As they say, “Making a difference starts at home” and it starts with what we put into our bodies.

Learn how easy it can be to assert more control over the food that we eat by growing it ourselves. Don’t let limited space, insufficient knowledge, or a tight budget deter you. You’ll see how to integrate affordable, easy and compact growing systems and approaches into your life no matter where you live. Take things one step further and you may soon find yourself selling or gifting your surpluses to the people around you. Wallah! – Community.

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
6:15pm – 9:45pm
The HiVE Vancouver
128 West Hastings (half a block east of Cambie Street)

Enjoy music, beer, pizza and fabulous company.
Contribute what you can: Recommended $12 – $20

Reserve your spot

This month’s West Coast Seeds newsletter offers their top recommendations:

“Aside from hilling up, here are our top five tips for tip top potatoes:

1. Plant potatoes in full sun, and avoid freshly limed beds. Potatoes like slightly acid soil with a pH of 6.0 – 6.8. Organic matter in the soil will improve your crop, but use well rotted compost or dig in a cover crop the previous fall. Avoid fresh manure.
2. Once you plant your potatoes, don’t water them until after you see the plants sprout above ground. This will help to prevent soil diseases from affecting your crop. Once they’re growing, keep your potato plot evenly moist, particularly once the plants begin to bloom.
3. For fresh eating of baby or “new” potatoes, wait until the plants are in bloom. That’s usually a good indication that an early summer harvest is ready.
4. For storage potatoes, wait until the plants wither and turn brown, and then leave them in the soil for a further 3 weeks as their skins firm up. Harvest them for storage if there’s a threat of very cold or very wet weather.
5. Store potatoes in a cold, dark place, above freezing, with good ventilation. You can brush soil off your harvested spuds, but don’t wash them – the extra moisture is not good for storage. Check your stored potatoes frequently throughout winter, and remove any that are turning soft or looking mouldy.”

Read the full article.

Reusing burlap coffee sacs, participants will plant highly nutritious organic potatoes at the bottom and lettuce plants at the top- it’s a potato fusion! All plants and materials will be provided so just BYOG (bring your own gloves) and go home with a sac of potatoes (and lettuce).

Sunday, March 20th, 2011
11:00 am or 1:00 pm (2 sessions)
West 57th & East Boulevard
$20 per person
*Includes potato fusion kit

Proceeds will be donated to The World In A Garden and Project Somos Children’s Village, Guatemala for projects teaching children gardening skills to last a lifetime.

To reserve your spot, contact Alicia Baddorf via phone 604.527.5151 ext. 213 or by e-mail at abaddorf@jfsa.ca.

The World In A Garden is a multicultural urban agriculture project that educates the community on the nutritional, cultural, environmental and social benefits of the local food system.

Ilana Labow from Fresh Roots Urban Farm will be guest speaker. Don’t miss out on expert advice and a fun time! Participants will take home a gardening calendar, an Organic Gardening magazine, a free packet of West Coast Seeds and a potted plant.

Sunday, March 6th, 2011
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
West 57th & East Boulevard
$20 per person
*Snacks and coffee provided*

All proceeds to The World in a Garden.

To register contact Alicia Baddorf at 604.257.5151 ext. 213 or via email abaddorf@jfsa.ca

The World In A Garden is a multicultural urban agriculture project that educates the community on the nutritional, cultural, environmental and social benefits of the local food system. Their mandate is to increase access to highly nutritious, fresh and organic food in a way that maintains dignity, builds community and celebrates diversity. The World In A Garden educates the community and youth on the importance of the local food system through youth education programs, volunteer days, workshops, community events and market sales.
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SOLEfood Farm features 150 raised garden beds tended by trained seasonal workers from the Vancouver Downtown Eastside. The Enterprising Non Profit (ENP) established in 2009 by United We Can alongside farmer and author Michael Ableman has benefited from widespread community support and is now earning international recognition from a man whose three-acre Growing Power urban farm in Milwaukee is a world-class model for intensive urban agriculture and community food systems.

Michael Ableman and Seann Dory, SOLEfood Farm Project Manager, will be welcoming Will Allen to the farm for a pivotal meeting of minds in the Astoria Hotel parking lot which, thanks to SOLEfood, now embodies the revival of fruitful urban green space.

Thursday, January 27th, 2011
10:00 am
SOLEfood Farm
399 Hawks Avenue, Vancouver BC

Will Allen will also be speaking at the Bruce and Lis Welch Community Dialogue on Thursday evening. This evening lecture is free, however pre-registration is required.

Thursday,  January 27th, 2011
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Croatian Cultural Centre
3250 Commercial Drive (map)

Most climates aren’t blessed with a year round growing season so one must make hay while the sun shines, then save for a rainy day. In this climate, literally. That means finding ways to preserve your bounty for the winter months.

This past year I’ve noticed a huge resurgence of interest in canning, pickling and other time honoured methods of “putting up” the harvest. So it’s no surprise that folks are looking back a generation or two for additional traditional solutions, calling up distant memories of how parents and grandparents fed themselves between growing seasons.

Enter, the root cellar. Cheap to make and maintain, naturally cool, highly effective, the perfect DIY project (no electrical wiring required).

Enter, a new generation of children sent down to dark, damp, spider-infested rooms to bring up the ingredients for dinner. Not to worry, we survived the trauma, so will they.

How To Do It Yourself

Want to be all trendy and get your own root cellar, but you’re not sure where to start? Here is an assortment of resources, in no particular order (but I saved the best for last):

• BC Agricultural Building Systems Handbook: Small Root Cellar – Long-winded name, thorough small root cellar building plan complete with measurements, and list of optimal temperatures for vegetable storage.
• The Return of the Root Cellars – Survivalist manifesto on storing food in the event of calamity, trials and/or tribulation. Whatever the reasoning, the content is quite informative.
• Garbage Can Root Cellar – This must be the most basic of root cellar concepts, but doesn’t allow for much in the way of temperature control.
• What to Store in a Root Cellar – Vegetable storage chart including optimal temperature, humidity and storage duration.
• Storage of Home-Grown Vegetables – Colorado State University tips on harvesting and storage, as well as a description of various root cellar types.
• Home Storage of Fruits and Vegetables in Root Cellars – As the name suggests, a very precise list of conditions required for specific produce, courtesy of University of Michigan. Just the facts, ma’am.
• Root Cellar Capital of the World: Elliston, Newfoundland – Not sure what to say here. Truly, stumped. Note: the misleading link “Root Cellars and Puffins” does not in fact show puffins stacked tidily amongst the potatoes in one of Elliston’s world famous root cellars. I checked.

Then as I started gardening and having success with some seeds and not others, it became apparent why it’s also beneficial to plant local seed varieties, cultivated to thrive in specific regional climates.

You can learn how to save seeds yourself — just remember, it’s important to store seeds properly — but if that’s too much work or it’s too late in the season, it’s good to know where you can get quality seeds.

In addition to those listed in an earlier post, Sourcing Seeds Locally, Cyber-Help for Organic Farmers also offers a list of certified organic seed suppliers in Canada.

Remember, some plants are more particular about the environment they’ll grow in, so it may be beneficial to choose from a source whose seeds come from your own or a similar climate region, too.

Selecting Seeds
Are you going to grow garlic you buy at 1.99/lb from the store? Don’t. You shouldn’t be eating that stuff — one taste of homegrown garlic, or fresh organically grown will convince you. After all, you don’t know where that garlic’s been, or worse, whose nightsoil it’s been grown in.

I recommend you begin with organically-grown garlic from BC. This is easily found at farmer’s markets all over, and at gourmet-type stores that stock organic produce. Select bulbs with large cloves—a larger sized clove will grow a bigger plant, which ideally will yield a larger bulb. Just like tulip bulbs: the little bitty ones don’t make a big flower. It’s the same with garlic.

What’s a clove, you ask? Not the tiny brown thing your mother or grandmother stuck into the ham before she bathed it in 7-Up. It’s the smaller bit that a ‘head’ of garlic gets taken apart into. By the way, do not peel the clove—it’s a little bulb, actually. Just like a tulip or daffodil bulb, it needs that hard papery coating to protect it from what’s going on underneath the soil: critters, dampness, various soil-borne effects.

Figure out where you’re going to plant your garlic at this time, paying attention to where the sun is. You’re going to be planting in the month of October. Use the 15th as a rough guideline, as earlier the soil is usually more pleasant to work with than later on when the rains start.

You’ll need about 6” between each plant. The closer you plant the cloves, the smaller your head of garlic will be. The garlic needs to take in nourishment for nine months from that soil, so give it some space. And, yes…I realize “full sun” in winter is hardly applicable in Vancouver, but do pick the sunniest spot you have on the south or west side.

The Right Soil
Garlic REALLY likes well-drained soil. If the area is boggy, don’t plant garlic in it. If there is moss or frogbit (little fungal-looking growths like on top of plant pots in the nursery sometimes) don’t plant garlic there. Sandy or loamy soil is great.

Amend (meaning, add to) the soil with a modest amount of manure, compost, Sea Soil (a great product) or whatever. Don’t worry too much—you’re not making pavlova. It will make you feel good to see the new black/rich stuff going onto the spot. Or, not. In any case, make a narrow trench using your hands or a dull instrument (don’t hurt the worms please) about 4” deep in the soil. NO need to double-dig or disturb the intricate, lasagna layers of fantastic growing medium that worms and other critters have been spending their lifetime to create.

There’s no need to plant the garlic in a straight line if you prefer the ‘drift’ look, or circles. If you do that, allow at least 8” between cloves. It’s important that garlic ‘greens’ or leaves have sun on them and the more sun they can get, the bigger and healthier your garlic will be. If they’re too packed together, your garlic will be smaller—even tiny.

Optional: sprinkle a handful of 4-10-10 fertilizer (sold at any reputable garden centre) or any other kind of good organically-based granular plant food—preferably with a larger middle number than the first number —(the NPK thing)….per foot of row, and tickle it into the soil at the bottom of your narrow trench. (If you absolutely know your soil is rich and wonderful, you don’t need to add anything.) You might like to make a small row with fertilizer, another without, and compare your results. You’re now a Garlic Scientist.

Planting
OK. Now, it’s time to plant. Disassemble your garlic heads into cloves, leaving the skin on. If you find it very difficult, it’s fine to give the head a bit of a whack on a hard surface – but not too hard so that you bruise the garlic. Put the cloves in a bowl, or in your pocket, treating them gently. Don’t peel, I say again. If you’re doing this with kids, it’s very hard for them to resist peeling it – you’ll have to explain why it’s best not to. Tell them it’s like taking off their snowsuit or coat when it’s freezing out…it protects the garlic.

Place the clove, pointy side up (yes – people plant them upside down, sadly, and it’s hard for the poor garlic to grow around in a circle, which it eventually and painstakingly does)…root side down. Poke it in a bit. Now, poke in the next clove at the suggested distance. If you’re the organized type and you’re planting a few rows, make the rows at least 1 foot, preferably 18 inches apart. (Again, think about each plant getting maximum light.) Cover with at least 3 inches of soil.

NB: it’s handy to know that most seeds need to be covered with three times their own size of soil. If a bean seed is almost ¾”at its widest, it needs around 2” of soil on top. Tiny seeds need way less. Garlic, depending on the size of the clove, needs about 3”, give or take. It is very important that you now pat down the soil lovingly.

Watering
Next step: watering. Unless rain is predicted, water your garlic lightly, using a gentle mist from a hose, or a watering can with a ‘rose’ (the thing with little holes that screws on the end of the spout). Don’t water with a vengeance or strong stream.

Important: put a label or stick in next to your future garlic, indicating what you have done. This is advised if you are over 35, really important if you are over 50, and urgent if you have a tidy mate/partner who likes to dig everything up a few times a year, no matter what. Be sure to tell everyone who lives in the house that you’ve planted garlic there. If you like, stick rose prunings or other thorny, nasty branches all around the area. This will keep cats and other critters from digging, and will remind you what you’ve got in there. (This is also a great idea for early spring sowing of things in bare ground which cats love). Rose-pruning in spring usually coincides with planting, so it all works. Alternately, cover the area with upside down black plastic ‘flats’ that nursery pots come in – they work well to keep critters out, and allow rain to get in. Weigh down with rocks if you have skunks, raccoons, or squirrels and you’ve seen them digging in the area.

Now, nothing happens, between October 31st and February 14th. The sun in these parts does not burn brightly enough because of its low-angled relationship to the earth for photosynthesis, and plant growth, to occur. Lo and behold, mid-February through mid-March (depending on our spring), you notice thick grass-like bits issuing forth in the spots you planted the garlic. This is known as “emergence”. It’s a great idea now to make something with a lot of garlic and celebrate. As if we need another reason to drink fabulous red wine and dine on lovely pasta puttanesca, or other garlic-laden treats.

Your garlic is now going to start picking up speed. If you want, give it some food (kelp, fish fertilizer), not too much. Once a month is fine; if the weather gets very hot and dry in May as it sometimes does, make sure you keep the garlic bed moist, but not overly wet. Don’t bother to feed the garlic past mid-June.

Scapes
At some point in July, your garlic plants will be nearing 2.5 to 3 feet tall, and a ‘scape’ – a French-horn or gooseneck-shaped rounded stalk will emanate from the centre of each plant, and begin to twine and twirl. This appendage, if allowed to remain on the plant, will eventually form a flower, and then seeds.

While the scape is still twirling and tender, I recommend you cut it off, and enjoy in a torrid pesto. Whirl it with lime juice, freshly grated good parmigiano, and olive oil. Savour it on bruschetta, pasta, or on slabs of toasted bread, topped with roasted anything. It is delicious and will give you foul garlic breath!

Scape-removal is controversial. (And, where does the term “scapegoat” come from, anyway?) Some garlic growers swear by removing them, others don’t. Once again, the scientist in you may want to leave a few scapes on, then compare bulb size. The rationale for removing them is that the energy will go into forming the bulb, rather than the seed-head.

You’ll start to notice some of the lily-like leaves of the garlic turning yellowish by mid to late July. This is a natural process. Rather than water the garlic, thinking there is something wrong with it, don’t. This is the time to withhold water. Towards the end of July, stop watering your garlic completely.

Please keep in mind that these events may be out by a week or two. Observe your garlic, and when the third strappy leaf has turned yellow, it’s getting close to harvest time. This year, my garlic was a week or two later than “normal” because of our freakishly cool spring and summer.

In any case, it’s ok to wait until the fourth leaf is getting yellow too, but don’t wait too long. The leaves correspond to layers of wrapping on the garlic bulb and if left too long in the ground, the garlic will start to open up and split out of its casing. The more compact and solid the bulbs are, the longer they’ll keep well.

Harvesting
Harvest time: with a patient hand, gently loosen the soil around the area using a garden fork, or shovel. Do this carefully. Pulling is not recommended; this often breaks the bulb from the stem, and your garlic could be lost. Using your hands, lift out the bulbs and marvel at how nature works. Your little cloves have turned into shiny, redolent heads of garlic.

Don’t wash the bulbs—just knock a bit of the soil off. It will brush off easily later on.
If the weather is nice and warm at this time of year (sometimes it isn’t), you can leave the garlic right ‘on the field’, as they do in Gilroy, California, garlic-growing capital of the US, or perhaps even the world as we know it.

If it’s more typical Vancouver weather (sunny, rainy, cloudy, humid and/or hailing), place your garlic in a dry place and let it ‘cure’. That is, let it sit and dry out rather slowly. If you have grown a softneck variety of garlic (there are two kinds: softneck and hardneck and most are hardneck grown in these parts) you will now be able to braid your garlic. If it’s hard, you can’t do this.

I sometimes use a wooden clothes-drying rack for this stage, and leave it on the semi-sunny back porch. In about two weeks or so, depending on humidity, you can cut the leaves off, leaving about 1” of stem. Trim the roots too, leaving about ½” on the bulbs.

Abracadabra. Only nine months and you’ve become a garlic growing expert. Store your garlic in a cool, dry place. Darkness is good too. Don’t put garlic in the fridge, ever. If you store it well, it should last until next year’s garlic harvest, and so on.

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Freelance writer and seed specialist Sharon Hanna writes regularly for GardenWise and Gardening Life. Current venture: HotBeds, urban food gardening consultation, installation and assistance.

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
5:00 pm onwards

Garlic planting season has arrived and Sharon Hanna, Urban Gardener, will be selling organic garlic from Rivendale Farm on Salt Spring Island at Rocky Mountain Flatbread in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC.

Sharon will be selling Persian Star, Evans and Music Garlic and will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about growing big beautiful garlic.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread will also be donating 10% of all restaurant sales to their Education Society which works hands-on in local schools teaching kids how grow their own food, create their own nutritious snacks &
meals, and how to create their own eco business! They work with over 500 Vancouver students a year.

Dubbed the “Two-Block Diet,” neighbours Kate Sutherland and Julia Hilton have started a neighbourhood food revolution and with it cultivated a community, barn-raising bond with the people who have joined them. In a busy city with busy lives I’ll bet they would never have otherwise met, despite the fact they all live a stone’s throw from each other.

The Two-Block Diet showcases all that I believe is great about how food brings people together and builds community. Read the full, Vancouver Sun article and be inspired to create your own Two-Block Diet and neighbourhood network.

The only way to get more local than a Two-Block diet is to have a garden in your own back yard!