from Klaus and Shirley

Subject: FW: farmers market in Digby & Open Garden Concept tomhaynespaton
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> Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 18:50:27 -0300
> Subject: farmers market in Digby
> From: klausshirley.langpohl@gmail.com

>
> Hi. The workshop with John brought about some interesting thoughts
> about "research"
> and therefore Klaus and I will do a bit of that on the l6th of May at
> the first Digby
> Farmers Market. We wanted to support this initiative ,which will
> result in a permanent
> farmers market in downtown Digby in the following years. We received
> some interesting information from the department of agriculture about
> the amount of
> money a farmer gets for different produce - pennies per pound. No wonder
> the UK farmers are so excited with the very aggressive movement of "sell
direct"
> to the consumer, with all the government support to make sure it
> works. So we will
> give a mini report after the l6th on what we found If there is any brochure
or
> banner, etc to put behind our table (which will be selling homemade baked
beans,
> brown bread, organic honey with the comb floating in it and pizzelles
> which Klaus
> will be making on the spot) please let us know. My sister live in Middleton
and
> could pick them up for us - she actually is the cook in this endeavour!)
>
> Also Greg Turner who is the science teacher in the Digby
> High School, is the head of the Enviro Team there and very open to the kind
> of thing we wish to do in the schools. Warren Paton is his friend and
> if you wish
> to have us help in any way let us know.
>
> FYI
>
> OPEN GARDEN CONCEPT - more than a u-pick - a viable model for small farms
>
>
> The community garden and cooperative gardens have been some of the ways
> people in communities have tried to supply their own food. Our neighbour,
> M&P Farm, is about to do a new innovative twist on this concept and
> we believe that perhaps this model would be of interest to many small farmers
> in Canada. Richard Bridge , a cooperative lawyer and farmer and a member of
the
> BC Center for Social Enterprise was very interested in this project
> and suggested that
> we take pictures all summer and write an article for the Center in the
> Fall. He
> said "it could be a good model for small farms in Canada".
>
> This small traditional Nova Scotia farm has one acre of land ploughed
> for growing
> veggies, and there is a raspberry garden, high bush blueberries and fruit
trees.
> The non-heated greenhouse will hold melons, red peppers, tomatoes and
> strawberries. The family has made a small stand ,up where the garden is, for
> a scale, baskets and bags for holding the produce you pick. This is
> an organic garden.
> They have made a large map of the garden showing where everything is growing.
> . Each member pays $25.00 for a membership card with their name and
> number on it. You can pick what you wish and when you wish from the gardens.
> There is no minimum purchases required in the season.. You pick the
> volume of whatever you wish from the garden and weigh it and clean it
> yourself. You
> register your purchases in a book in the shed and put your number beside each
> purchase. This gives the farmer the volume yield from the garden which the
> members picked, and also a good record of the income brought in from this
> particular marketing strategy.
>
> There will be a limited number of members this year to insure the
> "learning curve"
> to be smooth. Orientation, Newsletters and Shared recipes and a sense
> of community are also
> a part of this program. They see "education" as part of this program also.
>
> Who has joined this Open Garden System?
>
> Seniors who wish to have more variety and less volume of any one thing and who
> live in apartments or who cannot do the work of keeping an entire garden, yet
> wish to still harvest and eat fresh produce;
>
> Summer Residents who wish to eat local, fresh produce, but are not
> here in time
> to put in a garden or who love the idea of picking their own fresh
> produce when they
> want to but want a very flexible schedule ;
>
> Busy working people who simply do not have the time to tend a garden but
> want to have their family still experience where their food comes from
> and eat healthy.
> It becomes a learning experience for the children also.
>
> M&P Farm will still have their roadside stand where they sell the
> produce which they
> harvest and also sell handmade local soaps and other things from their
> neighbours.
>
> The farm is doing experiential tours this summer - showing how to milk their
> Jersey cow and explain the lives of their sheep and where the blue
> eggs they sell come from. She is a "chef" and her future plans are to
> also sell baked goods.
>
> They are in the process of making a website. This is an excellent
> example of the Creative Thinking and transformations taking place in
> our Rural area of the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Area.
>
> cheers,
>
> Klaus and Shirley