radio interview with Jon Steiman

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Jon Steinman... LIVE IN PERSON!

On Sunday September 27th the Landless Gardeners, in cahoots with the Conservation Council & Renaissance College, hosted Jon Steinman of Deconstructing Dinner (www.deconstructingdinner.org)for a presentation here in Fredericton. The event was a great success as about 40 folks took in Jon's presentation and participated in an animated and thought- (and hopefully action-)provoking discussion afterward.



Jon's presentation was centered around the deconstruction of a "typical Canadian meal" where we learned that essentially--as he put it-- we have very little choice at all about what we consume. Every part of this "typical" meal he traced back to one giant company... even down to the smallest ingredients like the salt in the steak and the corn syrup in the soft drink. It was a strak picture he painted as he continued to talk about only a handful of these companies that are controlling the food market.

Luckily, Jon saved time to tell us about some organizations and movements that are being carried out in his home town of Nelson, British Columbia. He spoke of the food being produced in people's backyards (ringing any bells?) and that is being harvested for sale at the market. He talked about the new grain CSA that sees hundreds of pounds of grain being sailed across the Lake to shareholders. Then there is the Co-Op store that sources everything locally first, where people can bring in their own cartons for refills on eggs, and where locals cart over their homemade soups and breads for sale. There's a local cheese-maker who takes part in the process all the way from the udder to packaging.

There is hope... and it sounds delicious!



After the presentation about a dozen people came together with Jon for a fantastic potluck featuring dishes like delicious organic chicken, curry, sour-cream cranberry pie, fresh salads, organic beef stew, roasted veggies from Mike's garden, and the most local of all meals was from the Landless Gardeners' very own gardens (within 50 feet or so... a yummy leak and potato soup!

To finish up, our very own Kerri interviewed Jon for CHSR so stay tuned for that which should be airing sometime this week!

Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy the afternoon and to all who helped put it together!

You are invited to attend a FREE presentation by Deconstructing Dinner host Jon Steinman as he delves into the issue of resilient food secure communities! Sunday September 27th at Renaissance College--> 3pm



About the Presentation:

In recent decades, Canadian communities have become considerably dependent on a concoction of unreliable and unsustainable ingredients beyond the control of individual communities themselves.

With over a decade of experience involved in the food system, Jon Steinman shares perspectives on food via his weekly radio show Deconstructing Dinner. The show encourages Canadians to rethink how we produce, access and consume food. By taking
apart the building blocks of our globalized food system, Jon believes Canadians can
discover a wealth of opportunities to create more resilient and sustainable communities.

Jon will introduce his talk by deconstructing a standard North American meal, only to
reveal shocking insights into the state of our food system. Using a dynamic audio-visual presentation, Jon will share a handful of inspiring examples of how the Kootenay region of British Columbia is quickly redefining how it accesses food. Through independent cooperative grocery stores, community/retail supported agriculture projects and innovative and passionate farmers, a movement of food lovers is enhancing local economies, increasing food security for the region, strengthening community well-being, and providing residents with a strong sense of place and purpose.

About Jon Steinman:

After growing up in Toronto, Jon attended the University of Guelph where he graduated from the Bachelor of Commerce program in Hotel and Food Administration. While there, Jon developed an immense appreciation for food. The University did also introduce Jon to agriculture,but regrettably this link was not made as an integral
part of his program of study and instead was a result of the University being home to Canada’s largest agricultural school. In other words, Canada’s future food service and restaurant managers were not learning about where all that food originated. Jon developed a concern about this unhealthy detachment between eaters and farmers across the country, and indeed this disconnect is still present today.

Jon became enthusiastic about pursuing positions in restaurants that were fostering a greater connection to their suppliers than is otherwise found within any standard foodservice establishment. This commitment took Jon to the Niagara region of Ontario and the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Chefs there were developing working
examples of how businesses and eaters could play a significant role in ensuring that viable local/regional food systems could remain healthy and prosper.

His work in the Niagara region also led him to spend one year in France, where the clash between traditional food systems and industrial food systems was glaring.

Upon returning from France, Jon developed a passion for communicating his servations about the food system. After maintaining a weekly column that was published in southern Ontario newspapers, Jon launched the weekly radio show Deconstructing Dinner in January 2006, and based the show in Nelson, British Columbia at Kootenay Co-operative Radio, CJLY. Today, the show airs weekly on 35 Canadian radio stations and reaches a global audience through international radio stations, the Internet, and a weekly column accessible in periodicals and on web sites.

Deconstructing Dinner takes listeners behind the scenes to examine where our food comes from. The show has been effective in addressing the risks and threats of an industrial food system in the face of vulnerable resources,environmental concerns, mounting negative impacts of our food on human health, and the rural and farm income crisis.

Deconstructing Dinner is unique. Unlike most other media, the show not only
points out weaknesses in the food system, but also recommends concrete
alternatives.

For more information on Deconstructing Dinner visit
http://kootenaycoopradio.com/deconstructingdinner/

West Platt street party

Just a few weekends ago, the Landless Gardeners joined neighbours from the West Platt neighbourhood in hosting a street party. The event was intended to foster community and reclaim the streets for people, as opposed to cars. The party was well-attended and drew families and students onto the street where people took part in a drumming circle, games, and neighbourhood BBQ.

Members of The Landless Gardeners brought fresh-picked (and washed) veggies to the street party, contributing some food for the BBQ, which made a lovely salad and great veggies skewers. The remaining food was provided to anyone in the community who wanted to sample a taste of our gardens.

While at the street party, we had a chance to tour the garden of one West Platt resident who had constructed a miniature greenhouse out of four old window panes, hinged together, with a piece of plexi-glass acting as a cover for the top. The man explained that his self-constructed greenhouse allowed him to start some transplants in the spring, and to extend the outdoor growing season of herbs by leaving them in the greenhouse. Great use of old windows!

The Landless Gardeners are nearing the end of their growing season, but there's some canning and preserving left to do before colder weather sets in. Stay posted for more information on dates and times for those events.

--The Landless Gardeners

Son of a blight!

We've got it... blight.

Rummaging through the gardens on Saturday morning we noticed a row of potatoes had become completely wilted and blackened and figued we'd been struck by every potato farmer's worst fear. Resident garden expert, Mike, confirmed that we were looking at blight and we began pulling out the plants and shoving them in garbage bags to clear the garden of further contamination (apparently blight can be even more devastating to tomatoes... and we'd have a lot to lose if it spread to our fruitful plants). Luckily, at this stage the potatoes are still fine to harvest and eat so we set about digging up our yummie tubers... just be sure to get them before the plant turns to mush and travels to the potato itself!

Here's what blight looks:

Here's what wikipedia had to say about blight:

The spores of this water mold overwinter on infected tubers, particularly those that are left in the ground after the previous year's harvest, in cull piles, soil or infected volunteer plants and are spread rapidly in warm and wet conditions. This can have devastating effects by destroying entire crops.

Spores develop on the leaves, spreading through the crop when temperatures are above 10 °C (50 °F) and humidity is over 75% for 2 days or more. Rain can wash spores into the soil where they infect young tubers, or else spores can be blown in from miles away by the wind.

So we probably have all that rain we were getting in July and the extreme heat & humidity now showing itself here in the city. Luckily we were still able to harvest our potatoes... and lets hope this doesnt spread to the other plots!

--The Landless Gardeners

The Fruits of our Labour

The Landless Gardeners are in the gardens with fervour! Our tasks mostly consist of a little bit of weeding and harvesting! Veggies are popping up everywhere these days. We are enjoying new potatoes, huge beats, lettuce & kale, peas, & beans. The carrots are still growing... trying to plump up to a decent size. Our onions are beginning to peep out from the ground and our tomatoes tend to ripen one at a time amongst the huge clusters of green fruit!

Harvesting some of the potatoes on Tuesday (once the flowers have bloomed and died, you can harvest potatoes. At this stage they will be small and thin-skinned. Potatoes can be left in the ground to grow further and get their thick-skins)we decided to try out using "crop residue" (the organic material that builds soil) to help nourish our soil. Crop residue can also help prevent erosion. So instead of composting the leafy green part of the potato, we spread it out over the top of the now empty rows to decompose and makes its way back into our soil that has been working so hard to produce those delicious potatoes.

We also took time Tuesday to talk about future plans and upcoming events that the Landless Gardeners are looking to be a part of. So look for us in the coming weeks and months (more details coming)as we share food and spread our name at a Fredericton block party, the Concervation Council's 100 Mile Dinner, and collaborating with some other Fredericton groups to host a presentation by Jon Steinman of Deconstructing Dinner (www.deconstructingdinner.ca)here in Fredericton for the public. We'll keep you posted!

Until next time, keep diggin'

--The Landless Gardeners

Our very first TUESDAY TALK!

About a dozen folks showed up last night for a tour of two of our gardens with Mike Carr--gardening extraordinaire! We followed Mike through the rows as he exaplined what was happening in the gardens and answered our questions about everything from planting to harvesting to pests.

So... here's what we learned:

Keeping Foods: Beats can be harvested and stored in a cool dry place to last over the colder months for local easting out-of-season! Onions need to be hung to dry or laid-out in a sunny, dry spot for a few days.

Replanting: Certain crops such as carrots, spinach, radish, lettuce, peas, bok choy, kohlrabi, kale should be planted throughout the summer as they are quick growers. Ideally, every two weeks you should be doing some planting in your garden throughout the summer. Whenever you notice that seeds are not taking (after a few days) you should plant more seeds. If there are spaces, fill 'em up! We still have a few days to do some replanting and ended the evening last night with some spinach planting.

Harvesting: Onions should be harvested once the greens turn yellow and start to wither. Potatoes can begin to be harvested once the blossoms are finished--your first potatoes will be small and thin-skinned. Continue harvesting as the summer goes on and into the fall.

Corn Pollination: Corn should be grown in large blocks for pollination purposes. Pollination occurs via wind thus it is important to clump large amounts of corn together.

Pests: Potato beetles. They lay small orange eggs in the leaves of the potatoes and need to be squashed when found. Take a look through your potatoes and get rid of them as soon as possible. The cucumber beetle has yellow and black sripes and can be delt with by covering your plants with a plaster cover. The cucumber loves the heat anyway and will not be bothered by that pesky insect!

Late-Season-Planting: Broccoli, cauliflower and kale can all be planted later in the summer

Seed Saving: Peppers & tomatoes are easy seed savers. Try smearing tomato pulp onto a paper towel and leaving it to dry for really quick seed saving.

Pruning: Tomatoes need to be pruned for "suckers" (tiny buds that form in the "arm pits" of your tomato plant). This way the plant won't get out of control (like ours have!)

Check out the Gardens!

Here are two of our gardens plotted out:

SPIN farming in Saskatoon

I just found an interesting, short documentary about a visit by a CBC producer (Sean Prpick) to Saskatoon to meet the father of SPIN-Farming, Wally Satzewich. SPIN stands for Small, Plot, INtensive farming. Wally’s idea to densely plant crops in available urban spaces, like backyards and abandoned lots, has caught on all over the world. Wally’s crops are spread out over 25 half-a-dozen residential backyard garden plots that he rents from homeowners, plus land he owns himself.

This approach definitely has some parallels to the Landless Gardeners and I'm sure we could all learn a thing or two! Below is the link to the page and the mp3. Check it out:


http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2009/05/sneak-peek-spin-farming-in-saskatoon/

Still plotting...

Last Saturday saw an enthusiastic crew descend on our two newest plots to till the soil and add copious amounts of manure. The work was made easier by the use of Mr. Langille's tiller, as the machine ate through sod to leave us with healthy (and hopefully fertile) soil.

Now that the beds are formed, there's just one more important thing to do... plant something! The next step is to plant seeds and transplants at three of the four gardens on Saturday June 13 at 9:30am , starting at the garden on the corner of Church and George.

In light of this project being a learning experience for many of us first-time gardeners, it's only appropriate to share some of the lessons learned.
Among the lessons learned:
1) The benefits of gardening do not extend to immunity from sunburn. Wear sunscreen.
2) It's okay to be knee-deep in sh!t, so long as you're gardening. (Your vegetables will thank you for it.)
4) Roto-tillers save many hours of (wo)manual labour. Try to make friends with people who own roto-tillers.
3) A long day is best finished drinking a cold beer with friends.

As for next Saturday, we'd love to see you out! Even if you've never joined the Landless Gardeners before, you're welcome to meet us at the corner of Church and George to dig in and get planting. We've got the equipment, just bring yourself.

Plot One: Up and Running!

Greetings from the garden!

The Landless Gardeners have found land! We spent our first Saturday on the Church Street plot with shovels and pitch forks turning over sod to prepare the ground for a summer of growing food.



As the old saying goes, many hands make for light work, and that certainly has been the case over the last couple of weeks. Gardeners have been showing up in droves to get their hands dirty and now we've got something to show for all of that digging. The plot is now planted with a variety of veggies--cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, carrots, onions... (check out our garden map).

We had a lot of fun experimenting in the garden and getting some helpful hints from a veggie guru. We learned a few things:

- Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (and other veggies, we're sure) need to be started early indoors.
- It is too late to start indoor plants now for our climate in New Brunswick so we're going to have to plan our other plots accordingly by planting veggies that can just be started in the ground.
- Transplants (we did aquire some tomatoe, eggplant, and pepper plants) need to be heavily watered after being planted in the ground
- ... and Alpaca poo is a great fertilizer to pump up the soil!



After our day in the dirt on Saturday, a few of the Landless Gardeners headed over to Renaissance College to take part in a "round table" discussion on food security in Canada. Alex Atamanenko, agriculture critic for the NDP, has been travelling the country talking with communities and getting input on what food and agriculture issues are on the minds of Canadians. There was discussion on GMO foods, the biofuel industry, international trade, food labelling, conventional and organic farming. Afterwards, Mr. Atamanenko took time to visit our plot and hear about what the Landless Gardeners are doing in Fredericton.

Overall, it was a great weekend for food growers!


We would like to invite anyone interested to our next meeting: Tuesday May 25, 7:00 p.m. on the lawn at Renaissance College (811 Charlotte Street). If its raining, come meet us at the Lunar Rogue. Hope to see you there!

The Landless Gardeners

Fredericton, meet the Landless Gardeners

This post is going to end by talking about building a community of local citizens. A networked group of people to have fun, share their experiences and knowledge about growing food in the city. One of the many purposes is to share efforts and create a welcoming atmosphere where people can learn while doing. The benefits--in terms of exercise, participation, nutritious food, friendships and fun--are all easy to talk about and important points.

But we are going to start by talking about our name.



Names can be important and we wanted ours to be informal, informative and relevant. We wanted to suggest two things when hearing it: That there is a number (we hope large) of people who want to grow food and that there is a shortage of land set aside for the purposes of growing food. With all of the land (lawn) space in the city, our thinking went, perhaps some people in the community would, if they thought the idea to be good, allow a portion of their lawn to be planted with food?

The basic setup we propose is:

1. Allow us a small plot of your front yard
2. At harvest time, you as provider of the land, get 10% of the food grown.

There is absolutely no requirement for the person who donates the land to do any of the gardening work although of course it is not prohibited!

What we provide is:

1. All of the materials and labour.
2. A rain barrel positioned under a down spout to collect water.
3. Beautiful vegetables!

Our hope at the end of the season is to have a block party where we cook the food and invite the neighborhood to celebrate with us a successful grow season. We want to have as much involvement of people as is practical. We are an all ages, all levels of experience group. We have people participating who have tended gardens their whole lives as well as those who are have never grown any type of plant at all! So if you walk by and see us at a plot and have suggestions, advice, or just want to check on what we are doing please feel free to stop and talk!

Of all the things we want to do -- have fun, grow food, learn skills, exercise -- it is the community of people that we hope will form and the friendships made that will last longer than any of the produce we grow.

For anyone curious about our plans or has an idea for us please contact us a landlessgardeners@gmail.com or post a comment on the blog.

Happy growing season,

the Landless Gardeners