Buy Local, Share Local

Yesterday at the North Bay Downtown Farmers' Market Buy Local, Share Local had a booth for the day.

By Local, Share Local is a food security campaign sponsored by the Ontario Association of Food Banks and the RBC Foundation, along with partners Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Turkey Farmers of Ontario, Homegrown Ontario, and Ontario Farm Animal Council.

The project has been touring farmers markets across Ontario, where they are encouraging folks to buy local produce and to donate some to food banks, along with accepting food donations on the spot.

When they stopped by North Bay yesterday, they were collecting food for the North Bay Food Bank, and we had many generous folks stopping by the Locavore booth to purchase food to donate!

I am not quite sure how much food donations were collected, but the information should be on the Buy Local, Share Local blog. To see the rest of the farmers markets they will be stopping at
(and where they have already been) click here.

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!

Phelps Community Gardens in Redbridge

Volunteers working in the garden {photo by Keri Edmunds Mulka}

In the Spring 2008 community members of Redbridge got together to create Phelps Community Gardens on the property of Phelps Central School on Glenvale Drive. Here is a little blurb about the group from their Facebook page:

We are a group of community members committed to strengthening our local school, the community we live in, and most importantly educating & inspiring through gardening. The schools gardens is a fun way to expand curriculums, conservation efforts, to develop a healthy understanding of nutrition, and to further the academic achievement through hands-on learning.

Phelps Central School students getting ready to work {photo by Keri Edmunds Mulka}

The group is a grassroots organization that runs largely on material and financial donations from community members and the work of dedicated volunteers. The group did receive a small grant from the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unity through the Take Heart Ontario program (the same funding source that the Locavores got this year for our Community Garden) for material start up costs.

Phelps Community Gardens does sell some produce from time to time and also have a neat little cookbook that was created by SOFA Communications, a company which donated its designing services for the cookbook project.

The Community Gardens is in its second year, and the group is very excited to have the children come back to school so they can enjoy the garden!

On a suitable day in late September or early October, students will get to enjoy a harvest festival where they will harvest the veggies, collect seeds, and enjoy a feast made from food in the garden.

Each class is responsible for its own part of the garden {photo by Keri Edmunds Mulka}

This is a fantastic project and the Near North region needs more like it. If you would like more information you can check out the group's Facebook page, and if you are interested in making a donation, volunteering, or purchasing a cookbook, please call Keri Edmunds Mulka at (705) 663-2885.

Calling All Local Producers: Great Opportunity with Vested Interest!

We are please to announce our support for a new and exciting venture that is being undertaken by Vested Interest that is both sure to benefit local food producers, as well as local eaters!

A little while back, Brent and Jenn Bywater, the owners of Vested Interest has approach the Near North Locavores with their idea. They are looking to carry products grown and made by local producers in their store, which is centrally located in downtown North Bay.

To start with they are looking to carry products with a longer shelf life, and may expand further to other products, dependent on the success of this initial trial run.

If you are a producer who might be interested in getting involved (or know of another Near North food producer who might be, for more information and application please contact Jenn and Brent Bywater at (705) 474-5055 or email them at jen@vestedinterest.ca.

More Locavore Community Garden Photos

This is just a quick photo update of the Near North Locavore community garden. These have been taken over the last couple of weeks, including a few yesterday. Enjoy!

Lemon balm

Nasturtiums

Cilantro

Peas

The last poppy in bloom

Bush beans

Sweet marjoram ready to be harvested!

Peas

More peas

Rainbow Swiss chard

Finally! Some ripe tomatoes!

The shade garden got a bit of a makeover {stones that we dug up when creating the garden beds}

Pretty purple flowers that I have no idea what they are called {does anyone know?}

Sweet basil {looking a little sad due to all the rain and attention from the ear wigs!}

Nasturtiums

Herbs packaged and ready for the Amelia Rising food bank! {pictured: peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, sweet basil, oregano, sweet marjoram, parsley, garden sage, tri coloured sage, pineapple sage, English thyme, rosemary, and cilantro.}

Workshop Topic Survey

Hello fellow folks in the Near North!

The Locavores are looking for your input on what type of topics you would be interested in seeing us host in the next upcoming year. Please take a moment to fill out our survey.

Thanks!




Click here to take our Online Survey

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

Tomatoes

Sweet woodruff in the shade garden

Lady's mantle in the partial shade garden

More sweet woodruff

Oregano