Spring has Sprung!
"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow" - Audrey Hepburn
AVFSS believes that tomorrow could provide more accessible, local food for our community and we have been busy planting the seeds to nurture that vision. In the past few months AVFSS has facilitated a variety of programs and events supporting local food security including:
- Seedy Saturday: On February 10th we hosted this annual event with 668 attendees and 24 vendors. The event also featured a speakers' series, children's activities, and seed exchange table.
- Prune-Along Program: This year we launched this program which brings a tree-care expert to registrant's properties to create a maintenance plan and demonstrate proper pruning techniques.
- Pruning Workshop: On March 10th we held our second annual pruning workshop for a small group of folks who braved the temperamental weather.
- Gardening 101 Series: These informative workshops share local knowledge and practical tips for your garden to flourish. We still have 3 workshops available on the first Sunday of each month, if you'd like to know more visit the Garden 101 webpage.
We have so much more in the works! In a few short weeks we will be launching The Gleaning Project for its 12th season! As always, the program will be connecting pickers and property owners with the result being thousands of pounds of fruit being distributed throughout the community. AVFSS is in need of several items and services to create a successful season, so please see below to help.
We will be opening gleaning registration online and in-person on the night of our 'Tree Care & Share' event on April 24th 6:30-8:30pm at the Echo Park Fieldhouse. The event is a great opportunity to connect with AVFSS face-to-face, learn more about our work and find ways to get involved. The event will also feature presentations by Amy Needham and Heather Shobe to guide you through proper fruit tree maintenance and care to ensure that you have a bountiful harvest. Entry is by minimum donation of $5 for the general public and free for AVFSS members. Check out our events webpage to learn more.
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AVFSS is looking for YOUR help this Gleaning Season!
We are looking for donations for the following items and services:
Pick Leads
First-Aid Kits
Ratchet Straps
Gas Voucher Cards
Bins for Fruit Waste
Cold-Storage for Fruit
Centralized Parking Location for Gleaning Trailer
If you are able to donate or have any questions please contact glea...@avfood.ca. The support of our community will help make this an efficient and successful gleaning season! |
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This area of our newsletter will provide a platform to share about food skills topics. This might include information on personal food production, meal preparation, food preservation, waste reduction, environmental or economic impacts.
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Using Phenology for Succesful Gardening
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It’s time to get in the garden, but what exactly does that mean? Rather than relying solely on garden zones and planting charts, we can look to the great outdoors for hints on what we should be doing and when.
Phenology is the branch of science that studies the recurrence of natural events in relation to seasonal climates. This knowledge has been shared for centuries as folk wisdom and Indigenous understanding. Using these observations can help us determine what needs to be done in the garden, and when.
Here are some examples of these helpful hints:
- When forsythia is in bloom its time to prune roses
- When daffodils begin to bloom, sow peas
- Plant the tomatoes when the dogwood blooms are at their peak
- Plant your beets and carrots when dandelions first come out
- When lilacs are in full bloom its time to plant beans
- When apple blossoms fall off the tree you can sow corn
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Of course, the above methods won't absolutely guarantee planting success, but they do help give us extra information on how to best utilize our gardening efforts and also build connection to the established flora around us.
Phenology also has another important use; scientists can observe the differences in dates of these seasonal rhythms year after year, noting changes in the timelines. This can be a key indicator of climate change and its impact.
Want more locally sourced garden knowledge? Look into AVFSS’s Gardening 101 Workshop Series with Candyse Roberts. On the first Sunday of each month she will delve into a variety of timely topics. Visit www.avfood.ca/garden101 for more information. |
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