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

How to Blanch Vegetables

How to Blanch Vegetables

Blanching is a technique used to:

  1. Prepare vegetables for freezing.
  2. Prepare an ingredient for a recipe but then stop the cooking process to put it aside for later.
  3. Lessen the bitterness of vegetables before using them in a recipe (e.g. leafy cooking greens).

Blanching involves quickly boiling or steaming vegetables until they are lightly cooked and then immediately submerging them in a bowl of cold water and ice cubes to stop the cooking process.

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Kohlrabi Revealed

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Kohlrabi Revealed

Kohlrabi is a mysterious thing. When it comes on the scene at farmers’ markets it sits patiently, waiting for some adventurous or familiar person to scoop it up. If you haven’t acquainted yourself with kohlrabi just yet, you might find that it’s a great way to mix up your local food selections. Try these recipes and preparation techniques to make the most of this odd vegetable.

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Greens Garden Update & Salad for Supper

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Greens Garden Update & Salad for Supper

I didn't get my garden started until way, way late this year, basically too late for most things to root or fruit to maturity, although you never know with the warm summer we've had. So because of that I decided to focus on greens and planted a lot of random ones really densely together in a 6' x 6' raised bed to make a big lovely sprout and baby greens garden.