Green Green Green

and I do mean Green.

SUSTAINABILITY FAIR – EARTH DAY - APRIL 22

was awesome!  Apparently more than 1000 people came out for it.   I’m not surprised at all by this number.  It was a steady flow of eager gardeners, consumers, eaters and generally people happy to be around those of us who are helping take care of our earth.  I sold everything I brought packaged and ended up cutting fresh greens by mid-afternoon. What I love best about this Fair is the various conversations that take place about plants, soil, seeds, growing, cooking and everything food.  The musicians added a wonderful background to the whole affair. 

NEW TO DAY BRIGHTENERS

Welcome to you who signed up for weekly emails and future workshops.  Please let me know if weekdays or weekends are best for your workshop enjoyment.  Then I can set exact dates.  Some of you suggested an additional workshop for Canning.  That is definitely doable.  Carol Pillar, Registered Holistic Nutritionist of Wholesum Approach, agrees to be on board for the Cooking Your Fall Crops Workshop.  I’ll keep everyone posted on dates as you and I choose them together.

In my hurry to get the brochures printed for the Fair I forgot to include an extremely important event here – THE PLANT SALE – which begins May 19 and runs for about a week after or until all plants are sold or planted in here.   I try to keep the blog updated on the plants for sale and prices and will do this more as the Sale date approaches.

Let me explain how to order our delicious, nutritious, organically grown, free from GMOs, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides goodness for your plates.  I send an email every Wednesday (or Thursday if Wednesday gets a little out of control) telling you the exciting stuff going on here and letting you know what food is available for you to buy. 

You then let me know by the end of Thursday what you would like.

When you order, I deliver to you Friday afternoon.  If you live out of the immediate area you can pick up your order at an agreed upon time or I can deliver to you on the weekend.  I deliver to Ottawa every weekend so that’s when you would receive your order if you live in Ottawa.   

SUN AND RAIN = THE PERFECT GARDEN

Wow, a week ago, there was snow on the garden rows.   Yesterday we could have worn shorts. 

Every Tuesday we begin our day by rinsing the sprouts on the go for Friday’s harvest and carefully picking microgreens for Little Sisterz restaurant in Spencerville.  Then we deliver to Little Sisterz.  Lately I’ve been delivering to Heather’s Healthy Harvest and B&H Grocery Store Tuesday afternoons. 

Upon our return, after opening the greenhouses, removing all covers from the trays of plants we then water any that need watering. 

We go back indoors to begin next week’s round of microgreens to ensure we have enough for all of you and Gina.  When this is done, we’re on to outdoor planting. 

Yesterday we transplanted broccoli, rapini and kale to their chosen outdoor garden rows.  We also transplanted lettuces, which we started a couple of weeks ago, to an appropriate spot in the greenhouse beds to grow beside the lettuces we plunked in there a few weeks ago.  These are our weekly Salad Greens until the others begin to grow outside.   We’re always sowing new seeds either in soil or in pots/cells. 

Today we sowed in pots many herbs and flowers after re-arranging most of the tables and shelves in the greenhouses to hold about 20 more trays of peppers we brought from the house yesterday and today.  Just when it seems we’ve run out of space, we find yet another table to clear for more plants.  Transplanting to outside helps free up some shelf space too.  The next few weeks will be a frenzy or outdoor sowing and transplanting. 

Tomorrow and Friday, after picking, washing and packing Salad Greens and harvesting sprouts and microgreens for you, we’ll transplant more broccoli, rapini and kale along with onions, leeks and beets to the garden beds and we’ll re-arrange the shelves yet again.  Weather these days, and nights, plays a big part in when and where everything goes, whether on or off heat mats, high or low on shelves, in or out of light and covered or not covered.  There are many decisions to make from hour to hour each day, some from experience and some from plain old experimenting and hoping for the best.   Not every decision is the perfect one, but we do our best. 

YOGURT CONTAINERS

Again, thank you for saving these for me.  I can cut about 15 labels from each container and we use about 200 a week right now – and we’ve just begun up-potting from 72 plants per tray to 18 per tray. 

I’m happy to receive any and all you can provide to me. 

PLASTIC USAGE

I’m happy to provide your fresh produce in containers provided by you.  If you order similar items each week and let me have containers for yours, I can fill them for you and begin a cycle of filling/washing/returning/refilling etc. THUS using less plastic bags. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you missed the Fair and don’t have a brochure, here are some Events and Workshops we plan for this growing season:

Plant Sale – May 19 and the following week

Growing Microgreens & Sprouts Workshop – mid June – date to be announced

Farm Tour & Tomato Tasting – mid July – date to be announced

Canning Workshop – end of July – date to be announced – you might be put to work picking tomatoes

Farm Tour & Seed Saving Workshop – mid August – date to be announced

Cooking Your Fall Crops Workshop – mid September – date to be announced – nutritional education included

Please feel free to email or call with any questions.
Until next post, have a great every day.
Jo
joanne.daybrighteners@gmail.com
613-258-7970