The Bowen Island Community School (BICS) Edible Garden is a hive of activity with the start of the Grow to the Market Program (year two) and the new Farm to School Program! Daphne Fargher is helping to run the Grow to the Market program again, and Rina Freed and Pam Matthews are part of the team helping helping to facilitate classroom and garden activities and the Farm to School program. Plans are in the works for every class to visit a local farm or garden in May, our community partners are busy getting ready, and school and classroom garden activities are now weekly! Contact Sarah Haxby, Community School Coordinator if you would like to get involved!

Excerpt from the BICS Garden Diary:
April 2, Twenty-one K-grade 1 students plant Snap, Cascadia and Sugar Ann peas. It was warm the week before, but it was lightly smattering very cold rain. Students’ enthusiasm not dampened.
Two beds were prepared by transplanting surviving winter kale, mache, swiss chard and volunteer forget-me-nots into pots. Much weeding occurred. New organic vegetable compost added to the beds.
Every student planted at least 10 peas. Each had their own row to dig, plant, add compost and bone meal. Students marked rows with their names, and the type of peas planted.
Over 200 peas planted. Goal: to provide peas for the class to eat, as well as to provide peas to the Friday lunch program to add as raw veggie snacks.
Next jobs for the class: building the frames for the peas to grow up out of a recycled volley ball net and wood.

Wed. April 4, Grade 5/6 students had the opportunity to work in the garden. Activities: dig out half of bed 4,top up bed 5, empty remainder of the big green composter into bottom of bed 4. Add 2 leaf mulch bags and pumpkin bag-compost experiment from Halloween carving. Cover with bedding soil. (Bed 5 was bottom-composted in 2011, Bed 4 in 2012.) Sensory report: compost often looks worse than it smells. Curriculum connection: Romans may have been the first to systematically compost!
Study/look closely at: baby burdock plants –leaves and roots and the speed of the worms in the leaf mulch. Tasting: cabbage sprouts
Weeding of bed 1 and 3 partially completed. Transplant/potting-up rescue volunteer forget me nots , & raspberry runners for Grow to the Market Sale as well as transplanting sunflower seedlings. Some students took forget-me-nots home with them.

Next jobs: get ready for the first time students have participated in the Garden Club’s Annual plant sale on May 12. BICS Grow to the Market students will have a table selling seedlings and subdivided garden starter-sized plants at the sale! —Sarah Haxby, Bowen Island Community School Coordinator

GENERAL PURPOSE VEGGIE RECIPEE
(STEVE SOLOMON’S NOT SO SECRET RECIPE)

4 PARTS SEED MEAL (ALFALFA)
1 PART DOLOMITE LIME
1 PART BONE MEAL OR ROCK PHOSPHATE
½ TO 1 PART KELP MEAL (I USED ¾ PARTS)

IT IS SUGGESTED TO USE IF AVAILABLE 1/3 PART DOLOMITE LIME, 1/3 PART AGRICULTURE LIME, 1/3 PART GYPSUM)

THIS IS GENERAL-PURPOSE SPRING AMENDMENT. REDUCE SEED MEAL TO 2 PARTS FOR MID-SUMMER USE.

A GOOD GUIDE IS THE WEST COAST SEED CATALOGUE.
I PUT 1/2C-3/4C UNDER BIG FEEDERS SUCH AS SQUASH AND TOMATOES. FURROW UNDER ROWS, MIX WELL OR BROADCAST 2-3 LITRES PER 100 SQ FT.

BE SURE NOT TO USE THIS ON PLANTS THAT LIKE ACID SOIL, SUCH AS POTATOES, RASPBERRIES, BLUE BERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES.

I USE THIS AN AMENDMENT ONLY; IT IS IMPORTANT TO BUILD YOUR SOIL . ADDING ORGANIC MANURES AND GREEN MANURES IS ESSENTIAL.

We wanted to update everyone about the status for this upcoming growing season on Bowen.

While we felt the 2011 BowFEAST in a Box harvest box pilot program was a success, the model still needs a bit of tweaking to work for all involved. It’s expensive to insure and pretty time consuming; we would also need to be able to accommodate a big customer base in order to support the program. We do feel a CSA/harvest box program can work on Bowen, but we are re-visiting the model to see how best to make it a feasible and profitable one for the growers.

Unfortunately, BAA will not be able to manage a harvest box program this year, though we are discussing an offering for next year with Kim Howden/The Ruddy Garden.

That said, there are several buy-local options available to you this year:
*The Ruddy Potato Garden – “The Ruddy Garden staff will be working hard again this year to grow as much local food as we can. Our fresh produce will be available to local buyers through farm sales at the Ruddy Garden & Cafe (at 511 Sunset Rd.), and in abundance each week at The Ruddy Potato Store in the ‘Buy Local’ section.” Any questions or requests, please contact Kim Howden, the Ruddy Garden Manager: kimberbee@shaw.ca.

A Note to all Box Program Participants from the Ruddy Garden:
We want to thank each of you for participating in the pilot BowFEAST-in-a-Box Program last season. All of us at the garden truly enjoyed filling your bellies each week with our “grown with love” veggies! We really value the way that this type of program can connect the grower and buyer, strengthening the awareness and relationship with where our food comes from. We will miss the Box Program this year, and hope that in the near future (possibly the 2013 growing season) we can grow enough to be involved once again. —Kim Howden, Leah Serna, Karen Shea (Ruddy Garden Staff)

*Marg McConnell/Drew Burgess, Bowen Brook Farm – Marg offers a bountiful weekly harvest box filled with produce (eggs and preserves are an optional add-in) beginning in May/June through to Sept./Oct. How it works is that you call Marg each week at x0189 if you would like a box and place your order. She sets the box out in her pick-up shed on Sunset Road, you pick it up at your convenience and leave payment for $25 in the shed.

*Clemencia Braraten, Primrose Farm – Clemencia is very helpful when it comes to purchasing bulk produce. She will often have several large sacks of purple potatoes or crates of Asian pears and plums. When in season, she has giant, plump raspberries (you-pick), corn, beans, pumpkins, squash, lettuces, garlic, carrots, beets, plums, etc, generally beginning in June/July. The best way to purchase is to call Clemencia at x0209 and ask her to prepare your desired amount and have it ready for pick-up at her place on Harding Road. Best to bring cash. She also sells chickens and turkeys.

*BowFEAST monthly farmers’ markets – BAA will be hosting monthly community farmers’ markets this season, featuring Bowen produce.
Here’s the schedule for the 2012 BowFEAST farmers’ markets:
June 16 at BICS
July 21 at BICS
***Aug. 18, BowFEAST local eating celebration, on the library lawn
Sept. 15 at BICS
Oct. 7 with Applefest in Davies Orchard
Oct. 20 at BICS

*Miller’s Landing co-op – This buying co-op is run by member volunteers. While its focus is on organic versus local, the co-op does get its eggs from Bowen’s Vivian Pearce of Shady Acres Farm and works with other local and regional producers.

Thanks so much for your continued support!
Best regards,
Elle Glave
BowFEAST manager

A quick synopsis on the “why” of the flower bloom campaign:

• Along with other threats (i.e. parasitic mites, viruses, extended periods of cold and wet weather, bird and mammal predators), insect pollinators on Bowen can suffer from poor availability of  bee-friendly pollen and nectar sources over parts of the spring and summer seasons.
• Without a more sizable agriculture base and with limits on gardening imposed by the abundant deer population, the major “nectar flow” on Bowen comes from blackberry blossom and other free-growing plants (sometimes described as weeds or invasive species).
• Outside of those major bloom periods (or when those bloom periods are impacted by poor weather), bees may be hard-pressed to find adequate nectar and pollen to sustain and build strong populations that are resistant to pests and diseases.
• Growing bee-friendly plants (and letting those plants flower) helps to extend the foraging season, increases biodiversity, and provides better insurance against poor yield of any single flower (e.g. blackberries).
• Helping to enrich and extend the flower blossom season in turn helps gardeners, orchard owners and food producers to ensure their plants are pollinated.

About the flower bloom kit:

Look for seed packages at upcoming BAA events (the BAA AGM on April 28 for instance), and in various Bowen retail outlets to be announced.

Each 3+ gram package will cover a planting area of about 40 square feet. Per the info page from West Coast Seeds, plant these seeds now through the end of May. Choose an area where other plants grow (good soil, drainage, sunlight, etc) and remove as much existing vegetation that would compete with the bee flower seeds.

The bee garden blend from West Coast Seeds contains Blue Mink, False Queen Anne’s Lace, Lacy Mix, Godetia Pinks, Dwarf Bouquet, Marine Heliotrope, Dwarf Blend, Statice, Phacelia, and Crimson Clover (or if you prefer, Ageratum sp., Ammi majus, Didiscus sp., Clarkia sp., Helichrysum, Heliotropium arborescens, Iberis sp., Limonium sinuatum, Phacelia tanacetifolia, and Trifolium incarnatum).

Read more about Bees on Bowen group initiative.

Want to keep this initiative going? Consider making a donation to the Bowen Bee Offensive Flower Bloom Fund:

Unfortunately this course was cancelled because we were unable to get the minimum number of people to hold the course. If you’re interested in future offerings, please send a note to info@bowenagalliance.ca.

There are many ways to enrich your soil. The most common are compost, and fertilizer. BAA is presenting an event examining some of the details of compost and other nutrient mixtures. There is also a high quality soil conditioner from Transform Compost (transformcompost.com) for sale by the yard, to be distributed at the event. Get detailed information on soil and pre-order online here.

Bowen Island has a great variety of nutrient rich amendments that are available locally if you ask around, and we are not trying to replace those. In fact we are trying to create greater awareness of our organic waste stream, and how we can harness the benefits of what is currently getting trucked off the island.

Soil scientist Dr. John Paul Ph.D. P.Ag. has been involved in compost research since 1985. He is also the co-author of the Compost Facility Operators Manual. John will speak about the importance of recycling organic matter, and how we might handle it if we keep it on the island.

In January 2013 no organics will be permitted in the garbage on Bowen. Whether you expect to compost at home or pass along your organics for municipal handling, it is useful to keep in mind the nutrient potential of the resource.

Fertilizer is a broad term that can apply to any combination of mined or synthesized minerals and nutrients that are intended to enrich soil for greater productivity. Cathy Buchanan has experience with sourcing the best (non-synthetic) ingredients and will demonstrate how to mix them to the correct proportion for the time of year.

The Ruddy Potato Garden and Kitchen continue to support the agricultural community by hosting this event. They have kindly offered the use of their space and have arranged for the restaurant to be open.

BAA is a registered non-profit society supporting small-scale agriculture, promoting local eating and advancing food security on Bowen. BAA members receive discounts at BAA workshops and at area nurseries and garden centres. For info, see www.bowenagalliance.ca.

Also at the meeting, BAA will elect a new board of directors. Nominated are: Kim Howden, Cathy Buchanan, Michelle Pentz (Elle) Glave, Karen Wristen, Stuart Cole, Leah Walker and Brett Dowler.

Upcoming BAA events include:
*April 7: “Creating an Apple Orchard” with Suzan Philippe and John Riley, 9 am to 3 pm at Willowdane Farm, $35, registration required; plus a 7 to 9 pm slideshow with Salt Spring apple expert Harry Burton at Collins Hall, BAA members free, others $5. Contact Suzan Philippe: suzan@hygienicae.com, x9708.

*April 14: BAA soil amendment workshop, focusing on how to create superior-quality soil in which to grow tasty veggies and fruit, including palet-compost building, at The Ruddy Garden, 10 am to noon. Contact Brett Dowler: bdowler@telus.net.

*April 28: BAA AGM, 1 to 3 pm, Collins Hall. All are welcome. Contact: Kim Howden, kimberbee@shaw.ca.

* BowFEAST – BAA monthly community farmers’ markets: June 16 at BICS; July 21 at BICS; ***Aug. 18, BowFEAST local eating celebration, on the library lawn; Sept. 15 at BICS; Oct. 7 with Applefest in Davies Orchard; Oct. 20 at BICS. Contact Elle Glave: elle.glave@bowenagalliance.ca.

For more information …
Harry Burton and his wife, Debbie, are owners and co-creators of the 5 acre, Apple Luscious Organic Orchard on Salt Spring Island, BC. Their orchard was created from scratch on land logged in 1980, with the first apple trees planted in 1986. It consists of about 300 trees (150 connoisseur apple varieties) of mostly apples, but also plums, pears, cherries and Asian pears. Their emphasis has been on the best tasting connoisseur apple varieties in the world, both heritage and new, plus red-fleshed apple varieties. Harry is an Appleholic, Chemical Engineer, Environmentalist, Creative Thinking Facilitator, Artist and, past professor of Environmental Protection at Canadore College. Find out more about Harry and Apple Luscious Orchard at: www.appleluscious.com.

John Riley and his wife Josephine, have been planting fruit trees on Bowen Island since 1983. Their heritage orchard on the west-side of the island, includes apples, pears, figs, quince and almonds. Most of the apple trees have been trained using the oblique “cordon” method. The single stems are planted 26″ apart and trained at 45° to slow their growth. This allows for more trees in much less space than conventional plantings. John brings his rich background of experience to this workshop, and a shared passion for heritage apples!

Willowdane Farm was established in 2005, and is a small family hobby farm located on the sunny west-side of Bowen Island. Willowdane is currently expanding their fruit trees to include a cordon method apple orchard, with approximately 30 different varieties of trees. This orchard will include some red flesh apple varieties from Harry Burton’s Apple Luscious Organic Orchard on Salt Spring Island. Last season, Willowdane installed a 4 season hot house which will house 13 different varieties of heritage tomatoes, with the intention of a small scale sun dried tomato business to come.

This workshop is hosted in partnership with Willowdane Farm and the Bowen Agricultural Alliance (BAA).