If you're like me, you're probably wondering if it will ever rain again. I gave up on the lawns a couple of weeks ago and the more I think about it, we will likely phase out the grass altogether over the next couple of years. No need for it to play catch with the kid anymore and we haven't hosted too many sprinkler parties for 10-plus years.
We planted our garden veggies earlier than usual and they have been successful thus far. It has been a bit of a crapshoot on the school farm front though. A lot of success but some early "bolting" of some crops has given cause to restart various crops at different schools.
If you have driven the neighbouring highways and backroads in Delta of late, you will have likely seen massive clouds of soil dust wafting around. It is dry out there for sure and depending on what local farmers are growing, the heat and dry weather can be a blessing or a curse.
You have probably heard the ads on radio or seen them in the papers promoting the first crops from local growers showing up on retail feature displays. The nugget Warba spuds are hugely popular now and are certainly a favourite sign of summer. Steamed and served with garlic butter, pepper and chives are a classic accompaniment to anything on the grill. I also like to steam them and then drizzle with oil and sriracha for a few minutes on the barbecue.
BC Fresh and the Ministry of Agriculture have done a good job of reminding us to buy local when our crops are in season.
I've had the good fortune to have made it out to Westham Island to pick strawberries a couple of times. The B.C. berry growers have been busy reminding us to buy this seasonal delicacy. When you go through as many smoothies as we do, the sweetness of fresh local berries is unbeatable.
The Ladner Village Market opens this Sunday, the Earthwise Saturday Market is open and a new addition to the local scene, the Backroads Family Farm Market, is up and running for its second year.
This little gem of a market features local produce and other food items at the foot of 52nd Street, a few metres from Arthur Drive.
Operated by Danielle and Alicia Guichon, Backroads has made a commitment to offer our community fine product from local growers. You need to check it out. They have a simple retail strategy that shows local product with red price tags and there are way more red tags than not.
For my part, I am looking for distribution channels for our summer harvest from the Delta school district farms. Mario's restaurant in Tsawwassen will be using our food for a second year and negotiations are underway with other retailers and restaurants, including Backroads, which is considering options for supporting school-aged farmers in our community.
Over the next two weeks the last couple of hundred of our cucumber seedlings will find their way into the ground. We have an experienced canning/pickling team in place and are excited to offer a branded finished product in the fall. Stay tuned.
Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food.
