The Acadia Community Farm

Well we certainly can’t complain about drought now can we.  The thing about  our clay soil is that if it is dry, it is as hard as bricks however if  it is wet it is a a mucky mess.   I had  a few photos of some of the plots in the garden this year but sadly my camera has finally ‘shuttered and died’ . It is lovely to see the flowers that some have added and some of the interesting designs and structures that some are using so come down to the garden and see them for yourself!

We have two more workshops coming up! Alex Redfield who co-founded the garden with his partner Hillary is doing a tool workshop at the farm on Sunday Aug. 21th at 4pm. Alex will be bringing some examples of tools as we await our tool order. Fingers crossed that our order will be here but either way we will have an fun and interesting session with them!

Because of this we will not have our regular work session and instead we will follow the workshop with a potluck dinner! So dig out your favourite picnic recipe, blanket or chairs and join us at 4pm down at the garden!

This evening we are harvesting for Food Bank. This is our second harvest as Food Bank is bi-weekly. This  season hasn’t been stellar weather-wise for crops but we are picking kale, beets and greens, some peas and sugar snap and we will see what else might have come along in the past few days. Tonight we will also be harvesting our first crop of garlic!! This is exciting and we are looking forward to seeing just what has been happening down there underground.

We have also had our first harvest and delivery to Chartwells on campus. This will certainly pick up once students return next month.

Also we have the upcoming Seed Saving and Sustainabilty workshop with Owen Bridge on Wednesday September 28th at 6pm. We will meet at the farm weather permitting where Owen will conduct his seed saving workshop. From there we will be going indoors  to view the film ” The Seed Hunter”  a documentary about Dr. Ken Street and his team of ‘gene detectives ‘ on a global search for ancient seeds.

Stay tuned for more details to follow!

The Acadia Community Farm working committee: (left to right) Kira McLean, Mike Belyea, Jake Munroe, Emily Walker, Libby Vervaeke, Dewey Dunnington, Liesel Carlsson. Missing: Jodie Noiles

Well maybe not down on the farm but things are certainly growing! After a delayed start and some unusual pest problems the plants are really taking off. We had are first ‘harvest’ last night…7 big radishes! It is terrific  to see how the individual plots are thriving and you feel the excitement of the gardeners as they come down and discover something else coming up or blossoming in their plot.

We want to extend our sincerest appreciation to Linda Best of Friends of N.S. Agriculture and all her efforts in the April Flavours food and fundraising event. Linda has been a great supporter of the ACF and this year we received a very generous donation of $1000.00 from April Flavours! Again our thanks to Linda and all of those who made this such a successful event.

We are also excited to welcome our two Katimivik volunteers ! We will have further introductions in the days ahead. The volunteers will be working at both the Irving Centre and the ACF for the next six months so we are very grateful for this much needed assistance.

We are continuing our work sessions on the farm portion of the garden every Wednesday evenings from 6 – 8 and Sunday mornings from 10 – 12. Of course if you are down at the garden we encourage weeding and watering at anytime!

Once again another beautiful evening in the garden! Our regular weekly work session on the farm portion of  the garden  ‘produced’ four new beds, mounds of squash and zucchini , weeding, watering and lots of seeding!

As well it was a delightful surprise to open up the shed and see the garden gnomes had tidied and organized. Who knew we had that much space. We can now enter and exit without having to back out! Thank you very much folks. We are most grateful to have these tasks that   “need-to-be-taken-care of “- but never make it to the priority list. It makes such a difference.

We also have a few new plot holders come out last night.  A very hearty welcome to all of you!

Our next work session is Sunday and we can really use as many hands as possible to  get these transplants in their beds. They are getting very ‘weary’ in the greenhouse and need to settle into to bed now. If knees and backs are challenged there is always watering  and straw spreading too. We are also planning a potluck picnic prior to our Wednesday night work session next week.  It is a great time to get to know each other and not have to try to make a meal when you return home in the evening.  Arrive at 5:30 and then we can start to work at 6:00. Simply bring a simple dish to share along with your plate and utensils. All are invited

Here are a few photos from the evening to enjoy

The garden is rapidly transforming! It is very exciting to see all the interesting design elements and hear about what we  are all planning to grow. There is a great energy in the garden right now and that can only be helping the plants!
A hearty ‘Thanks’ to the garden gnomes who have been doing the weeding in the garlic patch and the organization in the shed!!! Very much appreciated folks.

Thanks to volunteers last Sunday morning some of the beds have been seeded and transplants put in. We were small but we were mighty! What a glorious morning it was!

Calling all of our creativegardeners …we are hoping to design and plant an edible flower garden patch at the top of the farm portion of the garden.We have seeds and transplants available. We would like this to be a gathering place for our impromptu potlucks but also a pretty spot to sit on a bench and relax with a cold drink after working in your plot and just a quiet place to enjoy the plants.  Please let us know if this is something that interests you!

The Water totes have been put into place and the water connection finally made. It is wonderful to finally have a source of water down on the farm! No more hauling jugs of water from home and from the Athletic Centre. Hallelujah is the best word that comes to mind!

Stay up to date with farm activities on our website! We try to keep up with the blog and post photos from time to time too!

Have you registered for our next workshop? Introduction to Permaculture Design It is Friday June 17th from 6 – 9:00 at the lovely Irving Centre on campus. It is going to be a terrific program on permaculture presented by the Big Sky permaculture folks.

This weekend there is an exciting event  called the New Farmers Gathering organized at the Lorax. Have a look at the workshops and events they have planned!!
http://www.thedandelion.ca/thegathering/

Hope to see a great turnout on Wednesday!

We had our first work session and plot claiming last night and we were so pleased with the turnout! After all the planning , meetings and seedling starts over the winter it felt great to finally be outside preparing the ground. It was a lovely breezy evening that kept the bugs nicely at bay! It was also great to finally have faces to put with names. Although some of us are a bit challenged with name recall so just keep reminding us and we should have it down in a couple weeks!

We saw 16 new beds created which was terrific. That being said we have to get many more completed  so we can get the transplants and seeds in the ground. We are feeling very confident with the great energy that was in the garden last night!

We were also delighted to have guests of honour with us! Alex Redfield and Hillary Barter, the founders of the garden, came by to lend a hand and to plant. We really appreciated their visit and their help given the distance from home and their intensive work schedule right now with all their own farm work!! Thanks you two and we hope to see more of you when you are able.

A special thanks to those of you who pitched in with the heavy work even though you don’t have a plot.  We hope your backs are not too sore today! Thanks very much.

Sunday is another work session from 9 – 11:00  or 10 – 12:00. In future we will have one established time but we are anxious to get as much done as we can right now.

We should have the water hook-up completed by then  so that is very exciting for us this year. No more slogging jugs back and forth!

Hope to see you Sunday morning and don’t forget your sunscreen, bug repellant and a jug of water to stay hydrated!

Finally the garden has been tilled, compost spread and plots staked. The garden is now ready for plots to be claimed as well as  transplants  and seeds brought down from the greenhouses.

We are inviting both volunteer gardeners and plot holders  to come to the garden Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm. Help us get the season rolling by ‘digging in’ …literally! We can use as many ‘hands and hoes’ as possible to prepare a few beds for the transplants that are desperate to get their roots into the ground. We have a good assortment of implements in the shed but if you have a favourite tool , we won’t be offended !!

If you have registered for a plot then you can claim it at this time. Can’t make it Wednesday? Don’t despair! We will simply assign the remaining plots and send you the plot number which you will find posted on each of the plots.

If you are not a plot holder we still really need your help!! There will be a schedule for future work sessions available Wednesday as well. This coming weekend we are planning to have our first weekend work session on Sunday. We will have  the time established for that session available Wednesday night and will notify everyone  by email and through the website as well.

Due to the weather delays we need to get these beds prepared and planted as soon as possible so your help will be greatly appreciated!

See you in the garden!

the fields, ready to plant!

more field, ready to start growing.

Recently we had our soil tested by the Kentville Agricultural Centre (between New Minas and Kentville on Route 1), and in interpreting the results we were given a number of resources for interpreting soil test results. Alex put us on to the MOFGA Guide (in addition to offering a number of suggestions himself) and suggested we share it with our test results as an example of the importance of soil health in gardening. So! Here’s the resources, and thanks again to Alex for sending them our way:

• The Acadia Community Farm Soil Test Results, 2011
• The MOFGA Guide to Interpreting Soil Test Reults

A message from our ‘fearless leader’ …”As May moves steadily along,  farm preparations are underway for the 2011 season. The first day of plot claiming is drawing near – thanks for your patience! Composted manure will be spread over the entire farm and the field will be tilled next week when it is dry enough to do so. Unfortunately, the rainy weather has set this process back. Sunday May 22nd is the estimated date for claiming plots. Following that, there will be other dates to claim your plot. This summer we will have an on-farm water supply, which will make watering much easier. Also, seedlings for the community plot are growing well in the Irving Centre greenhouse and will be ready for transplanting soon!”

We are excited about the upcoming season but that comes as a result of the tremendous commitment and effort from some key individuals on the management team who we sadly (for us) must say farewell to as they pursue their post-graduate lives! Jake our ‘fearless leader’, Amy , Kayla and Dan worked very hard despite their academic workload and we are most grateful.  We wish you well and with much happiness and success!. Our co-ordinator Dewey,  comes with experience with the ACF as well as knowledge and a ‘get-it-done’ approach. Actually it is usually done before we knew it needed doing!!

Have you registered for the upcoming workshops? May 28th is our first of three. Have a look at  http://wp.me/pd7yx-drhe for more information!

Stay tuned for the plot claiming hopefully within the week and transplanting over a thousand seedlings for which we will be posting work sessions. Looking forward to meeting you in the garden!

We have a very exciting line-up for you this season. These are for new and established gardeners alike. The workshops will be be engaging, fun and open to all! This is also a great time to meet your fellow gardeners both at the farm and within the community. Looking forward to seeing you there.

“Spring is sprung, the grass is ‘riz’”  …but no need to “wonder where the birdies is” They are all here in my very wet backyard helping themselves to the fat juicy worms. I just would like them to leave me a few! It has been so very wet,  which is of course a good thing however it does mean that we must be patient to get down to the garden. Tilling will take place as soon as we get the ‘O.K.’ from the university Facilities department, that the adjacent athletic  field is sufficiently dry to accommodate vehicle and foot traffic. We will let you know as soon as we get the word!

There has been much behind-the-scenes activity as we gear up for this  season. Sadly we are  saying farewell to some of our  farm   management team. This has been such a wonderful experience to serve along side such a dedicated and hardworking group. It is inspiring and encouraging to see these young adults emerging from their studies at Acadia and knowing that our future world is in their hands. Those that are returning in September,  we eagerly anticipate your return with sincere thanks for all the hard work you have done to set us up for success on the farm. Those who are moving on, we wish you much success and happiness and extend our gratitude for your selfless and tireless efforts for the ACF in the midst of your studies but you must know that you will be missed this season!!

Did you attend April Flavours this year? If not you must put this on your to-do events next year. A terrific response from the community and we were treated to a wonderful selection of local foods and wines. It is a reminder of how unique and privileged we are to live in the Annapolis Valley! A double plot at the ACF was one of several items auctioned off that evening and it was delightful to meet the recipients who are new gardeners! That is exciting and we assured them that they are in good hands with the wonderful community we have within the Acadia Community farm. So welcome to all our new and old gardeners this year!!

Seedlings are well on their way and we have another seedling planting coming up likely this week so stayed tuned!

Our workshop series is also gearing up and we know that “Organic Vegetable Growing “ with Nikki Jabbour will be taking place May 28^th – “Permaculture” from the folks at Big Sky Permaculture on their maritime tour on June 17^th   and “Seed Saving” in the fall. We will have more details very soon but you will not want to miss one of these so mark your calendars now!