Picking
admin
As We Fish and Farm

I came to Newfoundland for the first time just over four years ago. I can still vividly recall taking the ferry across from Nova Scotia in the late winter, listening to the groaning sounds of the ice around the boat. Within two months of arriving I made my first trip to Bonne Bay, a remote fjord on the west coast of the island. I went to learn about the food system and fisheries in the region as part of a PhD program I was beginning at Memorial University that fall.

As We Fish and Farm
Picking, Planting, Preparing
Andreae C
My front yard grocery store
My front yard grocery store
Events, Picking, Planting
Costa Kasimos
Bits and Pieces: Along the Shore

Spectacular vistas, whales breaching, ice bergs floating by, and a foragers paradise. We are blessed with many wilderness areas that offer abundant edible plants. I rarely go on a hike without stopping to have a little taste of this or that. In this post, I will touch upon some of the edibles currently available in our wonderful wilderness.

Bits and Pieces: Along the Shore
Planting
Matthew Middleton
Growing In A Potato Box

Thanks to the listing from Seeds of Diversity, I was able to locate a gentleman in Newfoundland who has a great deal of experience growing a wide variety of potatoes here. Last week, I recieved by my set of samples from George, and here's what my benefactor told me about the varieties:

Red Dutch: A very dry, yellow flesh red from Holland in the 1940’s. An excellent potato. Late maturing.

Northern White: A white flesh variety, from Quebec apparently, from the early 1900’s. Very high yield. Good taste.

Growing In A Potato Box
Planting
Rick Kelly
Harvest Times

EEk! Sorry everyone - I missed September entirely. Oh well, at least I have a lot to say about the garden.

As you may remember, I've been growing my first real attempt at a garden this year, with a 12x4 foot raised bed. Last time I wrote I was complaining about the water ban, but that's certainly not a problem anymore! I've harvested just about everything now (a little less then I was hoping). What remains is to pick the carrots, beets, and turnip, and to prepare the garden for the winter.

Harvest Times

Planting

Garden!

Garden!

Done! (Almost). This weekend I planted all of my seedlings, and a bunch of seeds. Last week I was mixing together the soil in the raised bed according to a recipe, but I lacked vermiculite. I couldn't find it anywhere and I got some advice that it wasn't necessary with good peat, so I ended up buying a few bags of topsoil from Traverse Gardens to fill up the bed. My soil contains a lot of peat moss, a little vermiculite, my personal vermicompost, sheep manure, seaweed, and whatever is in Ross Traverse's soil mix (peat, compost). It feels pretty light and moist, much better than the actual soil in the ground.

Quick Bed Building Update (No Slugs Allowed!)

Quick Bed Building Update (No Slugs Allowed!)

I built my raised bed last week! It didn't take too long. I laid out lengths of weed barrier over the space where the bed was going, with a half foot of extra space on each side. I removed all the grass beneath the bed and around it. Some I had removed last year when I was planting right in the ground. We connected all of the sides first, and then put in some posts on the outside to help keep it in place.

Last year I lost a lot of my small potential harvest to slugs! So keeping slugs out is a major goal this year.

Preparing to build a bed...

Preparing to build a bed...

Long time no see! This week I’m here to talk about my preparations to build a raised bed and a bit about seedling starting.

As I mentioned last time, I have some tomato plants started already, but it’s about time to start a few others now as well. Most seed packets will tell you how long in advance to start them if you want to give them a head start before transplanting them outside (and some should just be direct seeded after the last frost, or earlier). Tomatoes, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and peppers can all be started eight to ten weeks in advance, which is what I did. Last week I should have started some cucumbers and summer squash. The last frost date here is usually around the third week in June.

Confessions of a First Time Gardener

Confessions of a First Time Gardener

Hello everyone

My name is Rick Kelly and I’ll be your amateur gardener this year! I’m going to be making posts all season about my backyard garden. This is actually my second year gardening… but last year my whole harvest amounted to about 5 salads and one meal of miniature root veggies. So I’m really hoping to do better this year!

This year I’m armed with knowledge from some workshops organized by FEASt (Food Education Action St. John’s), a lot of advice from friends, and hopefully some advice from you! This can be a space for commenting on any issues facing first time gardeners, or about what I’m doing specifically.