So, I'm experiencing a calling to farm. Yup, you heard it. I caught wind (through work & some urban Ag. work I'm doing in Delta), of SPIN Farming, and it just felt "right" somehow.
It's not that I don't think my work is meaningful or fulfilling, but I think that I need to do something with tangible results, in tune with nature's rhythms. For a long time, I thought this meant leaving the city & landing somewhere rural, & trying to make a life there. This caused a lot of consternation, but I've come to realize that there is huge potential here, and I want to take steps to make this city the city that I want to be in. This includes right livelihood, community, and local food. So naturally, why wouldn't I farm other people's backyards?
I'm not the only one who's crazy. Ward Teulon, aka City Farm Boy, has, for the past few years been farming his neighbour's backyards, and making a go of it. Granted, his wife is a lawyer so he is lucky that he needn't make a huge amount, but according to the SPIN folks, it is doable.
So, I haven't figured out how to make a full on SPIN operation work for me in terms of dollars just yet, but I visited with Ward today & while we harvested kale, basil, parsley, potatoes, and daikon, we discussed options. He suggested that starting really small, with a friends and family CSA would be possible with not much borrowed land, and while keeping my current job to make a living. How exciting! I'll be taking Ward's crash course in urban farming in October.
So, my question to you is.... do you or someone you know:
a) live in my neighbourhood, or close to it (Grandview-Woodland, Hastings Sunrise, or Trout Lake areas)
b) have a piece of back or front yard you aren't using that you'd be willing to let me farm in exchange for veggies, a CSA share, or rent
c) Have said land that gets min. 6 hours of sunlight a day, access to a water tap, beyond the dripline of large trees, and available for at least all of next season (Feb. to November)?
OR
Would you be interested in buying a garden share for the 2010 season? I'm just throwing ideas around, so no ideas yet as to how many shares, what would be grown, or how much it would cost. All depends on the land and time available.
Names I've thrown around include:
"Kristi's Eastside Edibles"
"Kristi's URban VEggies (KURVE)"
"Backyard Local Organic Community (BLOC) Farms"
etc. etc. Hooray for busy minds late at night :-S
Am I crazy? It's ok to say so :-)
Would love to hear your thoughts and words of wisdom.
Happy gardening, and happy harvest season!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Like candy
Yum! The cherry tomatoes were definitely the top producer this year. I used the "tumbler" variety in hanging baskets in the sun of the walkway near the garage, and they loved it! This photo is tonight's harvest. Granted, it's end of season so everything is ripening at once, but I got about this much every week or two. For a while it was the "gold nugget" plant that was going like crazy, but it's finished now. I froze these, and ate a lot raw! They're also great roasted with olive oil, garlic, and black pepper over rice.
Summer's bounty
I'm not sure what it is that I like about canning so much.... Maybe it's the steam and heat and good smells, or the vibrant colours the produce turns when it's processed, or my shiny stainless canner from the hardware store down the street that stocks everything imaginable. I think most likely though, it's the satisfaction of seeing rows of beautiful jars at the end of a couple hours of work. Can't get that same feeling from surfing the web or reading a report, that's for sure!
Plums
We dehydrated about 20 lbs of these sweet yummy things this year, and made various cakes, plus ate an awful lot (too many) raw!
July Garden
I've got a lot of catching up to do! It has been an amazing season in the garden. All the hot weather we had, combined with some early rain made for great harvests. The new raised beds I built are phenomenally productive, and I'm amazed at the amount of biomass that has come out of the yard this year.
Recently, I've harvested tons of tomatoes, some beets, potatoes & carrots, and just planted the fall greens (mustards, brassicas, lettuces & such) a couple weeks ago.
See more photos of the bounty on my Flickr set.
Recently, I've harvested tons of tomatoes, some beets, potatoes & carrots, and just planted the fall greens (mustards, brassicas, lettuces & such) a couple weeks ago.
See more photos of the bounty on my Flickr set.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Plant Sale
I had a plant sale to raise money for the Ride to Conquer Cancer, that a bunch of my friends are doing. We had many donations of plants and raised $450 for cancer research! Many thanks to all who attended and bought plants, or who donated to the sale!
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