Popping up

These beets and peas are popping up in one of the tabletop beds.

Now THIS is exciting!  A port-a-potty from the Village of Tahsis.  What a welcome addition to the garden.  This is especially useful when the younger school kids come over and spend time with their projects in the garden.  As far as the rest of us are concerned..one saying keeps going through my mind: 

"It's better to have a port-a-potty and not need it, than to need a port-a-potty and not have it!" 

My own family bed, we'll call this the "before" picture.

This bed is looking great!

The lilacs are starting to puff up.

 This garden bed belongs to a couple that started their plants under a cold frame in February.  Well done!

Planting

Nice to see the bees out and about

Planting time

Many beds have their seedlings in them now.

We have great expectations! 

The highschool science class put in 2 beds, with over 30 different kinds of produce planted, using the square foot gardening method.   

Soil! and Sun!

The new soil has arrived and we are excitedly filling the beds that need it. 

Doesn't it just make you want to stick your hands in there and mix in some llama dung?  Yeah, me too!

The school kids' flowers are still going strong.

The Mason Bees are not at home at the moment...

A decoration from the free store

Yes, we are enjoying May in the Tahsis Community Garden!

Spring Blossoms and New Beginnings

Our mason bees are making themselves at home, hopefully getting ready to pollonate all our plants as they flower and grow.  Until then, I trust that they are enjoying the flowers, daffadils and tree blossoms that are decorating the garden site these days!

And a special congratulations to gardeners Graham and Sarah who have had a baby girl.  We look forward to meeting our newest little gardener soon! 

Pot Luck

On April 21st, Gardeners Bill and Sharon hosted a lovely pot luck supper for the Tahsis Community Garden Society.  It was a refreshing change to meet and just socialize without digging, building, working or weeding!  As you can imagine, the food was colourful, delicious and fresh.  Of particular note was a fabulous avacado salad dressing that Traci learned from local Farm to School Chef Silvie, while volunteering in the school kitchen.  For more info visit Tahsis Farm to School on Facebook.  The recipes and menus that Silvie and the volunteers create every week are just amazing!  Tahsis Farm To School

Thank you everyone for such a nice evening, especially our gracious hosts! 

The BC SFVNP

This is one of the programs we enjoy here in Tahsis at our local school. It is the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program, and we get healthy BC produce for our school kids to snack on every other week. And as we know, when it comes to the nutrients and vitamins in raw fruits and veggies for kids, MORE is BETTER! This is from their website, and check it out for more information!

About the Program
The BC School Fruit & Vegetable Nutritional Program (BCSFVNP) grew from an idea formed in 2004. Similar programs in the USA and the UK were having great success providing students with fresh local fruit and vegetable programs in their schools. Why not try a similar program in BC?

The BC Ministries of Agriculture, Education and Health selected the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) to implement a pilot program here in BC. As a non-profit organization dedicated to working to bring BC’s agriculture to students, we were a natural choice. Already working closely with schools, producers, suppliers and distributors, we knew all about BC grown produce and were proud supporters of BC farmers.

The Program has grown from an initial launch of ten schools in 2005 to 1,266 BC K-12 public schools and K-12 BC First Nations Schools in the 2011/2012 school year. With the help of our 4,000 volunteers and incredible partners we now provide fresh fruit and vegetable snacks every other week, 13 times in the school year, to over 409,000 students. Many of those students are now making fruits and vegetables a part of their regular diet – both at school and at home. They are learning that eating fresh, local products supports our local farmers and the economies of rural regions. They are also learning first hand about the health benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables, while finding out how great they taste. How do we get the product to schools? Find out more...

What are the Objectives of the Program?
• to increase the consumption of local fruits and vegetables
• to increase the awareness of the health benefits of fruits and vegetables
• to increase the awareness of fruits and vegetables grown in BC
• to increase the awareness of the safe handling practices of fresh fruits and vegetables


Who funds the Program?
The BCSFVNP is a collaborative program from the provincial government’s Healthy Families BC with funding from the BC Ministry of Health. It is administered through the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to “Working to bring BC’s agriculture to our students.” The Foundation is working with local growers and distributors to bring the fresh BC products to students.

working and playing in the sunshine

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped today, we got many chores finished and had our meeting out in the sun too. The tabletop beds are lined up on levelled ground, ready to fill, more of the brush pile and scrubby trees are gone, and the farm to school bed has it's composted leaves dug in. The mason bee houses are in place ready for their tennants. A bit of planting happened, and some personal touches were added to a couple of beds. a pack of dogs and kids running around added ambiance to the experience.