Nolalu Country Market

Green Growers Maxim #2 -- If you want to be happy for an hour, drink wine. If you want to be happy for a day, run away. If you want to be happy for a year, get married. If you want to be happy forever, be a gardener. (Ancient Greek saying).

Country (Farmers) Markets have been around over 200 years in Ontario with the first one established in Kingston in 1780. With a surge in the popularity of supermarkets and their 'convenience foods', pre-packaged and highly processed, country markets declined in the sixties and seventies. But there was a resurgence in the 1980's. Now with greater awareness of food quality and the impact on our health, country markets are more popular than ever. There are some 157 farmers markets listed on the farmersmarketsontario.com website.

And that does not include the 'Nolalu Country Market'. Held every friday from 4 pm to 7 pm at St. Urho's at the junction of Hwy 588 and 590, our little market is growing with increasing numbers of vendors and customers ranging from locals to campers. They come secure in the knowledge that the food is fresh, safe to eat and the next best thing to harvesting it yourself. Also all the artisans' crafts and creations are hand-made locally. Not only is it a way of connecting to the land, it is also a way of connecting with one another-- a wonderful social occasion. We may not always have exactly what you're looking for, but we'll always have a friendly 'Hi Neighbour!'.

Auxiliary Greenhouse

Green Growers Maxim #1 -"Anybody who thinks that gardening begins in the spring has wasted the fall and winter".

One of the important advantages that I came to realize in the early spring was the possibility and opportunity to now get bedding plants (starters) seeded and growing early. I had advanced starters growing as early as February in the main solar greenhouse. I realized that, with a good quality conventional second greenhouse, I could get those starters moved into an interim location, to clear space in the main greenhouse, and thereby be able to transplant them into an outside garden as early as the last frost would allow. Consequently, now it's possible to transplant, for example, tomatoes that are already blooming or even bearing fruit. Thereby, you can begin to pick from your outside garden, vine-ripened tomatoes and other ripe vegetables as early as May even in this cold climate region. This is much better than having to wait until the end of August or even September to begin to pick tomatoes while often worrying about the first frost destroying them. This happened to many of us in late summer 2009.

Additionally, the second greenhouse allows me to clear space in the solar greenhouse all summer long which allows me to almost double production. And finally, it also allows me to be able to use the conventional greenhouse as a control facility to measure the advantages of the solar greenhouse. To that end, I'm now also taking daily readings and noting the current temperature, maximum and minimum over the previous 24 hour period and the relative humidity in the second greenhouse to compare with the solar greenhouse prototype.

The Life and Times of Tommy Tomato

I began to make entries regarding our so called "Tommy Tomato" starting on March 13th, March 19th, March 22nd and April 7th including photos. You might want to check back. "Tommy" is a standard red beefsteak type tomato called "Cobra" from Stokes Seeds. It is described (in part) as -- "Best tasting of the greenhouse grown hybrids. Cobra has field ripened taste. Large and firm".

The seed was planted on Nov. 11, 2009. It germinated eleven days later on Nov. 22, '09. We transplanted "Tommy" from a 4" pot to an 8" pot on January 18, 2010. Blooms began to show on or around March 5th and we did our first hand-pollinating on March 11th. By March 16th, the fruit began to appear and was perhaps 1/4" in diameter at that point growing to about 3/4" in diameter by a week later on March 22nd. This morning, June 5th, 2010, I picked "Tommy" off the vine. He now measures about 2 1/2" in diameter and is deep red in colour. Slightly smaller than some but a very healthy looking tomato. Later today, I look forward to enjoying the taste and nourishment that the now late "Tommy" will provide.

Tommy's place in the greenhouse was toward the back and I think his growth was a bit stunted due to overcrowding and therefore some lack of light that would optimize growth.

Gull Bay and Prospective GH365 Greenhouse site

On Wednesday, May 26th, my friend Sheryl and I drove to Gull Bay First Nation, some 2 hours north of Thunder Bay. Sheryl being an avid photographer, we stopped several times to take photos, and to simply enjoy the view.

Gull Bay 1st Nation is located on the west shore of Lake Nipigon. As we drove up toward the community, it was a study in contrasts. Several homes were modest to the point of wondering how the families survived the long cold winters in them. Upon reaching the heart of the community of about 350 to 400 people, we saw the new modern health centre nearing completion. Also the new "Band Office", now more specifically referred to as the "Government Agency Building", which was well appointed with inspiring woodland native art prominent on the walls of the boardroom and elsewhere. Again the contrast of young teen-age girls clutching babies, the more than usual dogs and abandoned vehicles in a spectacular setting overlooking Lake Nipigon.

We met with Jordan Hatton (Resource Development Advisor) and Tausha Esquega (Economic Development Officer) who had visited my GH365 Greenhouse several weeks prior to that and quite liked what they saw. They had maintained their interest in having one built at their Gull Bay community.

Tausha took us around for a tour of the local sites including the new recreation centre and hockey rink under construction as well as the tiny store that contained little more than potato chips, chocolate bars, soft drinks, freezies and cigarettes. We now understood the serious need for locally grown nutritious food.

Terrace Bay Presentation and Nolalu Sale

On Saturday April 24th, I took a three hour drive to Terrace Bay to participate in the 2010 Green Trade Show. My half hour PowerPoint presentation was well received and I had many productive conversations at my display table. Following that on Saturday May 1st, I participated in the Nolalu Spring and Summer Marketplace which I also help to organize. I had for sale a wide assortment of starters. The most popular ones sold included tomatoes and green peppers. Attached are photos taken of me at both events. Also this weekend we tasted our first ripe tomatoes from the greenhouse. In a few days there should be a pound or two available of several varieties including Sub-Arctic Plenty, Cobra Beefsteak and Camelia (a cherry tomatoe).

Media Week at the Greenhouse

My GH365 Greenhouse project has had a generous amount of media coverage this last week. On Monday April 12, Kristi St. Cyr along with her assistant from Thunder Bay Television and Jodi Lundmark of Thunder Bay Source came out to do a follow up on my greenhouse. They had originally done a piece back in November. Later that day, Al Cresswell of CFNO Radio called to do an interview as well with respect to the Terrace Bay 2010 Green Trade Show to be held on Saturday April 24th. I'll be a presenter and exhibitor there.

Kristi's item ran on the 6 o'clock TBay TV News on Tuesday April 13th. Jodi's article titled 'Going Green in Winter' is in today's (Fri. April 16) issue of TBay Source newspaper on page 14. You can also go to TbNewsWatch.com. I've posted a photo of Kristi here at the greenhouse.

Starters and Atikoken

Last Thursday, my assistant Evalisa and I planted over 100 pots of starters ranging from mini-bell peppers, parsley, cucumbers, Buttercrunch lettuce (First to germinate 4 days later on April 5th) and much more. Most are now popping through. These will be marketed the first of May as starters for gardeners who want to get a head start.

On Monday I drove some two hours to give a PowerPoint presentation to members of the Atikoken Horticultural Society. Those who attended were quite interested in the prospect of a year-round greenhouse and were very cordial hosts. I always enjoy these opportunities to get the word out on my project.

I have attached a photo taken at the presentation and another taken this morning of our "Tommy Tomatoe" as it grows.