The word compost comes from the latin com meaning “together” and post meaning “to bring”. It is the bringing together of organic matter into a process of decomposition, which produces a soil conditioner rich in nutrients. From home gardeners to small scale farms like Prairie Gardens, composting is one of the best things we can do for our plants and …
Unforeseen Moments on the Farm- Kaitlin Baronas
When I arrived at Prairie Gardens, just over two months ago now, I didn’t think many things would be different. I have lived in rural farming country my entire life and so when I got the apprenticeship here in Bon Accord, Alberta I thought the weeds would be weeds, the soil normal, the weather similar if not colder in the …
It’s All About the Stinging Nettle – Eric Shapiro
On the seventh day of my apprenticeship at Prairie Gardens, I, along with Mackenzie, another apprentice, were told to collect some stinging nettle. Wear gloves, they said. I guess stinging nettle hurts, I thought. That should give you an idea of how much I knew about stinging nettle, in other words, pretty much nothing. I’d vaguely heard of the name …
2020 CSA – Farmer Tam’s Garden Report
Hello everyone! Just a Note to say how much we appreciate your support this year! We have planted over 25 acres of vegetable gardens this spring! It has been an exceptionally busy spring, as we work within COVID protocols, with reduced staff and lots of rain! We are very proud to say that almost everything is in the ground and …
Farmer Tam’s CSA Welcome Essay – [Now that it’s rained – I have time to write!]
The Sense of Place. (You are Home in a world of Change). I have lived on my farm for 36 years. It’s a farm to care for and worry over, to love and to grow. Memories, stories and images and tears and futures and pasts and visions and dreams exist here. My heart is here. My land is here. My …
Farmer Tam’s End of Season Field Report
I can hardly believe our CSA season has come to an end. The CSA garden has been both my escape and my challenge all season long. The never ending weekly to do list – planting, weeding, picking. Then start again. The weekly CSA pick sheet needed by Sunday morning. Saturday is the day I sit down with Silvia to discuss …
Carrie cooks up corn: Prairie Gardens CSA adventures
This week was a continuation of last week’s catch up cooking. I started off with corn from the CSA then I picked up a couple dozen more of classic yellow to freeze. And with the corn from my garden starting to fill in, my fridge was full to the brim. How to pick corn The first thing to look for …
Spuds and Slaw: CSA with Carrie
My focus for this week was to catch up on potatoes and cabbage. If you have a family share, you know what I’m talking about! And the zucchini keeps on coming! The volume of zucchini that Tam has been able to harvest this year is impressive! I started off the week with roasted potatoes and rainbow carrots. This time, I …
Beets, beets, good to eat! Carrie’s CSA adventures
Another bountiful basket I hope you all had extra bags in your vehicles to handle it all! The kids ate the crab apples on the way home, until their tummies were full. The beans mix, topped off what I had picked at home. They were all blanched and frozen together. Same with the peas. Tomatoes and cucumber all eaten up …
CSA with Carrie: Bok Choi stir-fry and creamy dill potatoes
So much to work with this week! Cherry tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries were pretty much eaten up in the first day. Fruit does not last long around here. You would think we would have our fill of the raspberries since I’ve picked six ice cream pails of berries from my own patch so far. And I probably have two more …
