Ethical & Chemical Free Urban Farming
Are you wanting to grow a garden this year but not sure where to start? Or perhaps you already have a garden and are wanting to increase your productivity. We can help. We offer one on one garden consultations to help you with your gardening needs and aspirations. Click here to view our consultation page for more information.
My family and I have been eating broccoli microgreens for more than 4 years. Microgreens are the main source of greens for us during the winter months and broccoli shoots are one of my favorites. My body craves them.
To grow, I spread the broccoli seeds over a blend of organic soil, cover for a few days and then place under lights for 5-10 days. I then harvest at the cotyledon leaf stage. Until recently, commercially grown microgreens have only been available to chefs, who use them as flavor accents and garnishes for soups, salads, and sandwiches. Today, they are available at most farmers markets and upscale grocery stores (like the Wandering Market)
I’m sure I could write several pages listing all the health benefits of these little gems but I’ll just touch on a few of the highlights today. Microgreens Have Up to 40 times more Vital Nutrients than mature plants*. Sprouts and microgreens have the highest concentration of nutrients per calorie of any food. They are the richest sources of vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, chlorophyll and protein, and provide us with substantially greater health benefits than just raw fruits and vegetables. Microgreens deliver nutrients that are important for eyes, skin, bones, healthy digestion, reducing inflammation, preventing cardiovascular disease, fighting cancer, and strengthening the immune system.
They’re delicious raw. In the case of cruciferous plants, that’s a big bonus because the enzymes that produce certain cancer-fighting compounds are destroyed with too much heat
Here is a delicious recipe for you to try:
Ingredients
1 cup broccoli microgreens
½ cup kimchi
¼ avocado, sliced into small pieces
1 Tbsp salted sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp a simple homemade vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, honey and olive oil tastes great)
2 Tbsp Hummus
Instructions
Put microgreens onto a large plate and top with kimchi, avocado slices, sunflower seeds.
Drizzle with dressing and top with hummus and fresh cracked pepper. Enjoy!
*Results of studies done by researcher Qin Wang, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Maryland in College Park. The results are published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Are you looking for an affordable way to provide Uber local Superfoods for yourself and your family?
Join us May 12th for a hands on Microgreen workshop! We will be exploring different methods of growing. You will have an opportunity to get your hands in the dirt and plant your own mircogreen variety tray.
Growing Microgreens
Saturday May 12th 2 classes
1:30pm & 3:30pm
Growing Microgreens
There has been a lot of interest in learning how to grow your own microgreens so I'm adding another class on April 14th as well as May 12th from 1pm-2:30pm!
Come learn how to grow an Uber Local superfood right in your own home. This will be a hands on workshop. We will plant different varieties of microgreens together for you to take home. As well we will tour the Green Sister micro-grow op and taste test various greens grown on site. Click here to register
1pm - 2:30pm $40
Saturday March 31st (sold out)
Saturday April 14th (sold out)
Saturday April 28th (sold out)
Saturday May 12th (spaces available)
Hola Moose Jaw!
Let's all dream about spring together at the Moose Jaw Seedy Sunday on March 4th. I will be there picking out my favorite vegetable seeds for our local Heirloom Seed vendors and I have some seeds to swap at the seed exchange table. Hope to see you there
Yes, its that time of year again. Time to get those seeds. I will be at the Regina Seedy Satuday On March 3rd from 10-3! We will have a table there with fresh microgreens and microgreen growing kits. If you want to learn more about what we do here on the farm , join me at 11am for a presentation on SPIN Farming. Time to have a Garden Party and Turnip up the Beet (Yes I'm that cheesy)
Building Community is an important element in moving beyond surviving into thriving. Connecting with others who share similar passions is something I cherish deeply. I have talked about this concept many times, its something that fills up my cup, allows me to keeping moving forward when challenges arise.
This blog post is a result of some reflection time I've had about this past week. As some of you might know I often have long distance cyclists stay overnight or multiple days (such as my guests this week). They rolled into town late Saturday night and stayed until this past Saturday. We had a lot of fun all week, but the most remarkable connections for me happened in the garden. They both came to help me out with various gardening tasks throughout the week. I am always amazed at the depth conversations tend to go while working at a common task. My cup was topped up and overflowed through the many connective conversations we had.
I was reminded of my amazing community (tribe) first thing this morning as Sara, who many of you know, came beaming through my front door.. She is, for lack of a better word, Amazing. She is full of positive light, ready to tackle any task i throw at her and is constantly working on her own evolution. She inspires others on a daily basis and goes way beyond what most of us would expect from an 'employee'. I feel she is a Green Sister through and through. She gives a shit and wants it to succeed. She doesn't treat her work like a job, its clearly her passion as well. I feel incredible blessed to have her on my team this year.
In addition to the wonderful peeps that work along side me, I also have meaningful connections with the landowners, who own the spaces we garden on, as well as their neighbors. I feel just as close with these neighbors as I do with the ones who live on my own street (some even more so). Spending the majority of my time outside allows me to meet people easier. Their natural curiosity often brings them by to see what we are doing and ask questions. I love talking about gardening and feel so lucky to have a job that I enjoy talking about all the time.
I often have people stop by on Fridays as we are prepping veggies for the farmer's market. There is something magical that happens as we wash and bag up the bounty for the weekly market. The tasks are fairly simple which gives us the opportunity to get to know one another and talk about issues that really matter to us, while we work. I have had some fairly significant Ah Ha moments, during these times, about my own journey as well as witnessing this process in others.
So If, by chance you have some free time on a Friday, stop by. We'd love to chat with you.. You'll be sure to enjoy the magic and we'll give you some free veggies for helping out :)
Connections, community, my tribe. Loving life in the garden. So utterly grateful for this life!
Peace
I had the pleasure of meeting Shauna Powers last week. She was in MJ to check out our indoor and outdoor growing spaces and to chat about Urban farming. You can listen to our conversation here
Green Sister Gardens is looking for more gardening space this season. We prefer yards on South hill as it is close to our home base but will consider other spots. If you love eating fresh produce, have a space that gets plenty of sunshine and is 600ft square or larger we would love to hear from you! Grassy areas are great, we don't mind removing the lawn. 306-630-7003 or email greensistergardens@gmail.com
It's that time of year again! My garden planning is well underway and I'm looking forward to connecting with local seed growers and other community members at Moose Jaw's annual Seed Event. As always there will be a seed exchange table set up in the middle of the auditorium for those of you who wish to share and swap seeds. I am looking forward to seeing our returning seed vendors: Rachelle (Prairie Garden seeds), Roy (Broadview farms), Lisa and Renny (Blazing star wildflower), Anna (The Garlic Garden) as well as a host of other groups including a sprouting demo (Alternate Root Organics), book sales (Post Horizon), Honey and bee info (One Sweet Dream), kids area and MORE! I've collaborated with B & B Hydroponics in Regina to set up a grow light demo. Join us this Sunday March 5th
I often get asked "What do you do during the winter?" I reply with "Spend time playing in my indoor grow op" and then admit that I don't really have anything 'fun' growing in it. I get a few questioning looks with that answer.
The truth is I spend the majority of the winter season growing plants indoors. I generally grow between 40 and 50 pounds of microgreens per week in the off season. These greens are distributed to a variety of places throughout Moose Jaw and Regina including Restaurants, Smoothie bars, Pop up dinners, coffee shops, Health food stores and local buying groups.
It's now May and the Gardening season is well underway. I am noticing very dry conditions as I prep and plant garden beds this year. I had a neighbour to one of my gardens comment yesterday that there was a large dust cloud rising up over the fence while I was roto-tilling. We had unusually dry spring conditions last year as well. In past years I have placed fabric row covers on my early season plantings as protection from frost, now I am still covering with the same fabric but now the main purpose is to help retain moisture in the soil.
This lack of moisture has me thinking a lot about climate change and our impacts on the earth. Sometimes I feel as though most of us are unconsciously sleep walking through life. Are we rushing around in such a hurry that we are unable to notice the drastically changing weather patterns? Do we think that as Saskatchewanians we are immune to the disastrous impacts of our ever increasing consumerism? Are we so consumed with making more money that we fail to notice the urgency of our water situation?
I have recently been to Buffalo Pound, this is where the residences of both Moose Jaw and Regina source their tap water. Frankly it scares the SH*# out of me when I consider all the toxins that are in that lake. I often wonder why it causes such tension and defensiveness when we try to start a conversation about all the cancer causing farm chemicals that are leaching into our drinking water source. Do we truly value money over our health. Is it easier to pretend that it isn't happening than to face reality and start discussing the truth of our situation.
I think it is important to think positive and focus on solutions, however, in order to work towards a solution I believe that we first must accept the reality of our situation. With that happy note I will end this rant and head out to the garden where I desperately hope I am making a difference.
New for 2016 is the Green Sister Salad Box subscription!
I've taken the concept of the CSA box that I've done for the past 3 years and revised it to concentrate on the nutrient dense produce that Green Sister is known for ... Our Gourmet Salads !
This year I will be offering an 8 Week Salad box subscription with an option to renew mid season for another 8 weeks. For more details check out the full description at greensistergardens.com/salad-box-program/
Taking time to reflect on the past 4 years of my life recently. What motivated me to take this leap of faith into the unknown? Is that same motivation still present to guide me forward? My life is bitter sweet in so many ways. I have cleared out clutter, made space for new friends, adventures, experiences and knowledge. But it has been the most challenging 4 years of my life! Would I change my decision for an entire life make over if I could go back in time? Hell no .... well maybe if you catch me on a bad day. But no, what I have gained in the last few years is more than I ever hoped for. Painful yes, but in adversity we grow in strength. A Permaculture teacher once gave me an example of this that is forever etched in my mind. He described a tree .... if a collar is placed on this tree half way up the trunk and anchored to the ground the resulting growth will look like this.... the bottom portion of the trunk will cease to grow and weaken. The top portion of the tree that is able to sway in the wind continues to grow. The tree literally needs the challenge of the wind to enable it's growth in size and strength. For me this collar represented my comfort zone. I could have continued on the path i was on .... working my 9 to 5 waiting for the weekend so I could dull my boredom and dis-ease with shopping, alcohol or whatever other self destructive habit was convenient. I'm sure my life choices look crazy to some .... to me its the best thing I have ever done for myself. It has enabled me to come in contact with soulful people rich with passion and desire for positive change. Personally I am tired of the story that we have been telling ourselves for the last 400 years. I'm waking up to a new story that is re-writing itself for me as you read this. I'm not entirely sure what the future has in store for me, however I know it is in a constant spiral upwards and I am hanging on for the ride.
I just got word that the Green Sister Gardens segment will be airing for the first time this Saturday on CTV. I am super excited to see it all put together. I will post a link when available for all you seedy folks out there who miss it :) 12 noon Saskatchewan time.
This past Wednesday we had a visit from Zack and Dustin who are with the Prairie Farm Report show. We spent the day filming and talking about Urban Farming. It is amazing to see how interest in alternative farming is starting grow in Saskatchewan! Our segment is set to air in November/December of this year. We will keep you posted :)
Please note that we are sold out of CSA shares for the 2015 season. We are Looking forward to an awesome season ahead with our existing members from last season as well as new people who have signed up!
MJ Seed Lending Library opening orientation workshop happening March 26th. No seed previous saving experience required :)
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