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.
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.
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.
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.
Root Cellars Rock is glad to announce that a new Children and Youth page has gone up on the blog! Look for it on the top menu bar and check back often as new resources are added. The new page highlights some of the best resources on the web for inspiring children and youth to get excited about healthy local food.
It's finally here! After months of anticipation the 3rd Annual Folklife Festival is underway Aug. 13- 21! With agri-cultural events happening across St. John's and in Cupids, there's something for every food lover. Check out the calendar below and full details at www.seedstosupper.ca
This year my raised bed garden is in shambles. It's been a sandbox for a 3 year old, a place for the dog to bury bones, a buffet for slugs, and a cache for all of the early summer's rain. But through it all, despite storm and attack, the mighty onions carry on! So I now proudly stand as a chive-grower and chive enthusiast! I can't use them all up on baked potatoes alone, so I've started searching out new ways to use the mighty and resilient chive and here are some of the links I've come across.
This is the first of a monthly series starting on RCR. Each month we'll pick some of our favourite 4Ps resources and share them with you! Books, websites, videos, and more. Check back each month to start collecting your own library of the 4Ps. This month we're starting up with a book on each of the 4Ps.
