Gardening with Raised Beds: Intensive Urban Gardening

This past Wednesday (May 28) we were blessed with wonderful weather and an amazing gardening event hosted by Jack and Ruth. Jack and Ruth shared their successes and challenges with their raised beds in their Steinbach backyard. They talked about many different techniques they've developed to take advantage of the vertical space in order to grow more in a smaller space. For example, pole beans grow up an attractive octagon-topped teepee and cucumber plants grown on a diagonally supported fence gate. Other gardeners shared their gardening wisdom as well, the evening was very informative for beginners and master gardeners alike! Thanks for a great evening!

 

Working with Seeds

It was a packed house for this event!

Thanks for the super informative Seed Saving Workshop led by Caroline Chartrand and Matthew Dueck! They taught us about the importance of saving seeds in order to have genetic diversity and a large gene pool within our seed poplulations. This will help us grow food in a changing climate. More genetic diversity allows for plants with different traits to survive in different conditions, thus increasing our food security. Caroline and Matthew instructed us on how to save different types of seeds including information on isolation distances and how to ensure seeds are true-to-type.  Most importantly these expert seed savers explained how saving seeds is a community event, each gardeners saves some seeds and then shares these seeds with those in the community so that many different seeds can be saved from many different vegetables.

We also had a few gardners show up for the Seed Exchange and quite a few seeds were swapped.

Thank you for a wonderful evening!

Lake Winnipeg: A Lake in Danger

This past Wednesday we all enjoyed a presenation about Lake Winnipeg. Selena instructed us about the Lake Winnipeg Watershed and how different environmental issues threaten it's health. Among many things, we discussed how various types of water run-off contribute the quality of water in the system. We can all play our part by being responsible for the water leaving our own property.  Avoiding the use of toxic chemicals in our drains, using water catchement techniques and having healthy soils that will absorb precipitation all contribute to preventing polluted run-off from reaching our lake.

Thank you Selena for such an informative presenation about Lake Winnipeg!

New Spring Workshops

Seed Saving Workshop And Seed Exchange (see below)

Monday April 28

We are excited to welcome seed savers Caroline Chartrand and Matthew Dueck.

Caroline Chartrand founded the Metis Horticulture & Heritage Society, leading teams of seed savers to hand pollinate vegetables, and a former board member of the Seeds of Diversity of Canada.

Matthew Dueck grew up in Kleefeld and now works as an urban farmer and seed saver at the CMU Farm CSA at the Canadian Mennonite University along with Caroline.

Join us for this exciting event to learn about saving seeds from many different vegetables including Caroline's "squash hand-pollination relay team" system. Caroline and Matthew will instruct us on seed saving, seed isolating and seed storing techniques that will help you:

• Save money from buying seeds yearly
• Select for varieties that thrive in your garden
• Contribute to seed diversity
• Increase your food security

Join us before the workshop to exchange seeds, bought or saved, in preparation for the upcoming growing season.

**Please bring seeds that are no older than two years, in clearly marked paper envelopes with the following information (if possible):

• Where the seeds originated.
• When they were bought.
• What type and variety of seed.

Register by calling 204-326-3919 or email rebecca_hiebert@yahoo.com

When: Monday, April 28th, 2014

• 6:00-6:30pm Seed Exchange
• 6:30-9:00pm Seed Saving Workshop

Where: Jake Epp Library, 255 Elmdale St., Steinbach
Cost: $5 members, $10 non-members

Herbal First Aid Workshop

Monday May 12

We are excited to welcome Kat Funk, a practitioner of herbal home medicine, who grows and wild-harvests many different herbs to create natural healing methods through the use of salves, tinctures, oils and more.

Join us to learn how:

• Herbal medicine can be used to treat coughs, colds, cuts, infections, sprains, and other common ailments.

• To grow and recognize medicinal herbs in your garden.

• How to recognize local weeds that can be used to make herbal first aid treatments.

• To create tinctures, salves, oils and other ways to preserve herbs to be used throughout the year when needed.

Growing and creating your own herbal first aid medicine chest can lead to reduced medicine costs, improve your immune system, make you more self-reliant and provide alternative choices about how you care for yourselves and your families.

Register by calling 204-326-3919 or email rebecca_hiebert@yahoo.com

When: Monday, May 12th, 2014

• 6:30-8:30pm

Where: Jake Epp Library, 255 Elmdale St., Steinbach
Cost: $5 members, $10 non-members

March Movie Night: In Transition 2.0

What is the Transition Movement anyway!?

Join us as we watch a documentary that describes what the Transition Movement is all about. Stick around afterwards for tea, treats and discussion.

"In Transition 2.0 is an inspirational immersion in the Transition movement, gathering stories from around the world of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. You'll hear about communities printing their own money, growing food, localising their economies and setting up community power stations. It's an idea that has gone viral, a social experiment that is about responding to uncertain times with solutions and optimism. In a world of increasing uncertainty, here is a story of hope, ingenuity and the power of growing vegetables in unexpected places."

When: Wednesday March 26th, 6:30pm
Where: Jake Epp Library, 255 Elmdale St., Steinbach
Suggested donation: $2 members, $5 non-members