Autumn Greetings!

The fresh autumn air welcome all with the generous harvest of the season.   Acorn, Cinderella, Chucky and Delicata chatter excitingly in their harvest crates- wondering who will enjoy them in craft and cooking!

What a wonderful time of abundance and hunkering down!  Come on out to the UBC Farm Pumpkin Patch and bring home a Jack O Lantern, Sugar or Baby Pumpkin – stop by, the gates are open from 9am-5pm Tuesday through Saturdays.  And of course our campus and farm markets are offering fabulous fall produce in many shades and tastes of green, orange, red, yellow,  and blue!

Enjoy a virtual UBC Farm fall walkabout through these pictures, and hope to see you soon.  With warmth and community!

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Happy September!

Summer is still on here at the farm AT LEAST until the Fall Equinox on the 21st!  The cooler air is somewhat refreshing, and plays along with the continued buzzing of the fields and Harvest Hut.  As for many, there is the continued movement with the school year almost upon us as well.  Yipppee!  Fall is great: harvest and abundance, processing and preserving, enjoying every moment of sunshine and clear skies.

Markets are going strong through October and there is still plenty of time to get your hands dirty, your bellies full of fresh produce and frolic with fun-ness.  Our annual FarmAde is a couple short weeks away, hope to see you all there!  Volunteer positions are now up online.

Enjoy a stroll through these images of the past few weeks at the farm!

Raspberries and Currents at the Market

Root Veggie Market Spread

Volunteers among peas and beans!

Garlic Harvest and Braiding!

Harvest Hut backdrop for Field of Flowers

Farm Staff Potato Harvest

Herbs on Market display

Mayan Event

Beautiful farm bouquet for on-site event

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Cucumbers, dill, and fermentation, oh my!

Pickling Cukes!

The Farm is a-buzz with visions of pickles, and the time is now for making them.  Pickling cukes are crawling out of their beds and into the rows, lending their spiny green skins to harvesting hands, revealing cool cucumbery flesh…  but more so they are ready for pickling!

Did you know? Pickles are loaded with Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Potassium, and are a good source of dietary fiber (the skins!).  The combination of hydrating flesh with fibery skins containing silica, K , Magnesium and other minerals make for an awesome, and nutritious snack.

Mmm, Mmm.  Pickles, gherkins, baby dills.  In a sandwich, on a stick, or by the jar full!  These days a majority of pickles are store bought and available in countless vinegar-based varieties.  You may have tried your hand at preserving your own or had a generous friend pass on a home-canned jar.  Ever had a sour or brined pickle?  I remember a kosher deli in the neighbourhood I grew up in, I’d order a bowl of soup, and most of all enjoy the never ending bowl of  brined pickles and beets on the counter – YUM!  Fermented pickles are easy to make and offer the additional benefits of fermented foods – contributing to a healthy digestive system for starters.

This week the farm has two opportunities for you to engage with Pickling Cukes!  Come on over to the Saturday market for pickling cukes, fresh garlic and herbs, in addition to the many other farm fresh offerings.  Extra special this week is a free Fermentation Demonstration at the Saturday market!  Explore further with the popular Food Preservation by Fermentation workshop on the evening of August 17th.  Join Chef Andrea Potter as she guides participants to create cucumber pickles, sauerkraut, and demonstrate kimchi making (check out the previous blog post about  Growing Seasons workshops or http://fermentaugust2011.eventbrite.com/ to register).

To avoid finding yourself in a pickle, come learn how to make your own – see you at the farm!

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First Friday Harvest Day of 2011!

We had our first big Friday harvest today in preparation for our farm gate sale. Ever wonder what it takes to get all that farm-fresh produce ready for market? Check it out!

Pre-harvest team meeting

Inventory board awaiting the day’s numbers

Clean totes all stacked up thanks to a rack built by UBC Civil Engineering students

Harvest knives ready and waiting

The harvest plan

Boots ready for a rainy day

DeLisa, our Practicum Coordinator, works with practicum and UBC student Maritte to harvest mizuna

Scott, our Practicum Field Instructor, provides advice on salad harvesting technique

Rows of mizuna

A busy field of staff and practicum students!

Gemma, our Community Engagement Coordinator, shows practicum students Dan and Shaun how to harvest bunching greens

Scott and Jeff discuss salad green length

Just-picked radishes

Nasturtims bursting with colour

Practicum students Dan & Munisha learn how to wash salad greens

One last handful of arugula into the sheet for drying

Practicum students Heather and Angela wash and bunch radishes

Radish bunches look great!

Harvesting kale from the hoop house

Andrew, our Field Academic Coordinator, explains the growth habits of bunching onions to student interns and volunteers.

Taking a breather for our first Friday group lunch

Lots of egg labels prepared and ready for the cartons

Eggs waiting to be washed

Harvesting herbs from the organiponico beds

Student intern Connor and practicum student Munisha weigh and bunch asparagus

Asparagus!

Tote washing – a necessary job!

Practicum student Doug washes ruby streaks

Nasturtiums – ready to top a salad or dessert

Herbs just harvested for market

Totes of produce ready in the cooler

Yum!

Native honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa)

Gemma and volunteers pot up squash transplants to sell

Jacob, who coordinates our restaurant partnerships, weighs and packs greens destined for Vij’s

Marketing Coordinator Kayla works with Andrea, a UBC student intern, to prepare price signs

Tannis, our Marketing Assistant, packs CSA boxes

First CSA box looking tasty

Market stands ready to go

Andrea, our Perennial Crops Coordinator, and Scott answer questions about the produce

Kayla rings customers through

Busy market, and a busy day!

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Fundamentals of Permaculture Design 2011

Presented by the Conscious Design Collective with support from the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm:

Please join us Aug. 23rd – Sept 11th for a dynamic, internationally recognized certificate course on the principles and practice of Permaculture Design.  We will guide you to finding practical applications of sustainable design in urban and rural contexts through dynamic media presentations, guest lecturers from UBC and the greater community, and applied hands-on sessions. Visit the Eventbrite page for full details and to register.

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BCAFM Conference – Free for students!

The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets Conference & Marketing Caravan is 10 days away!

March 12th and 13th – Friday evening through Saturday (followed by the AGM), Penticton Ramada Inn, Penticton

Speaker Sessions: * Q&A with Honourable Steve Thomson, Minister of Agriculture & Lands * Jolene Brown – Award winning international speaker, marketing expert and farmer. * Annemarie Pedersen – Public & media relations expert, specializing in agriculture.

Door Prize: All registrants for the Conference will be entered to win a day of mentorship – a chance to have a one-day, on-farm consultation with a business consultant. This is a great opportunity to get valuable feedback and ideas. See website for Conference details or call 604-255-4250

University and high school students can register for FREE! To register, call 604-255-4250 or download the registration form and send it to: BC Association of Farmers’ Markets, Suite 308-2260 West 2nd Ave Vancouver, BC V6K 1H9

Sponsored by:

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UBC Farm recognized in Tides Canada’s “Top Ten for 2009″

hoop house, put to rest for winter

Hello Farm Friends!

Fall and Winter have been busy seasons here at the farm, and we are finally settling in for a bit of a rest over the holidays. We thought we would end the year with some good news – the UBC Farm has been named one of Tides Canada’s “Top Ten for 2009!”

From the Tides Canada site:

“Each year, we select ten social change organizations that we feel are making huge inroads in building a more just and sustainable world. These groups work tirelessly on the ground, running smart, strategic campaigns and achieving remarkable results.”

Take a look at the Top Ten list and the UBC Farm’s entry.

Best wishes for the holidays,

Friends of the UBC Farm

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December 1 Practicum Application Deadline

The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm is delighted to offer:

Sowing Seeds for the Future

A hands-on, season-long practicum in sustainable agriculture

We are now accepting applications for our 2010 program!

What? ~ The Sowing Seeds Practicum 2010:

Established in 2008, this part-time (600 hour), eight month practicum offers instruction and daily work experience in small-scale sustainable farming.  In a balanced, hands-on learning approach, students work alongside staff in the greenhouse, gardens, fields, and orchard.  Students attend complementary lectures, demonstrations, and farm visits, and participate in a variety of practical and reflective educational activities. Direct marketing activities are also a key part of the experience. The practicum has been designed as a beginning point for aspiring growers, educators and agricultural professionals.

Students come from all backgrounds and are expected to be passionate about pursuing a career in sustainable agriculture. A certificate of completion will be issued to students who fulfill the practicum requirements. Further, we support our graduates to make connections within the BC agricultural community, and to seek out mentors to learn with following Sowing Seeds. Please note, Sowing Seeds 2010 is a non-credit course and therefore participants are not eligible for student loans. However, in 2010 we are offering a fee discount for UBC students who register, and successfully earn credits, for a directed studies based on their Sowing Seeds Practicum.

Where? ~ The UBC Farm:

Located at the southern end of the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus, on the traditional territory of the Musqueam people, the UBC Farm stewards a 24 ha site as an integrated, working farm system. The UBC Farm is student driven and all practices voluntarily adhere to COABC standards for organic production.  In a given year, we cultivate up to 250 different varieties of annual and perennial crops.

What’s new for 2010?

Following two full seasons, the Sowing Seeds practicum is making several changes to its structure to reflect feedback from our 2008 and 2009 students, our UBC Farm Staff, and our Steering Committee. The information contained on the website and in the Program Overview reflects the current direction of the project .

 

Course Logistics:

Course dates : March 13 – Nov 6, 2010

Course hours : Vary throughout the growing season from 7-21 hours/week. See our Program Overview for details.

Course fee : $3,000

**(UBC Students who register, and successfully earn credits, for a directed studies course based upon their Sowing Seeds Practicum are eligible for a $400 refund)**

Capacity : 10 students

Applications: Application information is available on our website.  Application deadline: December 1, 2009.

For more information, please:

• Visit our Website and download our Program Overview
• View photos from the 2008 practicum
• Watch a short video about the practicum in 2008 (scroll down: “A Unique Urban Agriculture Course at UBC Farm”)

Contact information:

If you can’t find the info you need on our website, please contact Elaine Spearing at: ubcfarm.seeds@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

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You’re invited! “Sowing Seeds for the Future” OPEN HOUSE: Saturday October 31, 2-5pm

On Saturday Oct 31 all prospective applicants to the 2010 Sowing Seeds for the Future Practicum are invited to attend  a drop-in Open House at the UBC Farm between 2-5pm! Come meet this year’s apprentices and farm staff, tour the site and get your questions answered!

Sowing Seeds field trip to Salt Spring, June 2009*

For the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons, the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm has been pleased to offer “Sowing Seeds,” a hands-on, season-long apprenticeship-style course in sustainable agriculture. Our second year of the program began in early March 2009 and completes early November 2009.

Now, after two full seasons, Sowing Seeds 2010 is under revision as we consider feedback from our 2008 and 2009 apprentices, our UBC Farm Staff and our Steering Committee.  We believe this evaluation is a critical step in the creation of an excellent program, and we are excited about the continued evolution of Sowing Seeds.  The 2010 course details (including course schedule, dates, fees and application information) will be available on our website shortly. Updated info will also be available at the Open House on Oct 31.  We hope to see you there!

(* Thanks to Nic for sharing his photos!)

Sowing Seeds 2009

Salad harvest*

Early season transplanting

Market bouquets early Saturday morning

Seed saving class

Never a nicer cabbage (or a friendlier face)

Early season compost and mowing

Visiting Brighte Farm*

Visiting Foxglove Farm*

Sowing Seeds 2008 (with staff)

Raspberries in the rain

Our 2009 Glamour Shot*

Saturday Market

Orchard care

Visiting Salt Spring Seeds*

Personal Plots time

Garlic cleaning

Sowing Seeds field trip to Salt Spring, June 2009*

Veggie sales

Early season bed preparation

Our chicken friends

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“Farm virgin” visits UBC Farm

Hey Farm Friends,

check out this video recently shot at UBC farm by the “Farm Virgin.” It’s called “episode 9″…just in case you’re confused about the lack of a more descriptive title.

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