Tag Archives: Haney Farmers Market

This Time Last Year (Reflections from a new Market Gardener)

Photo: Chris M., Julie, Melanie and Chris K. mark the beginning of February by sorting through seed packs and seed catalogues in preparation for spring planting.

I recently wrote a short piece for the Haney Farmers Market newsletter, so I thought I’d repost it here for everyone to read. Email the market managers to be added to their newsletter mailing list to recieve regular info about upcoming market dates, events, and other local food news.

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This Time Last Year (Reflections from a new Market Gardener)

As we prepare for our second year of market garden sales at the Haney Farmers Market, it’s pretty clear how much we’ve learned in 12 months. This time last year, we were filling out farmers market application forms for the first time, and anticipating with a mix of excitement and nervousness how we would display our labour-of-love produce in our very own market booth. We were jumping into the business with very little experience, but we knew that we wanted to share our garden surplus with others and that we wanted to take the first step towards making a living doing what we love.

Despite feeling totally inexperienced most of the time, our confidence in ourselves and our produce grew each week last year as shoppers-turned-friends returned to our booth regularly to buy our veggies and share with us self-saved seeds, jars of homemade pickled beans, and stories from their own garden beds. Other market vendors welcomed us by sending us home with gifted tubs of salsa, honey, and nuts. Farm vendors invited us into their homes and onto their land to share farming tips and garden-fresh meals with us. We realized that we were being welcomed into a very special community and for that, we were incredibly touched.

And now, as the calendar strikes February, we’re a little more organized and a little more knowledgeable. Seeds are already sprouting, new seeds are being ordered, cold frames are built, and garden beds are slumbering under layers of compost and mulch. Unlike last year, we plan on being market ready before July rolls around, and on growing more than just barely enough to fill a produce stand with.

Entering year two, we can’t wait to see everyone when the market re-opens this spring, but until then, happy February! It won’t be long before the rain stops, the days get even longer, and downtown Maple Ridge becomes, once again, a smorgasbord of local, fresh food.

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5 days till GETI FEST!

I’ve got an exciting event anouncement to make: this coming Saturday, September 22nd, is the second annual GETI Festival! As some of you know, The Farm for Life Project is an active Action Group with GETI, the Golden Ears Transition Initiative. GETI is one of hundreds of Transition Towns around the world, an initiative that sees community members coming together, building relationships and making personal and city-wide changes with the intention of reducing oil dependence while becoming more resilient at a local level.

Last year, GETI hosted the first annual GETI FEST, a celebration of community and local initiatives that included an artisan fair, action group info booths, a parade, live music, dancing and food. This year, it’s happening again – but it’s going to be even bigger! GETI is partnering with the Girl Guides of Canada who are celebrating Year of the Girl and the two groups will be bringing an exciting mix of events, activities and information to Memorial Peace Park this Saturday.

GETI FEST will be taking place in the same park location and at the same time as the Haney Farmers Market so it’s going to be one, big, awesome Saturday in downtown Maple Ridge.

As usual, Farm for Life will have a produce booth in the market, but we’ll also have an info booth with photos, books and personal stories set up in the GETI FEST Action Group tent. Chris M, Julie and Kai will be manning our GETI booth while Chris K and I will be manning our produce booth. Come on by and meet the whole Farm for Life crew as well as the rest of the wonderful people and groups involved in GETI, Girl Guides and the market and find out how you can get involved locally in Maple Ridge!

Here’s a shot of Julie manning our GETI table last year:

We hope to see you there!

Haney Farmers Market at the Brookfield Farm this weekend!

The Haney Farmers Market where we sell our produce every Saturday won’t be in it’s usual location this weekend. Instead, for this Saturday only, the market will be setting up at the Brookfield Farm. Fun!!!

In addition to all the usual market vendors, the 4H kids will be there with displays and their animals, and there will be a hay maze and wagon rides. It will be a great event to bring the whole family too!

Time: 9am – 2pm

Date: TOMORROW – Saturday, August 11th

Location: 20981 – 123 Ave (next to Laityview Elementary School, Maple Ridge)

Come by and say hi! In addition to our juicy, summer zucchinis and pattypans, we’ll have salad greens (with beautiful edible flowers!), broccoli, potatoes, kolrabi, herbs, kale, swiss chard, first-of-the-season beans and cucumbers! We’ll also have potted kale seedlings ready for planting so that you can eat fresh kale all winter long from your own garden.