OK
folks – friends and neighbours – let me throw this at you – why
do you cut your grass??
As
the first realisation that summer is upon us – when the birds start
twittering and the bees start humming – we rush out there with the
lawnmower and trim the lawn to within an inch of its life.
Just
as the wildflowers are coming into bloom, the wild strawberries are
fruiting, all wild growing things are burgeoning, the all pervading
lawnmower cuts it all down!
We
have a 5 acre lot and leave much of the back to meadow only cutting
it once a year. We mow pathways through it for convenience but the
rest blossoms and blooms – providing places for wild things to
nest, to recreate, to feed and to hide.
Our
front lawn and around the house we always followed convention and
'mowed' – a nice bowling green and that's all it was short and
green, but it looked TIDY!
This
year we were a little late – and suddenly there they all were
gorgeous flowers and grasses. Delicate patches of tiny blue flowers,
stunning mauve clovers, yellow vetches, and dozens of daisies!
My
beautiful Summer Meadow.
Instead
of flower beds with garish annuals there was my front lawn blooming
it's head off!
And
the wild strawberries were abundant - I have never picked such huge
and luscious berries – and so many we were coming in with bowlfuls.
Thats
it! we said. We were NOT going to mow that down. Not for tidiness
sake – no way.
And
the bees and hoverflies loved it – and the birds loved them!
This
is without doubt a win-win situation – we get to enjoy a beautiful
sight, knowing that we are doing the environment a lot of good (ever
heard of bio-diversity??) - saving our effort, energy and a little
gas by not getting out the grass-gnasher.
And
in return I can hang over my front deck and feast my eyes on as
beautiful a sight as you'll ever see in Nova Scotia – a summer
meadow.
PS
We have mowed now (sigh of relief from neighbours) so the seeds of
the wildflowers will set for next year. But guess what? we have
left a huge thistle – to flower it's head off! How subversive is
that.....
Just a little note on the above story – there has been
a strike in Toronto for a few weeks now and the grass hasn't been cut
in the parks – now people are asking that not all the grass is cut
as they have enjoyed the experience of seeing wildflowers in their
neighbourhood urban parkland. “Just like living in the country”
some folks are saying.
Is
Organic Farming on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia easy or hard??
In
reality quite hard. Firstly, to achieve organic status it costs
hundreds of dollars for certification and soil tests. Then there's
the annual inspections, and the extensive and detailed record keeping. There's the weather –
a late starting spring (later than the Annapolis Valley but less
frost) cool Atlantic winds and a fairly short growing season. And
last but not least – the soil. Scant and scarce on the coast –
rocky, gritty and salty.
But
Jim Turner has been growing organic vegetables at Bluewater Farm for
the last six years. There was a farmstead here many years ago and he
has slowly reclaimed some of the plots. First the soil fertility had
to be built up – the hard way – on organic farms no chemical
fertilizers are allowed. So Jim composts all organic material and
uses his chicken manure to put the heart back in the soil. Jim's
small flock of chickens are all rare breeds!
He
uses small terraces to prevent soil erosion – he grows clover as a
green manure and as small buffer banks between beds. And he grows an
astonishing variety of vegetables, salad crops and herbs. Garlic,
onions, carrots, broccoli, cabbages, pumpkins, tomatoes, potatoes,
peas, beans, beets, and many different salad greens. He has also
planted fruit trees, different varieties of apples, pears, cherries,
apricots,and peaches. And more......
Jim
sells his organic produce at the Musquodoboit Harbour Farmers Market
every Sunday morning in the season. The Farmers Market is a newcomer
to the Eastern Shore started by local people who wanted to be able to
buy fresh delicious produce that is grown on their doorstep.
But
why 'organic'? Jim believes that vegetables grown without pesticides
and chemical fertilizers are much healthier – and growing food
organically creates a sustainable environment. The soil fertility is
enhanced by adding compost – healthy organisms in the soil enhance
the vitamin and nutrient content in the fruit and vegetables. By
companion planting (e.g. growing chives close to carrots ward off
carrot fly) there is no need for pesticides. By rotating crops the
plants themselves give back nutrients to the soil – beans fix
nitrogen in the soil. By planting green manure such as clover you
prevent weeds and give more health to the soil.
So
organic farming is about staying healthy – not only for humans but
the earth itself. Wildlife loves an organic farm - vital pollinating
insects attract birds and other animals. It is a rich and sustainable
environment.
It
is a sad fact that Nova Scotia only produces 7% of its own food –
that includes meat production and fishing as well as agricultural
produce.
Jim hopes to expand his growing area in the coming months
and years – to sell at the Farmers Market in Musquodoboit Harbour
and to deliver boxes of seasonal veg to local people along the
Eastern Shore. He is growing fresh nutritious food that could be in
the pot just a few hours after it was picked – very few 'food
miles' involved!
Canada adopted it's own national organic standard on June 30 2009.
With the world going a little crazy at the moment local food
production is vital for all communities – in Jim's words we need
'food security'.
Jim
Turner is pioneering organic farming out on Bluewater Farm – he is
developing a system of growing that works for the Eastern Shore
environment and climate and his own unique bit of the earth. Please
go and meet him on Sunday June 28 at the Musquodoboit Harbour Farmers
Market and every Sunday after that till the end of October.
Taste
the difference!
Article by Lynda Mallett & Photographs by Anne MacLean
