Home Gardens

Maybe its increased food prices? (a 26% increase from last year alone)

Perhaps its the recession? (6.2% unemployment)

Is the desire for local organic produce increasing? (100 mile effect)

Did David Suzuki influence us, with "rip up the lawn at city hall"! (A new garden is born)

Could Michelle Obama's organic garden have influenced us? (Obama effect)

Maybe its our evolving consciousness? (Education & Awareness)

Im sure there are many reasons, but urban gardening is on the rise. If the interest is there, never fear, there is space enough for you in this city do get your hands dirty. Whether its someone else's yard or the community gardens.

West Coast Seeds owner Jeanette McCall told CBC News she had expected a busy year, shipping vegetable and flower seeds to customers, but not this busy. She says "Stocks of packaged seeds that were supposed to last all season were running out before March. Our February orders were close to three times the amount that they were the previous February,” she said. “This was certainly a surprise to everyone.”

In addition to more generic seeds, heritage seeds are on high demand as well. Staff at the Van Dusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver reported attendance at their annual “Seedy Saturday” event in February, where growers sell heritage seeds, hit 1,500, about double the number of people in past years.

I encourage you to get out there- either grow your own food or support those that will growing for you, (Community Supported Agriculture is the next blog post). Consider growing or buying less generic produce and promote seed diversity by purchases heritage or heirloom seeds or the food itself. For more info visit the Seed Sanctuary website (below).

Here are a few photos of the backyard where my garden, which I share with 3 other couples. I found my plot on the sharing backyards website (below).

I would love to see your garden and hear your story about how long you have been gardening, what you grow, how much you produce and why you do it. Please email me.

Seeds

West coast seeds www.westcoastseeds.com

Garden works www.gardenworks.ca

Salt Spring seeds (heritage seeds) www.saltspringseeds.com

The seed bank www.vancouverseedbank.ca

Two wings farm www.twowingsfarm.com/

Seeds of diversity www.seeds.ca/rl/rl.php

Resources

The city farmer Introduction to organic gardening course runs through Saturdays in march & more! www. cityfarmer.org
VanDusenBotanicalardens www.vancouver.ca/PARKS/parks/vandusen/website/capitalProject/index.htm

The seed sanctuary-www.seedsanctuary.com

Land

For a list of community gardens www.cityfarmer.org/vanccomgard83.html

Sharing Backyards- www.sharingbackyards.com

Food for thought

Have you accepted that organic local farming is better for you, your family, the economy & the environment? If so, read on. If not, please email me your thoughts. (Please vote below)

Are you buying your organic produce at the grocery store?

Well sometimes it is inevitable, but you may be paying 2-5x more than you should!

From my experience as a nutritionist, the main reason people hold back from buying organics is cost. It is hard to buy the $2 red peppers when the one across the aisle is $1.

I came across an article on bankrate.com about "Buying Organic on the Cheap". Unlike many articles which list the health benefits of organic foods (but never seem enough to convince), this article lists 17 tips on how is can be possible while spending less.

Let me highlight my favourite tip: Give up dependance on the conventional grocery store.

For the full article visit:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cheap/20040901a1.asp

It may not be all one stop shopping, but I guarantee you it will be more fun, health promoting, delicious and could save you time. Throughout the next few posts I will explore home gardens, urban gardeners, organic farms, organic food delivery companies, buying clubs, community supported agriculture projects, bartering, wild foraging, hunting and fishing. (and more)

Picture above is cauliflower at the Portland Saturday Morning Farmers Market (Epic market experience, there are over 50 vendors featuring sea vegetables, cultured dairy, fresh caught fish, meat of every variety, wild mushrooms & heirloom everythings, as well as the usual organic seasonal produce)

The Fruit Tree Project

There are thousands of fruit bearing trees in Vancouver where the fruit either goes rotten or there is just too much for owners and their neighbors to eat. These wholesome delicious foods could be going to much better use- like being eaten.

I have known about an organization called "The Fruit Tree Project" for a couple of years- and finally decided to get involved this summer.

The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project is a community-based, registered charity that works to increase access to fresh local fruit in communities throughout Vancouver. They do this by connecting people who have fruit trees with people who can help harvest fruit. The fruit then is shared with local community groups, like The food bank. People who would otherwise not have access to fresh foods now will.

Last Saturday, I arrived at a cute Vancouver special off of Granville, to meet 4 other strangers and our crew captain for the afternoon. We unloaded ladders, bags, boxes and reaching/ picking implements and headed to the backyard. There in all its ripeness, the luscious cherry tree with branches so heavy with fruit they draped to reaching height. The owner said "this tree hasn't bore fruit for years.. .after we re-finished the roof last year and chopped of the tree back (aka pruned it), it can back better than ever". (Note: TAKE CARE OF YOUR FRUIT TREES).

All and all in less that 3 hours we collected over 60lbs of cherries from this single tree!

These cherries went to a food bank in the Sunrise area.

If you have a tree to share or time to pick, check out http://www.vcn.bc.ca/fruit

Adventure: Picking cherries for charity ( and eating a few- the best ones I have every tried- SO juicy)

Location: All over vancouver

Nutrition Advice: Fresh is best for everyone!

Adios Strawberries & Welcome Raspberries

I greet you from one of my favourite times of the season. The end of strawberry season and the beginning of raspberries.

Sad yes, as this means one of summer's first harvests has passed us.

Luckily, there is a very brief and mouth watering period of time when both lush plants, strawberry & raspberry are ripe- at the same time.

My friend Janice and I found this berry pickers paradise, where steps apart through soft sandy soils you can pick both berries at once. Reminiscent of our gathering times, it is an experience so divine tastes buds will never forget and fingers will be stained for days from the sweet & sour juices bursting from local berries.

Contrast this experience to eating dry, hollow and overly large berries, picked too early and packed in plastic. Shipped from thousands of miles away. I could go on.

It is this experience that inspired my blog. I am on a search for real foods. Join me as I uncover the dramatic differences between local & foreign, whole & fragmented, fresh & packaged, ripe & preserved. It is my goal to seek out these foods from farms and their farmers. I will be sharing my adventures with you and how you can live & eat sustainably, as well as passionately.

Adventure: Organic strawberry & raspberry picking

Location: Maan Farms Abbottsford BC http://www.maanfarms.com/

Nutrition advice: Eat & freeze what you can this is a very limited season. Please buy organic berries. Why? Well for the obviously reasons that pesticides are poisonous for our bodies and soil health. But berries have a lot of surface area and seeds where toxins can hide and which can be hard to clean. Berries also uptake water/ liquid into their structure, like our bodies. It is best if this water/ liquid is clean.

Nutrition spectrum: Berries are cooling, moistening and have qualities to help generate body fluids. Berries are rich in silicon and vitamin C and are good spring cleansers. Allergic reactions to berries are often caused when they are not vine ripened.