Fresh. Local. Abundant.
One Straw Society’s goal is to help people of the Sunshine Coast access and engage in a local, resilient, sustainable food system.
Our mission is to support you in:
Having access to and growing local food.
Sustaining and enhancing the environment.
Supporting the local economy.
Connecting with your community
After weeks of lockdown, our food supply now faces very real risks. Farmers have missed planting windows, haven’t been able to bring in farm workers, and there are disruptions in the transport chain.
Locally, we always support LOCAL FARMERS first! We will continue to share info and ways that we can support our local growers, but here’s another idea…
One Straw Society had plans to reveal an exciting new project at the Gumboot Gardens in partnership with the Roberts Creek Childcare Society – cute pinterest-style gardens hosting all the coolest ideas you’ve seen for growing food in small spaces. It’ll be full of children, learning and lots of fresh food grown in a small footprint.
But we’re pivoting that plan a bit to help out right now. We need to use this space to grow food for our most vulnerable and to provide fresh food for the Coast in the face of looming food insecurity. Want to be a part of it?
5 ways you can help:
1. DIVIDE & SHARE YOUR PLANTS: Donate perennial plants and shrubs – asparagus crowns, rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries, etc.
2. GROW SEEDLINGS: Grow your own seeds, or we can provide you with seeds, and in a few weeks, bring in the seedlings ready for the ground.
3. DIG, WEED & PLANT: Social distancing at its finest… sunny days in the dirt. 2 to 6 hour shifts – do just one, or come out every day to get the ball rolling! Every hour helps!
4. BECOME A MEMBER: Renew your membership or get one for friends & family! If you bought a “Lifetime Membership” in the past, consider investing in an annual membership that will continue to support programs and services. Better benefits too! http://www.onestraw.ca/connect/become-a-member/
5. DONATE: Lend the use of tractors, tillers, and tools, or donate/build small storage/studio buildings or cash. Cash donations are critical to being able to hire skilled people, buy materials, support volunteers, and liaise with organizations, food banks and vulnerable persons in the community.
Donations may be e-transferred to treasurer@onestraw.ca.
Want more on this? We meet THURSDAYS on Zoom to bounce ideas, and get planning! email info@onestraw.ca
Calendar of Events
We’ve seen your pictures… Nice job on your cherry bounty!
Once they’re all done and you’ve cleaned up the stains (good luck), it’s pruning time. Cherries are rebels - they don’t follow the rule of winter/dormant pruning. They get pruned when it’s warm, dry, and the wood is softer and less susceptible to fungus and bacteria.
Pruning out the middle of your tree as an open-centred bush allows for sunlight and air flow to reach all the branches that little hands can reach when picking. Cherries fruit on older wood, but the biggest cherries will be on the youngest of these… so this year’s fresh branches will fruit next year, but will slow down fruit production over the years until those gnarly old branches give you barely anything but memories.
Yes, you can grow cherry trees from your pits, BUT...
🍒They will grow unknown mixed-variety trees due to cross-pollination from other types of cherries growing nearby.
🍒They could grow into giant trees, as most nursery cherries grow from rootstock that restricts their growth
🍒They must go through stratification - this happens naturally if our winter is nice and cold, but many people will stick those pits in the fridge for a few months before germinating. Really. It works.
Skip the first "commercial" part of this article, but the rest is great advice for home cherry trees as well as commercial farms!
www.fruitandveggie.com/pruning-for-big-cherries-in-bc-2176/
<3 Featured: Coasters Cory-Lyne, Elliot & Onyx <3
Manure makes healthy soil and plants, so why is human poop any different? When discarded into the environment as a waste material ("human waste"), it creates pollution and threatens public health. Is it possible to recycle it safely, for use in the garden? Join us to learn about Harmonious Humanure! 💩
* Learn theories and types of composting toilets
* Learn soil, safety & how human waste is broken down & recycled
* Build a pallet outhouse & composting toilet
* Bonus! Natural material building tiny-workshop!
(slip chip and clay plaster)
👉 $30 ($15 for OSS Annual Members)
👉 Sunday July 12 1pm - 3:30
👉 One Straw’s Tiny Farm
(behind the Gumboot restaurant in Roberts Creek)
Sign up or renew your membership for a 50% discount on this and all our workshops!
🔗 www.onestraw.ca/connect/become-a-member/
REGISTER / DETAILS:
🔗 forms.gle/8zCqfvvNgwEo8FU79
Presenter: Amanda-Rae Hergesheimer
Amanda-Rae is a long standing member of the Mudgirls Natural Building Collective, an experience workshop facilitator, a trained herbalist, taken permaculture design certification, and has worked with and built several humanaure compost systems. She is passionate about natural materials & sustainable sanitation solutions.
Questions? programs@onestraw.ca
Comment on Facebook Manure makes healthy...
Nematodes can live a long time...
You know that feeling of home and heart connection when you decided to move here, or stay here when you could have left? It’s partly our forests and beaches, but for most of us, it’s the people. That small-community-vibe where we’re all connected and our efforts *literally* build our communities. The Coast is full of amazing people giving, volunteering and sharing to make a difference.
These FAB FOUR business owners donated and made all the difference for us (and you) in getting One Straw’s Tiny Farm started:
Lonnie at Lon's Contracting & Crane brought in his behemoth crane, and spent all afternoon shuffling massive logs, opening up the land.
Danni at Quality Garden & Pet has donated hundreds of dollars in gorgeous plants, soil amendments and supplies.
Brad at South Coast Tree Services assessed and removed some cedars, honouring nests and wildlife, and perfectly dropped a tree between our currants with inches to spare! Precision!
Kevin at Aerial Discovery has been taking amazing drone footage, helping us with site mapping and tracking progress.
THANK YOU. 🙌 Without businesses like these, many community projects that nurture our families, children, neighbourhoods, hearts, minds and bellies simply wouldn't be possible. <3
Comment on Facebook You know that ...
A big thank you to you all, from a community member
Such a wonderful initiative!
Thank you Lonnie, Danni, Bradley, and Kevin!
The Sunshine Coast has a local famine from November to March every year. We don't notice it because we just truck it in from everywhere else for our must-have winter produce. When we stop and think about that through the lens of the past few months of a pandemic and interrupted food chains, that seems a pretty vulnerable position to be in. Hm.
Yes, greenhouses, but also...
Winter crops. They love it here.
Carrots, beets, potatoes, lettuce, kale, green onions, peas, spinach and many others can grow (starting now) and be harvested right through the fall and winter!
Cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower go in the ground this summer, and get harvested next spring (overwintering). They need to be big and full by halloween, after which just sit in the ground resting all winter long, with the cold triggering spring blooming. This means it's time to start planning your winter crops soon!
This is one of the best local guides for our climate and growing through the colder months. <3
www.westcoastseeds.com/blogs/garden-wisdom/winter-gardening
Please stay tuned for our upcoming workshop schedule to help get you started. 🙂
Planting for Fall & Winter Harvests
www.westcoastseeds.com
Planting for fall & winter harvests has to start in the summer and fall. Just like we sow summer harvest crops in the late winter and spring – it’s the same concept. Did you know that many crops c...Comment on Facebook Planting for fall & ...
Would you consider doing a course/ tips and tricks on this? For those of us that are new and want to know how to build/prep our beds for a new crop this winter? Or advice on soil, spacing, etc? I think there are a lot of us that would love to do this and would love a little guidance 🙂
I don't have any sun in my back yard in winter. Some crops overwinter but not many. Corvair spinach wil last through to October and kale will often last but if I try to start items late in summer they won't develop due to lack of sun. Too many tall trees around me
Carolina Escamilla
Chris
