David Suzuki's May Nature Challenge post by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

A perfect challenge for gardeners.

May is just around the corner and you’ll want to sign up for the 30 x 30 Nature Challenge. Over the last decade, researchers have realized what most of us know intuitively: nature is good for us! It is well documented that being regularly immersed in a natural setting, like a park, field or forest, can lower blood pressure, anxiety and stress levels, and boost immunity. ‘Green time’ has also been shown to reduce feelings of anger and depression, while increasing energy, creativity and even generosity.

Living in the digital age, most of us spend too much time in front of screens and little time outdoors. It’s time for us all to get outside. During the month of May, the David Suziki foundation is asking Canadians to pledge to spend 30 minutes in nature every day for 30 days.

The 30×30 Nature Challenge begins on May 1. You can sign up online at www.davidsuzuki.org and registration will stay open throughout the challenge so it’s never too late to join!

Food Swap at TCG?

Sarah shared this link and I love the idea. Getting rid of excess produce by trading it at a food swap.

http://foodswapnetwork.com/what-is-a-food-swap/

Think about this idea. We can discuss it at the May meeting.

Great Clean Up Day in the Garden

Thanks to so many garden members and their families who came out in the beautiful sunshine to work in the garden for a spring clean up day.  There were 20 of us altogether! 

Many chores got tackled, and an enormous pile of blackberry vines were cut out and chopped.  The sheds are tidied and decluttered, the chairs are scrubbed, the cold frame is fixed and cleared out, the tarps and tent dried out, the scrap wood moved, the unusable debris gathered, the portapotty is spotless, the compost piles are expanded, the herb garden is replanted, the fundraising garlic bed is clear and ready to go.  Countless other jobs were done too, everyone pulled together and worked really hard.     

The potluck meal was amazing!  After working for a couple of hours, we were ready to stop and have a beautiful bowl of curried lentil soup and some homemade buns and biscuits, iced tea, fruit, apple crumble, salad, pate, and lots of other treats.

A brief meeting followed, sitting in the shade.  All in all, a great day! 

Tomorrow is Spring Clean-Up Day 10:00 am

Garden News

For the first time, our beautiful Tahsis Community Garden is completely full to capacity!  We have 21  raised beds, 10 tabletop beds, a communal strawberry bed and a communal herb garden.  Every single one is taken and several are already worked and partially planted.  8 of the beds are taken by people who are new to the garden this year...  What great enthusiasm and momentum we have this spring!

Bokashi Compost Workshop

A huge thank you goes out to Terry Fassbender, Organic Master Gardener (and one of the newest directors of the Tahsis Community Garden Society) for putting on an interesting and informative workshop on Bokashi Composting.

One challenge in our area is that good soil is hard to come by, so for us to learn about how to build our own nutrient rich soil using table scraps is invaluable.

18 people came out to learn about EM, or effective microbes.  With Terry's help, the CMESS school kitchen is already producing some excellent soil additives with this interesting method, which will benefit the school garden bed at the Tahsis Community Garden, and also the new herb garden at the school kitchen door.

For more information, you can read up on the subject at:  mycrobz

Thanks to the Tahsis Senior's Society for allowing us to use the Over 55 club space for the workshop, it was great to be able to have a coffee and enjoy the presentation in such a comfortable room.