Oliver’s Garden Project

Mother Nature and I have been very busy this week. Farmers’ markets are opening up all over our region in anticipation of the bounty of fresh, local produce that is starting to arrive at the markets. Olive shopping at farmers’ markets. During the growing season, I try to buy only local Ontario produce. Farmers’ markets and farm markets are the best place to find it. And the produce is often picked fresh that morning by farmers who are happy to give you some cooking tips.  I’ve been working hard on posting a listing of local farmers’ markets on my Farmers’ Market Directory page. Check this page often for updates. I will be adding farm markets and roadside farm stands, as I discover them.

I don’t have much of a green thumb but I really want my son to experience the euphoria of eating a freshly picked, sun-ripened tomato, beets just pulled from the soil, and the sweetness of peas eaten within seconds of being snapped from their vine. My most vivid and pleasant food memories include the sweet freshness of the peas that I ate, as a child, straight from the vine in my grandparents’ next-door neighbor’s garden or the tomato that tasted like golden sun the moment after my friend picked it off her backyard tomato plant and popped it into my hand.

As when learning to cook, one needs to be courageous and determined to try new things when learning to garden. So I reclaimed a very wild, but very sunny, tiny patch at the side of my house and have crammed in herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil, mint, chives, parsley, and coriander), tomatoes, peas, beets, red leaf lettuce, and kale. I don’t know how much will thrive. And I don’t mind if the backyard bunny, resident raccoon, or the boyz in the hood raid it. I have already gotten so much joy out of tending and nurturing them and watching them grow (the boyz and the plants). Wish me luck and tell me what you have planted this year.

Speaking of courage and determination in the garden, I just had to share this link with you about two Hamilton kids, Oliver 8 and Piper 7, and their truly inspiring urban gardening initiative (Oliver’s Garden Project) that supports local youth charities in Hamilton and encourages kids to plant their own vegetable gardens to eat and share. After Oliver spotted some kids rummaging through curbside blue bins to get money for food, he and his family started a backyard garden fundraising effort to help. The project has quickly grown from there. Way to go Oliver and Piper (Mom and Dad too)! You may be little but you stand real tall in my view. “Plant it forward” everybody! Happy gardening!

GIANT VIDEO ALERT!! Have you ever wondered what Oliver and Piper think about Oliver’s Garden Project? Well, get… fb.me/14Qi7rlrO

— OliversGardenProject (@OliversGProject) April 9, 2013