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

Choices for Youth New Leaf Community Garden

Choices For Youth held the official opening of the New Leaf Community Garden on Thursday, June 27th. Choices For Youth, located on Carter’s Hill Rd. in downtown St. John’s, provides safe housing and support to at-risk youth. The garden, located behind the Choices for Youth building, was started in 2012 to provide food and education opportunities for youth. Youth residents at Choices for Youth have been involved in the garden’s design and care since it started, and food grown in the community garden last year was used to serve meals to over 50 youth per day. The garden was funded in part by Eastern Health’s Community Development Fund, Thrive CYN and The Automotive Recyclers Association of Atlantic Canada. Representatives from Eastern Health and the Provincial Government were on hand for the opening, and the Minister of Health and Community Services, Susan Sullivan, did the ribbon cutting. The landscaping work that you can see in the pictures was donated by Sean Russell of Russell Landscaping and Design. Other community volunteers also contributed to the garden.

It was pouring rain so the opening was held inside, but I went out and took some pictures of their beautiful garden anyway. It might look grey and wet, but the rain is good for the plants!

Green for Life Community Award

Green for Life Community Award

The Green for Life Community Award is a new award category, and in January 2014 the national awards presentation will be held here in St. John's. Landscape NL will be announcing a provincial winner at the Atlantic Green Forum on October 21 and that winner will then be nominated for the national award. Please consider nominating a green initiative that you have taken on or are aware of in your community.

FSN Film Library sends free food documentaries across the province for public screenings

FSN Film Library sends free food documentaries across the province for public screenings

For the past several years FSN has been purchasing screening rights to a new documentary each year to share across the province for World Food Day. We also just recently released our own film series called All Around the Table. We've got a solid collection of films now that community groups across the province can borrow to use for events. There's no charge for borrowing a film from the FSN library, all that's required is a promise to mail the film back when your group is done with it.