Archive for May, 2009

Ahh, Scarth St

May 28, 2009 at 1:53 pm · Filed under buy local ·Tagged , ,

Well, I have attended the RFM 2 times so far this season. I brought veggie, herb and edible flower transplants/seedlings with me. These plants are grown by us, at Lincoln Gardens from seed. I make that distinction for a reason, but I am not going to ‘get into it’ here. What I will say is that as a consumer, you should ask questions at the farmers market (any market not just the RFM) and learn how much of the product is made or grown by the vendor. If you expect high quality, local and truly homemade products at your farmers market, then say so and vote with your dollar.

So far sales have been slow. But the market gossip/conflict is as high as ever! Great to be back, even if only for the entertainment factor. Did make a few new friends with vendors who were parked near me this past week. Heard the latest goings on, drank a lot of tea, and people watched. Scarth St has the greatest mix of urban professionals, city hippies, goth kids and the extra eccentric all in a 2 block span! I highly recommend a day of taking it in if you have the time.

I will be back at the market on this Saturday with more transplants. And then I will take a break until we have some veggies to sell.

For those adventurous folk that want to try edible flowers I encourage you to try nasturtiums. These flowers are bright orange and are beautiful in a salad. But they can also be battered and deep fried like a squash blossom. They can be mashed and added to cream-cheese for a dip, or added to rice for colour and flavour. I am selling them at the market and here on the farm in the garden centre.

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Rain Day!

May 26, 2009 at 1:26 pm · Filed under U-Pick Berries, lincoln gardens ·Tagged , ,

We are not done planting, but a rain day was welcome none the less. Wayne and the guys got a much needed break, and we had time to sit down and talk about some of the projects that are underway this season.

A few of the changes that are taking place this year is the addition of a larger greenhouse, that will serve as the garden centre and as the pumpkin patch display area. A parking lot to accommodate the ever increasing traffic on the farm. Expanding the u-pick berry fields. Landscaping & walking trail building are ongoing all year.

The U-Pick berries are going to take up most of the land close to the on farm store. We have planted more strawberries and raspberries. We have more Saskatoons and Honey Berries going in later this season. The grapes I planted last year need to be relocated and a few new vines are going in too. The cherries will still be a few seasons before they are ready to be picked, but we are planting more of those as well. The picnic area is being renovated too and if we have time we will build a gazebo for pickers to rest under.

So the rain day wasn’t a complete write off.

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May 20th ~ planting, seeding, another day

May 20, 2009 at 1:07 pm · Filed under Regina Farmer's Market, lincoln gardens ·Tagged , , , ,

We have all of the onions transplanted and much of the cabbage. Wayne has seeded carrots, radish and corn. The potatoes are nearly all planted. We still have lettuce, swiss chard, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, herbs, peppers to plant and beets to seed.

The weather is still cold and it is very windy. I think the crop production will be a week or so late at time of harvest, but we will know better once it warms up and things start growing.

The garden centre is in full swing. People are finally feeling confident about planting their flower beds so plants have been swiftly moving off the benches. Our shipment of Mexican pottery was delivered yesterday so it will be unpacked by the weekend.

Saturday May 23rd will be my first go at the Farmers Market for the season. I will have cabbage, lettuce, tomato, herb, celery, and pepper seedlings and edible flowers. Someone mentioned to me that they don’t know what to do with edible flowers so I will make a info sheet about it to give away with each sale. I have a small vehicle so I will be limited with the amount I can bring into the city. All of these things are available for sale at the farm too.

We have a few WWOOFers lined up for July and hope to have the yurt set up by June 1st. Any interested wwoof volunteers should apply at least 2 weeks before their planned arrival so that we can have the cottage or yurt ready for you.

Lets all hope the weather gets better!

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May 13th ~ rain delay

May 13, 2009 at 1:16 pm · Filed under Regina Farmer's Market, lincoln gardens, seeding ·Tagged , ,

Well, I had planned to go to the RFM today, but looking outside, at the gusting wind and pouring rain, that is a no go! I hope the vendors that do go to market today are ready to brave the cold.

So far we have carrots, peas, corn, dill, spinach, radishes, 1/2 of the potatoes, and the strawberry plants in. This weekend we start the transplanting of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. And then there are about 1000 new raspberry canes to go in too.

Even though the weather has not been great we are steadily moving ahead with the planting and seeding. We also have nearly completed the dismantling of the greenhouses in Moose Jaw that we are moving to the farm. And have got a handle on some of the clean-up around the yard site too.

Things in the garden centre are moving along too. Our next shipment of pottery from Mexico will be here any day now. Then we will spend a few days unpacking, taking inventory, pricing and displaying the shipment. With any luck we will have it on the shelves by the end of the weekend.

But for now, I am off to work in the rain!

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Where is spring?

May 9, 2009 at 1:15 pm · Filed under lincoln gardens, seeding ·Tagged ,

Spring is slow to get going this season. It has put us a bit behind with seeding and planting. So far the guys have prepared the strawberry fields for the transplants, uncovered the herb garden and are starting to plant potatoes.

Today will be too cold again to get out and plant anything. At this rate we start to wonder if we will ever get a crop in the ground. The further behind in seeding we are the higher the chance that we will get frost before the veggies mature. Still trying to be positive though.

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