Sunday, September 16, 2018

Food Security and Becoming a Locavore


The annual Fall Fair celebrates food security.
Food security is more in the news these days, especially in small remote towns like ours. Locavore is a popular word to describe participating in the local food movement.

The Powell River Food Security Project works to ensure that everyone, especially vulnerable people, have access to the foods they need to stay healthy and thrive. To help get the word out about home gardening, they host the annual Edible Garden Tour.

Garden Club members share information at the Fall Fair.
The Powell River Garden Club supports home gardening with monthly meetings to share ideas and listen to guest speakers.

The Powell River Farmer's Market provides local farmers with the means to get products to local consumers. At the end of the growing season they highlight local efforts at their annual Fall Fair. In addition to Saturday and Sunday seasonal markets, there are others in the region, some during winter.

It's difficult for me to get the the farmer's markets. My solution to food security is a kitchen garden at my floating cabin home. Some items produce year round, but my main harvest starts in June and lasts through October.

My floating garden with four raised beds and a solar watering system.

My garden floats on the lake. It has four raised beds that I use for crops like beets, carrots, kale, chard, broccoli, onions, garlic, lettuce, spinach and herbs. It's amazing how much you can produce in 160 square feet.

Container gardening in blue barrels.
To increase my growing space I use containers on the decks. 55-gallon plastic barrels cut in half make great growing spaces for plants like blueberries, red currants, rhubarb, tomatoes and potatoes. Smaller containers work well for peppers, eggplant, zucchini, winter squash, beans, peas and more herbs.

August and September have been a time of plenty. We eat most of our produce fresh, thus reducing our dependency on grocery store items.

To preserve some for winter I've canned jam, pickles and relishes. I've hung onions and garlic, dried herbs, stored potatoes and saved seeds. Beets, carrots, broccoli and kale will stay in the garden for winter harvesting. Later I will pressure can the last of my potatoes and carrots.

Fresh carrots and potatoes.
Each year I have one plant that's the best. This year it's my Scarlet Nantes carrots.

I usually get small ones since my float garden has shallow beds. But this year they are huge! The larger ones must be reaching all the way down to the bottom of the bed where it meets the lake water. Maybe that's why they are so large, they have a steady supply of moisture when days are hot.

Does your town have a food security project? How have you become involved? Do you have a kitchen garden?  I'd love to hear about your experiences. -- Margy

12 comments :

  1. ...I'm always amazed that fruits and vegetables are shipped from all over the world. There isn't a day that you can't buy strawberries!

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    1. That is so true. It must move fast to keep from spoiling along the way. - Margy

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  2. We have a kitchen garden in Finland where we grow potatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, rucola...and some fruits like strawberries, plums, apples. It is a joy to have it!!

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    1. Minus the fruit trees mine is about the same. - Margy

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  3. We live in a rural area where farms, orchards, and ranches exist, fewer than when I was a kid, but they are still here. In the last two decades, increasingly more smaller organic farms and grass fed and roaming free livestock. Fortunately, we have access to an organic farmstand throughout the year. Next year I might try growing some Asian vegetables since there isn't a good source for that nearby.

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    1. We have a nice area called Paradise Valley where there are small farms that supply our farmer's market. Even if they aren't organic, they are home grown items. - Margy

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  4. I have to admit that the term 'food security' is a new one for me, but we certainly make the most of our local farmer's markets - can't beat fresh fruits and vegetables. It would be hopeless to try and grow vegetables on our property with the number of deer we have, but maybe I should put a platform out on our lake and grow food as you do!

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    1. There are some shade tolerant plants you might try to see if they work for you. On the other hand, a floating garden works very well to keep critters away. - Margy

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  5. Congrats on your featured article in the Simple Homestead Hop! Food security is on my mind more than usual now that I'm reading news of a possible recession coming up. :( I hope they are wrong.

    I was able to grow a large garden this year and, despite the rabbits, deer, woodchucks, and chipmunks...we had plenty of food from it!

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts and good job on the food security project. :)

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    1. Thanks for letting me know Lisa. It's an honour to be featured on the Simple Homestead Blog Hop this week. - Margy

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  6. Your floating garden is so interesting! I think it's great that your town is supporting being a locavore, I wish my local farmers market would be better at that. I'm not quite sure how it works but when I ask where the food comes from, most of the time it's still really far away. I do love that I can get local honey though, it's been a miracle worker for my allergies! :)

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    1. Honey is a wonderful aid for many things. Our chain stores also stock some local fresh and preserved items. There are also farmer's gate items available along the roads including local meats, eggs and produce. - Margy

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Thanks for stopping by. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome. - Margy