It's been a while...

This blog and my profile here has not been updated in some time. However the goals on my profile still holds true. Currently I've been growing a very modest garden, subscribed to a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with Eagle Creek Farms and buying from farmers market. I've taken some interested in Food Policy Councils and the ongoing Canadian Right to Food Trial that's been going on in Calgary. I'll take a look at my info and photos and try to get you up to speed on how I've progressed shortly. Regardless, if you are in the Calgary area and would like to find info about and/or show support to the Canadian Right to Food Trial that's occurring here is the information I can provide at the moment from the Alberta Food Policy Council: "CANADIAN RIGHT TO FOOD TRIAL: The trial has been moved up (originally scheduled for September 21st) to SEPTEMBER 5th @1:30pm, Room 1106 @ the Calgary Courthouse. Feel free to show your support and interest, all are welcome!"

The hubby's been buggin'

A new season is upon us and there is much going on. My husband Mario has been "gently" reminding me to keep documenting my/our progress to a more Natural life and I agree. Last month I spontaneously registered in an Urban Beekeeping Course, hosted by A.B.C Apiaries for Communities and Patti Mulligan. I learned much more than just what was read in the Jacobsen book and met wonderful people that have a similar life plight: to live Naturally and be beneficial to the earth. I'm now seriously considering having a hive or two in the future, however not this season. I have offered my hands to all the beekeepers starting this season, to get more direct exposure to bees beefore I commit. Here are a few shots of the crash course we took last season.

2010 Seed starting has begun...

So, I've been looking for alternatives to peet pellets for starting my seeds. Here is one of the methods I'm currently trying to start seed. I've drilled holes in the bottoms of the eggs for drainage. Other "recycling" seed starting techniques that I'm currently using are toilet rolls/paper towel rolls that have been sliced and folded over on the bottom. More related imagery to come!

More Urban Beekeeping course shots...

It's been a while...

It's been a while since my last post but much has happened in my quest to live more organically. Last fall, we prepared for winter, visited local farmer's markets and put our order in for a half lamb. The vacuum sealer and chest freezer were put to good use while we saved gifts from the garden and market, that we are still enjoying. The canning went "okay" as well, and our tomato sauce turned out excellent. The canned carrots on the other hand, not as great. I had increased the salt and vinegar portions out of fear of botulism and well...they are WAY too salty and vinegary...but it was a learning process. The strawberry jam and the Saskatoon berry jam's are carrying us through winter and we are preparing for another spring of growing and gardening.

Our friends Mike and Steff, were kind enough to share some of their first hunting prizes and I have yet to cook the duck that sits in the freezer as I want to ensure I do so well. They are friends of ours that are "on the same page" when it comes to food and environmental concerns and are sharing our quest as well as their access to a family owned piece of land. Our plot however, will be jammed with as much as I can fit on it and I have already been planning for this. Most of the seeds have been ordered and received and I have been mapping out where things will go. The task is to put things where they will receive significant sun, shade and/or protection and where i'll be able to collect quality seeds from them. Seed collecting, which I've been educating myself on, will be a challenge with the small amounts of each variety, but we will do our best to collect as many quality seeds as possible....and yes...this will be another learning experience.

This winter I also read about the plight of the Honeybee which seems to be in urgent need. I learned about how the Honeybee and other pollinators work, as well as the dire situation with our pollinators in "The Collapse of the Honeybee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis" by Rowan Jacobsen. It left me so upset and inspired that I recently registered for an Urban Beekeeping course. I'm not sure if I will actually keep bees here on our property in the city, but need to know more about this. The course will also discuss how to set up your garden to attract and aid pollinators, which will also be useful. I do the course next weekend and will follow it up with a quick post to give you some tidbits of info.

That's where we're at currently. Another year of learning about nature and food! I'm excited to learn more about how I can positively affect the earth and enjoy her gifts without harming her....I'll keep you posted.

An overview on how my gardening experiments went this summer...

This summer I planted quite a few herbs, the standards like oregano, basil (a couple different kinds), rosemary, thyme (a couple different varieties), mint, peppermint, stevia, and so on and so forth. I also planted three different kinds of tomatoes, two types of peas, swiss chard, lebanese cukes, zucchini, parsnips, a number of flowers and the list goes on.

Some things worked out well like the zucchinis of course and although it took a while my smaller varieties of tomatoes were prolific. My basil went through some ups and downs and although the lebanese cukes did well, except for a dropping of the temperature one night seemed to hit one of the plants really hard and it didn't bounce back. The swiss chard worked out well and provided some consistent greens for a while and the mints/peppermints were up and down. Considering our crazy weather, wind storms, July hail storms and the like, things went relatively well. Some things turned out and some did not. I've learned quite a bit and I'm already planning for next seasons' garden.

Here are a couple more shots of the lebanese cucumbers.

Another snippet of Summer Gardening: The Zucchini