

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

You can view the trailer below.

Next is Homegrown Revolution, which is a documentary made by the folks at Path to Freedom. And here is a small blurb about the movie and an introductory disclaimer from the website:

In the midst of densely urban downtown Pasadena, radical change is taking root. For over twenty years, the Dervaes family has been transforming their home into an urban homestead. They harvest three tons of organic food annually from their 1/10 acre garden, while incorporating back-to-basics practices, solar energy and biodiesel.

The original version of Homegrown Revolution was made in three days for a lecture Jules Dervaes gave at the University of California Los Angeles in October 2007 on the topic of Slow Food. It received a wildly enthusiastic response from the students and, subsequently, attracted an avid following on YouTube, with over 135,000 views to date.
This is a simple film short that introduces the Dervaes Family Urban Homestead. Please note this is NOT feature-length. This short film might be best grouped with other films or part of a community event / gardening club / meetings, etc. RUNTIME: 15:44.

Below is the trailer:

Homegrown Revolution (Trailer) from Path to Freedom on Vimeo.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Plant a Row/Grow a Row

Clipart from Garden Services.com

Plant a Row/Grow a Row is a Canada-wide campaign to encourage people to grow a bit of vegetables in their own gardens for their community food banks and soup kitchens.

There are organizations in the Near North Ontario region who have already put a call out for donated food from people's gardens, such as The Gathering Place in North Bay. If you are unsure if your local food bank or soup kitchen would like food, just approach them, and if possible, find out what type of vegetables they can really use.

Many folks are feeling the pinch right now with the economy the way it is, so by simply planting and growing one row of veggies in your garden can really make a difference!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Seed Preview!

A little preview of some of our seeds!

So the seeds have been gathered, as well as some plants. This is the list of what we will be growing in the Locavore Garden (food being donated to Amelia Rising):

Veggies

Laxton's Progress Peas
Norli Peas
Uchiki Kuri Squash
Buttercup Squash
Scarlet Runner Pole Beans
Tender Green Pole Beans
Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans
Contender Bush Beans
Provider Bush Beans
Coreless Nantes Carrots
Denvers Half-Long Carrots
Early Wonder Beets
French Breakfast Radishes
Cherry Belle Radishes
German Giant Radishes
Bright Lights (Rainbow) Swiss Chard
Bloomsdale Long-standing Spinach
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce
Red Oak Leaf Lettuce
Bunching Evergreen Onions

Herbs

Sweet Woodruff
Dill
Tall Climbing Nasturtiums
Dwarf Jewel Nasturtiums
Chives
Cilantro
Garden Sage
Catmint
Spearmint
Lemon Balm
Peppermint

Thanks to all who have either made donations of items and/or your time so far!