Look at these beauts! Fantasia rainbow carrots from #farmfolkcityfolk seed from #bcecoseedcoop 🥕 Coming to #burnabyfarmersmarket tomorrow 9-2 Burnaby City Hall!

The seed thresher! David has made this seed thresher which is often the first step to cleaning seeds! The chains break up the chaff surrounding the seeds so the pure seed can be separated from all that extra stuff! You can also use a paint stirrer attachment with a tight fitting lid on a bucket

The nematodes have arrived! The nematodes are here! This is not a drill people! 😂 It is time… for the biannual spraying of the nematodes 🪱 They are microscopic worms that will naturally kill pests in your soil. #gardening #urbanfarm #urbanfarming #farmingwhiledisabled #naturalpestcontrol

🌱 We’re holding a seed swap & a workshop with @farmfolkcityfolk on how to clean your seeds for better storage & germination! 🌱 Meet us June 21st 10am-1:30 at burnaby farmers market at Burnaby City Hall parking lot. 🌱 Bring any seeds you want to clean or to swap! #gardening #seedsaving

Having trouble with seed germination? Or wanting to shorten germination time in general? Use your instapot! This only works for large seed types - if they’re small like thyme seeds you’re gonna make a mess & have a bad time. 1/6

So my health has taken a nose-dive. I’m way worse than I was last Spring. I’m way behind with all my farming stuff & it looks like I’ll have to delay my farmers market season start until June. #chronicillness #disability #myalgicencephalomyelitis #farmingwhiledisabled #urbanfarming

The gel on tomato seeds inhibits germination. Here’s how to remove it! Grab a mason jar or any othet wide-mouthed jar. Scoop out the goop from your tomatoes containing the seeds & put it in the jar. 1/

Much like food - seeds have ‘best before’, but no expiry date After that you can still plant them - but the germination rate will decrease Allium seeds like onions have a shorter life - they are best sown within a year Tomatoes can be sown within 7 years with little drop in germination #Gardening

Garden beds like this are a prime choice for hugelkultur You put a layer of logs on the bottom, then sticks, then dry leaves, then your soil As the wood breaks down it creates a huge water sink that absorbs when it rains, then releases moisture back in to the soil during dry weather #gardening

Raining again today Time for baking heart country bread Time to clean up the window boxes on our front porch and install solar drip watering from our rain barrels for the rest of them #UrbanGarden #UrbanFarming #WaterWise #SustainableFarming

Many people are buying their first fruit trees - congrats! Here are some tips to keep your trees thriving 🍎 Use a combo fungicide-dormant spray each year before bud break. This means before any leaves are showing. Any buds are closed up tight - no green showing #Urbanfarming

Farm Fam - THE BEES HAVE BEEN SAVED Talked to the property owner tonight about the 10 month clause and why it was there and they said we could farm this year with them! Did not expect that outcome, but I’m pleased as sweet peas! #Savethebees

Positive thing from today - The Soap Dispensary gifted us some barrels to make rainbarrels from as well as 5 gallon buckets (for self-watering planters)! Thank you so much for your support - it means the world to us ❤️ P.S. if you haven’t checked them out yet - they’re at 3718 Main St, Vancouver

Just found out one of our urban farm sites is cancelled for the year It’s March. We’ve already bought all our seeds for the year They blamed water leakage into their basement on us The faucet we use is sealed tight, has no leaks 1/2 #urbanfarm

Crop rotation is hugely important for keeping the land fertile among many reasons. Some plants take specific nutrients from the soil - and other plants return them! 1/ #organicfarming

Can confirm Pollinators work hard and show up and contribute Billionaires exploit workers and steal wages #PollinatorsNOTBillionaires

We’re getting early bud break on our fruit trees this year Dormant spray to kill off over-wintered pests & prevent new ones needs to go on before bud break (or it kills the new leaves) Ideal temps to apply are between 40F-70F /4C-21C 1/3 #fruitorchard

We give out free gardening advice here We talk about food-related politics We #compost naught-sees We’re disabled & queer & leftist here & sometimes talk about that too Follow if you want to learn to grow food & improve food security Follow for not-see #composting tips #ANTIFA #victorygarden

Here is what I want to do to increase food security in Burnaby - I want to be able to host @farmfolkcityfolk.bsky.social at the #BurnabyFarmersMarket once a year to do a seed cleaning workshop I want to combine it with a seed swap #foodsecurity #communityprojects #gardening

Clay is really difficult to work with - pretty much zero plants like it and it can take a few years of amending to see a noticeable difference My recommendation is to remove some of the heaviest clay areas if possible. Then dig in compost and peat moss - much more than you would think #Gardening

Someone was asking - can we ship #seeds to the US - and the answer is yes! We can ship any seeds other than tomato (because the phytosanitary certificate needed for tomato is costly)

We’re now on Medium! I published an article on the Ruth Stout method of no-dig mulch gardening that you can check out here: medium.com/@greenzebram... The Ruth Stout method is an easy way to enhance your soil health, conserve water & suppress weeds 🌱

Tips for converting a lawn into a garden: #Lasagnagardening is the easiest way Put down a really thick layer of cardboard down first, directly over the grass - like 4 or 5 layers Remove all plastic packing tape before putting down Costco is a great source for cardboard #VictoryGarden

It’s time to disinfect your pots for Spring! Disinfecting reduces the chance of seedling devastation from damping off a fungal disease that causes young seedlings to fall over at the base of the stem & die It can also prevent a host of of other pests that may have overwintered! #StartingSeeds

Calendula is a flower from the aster family that attract pollinators like butterflies & bees, and many beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies 🐞 It is often used as a companion plant to repel nematodes, asparagus beetles, tomato hornworms, and also rabbits 🐰

Can you grow all the veggies you need for your family? Probably not Is it still worth it? Yes You will get better tasting & fresher food Focusing on high producing varieties will minimize effort & save money over time #VictoryGarden

Finally a reason for why I’m so terrible with names 😩

Trying to grow lavender, rosemary, sage or thyme from seed? The process can be tricky with low germination rates The answer lies with cold stratification In nature this happens naturally when seeds dropped from plants spend several weeks at colder Winter temps and then warm up in Spring #garden

This is our first year where we -classify for farm land tax status -have won a diversity grant -will be applying for government grant funding -are getting ducks for pest control & will not have to rely on external fertilizer

Random advice for first-time gardeners: You’re gonna wanna grow corn. Everyone wants to try growing corn - I sure did The problem - corn requires a large amount of garden real estate to ensure proper pollination 1/ #growyourownfood

Lunaria is sometimes called Money Plant because of its beautiful shiny silver/white dried seed pods 🌱 They are easiest to start from seed in late Winter/early Spring and will bloom in their first year if started early enough 🌺

Apparently as high as 70% of the USian agricultural work force is not showing up to work for fear of being deported - documented or not Food is going to rot in the fields 1/2 #USAgriculture #FoodSecurity

A look at our pollinator garden from 2024 Every year this garden is slightly different - as new & different amounts of seeds germinate, and as perennials mature and spread It’s a Spring surprise I always look forward to 🐝

Did you know each seed has a different optimal shelf life? After that, germination rates start to fall You can still plant old #seeds - but it’s a good idea to plant some extra if the seeds are past their prime 1/2