Courses
Planning for a year round harvest
We visited a friend late last year and she asked if I would be teaching an online gardening course in 2025. I told her that I'd love to but I wanted to focus more entirely on our own farm and wouldn't be able to find the time. I also wanted to find a better balance between farm life and home life and now was my chance. Her response came as a hammer blow and I haven't been able to shake it off.
She said that working on the farm was a necessary work, but my impact teaching a course would have a far greater influence on food-security not just in little Chilliwack but across communities in Canada, the US and the world.
We've been extraordinarily blessed at The Local Harvest Market. Together with our dedicated team we've discovered how to grow an abundance of food without synthetic inputs. Every year we have fewer pests and less weeds all while the vigour and size of our vegetables has been increasing. Most importantly, our loving family of customers have demonstrated their unwavering support since our infancy which has allowed us to grow and expand our operation.
This year, I figured, would be a good time to slow down. Not because I'm too old (I'm only 43!) and not because I'm out of shape (farming and good food does incredible things for the body and the mind) but because I somehow felt I deserved it.
But that friend wouldn't let me off the hook that easily. Our purpose in life extends beyond ourselves, she said. Her language and expression told me in very clear terms that possessing organic gardening and farming knowledge, skills, and talents and not sharing them was doing a disservice to humanity.
Yes, food-security is our shared responsibility. Especially today when the health of our communities is fast deteriorating. Childhood diseases are on the rise and mental illness permeates every nook and cranny of our society. Food quality in the supermarkets continues to diminish while the prices continue to rise. Yards and acreages lie vacant and many families are at a loss of how to turn their properties into verdant, productive, and profitable properties.
Have I earned the right, then, to stand on the sidelines and watch? Most definitely not.
Over the winter break, I decided that I must, I will, be a catalyst for change using my strengths to help others grow more food for themselves and their families.
Last week I started offering a FREE live, online gardening workshop on Planning Your Garden for a Year-Round Harvest. You can sign up for that right here:
The response has been overwhelming.
Right now I'm not entirely sure the direction I will take but I'm definitely going to be launching a course and an educational platform where growers will have access to everything I know about gardening. Stay Tuned.
Either way, I'm on a mission to help home gardeners, homesteaders, and market gardeners experience higher yields with fewer inputs so that they can achieve greater food self-sufficiency. When gardeners find success, it will bring them greater joy and confidence in the garden. And this I know is contagious. A food-secure community is achievable and I'll do everything to make it happen. Please join me on this journey.