I’d heard of Lisa via Slow Food Edmonton some time ago, but only recently had the opportunity to meet her. The drive north to her family’s farm via the Shaftesbury river ferry is shockingly gorgeous, and I was subsequently enamoured by their mixed farm, to be honest. I’ve heard many people speak or write about the romantic notion of farms being dead. Not here. Berkshire piglets run about while the milking cow moos to be milked, and laying hens cluck. Dogs lead sheep flocks through pasture, cows come for a pet when moved on their daily rotational grazing routine, and a greenhouse marks the veg CSA that I was there to shoot. It’s that kind of place.
This video’s about what motivated Lisa to come back to the farm post-University to start up a veg CSA, and I couldn’t help but ask her a fair bit about some of the advantages mixed farming provides. I give her props for growing up there, a good 500+km north of where I garden, way up at 56.2 latitude, making them latitudinal neighbours with the Hudson Bay, Denmark, and more northerly than Moscow. Fortunately, what she loses in heat units she gains in daylight hours. Couldn’t resist shooting their rotational grazing setup for beef, more on this in Ep 47.
Full disclosure: this video is one of many I was contracted to produce for Think Local Market, a government funded initiative to provide an online storefront for producers in rural communities.
9 Comments on “Episode 46 – Veggie Patch”
Total props to Lisa for taking up the challenge. It looks like they’ve had a ton of rain, everything looks soggy! Love the row covers. How long has the CSA been up and running?
Very nice. I do so enjoy watching your videos. If you aren’t teaching us how to do something you are inspiring us.
Very inspiring! Almost enough to make me want to weed the garden tonight. Fortunately, it is raining.
Love these videos, Kevin. It’s so neat to see what others are doing. My aunt was named “Farmer of the year” in Dawson City, Yukon last year. She has a huge veggie patch that she sells out of at the local farmer’s markets and it’s amazing to see the pictures of what she accomplishes so far north of us!
Keep up the amazing work you do!
These videos continue to be awesome. I like hearing these stories from people living “close” to us because my biggest gripe about being here is the short summers. So, to see how others are doing things is inspiring.
Love her farm! Is she thinking about doing a milk &/or fibre CSA too?
Love the concept of diversity – so important in a heathy, self sustaining operation (whether a large farm or a backyard). All the elements dance and work together so eloquently to produce good clean food. Respecting the needs and the affect of each animal/crop on the land is key. Done right, it’s like floating downstream, instead of padding against the current. The simplicity is beautiful and so inspiring.
This makes me want to have a small farm! Definitely need to start visiting some local farms to show my son where food comes from and to support local farmers.
Several of these “patience” quotes are actually more accurately related to “perseverance”