Local Feature: Mark & his plants

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On Sunday night, Chris, Julie and I visited Mark at his suburban home in Port Coquitlam. Mark has created a garden paradise on a pretty typical suburban lot. It’s incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many plants in that kind of space before. Chris had found Mark and his plants through a craigslist plant sale ad and insisted we visit his home to buy some Jerusalem artichoke plants. And we’re so glad we did!

One of the things we’d like to start doing more of is visiting other local farmers and gardeners, connecting with them, learning from them, supporting them and promoting them through this blog. As new farmers who are learning as we go, we have a lot to glean from others who’ve been growing their own food and plants a lot longer than we have. It’s also nice to think of local gardeners as a network rather than business rivals. Everyone offers something a little bit different and we can all help and support each other’s efforts to pursue a long-term local food culture.

Mark used to spend his weekends selling his plants at Farmer’s Markets, but now he does all of his sales from home. He has a greenhouse in his backyard and scattered among all the well-established plants in his front yard are pot after pot of flowers and edibles waiting to be taken home. We ended up leaving with more than just the Jerusalem artichokes that Chris was so excited about. We also picked up a ground cherry bush, gooseberry bush and a chocolate mint plant. Yummy!

Every spring Mark holds a big weekend plant sale on his property so we’ll blog a reminder about that next spring before it happens. In the meantime, if you’re interested in visiting his property, picking up some great plants and getting inspired by a very passionate gardener, keep an eye on craigslist for his ads. He’s actually having a sale tonight that is currently listed online. I’ve reprinted it below:

FRUIT PLANT SALE TUESDAY EVENING – $5 (Port Coquitlam)

DATE:TUESDAY JUNE 7TH 7pm -9 pm Rain or Shine

Location: 3952 Hamilton Street, Port Coquitlam

FRUITS OFFERED FOR SALE:

Saskatoon berries(shown), cranberry plants, ground cherries/ cape gooseberries( shown)yellow raspberries,hardy edible ginger,
asparagus roots, black currant,rhubarb, red currant, , red strawberries,black walnut trees,
red raspberries,, jeusalum articokes(shown),horse radish , red seedless grapes, green seedless grapes,
goose berries red or green, , wonder berry plants, & thornless blackberries.

HERBS: Basil,Rosemary,fairytale dwarf egg plant, chives,lemon balm, begamot,,Stevia ( sugar substitute plants), swiss chard, cucumber plant,,are a few of the herbs offered

Heritage tomatoes in 1 gallon pots: Super snow white, tiny tim( shown), green zebra, red zebra, and others

Thanks for having us Mark! It was great to meet you and we look forward to next time!

baby goats & horse poop

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBvg8Mo7nt4?wmode=transparent]

This weekend Chris and I took the truck and tractor down the road to get some composted horse manure from our neighbours Michael and Kerri-Jo. We did three trips, loading up the truck with the tractor and unloading with shovels back at the farm. A lot of shovelling, but great news for our blueberry bed, compost garden and Mel’s new gardening patch.

While Chris was loading up the truck with the tractor, I frollicked with the 8 baby goats on the property. THEY ARE SO CUTE. Seriously. So cute. Can’t get over it. Most of them scattered when I went near them, but one little guy took a liking to me, followed me and my camera out to the back meadow and let me pick him up and snuggle him. SO FLIPPIN’ CUTE. I took a little video clip of them, embarrassing baby talk included.

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Farm for a Year mentioned in Legislative Assembly of BC

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Michael Sather is the MLA for Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows and a great advocate for environmental conservation and local farms. Michael has been out to visit our farm to learn more about what we’re doing and he recently made a statement about our efforts, linking it to the need for more young people to take on farming roles in our communities, in the May 4th, 2011 debate of the BC Legislative Assembly.

You can watch Michael making his statement about Farm for a Year in this Hansard video (go to the 14:00 minute mark) and you can read it in this section of the report of the debate (scroll down a little to see his statement). I’ve also reprinted it below. (PS – I’m not actually Chantalle’s sister, but living together on the farm pretty much makes us family :).

From the 2011 Legislative Session: Third Session, 39th Parliament HANSARD

Official report of Debates of the Legislative Assembly, Wednesday, May 4, 2011, Afternoon Sitting, Volume 20, Number 13

(page 6597-6598)

FARM FOR A YEAR PROJECT

IN MAPLE RIDGE

M. Sather: The farming industry is comprised of an aging population these days, with the average age of a farmer in Canada being 60. There is a crucial need for young people to enter the field as more farmers are set to retire, and the opportunities to learn from a seasoned grower are diminishing. In an era of climate change, peak oil and rising prices it is necessary to localize food production, and young farmers will play a key role in this transition. That is why it is a breath of fresh air to know there are young people who have taken a risk and begun to farm.

A group of five people, average age 30, have started a project called Farm for a Year. Chris and Julie Moerman, Matt and Chantalle Moerman, and Chantalle’s sister Jocelyn Durston are working hard to convert 2½ acres in Maple Ridge to the status of an active farm. These young people join many other landowners in Maple Ridge who are converting their acreages into productive farms.

This picturesque property is being operated on the principles of permaculture for healthy, pesticide-free produce. On their farm you will find a chicken tractor,
a mobile chicken pen that allows the chickens to fertilize different beds. The farmers have a special interest in heritage and endangered chickens, such as the Russian Orloff and Chinese Silkie.

Because of its name, Farm for a Year may sound like a fleeting attempt at a hobby farm, but Chris assured me their family is invested in the property for years to come. Judging by their long-term projects — including planting fruit trees, evacuating a pond for fish and focusing on specialty crops such as garlic and mushrooms — they will be getting their hands dirty for a while.

One can only imagine the active rural childhoods that baby cousins Kai and Canaan will be fortunate enough to have. Don’t hesitate to check out their colourful website at www.farmforayear.com.

Michael, thank you so much for your ongoing efforts in the conservation of the environment and agriculture! Your work is so important and we are grateful that you are representing  and supporting groups like ours that are trying to make a positive impact on the enivronment and our community.