The Grand Boulevard Ridgeway Residents Association held their 5th annual Urban Agriculture Workshop on May 20, 2017, at Loutet Farm, with funding from the Vancouver Foundation’s Neighbourhood Small Grant and with the help of Farmer Christine from the Edible Garden Project. We introduced participants to a few aspects of growing vegetables; in their back yard, in a raised garden, or in their kitchen, sprouting alfalfa seeds or wheat grass. There was a talk on Mason bees – learning about pollinator bees, bee boxes and the flowers that attract bees. Our ‘Chicken Lady’, Stephanie, from C.L.U.C.K., brought two of her delightful ladies, and explained what was involved in raising backyard chickens. We were allowed to hold and pet these beautiful birds (be sure to hold their wings and feet!). Carole Stewart, one of our Executive Directors, gave a demonstration on canning, and one of our lucky attendees received a canning kit. We all ate a healthy lunch of cheese, meat, vegetable salad and quinoa salad, made of ingredients purchased from Loutet Farm and Sprout Organic Market. Fiona, our Chairperson, donated bottles of homemade kombucha (fermented tea) and some milk kefir (like yogurt). She explained how to make these, and offered a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) and milk kefir grains (= starters) to those who wished to make their own. After lunch we had a tour of the farm, learned about their future plans and lent a hand turning over a pile of composting grass-cuttings. We all left with a tomato plant as a memento of our time “down at the farm”.
Photo credit: Fiona Walsh
