October harvesting

Who would have thought a garden could be so productive in October! This is the first year I have planted specifically for fall and winter harvest. The arugula, winter greens and choi sum (oriental greens) look, and taste, fabulous.

But the vegetable I am most impressed with is the pac choi - it looks so 'pretty' and is growing so profusely now. When I planted the pac choi at the beginning of September it limped along slowly because it was ravaged by something that found it as tasty as I did! The pest seems to have moved along and now the pac choi is thriving.

Tonight we have eight friends from Vancouver visiting, what to cook? Ready in the garden is savoy cabbage, leeks, fennel bulb, swiss chard, kale, spaghetti squash, salad fixings such as arugula and red salad bowl looseleaf lettuce, stirfry greens, and of course, pac choi. Phew....decisions, decisions!!

I recently discovered an interesting farming model - Spin Farming. With its roots (no pun intended!) in Saskatoon of all places, the proponents of this model say that it is possible, using their intensive farming methods, to make $50,000 a year from 1/2 acre. Though I think this figure is high, I like their model. In summary, they advocate using small parcels of land in city neighbourhoods, where up to 3 high-value crops are grown per year per parcel. For somebody like myself who does not have access to farmland this could be an option. City Farm Boy in Vancouver is successfully using this model, as is City Harvest in Victoria.

Looking ahead

My plan is to start selling my organic veggies next year at the local farmer's market, even just enough to supplement my current income. If it is a successful year I would like to expand the following year and be working as a full-time farmer. But in order to achieve this I need to find more land. It could be another piece of land like LeeAnn's or it could be a long-term rental of a small farm. Ideally it would be my own land but, even though I have some money tucked away, I cannot afford acreage on my own. I'm putting my dreams out there though; maybe somebody would like to invest in some land and likes the idea of supporting and being involved with an organic farm? Maybe a cooperative model would work? Please contact me at dawn.said@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or are interested in a partnership.

I am realistic enough to know I will not get rich from this. Rather, for me it is a lifestyle choice. I love to grow vegetables, and there is nothing more satisfying to me than harvesting food from my labours. On a philosophical level I think small-scale farming is important, it needs to be encouraged, and the time is right. People are ready to support sustainability and locally grown vegetables because they know that they taste better than conventionally grown produce shipped from hundreds of miles away.

I am very interested in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. It is a model of growing and eating that eliminates the middlemen between the fields and the table. Customers invest in the season’s costs at the beginning of the season, and the farmer provides up to eight months of fresh, diverse, quality produce straight from the fields. I will publish more on this concept later.

The beginning - continued

After getting back from England I spent a few weeks weeding (have I told you how much I hate morning glory?!), and then my veggies thrived:

Here in Gibsons, on the west coast of Canada, the summer of 2007 was very wet. I thought that the lack of sunshine would mean the garden would limp along very slowly, but no - it grew and grew and grew! Even though it was wet, the temperatures were mild, and so I guess this was enough to keep the plants happy. However, I hadn't planted the real sun-worshippers like tomotoes and melons because I had such a late start to the year, so maybe it would have been a different story if I had.

A few volunteer sunflowers started growing before I left for Europe. This is what they looked like when I got back:

I love sunflowers but next year the volunteers get moved to the back fence!

It is now October. I have planted two varieties of garlic. The winter veggies are looking strong and healthy. The fall rye and crimson clover have sprouted. And so, except for some more clean-up and harvesting, life in the garden is quiet. It is a time for me to reflect and to plan for next year. I never actually sold anything this year! With my late start to the year and going away right in the middle of the growing season it just never happened, but that is okay, I look on this year as an experiment. I loved every minute, (even battling the morning glory!) and can't wait for spring to come around so I can start again.

The beginning!!

First of all, my name is not Rooney, it is Dawn! So I guess an explanation as to the name of my garden is in order!

At the beginning of 2007 I was searching for a piece of land big enough to start growing vegetables, with a view to growing enough to sell at our local farmer's market here in Gibsons, BC. As luck would have it, at the same time, LeeAnn Johnson was looking for an organic gardener to tend to her fabulous garden - her husband had died the year before and her garden had got away from her. LeeAnn and her husband were keen organic gardeners, and over the years have built soil to die for. I couldn't believe my luck, I couldn't have wished for a more copasetic arrangement.

LeeAnn now has a new companion, an adorable little dog named - yes you've guessed it - Rooney!

Rooney is adjusting to his new home and new people, he loves to come out and tear like crazy around the garden (barriers have been placed to limit his access over the beds), he is quite a character and because he looks so funny charging around his nickname has become Looney Rooney. Because it has such a great ring to it, it just seemed natural that my fledgling business should include his name, it is after all his garden as well!

I had a late start to my first year. LeeAnn and I 'found' each other in mid May, right away I got to work (with the help of my partner Paul) chopping down the 5 foot high rye and vetch that had been planted the previous fall. Once it was all chopped down and raked up Paul rototillered the whole thing. I wouldn't have been able to do it without him - thank you, thank you! I let the whole rototillered area sit for a few weeks, and in the mean time started to weed the raised beds.

It wasn't until the middle of June that I was able to start planting. I looked at this year as an experimental year and wanted to plant many different varieties of veggies to see what worked and what I would like to grow again. For the next few weeks I planted numerous varieties of bush beans, carrots, beets (I LOVE beets!), black radish (disappointing), squash, lettuce, leeks, soya beans, english cucumber, cabbage, swiss chard, fennel bulb, scarlet runner beans, kale, broccoli, and brussel sprouts.

And then I went on vacation to England for a month. I won't go away in the summer again! My veggies thrived but also the weeds did too! Wow....I felt like I was back to square one as far as clean up went.