Late last week, Central and North Frontenac townships received word that they are the recipients of grants under the Canada 150 fund.

The largest grant will go to Central Frontenac. They will receive $110,000 towards a library and community centre in Mountain Grove.

“The vibrant and growing community of Mountain Grove will benefit greatly with a new community centre and library, and I am very happy that they received all the funding they requested,” said MP Scott Reid in a press release that came out on Friday, July 31.

The grant will not go towards a brand new building, said Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith, but rather to an addition to be built onto the township fire hall in Mountain Grove.

“We had planned to build a 1,000 square foot library branch, but it will likely need to be larger because of accessibility requirements in modern branches,” said Smith, who added that the township will be contacting the board of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library to talk about moving the Mountain Grove branch to a new space.

Among the good news for Central Frontenac is the potential cost savings that will come from closing down the building that currently houses the Mountain Grove branch. The branch is currently located in the former Township of Olden offices, which since they were vacated by the fire department several years ago, are not being used for any other purpose except storage of records. Reduced maintenance costs in the entire building will lead to savings in the municipal budget.

While the new library is not going to be a full-fledged community centre, “It will include meeting space for the public,” said Smith.

The other project that received funding in Frontenac County was the Snow Road Community Centre in North Frontenac. The funding of $23,000 will be combined with $41,000 in funding from the township and $7,000 that was raised locally to make up a $71,000 pool of money for a series of upgrades. The largest of these is the addition of a 15' x 25' vestibule at the front of the building, which will cost $45,000 to build, according to John Kittle of the Snow Road Community Centre .

Kittle worked with Cory Klatt from the township on the grant application, and said the users of the hall, which is now in used over 20 days a month for various events, will make good use of the new entrance and vestibule. The rest of the money will go towards an upgrade to the kitchen as well as a proper air conditioning system for the building.

The Snow Road Community Centre is located in a converted 19th century school house that served the community as a school for over 60 years. There are some current members of the Snow Road Community Centre who attended the original schoolhouse, back in the 1960s

“The integration of historic facilities with the modern community here in North Frontenac is one of the many things that make it such an interesting and wonderful place to live,” said Reid.

Although it was not part of the funding announced this week, the Snow Road Community Centre also announced they are planning a related project for the 150th anniversary of Canada in 2017.

“The community is planning to research, document and showcase the area's history with our heritage schoolhouse as the focal point,” said John Kittle.

The project has already been bolstered by locating a number of photographs from the early 1900s, when Snow Road was more of a commercial hub than it is now.

There are also seven people who use the center today who went to the Snow Road school, and the project will include interviews about their memories of their school days.

The Canada 150 grants were announced on Friday, just two days before the government was dissolved with the calling of an election on October 19. The grant application deadline was in early June. In Scott Reid's now former Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington (the new riding is Lanark Frontenac Kingston), grants were also given to projects in the communities of Smiths Falls, Carleton Place, the Town of Perth and Lanark Highlands.

The grant in Perth is going to The Table, a comprehensive community food centre. It will be used to enhance accessibility as well as other upgrades. The amount of The Table grant as well as information about the Lanark Highlands grant were not available this week from Scott Reid's office.  

Ottawa Valley-based singer songwriter Craig Cardiff not is only a gifted performer but he also has a unique ability to encourage and inspire youngsters. The singer/songwriter was invited to perform and hold workshops at Land O'Lakes Public School on June 23 by Kathy Bateman, the student support teacher at the school. The event was made possible thanks in part to a grant the school received from Blue Skies in the Community, whose mandate is to bring music appreciation and opportunities to students in North and Central Frontenac.

Cardiff, who performs regularly across Canada and the United States, engaged the students by showing them how they too can write their own songs. “I remember as a youngster being inspired by musicians who visited my school and my goal with this workshop and performance is to help inspire students; to get them to write a song so they can realize that it's not hard and to hopefully spark a musical interest in them”, he said when I interviewed him as he was setting up his gear in the school gym. Cardiff, who has been playing since he was very young, began by performing a number of his own original songs, tunes like “Safe Here” and “Love is Louder”.

At just 38 years old he has 20 albums under his belt and he easily captured the attention of the appreciative audience. First he spoke about what inspires his own lyrics and next he taught them the choruses of his tunes, inviting them to raise their hands and sway in time to the music as they sang.

Next he invited a student, five-year-old Keegan to the stage, who helped Cardiff write a song about the latter's love for trucks and cars, which included lyrics like, “I love jacking up trucks and taking the tires off, installing roll bars”, and another that told of how “monster truck drivers are safely strapped in under six seat belts”.

Cardiff invited a second student, five-year-old Keeley to the stage and together they composed a song on a topic close to her heart - princesses. The song included lyrics offered up by Keeley, one line about Bambi, the prince of the forest, and another about Cinderella's two very rude sisters.

Between the songs the students had a chance to question Cardiff and he answered a wide range of questions with “Yes, I like cheese and no, I am not rich,” though he did mention that his craft does pay the bills and feed his family.

He answered many more questions on the topic of music, including what inspires him, who his favorite singer is (Paul Simon), and his thoughts about fame and when and how he got started. To wrap up the performance and prior to working one on one with the students, Cardiff sang a medley of some of his favorite tunes from Paul Simon's Graceland.

The students were no doubt inspired by Cardiff's performance and you can bet that many family members were treated to a few original compositions before the day was out. For more information and to sample some of Craig's music visit his website at www.craigcardiff.com.

Students in grades JK through six at Land O' Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove were full of questions at a presentation by Hydro One staff celebrating Arbour Week, which took place at the school on May 5.

The presentation was headed up by Hydro One forestry technician Kerry Hinton, who explained the important roles that trees play in our environment by preventing soil erosion, reducing noise pollution, filtering water and cleaning the air of impurities through photosynthesis. He stressed their significance for wildlife as they provide nesting areas for birds, homes for squirrels and raccoons and hiding places from predators, while also offering sources of food such as berries, nuts and leaves. For us humans they not only provide shade in the hot summer months and act as wind breaks, but provide us with building supplies and food as well as pure aesthetic beauty. Hinton explained the various pieces of equipment that he and other staff members use to remove trees, and to trim branches and brush from Hydro lines.

Following the presentation the students went outdoors and watched a Hyrdro One staff member make an emergency descent from one of their bucket trucks, which garnered a generous round of applause. Students were also invited to help plant one large pear tree and one large Crimson King maple tree on the school’s front lawn. Each was also given a small white pine or white spruce sapling to take home to plant. Hinton said Arbour Week is an important way for children to understand the importance of trees in the environment while also learning about the work that Hydro One staff do out in the bush. He said it is a way to give back to communities by offering hundreds of trees to plant.

Willis Deline, who works as a senior foreman in the brushing department at Hydro One, said that he and his crew did a lot of brushing and tree removal in the area last summer and he felt this would be a nice opportunity for the crew to return to the community and show their support to the local school. Arbour Week presentations will take place at 35 different schools across Ontario.

Students from Land O' Lakes Public School put on the play "A Dragon's Tale" last week in performances at Granite Ridge Education Centre, and in the auditorium at LOLPS on Thursday night for parents and other family members, and again on Friday for students in the school. The show was produced and directed by teacher Danielle Harding, and featured students from multiple grades in the cast. A combination of live theatre and puppetry, A Dragon's Tale is a humorous take on the adventure genre. The students enjoyed putting it on and the audience enjoyed the performance as well.

By Dawn Morden, Mountain Grove Seed Cpompany

SOME DEFINITIONS:

Heirloom - Very old, usually more than 50 years, usually passed down through generations. Are open pollinated.

Open pollinated - The ability to breed, with offspring being the exact replica of the parents.

Hybrid - A mix of two or more open pollinated varieties. The first generation of offspring usually displays all dominant genes. They are usually all the same, e.g. all tall, red tomatoes. However, in subsequent generations of growth, many recessive genes are displayed as well. Almost all of the plants are different. If you want to breed your own seed, pick the plants with traits you like from the second (mixed) generation of offspring, and remove the other ones. Save the seed, then replant the following year, doing the same thing. Continue for as many years as it takes for all of the plants to be the same. There are some varieties that have inconsistency as a characteristic; they are called landraces. Beans may have multicoloured pods, or dried white beans may include 5-10% of yellow or brown beans.

Annual - A plant that produces seed in one growing season. Annual vegetables include tomatoes, beans, peppers, peas, lettuce, rapini, mustards, all squash, corn, broccoli, radish, eggplant, and rapini.

Biennial - Plants that require two years of growing to produce seed. They require vernalization to flower (a period of cold). Plants can be overwintered in the garden under a thick mulch of hay, or stored in the root cellar and replanted in the spring. Biennials include onions, beets, other brassicas, parsnip, carrots and celery. Do not collect seed from plants that flower the first year.

Self-pollinating plants - Are in-breeding. Flowers are “perfect” that is, they each have both male and female parts. One flower, with no bees or wind, can produce fruit. They do mix a little. To maintain genetic diversity it is advisable to grow about 25 plants when saving seed. Self pollinated vegetables include tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, peas and beans.

Cross-pollinating plants - Are out-breeding. Plants have separate male and female flowers, or need male parts (pollen) from one plant and female (the stamen) parts of a different plant. To maintain genetic diversity, it is advisable to grow about 100 plants, but as few as 20 can be used (corn requires at least 100). Cross-pollinated vegetables include brassicas, squash, onions, spinach, beets, carrots, corn and parsnip.

Inbreeding depression - Deterioration of size, vigour, and yield due to inbreeding. Never use only one or two plants for seed saving, especially cross-pollinating ones.

Clonal - Cloning. Potatoes, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes. These plants will produce seed, but take multiple years to grow to full size. Cloning produces full size plants in one year.

PLANTING YOUR GARDEN FOR SEED

Basic plant biology - plant>families>genus>species>

varieties

Through pollination by insects or the wind, varieties in the same species will mix with one another.

To prevent cross-pollination, options are maintaining an isolation distance, hand-pollinating (caging, bagging, taping techniques), or timing of flowering. The level of adherence to these guidelines is related to the purpose for saving the seed.

For self-pollinating plants, isolation distances can be reduced a little, fairly safely. Bees usually fly up and down rows, but do sometimes skip sections (20-50'). They do not usually go from row to row; they go to the closest flowers.

If there are flowering plants between varieties of the same species, then the risk of cross-pollination is reduced.

Is seed is saved from the center of plots, and middle of rows, then the risk of cross-pollination is reduced.

Allow space between plants to improve airflow. This helps to prevent disease.

Never plant all of your seed in one planting! Bad things can happen. Save some of your valuable seed just in case you need to replant, or do not have success growing it that year. If you have seed saved from multiple years, plant a little from each year. this will increase genetic deversity and strengthen your plants.

SELECTION AND HARVESTING OF SEED

Selection - Select plants for health, strength, timing (early and/or late), quick germination (early to sprout, early to bear), good maturation, disease resistance, heat, drought, rain, and cold tolerance.

Look at the plant as a whole. Look at the shape, colouring, size, durability, and disease resistance of the fruit as well.

Rogueing - Remove plants that do not perform well or are "off" types, ones with poor traits. Do this before and after flowering.

If seed is saved only later in the season, and the early produce used, then it will be selected for lateness. If seed is saved only early in the season and the remaining produce is used, then it will be selected for earliness. Collect seeds throughout the season. Some at each harvest is best.

Try not to select for high yield alone. This diverts the plant's energy to doing that, often compromising sweetness or quality.

Seed plants are still useful. The outer leaves of lettuce plants can be harvested to sell or eat. Off types of tomatoes or peppers can be potted and moved (or replanted) to a location where they will not cross with seeds to be saved. Fruit can be sold or eaten. The flesh of peppers, melon, watermelon, squash, even tomatoes can be used without harming the seeds.

Harvesting - Harvest at proper maturity. Tomatoes, melons, squash and peppers should be ripe. Cucumbers very over-ripe.

Harvest dry seed with low moisture content. Lettuce, brassicas, beets, and spinach should be dry. Harvest when the maximum quantity on the plant is ready. Beans and peas should be dry, but can be harvested when the pods have shrivelled and thinned, and the bulging legumes are prominent.

CLEANING AND STORAGE AND CARING FOR SEED.

Cleaning - Curing seed. Squash needs to sit after it is picked for one month, to allow seeds to ripen properly. Cucumbers, for two weeks. Watermelon and melon can be used when they are ripe.

Dry seeds - Umbel, podded, and clustered seed. Harvest whole limbs. Run thumb and finger up the branch when it's dry to dislodge seeds. Pods can be crushed, and the large debris removed. Winnow what is left. Put seeds in a low-sided container and use a fan, the wind or your breath to carefully blow away what is not seed.

These types of dry seed can be stored at any stage (as long as it's dry), and cleaned later.

Beans and peas should be removed from pods as soon as possible to prevent mold. Spread out to dry until seeds become hard.

Wet seed - There are two methods for cleaning wet seeds (seeds that form inside the vegetable). The first is the simplest and is used for cleaning squash, peppers or watermelon seeds. Remove the seeds from the vegetable when you eat it. Squash and watermelon seeds can be rinsed in a strainer. Spread out on a non-stick surface dry. They are dry when they become hard, breaking instead of bending.

The second method involves fermentation and is used for tomatoes, cucumbers and melons. Fermentation helps reduce seed-borne disease. Do not let seeds sprout. Cut the fruit in half and scoop out the seeds. Put the seeds into a glass jar or yogurt container. Add a very small amount of water. Leave the container on the counter for a few days until there is white mould on top and it smells bad. Then, stir vigorously and add ¼ to ½ cup water. Let it stand for a couple of minutes. Carefully pour off the water (and yucky stuff) from the top of the container. Its okay if there are some seeds in it, these ones are no good. The good seeds are at the bottom. Add more water, let stand a few more minutes and pour the water off

(carefully) again. Repeat until the water is clear and seeds at the bottom of the container are clean.

Spread seeds out on a non stick surface to dry.

Storage - Be certain your seeds are dry before storing. Never heat seeds to dry them. Never dry seeds in the direct sunlight. Never overuse silica powder as a drying agent because if seeds lose all of their moisture, they will die.

Store seeds in a moisture-proof container. Only glass and metal are airtight.

Muslin bags or paper envelopes absorb moisture and are good. Multiple packets can be placed in a canning jar for storage.

Label each packet of seed with the variety name, year grown (location grown on property), and when to re-grow or check germination. Do not mix seed from different years when storing seeds.

Seeds need to be stored somewhere dry, cool and dark. Not in humid or damp environments with fluctuating temperatures. The refrigerator is good. The freezer is great, but only if the seeds are dry enough. Otherwise, seeds will crack when moisture inside them freezes and expands. Cold temperatures slow down the energy consumption of seeds, so lengthens their viability time.

Caring for seed - Check for germination if not growing every year. To germinate, most seeds require 75 degrees F. temperatures (peppers and eggplant 80°, cowpeas 85°).

To test germination, count the seeds that were planted. At the end of the first week, count how many sprouted, and carefully remove them. Do this at the end of weeks two, three and four. Add the total number of sprouted seeds, then calculate the germination percentage.

If there is 20% germination, that means that 20% of the seeds are still alive, but also that 80% of the vigour is gone from all of the seeds.

Seeds should be re-grown when germination is around 70%, to maintain good quality.

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Appendix.

Categorization of vegetables

The AMARYLLICACEAE family (aka liliaceae, or aliuceae)

Species:

i) allium ampeloprasum. LEEKS

ii) allium sativum. GARLIC (no scapes) AND ROCAMBOLE (has scapes)

iii) allium schoenoprasum. CHIVES

iv) allium tuberosum. GARLIC CHIVES

v) allium cepa. ONIONS AND SHALLOTS. Has subspecies.

a) aggregatum. shallots, multiplier onions, potato onions.

b)cepa. onions that produce seed.

c) proliferum. egyptian onions (aka walking onions or tree onions).

Leeks, onions and shallots are biennials. Seed producing alliums have perfect flowers but are outbreeding.

Chives and garlic chives, once established, will provide seed each year. garlic has lost the ability to reproduce sexually so will never cross with itself.

Isolation distance: 1.6km

Life expectancy of seeds: 2 years

The BRASICACEAE family.

Species:

i) brassica napus. RUTABEGA, SIBERIAN KALE, SWEDE TURNIP, FINNISH TURNIP. Has subspecies.

a) napobrassica. rutabegas grown for their roots.

b) pabularia. rutabegas grown for foilage (siberian kale, hanover salad).

c) rapeseed. canola including winter rape kale

ii) brassica rapa. TURNIP, RAPINI, CHINESE MUSTARD

iii) raphanus sativus. RADISH

iv) brassica oleracea. BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER, CABBAGE,

BRUSSEL SPROUTS, KALE, KOHLRABI, COLLARDS

Broccoli, Rapini, chinese mustard, and radishes are annuals. All others are biennials. Brassicacaea flowers are perfect but require insects for pollination. Many varieties are self incompatible (sterile), so multiple plants are required to produce seed. Alternate day caging can be used for seed purity.

Use a knife to cut an x into the cabbage and cauliflower heads, so that the seed stalks can emerge.

Isolation distance: 800m for radish. All else 1.6km.

Life expectancy of seeds: 4-5 years

The CHENOPODIACEAE family.

Species:

i) beta vulgaris. BEET, SWISS CHARD, MANGEL

ii) chenopodium quinoa. QUINOA

iii) spinacia oleracea. SPINACH

Chenopodiaceae are wind pollinated. Beets, swiss chard and mangels are biennials. They will not flower until roots are mature and vernalization has occurred. Beet seeds are clusters of 2-5 seeds each. When growing, thin leaves so that only one leaf stalk grows on each plant. Use at least six plants for seed (beta vulgaris). Quinoa and spinach are annuals. The quinoa grains are the seeds, they form in large heads on stalks. Quinoa is short day sensitive and will develop flowers or seed until late in the season. Spinach is either a male or female plant. At least 4'x4' of spinach plants are needed to grow seed. Plant in plots to aid fertilization. Only the female plants will bear seed.

Isolation distance: minimum 8km.

Life expectancy of seeds: 5-6 years

The COMPOSITAE family.

Species:

i) helianthus annuus. SUNFLOWER

ii) lactuca sativa. LETTUCE

Annuals. Flowers are perfect, most self compatible. Alternate day caging can be used to produce seed. Seed heads may need to be bagged if birds are consuming the seeds. Sunflowers are outbreeding plants. Sunflower seeds are found in the shells that form on the flower head. Remove seeds from the flower heads but leave them in their shells. Lettuce is an inbreeding plant. Lettuce seeds form on flower heads from bolted lettuce. Harvest lettuce seeds when the fluff sticking out of the seed pods becomes dry. Winnowing does not work for lettuce seed. Use your fingers or a screen. Types of lettuce include crisphead, butterhead, cos (romaine), stem (celtuce, asparagus lettuce), leaf and latin. If growing a crisp head variety, heads should be cut down the centre to allow emerging flower stalks to form.

Isolation distance: lettuce 8m. sunflowers 4km.

Life expectancy of seeds: lettuce 3 years,

sunflower 7 years

The CUCURBITACEAE family.

Species:

i) citrullus lanatus. WATERMELON

ii) cucumis melo. MELON. Has seven subspecies cucumis

iii) cucumis sativus. CUCUMBER

v) cucurbita maxima. SQUASH (eg. hubbard, most pumpkins)

vi) cucurbita mixta. SQUASH (eg. cushaw)

vii) cucurbita moschata. SQUASH (eg. butternut)

viii) cucurbita pepo. SQUASH (eg. zuchinni, acorn, spaghetti)

Annuals. Plants have separate male and female flowers. Most require pollen from a different plant. Grow at least 20 plants. Blossom taping is often used to maintain seed purity. In the evening, tape shut blossoms just about to open, or just opened. Tape male and female blossoms. In the morning, after the dew has dried, pick, untape and remove the petals from the male flower. Carefully untape the female flower and pollinate using the male one. Retape the female flower closed. Hand pollination is most successful with the first few blossoms, early in the season. Melons abort about 80% of their blossoms. Cucumbers will abort their blossoms during drought or extreme heat. Harvest only ripe fruit for seeds. Allow cucumbers to turn a dark yellow orange (overripe) before picking. Let cucumbers sit (at room temperature) for two weeks, and squash for a month after picking. Seeds can be removed from melons and watermelon, when fruit is ripe.

Isolation distance: 0.8km.

Life expectancy of seeds: 5-6 years, cucumbers 10 years

The LEGUMINOSEA family. (aka faboideae, caesal piniodeae, mimosoideae)

Species:

i) arachis hypogaea. PEANUT

ii) pisum sativum. PEAS

iii) phaseolus vulgaris. BEANS, BUSH, POLE

iv) phaseolus coccineus. BEANS, RUNNER

v) phaseolus lunatus. BEANS, LIMA

vi) glycine max. BEANS, SOYA

vii) vigna unguiculato. COWPEAS

Annuals. Bagging or caging techniques can be used for seed saving. Peanuts need to be saved overwinter in their shells for replanting in the spring, and need 120 days of hot weather to grow well. Bean and pea seeds are the beans and peas in the pods. Allow to dry on plants before harvesting, or remove entire plant with roots and hang upside down in a warm location until dry.

Isolation distance: peas, bush and pole beans, cow peas 15-20m.

Runner and soya beans 0.8km. Lima beans 1.6km.

Life expectancy of seeds: 3-4 years

The SOLANACEAE family.

Species:

i) capsicum annuum. PEPPERS

ii) lycopersicon lycopersicum. (aka lycopersicon esculentum) TOMATOES, CURRANT TOMATOES

iii) solanum melongena. EGGPLANT

iv) solanum tuberosum. POTATO

v) physalis pubescens. GROUND CHERRY

vi) physalis alkekengi. CHINESE LANTERN

Annuals. Currant tomatoes are ¼” in diameter, red and grow in clusters. Potato leaf varieties of tomatoes tend to cross

pollinate so have a greater isolation distance. Potatoes should be saved overwinter and replanted in the spring.

Isolation distance: Peppers, 165m. Tomatoes at least 5m, potato leaf varieties 50m.

Ground cherries and chinese lanterns 50m.

Eggplant 15-20m.

Life expectancy of seeds: peppers, ground cherries, chinese lanterns 3 years, tomatoes 4-10 years, eggplant 7 years.

The UMBILLEFRAE family.

Species:

i) apium graveolens. CELERY

ii) anethum graveolens. DILL

iii) daucus carota. CARROT AND QUEEN ANNES LACE

iv) pastinace sativa. PARSNIP AND WILD PARSNIP

v) foeniculum vulgare. FENNEL

vi) coriandrum sativa. CILANTRO

vii) petroselinum crispum. PARSLEY

Have umbrella like seed heads. Cilantro, dill and fennel are annuals. Celery, carrots, parsnips and parsley are biennials.

Isolation distance: carrots, fennel 0.8km. Others 1.6km.

Life expectancy of seeds: parsnip 1 year. carrots, parsley, fennel 3 years. dill 5 years. celery 8 years.

The GRAMINEAE family. (aka poeceae)

Species:

i) zea mays. CORN

ii) sorghum bicolor. SORGHUM, BROOM CORN

Annual. Timing of flowering can sometimes be used successfully. Select a mimiature corn that matures quickly, such as tom thumb. Plant around May 15. Select a full size corn, preferably of a different color to plant in early june. Often if cross pollination occurs, the different colour kernels will show on the cobs mixed in. If sweet corn is planted near field

corn, the sweet corn will not be very palatable. Use a 100 yard minimum distance that includes a barrier such as a forest, or field of sorghum. Allow ears to mature or dry on plant. Pick and peel back the husks, remove silks and hang cobs to dry (or lay flat turning once a day). Pick kernels off, the kernels are the seeds.

Isolation distance: 3.2km.

Life expectancy of seeds: 3 years

The LABIATAE family.

Species: olimum basilicum. BASIL

Annual. Isolation distance: 50m.

Life expectancy of seeds: 5 years

The LILIACEAE family.

Species: asparagus officionalis. ASPARAGUS

Seeds form in round pods on tall feathery stalks.

Isolation distance: 3.2km.

Life expectancy of seeds: 5 years

by Dawn Morden, the Mountain Grove Seed Company

Seed saving is an integral part of agriculture. People have been saving seeds for thousands of years. Seeds from wild plants were collected and grown again and again over time. The plants evolved into the foods that we eat today. For example, the wild relative of cabbage evolved to become collards, and then later, cabbage. Cabbage plants then further evolved to form broccoli and cauliflower. Our ancestors saved their seeds; it is how they grew their food. These seeds were special.

Seeds are living organisms, they are alive. They adapt to the external conditions and climate of where they grow. As a result, saving seeds from your garden improves the performance, strength, quality, yield and resilience of your plants. Seeds are disappearing. Today, 19 types of vegetables have 25% fewer varieties than there were in existence 30 years ago. For example, there are now 97 fewer types of cauliflower then there were in 1981. Seed diversity is absolutely necessary for food security. Different varieties of the same vegetable perform differently from each other. The more seed diversity that exists, the better our chances are to grow our food successfully, especially in today's changing and unpredictable environment. Seed extinction is a real threat to our existence. There are over 50,000 species of plants at risk of extinction today.

Fortunately, there is increasing awareness with regards to the importance of seed diversity. Farmers and gardeners everywhere are working together to preserve our seeds, and our heritage. Seed banks, co-ops and libraries are being created by many communities locally, nationally and internationally. These community seed saving initiatives and regional seed systems are critical to food security, seed sovereignty and to our resilience as people on this planet. Locally, the Kingston Area Seed Saving Initiative is working towards creating a sustainable system of locally grown, quality seeds for farmers and gardeners. No single person can save every variety of seed. Collaborative efforts are imperative to the preservation of seed diversity. If each of us saves our seed from one variety of one vegetable each year, together we can save thousands of varieties from extinction. Saving seeds cuts costs of gardening, develops better seed, and allows us to participate in the glorious cycle of life. Seed companies often change the particular seeds they sell, and someday, you may be the only one who has the variety of seeds that you have been saving.

It is important to consider the type of seed you are growing when you are saving seeds. Seeds from heirloom and open pollinated plants will grow new plants exactly like the previous ones. These are the seeds that we need to save. Hybrids are mixes of different kinds of seeds. Seeds saved from hybrids will not grow plants that are the same. Use only heirloom or open pollinated seeds for seed saving.

To learn more about seed saving and how to grow, save, clean and care for your seeds, visit www.mountaingroveseed.com.

 

The art work of the 24 students who participated in this year's Art Club at Land O'Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove was on display at their final show on April 20. The students spent six weeks creating the colourful paintings still lifes that were on display.

Grade 7/8 teacher, Mr. Hull, who heads up the club, said that he was impressed with the student work. He explained that he likes to let the students paint what comes naturally to them and tries his best not to influence their final pieces. The students began by learning basic drawing techniques, and then moved into creating colour tones, first painting with larger brushes and then moving into finishing accents using smaller brushes. The paintings were impressive and ranged from bright, dramatic colour schemes of frogs and teddy bears, some reminiscent of Matisse, to impressionistically depicted vases of flowers and other subjects. The only rule that the young artists had to abide by was not using black to create their darker tones and shadows since it has a tendency to muddy the final work.

The special event was catered by Linda Tremblay with the help of her children, Boris and Natasha. The young artists and their guests enjoyed a number of fancy treats that included cappuccinos, sparkling juices, cakes, fancy croissant sandwiches, lemon and chocolate mousse, a fancy layer cake and speared fruit sticks.

by Dawn Morden

Mountain Grove Seed Company and the North Frontenac Food Bank would like you to “share your fare” this year. Keep the food bank in mind when planning and planting your garden. Add a few extra plants and share some of your harvest once or twice throughout the season.

Communities have the capacity to grow a large portion of the food they consume. Take your passion for growing food as an opportunity to contribute to your community. This initiative is based on the Kingston “grow a row” campaign, and business challenge, sponsored by the Loving Spoonful.

We would also like to challenge local businesses to participate. Grow one plant in a container, and donate the harvest. A free tomato plant will be offered to businesses from Mountain Grove Seed Company, upon request. Some small 12" plants will be available.

Suggested vegetables include but are not limited to peas, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, peppers, onions, corn, potatoes, cucumbers and watermelon. Berries from your berry patch, or apples from your trees are also welcome.

Bring donations to the food bank on Tuesdays or Fridays between 9:30 and 10am. Produce will be distributed soon after, for maximum freshness. Share your fare!

Also, the food bank would like to start a small garden in Sharbot Lake. We would like to hear from you if you have some appropriate space that could be used, or if you would like to volunteer to assist with care of the garden. For more information, contact Kim Cucoch, North Frontenac Food Bank, at 613-532-8855, or Dawn, Mountain Grove Seed Company, 613-876-8383.

Danielle Aldridge is a lucky woman. She is 34 years old, a Kingston native, has two healthy boys and a loving husband, a supportive family and good employment prospects.

The only problem is that she can't enjoy any of it, or very little of it at the most.

The reason is that she spends 22 hours a day in bed, in pain, because of severe spinal disability. When she was 14 she had successful surgery to deal with scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine. The surgery involved inserting pins to keep her spine straight.

Until two years ago, Danielle was able to function normally. Her sister Victoria, who lives in Mountain Grove and is on maternity leave from a job with Central Frontenac Township, said that she used to call her sister Quasimodo because she held her neck at an off-centre angle, sometimes as the result of her condition.

Two years ago, what had been a manageable condition took a serious turn for the worse.

“She told me that she felt something change, but could not pin-point what had happened,” Victoria said of her sister's condition at the time.

What followed was an MRI, and then another, and consultations with doctors across Canada and the United States, all while her condition, and her quality of life, was deteriorating.

“The bottom line,” said Victoria, “is that no doctor in Canada will take her on and no surgery is offered for her under OHIP. She has done tons and tons of research, and there are options in the United States for her, but they are not ideal, and the cost is about $300,000.”

Then Danielle found out about the Clinique du Parc in Montpelier, France, which is run by Dr. Thierry Marnay, a pioneering surgeon who has developed a technique for implanting prosthetic discs.

When she contacted Dr. Marnay, Danielle offered to send him all of the scans that had been done of her spine, and all of the mountains of data that had been collected about her condition, but he insisted that she come to see him. So, in late October, she travelled to Montpellier with her husband.

“He said that he had to see her, he had to examine her himself and he had to talk to her. She went and after undergoing x-rays and an MRI, all in one day, Dr. Marnay sat with her and said he could do an operation that would get her back on her feet,” said Victoria.

The operation, which is set for May 28, will cost $90,000. There are other costs on top, for flights and for Danielle to remain at the hospital for a month and in Montpelier for at least another month, but the family has started a fundraising campaign to raise the $90,000.

With a publicity campaign this week through the Kingston media, over $17,000 has been raised thus far, and the campaign has a digital home in the website Withalittlehelp.ca.

On the site, which has a donation button for those who are inclined, Danielle explains what her life has become.

“It's hard to explain to people how my pain feels and how things become impossible to achieve. My goal is to not only look like life is amazing in pictures but to once again live a life that is amazing. To me amazing was experiencing the little moments like bath time, story time, the goal my son Ryan scored in a hockey game or the dance my son Michael did to his new favourite song. Now, many times I just hear about them from my husband Jake as I lay in my bed. I smile because I am so happy, but I am also so sad. I can't wait until I can get up and live my life again.”

Jake Aldridge said that the family will find the money to fund the operation one way or another, even if it means selling their house and also going into debt, a point of view that is shared by Danielle's sister Victoria.

“If we can't find the money by fundraising, we will do whatever we need to do, even if it means paying over a long time, but a friend of mine said that sometimes if you ask for help people are happy to help, and when I see that we have raised thousands of dollars this week I see that is true.'

For further information go to Withalittlehelp.ca or contact Victoria Hawley at 613-483-8678

It might be difficult to find an unlocked car in Central Frontenac this week, certainly on major roads.

Sometime overnight on Saturday night, Nov. 15, thieves rifled through cars parked on the road and in driveways all through Tichborne, opening unlocked doors, unlocking trunks from inside and rifling through to grab whatever of value they could find - cash, credit cards, cameras, etc.

Reports suggest that the same thing happened in other communities, including Mountain Grove, Arden, and Tamworth. The Ontario Provincial Police have been investigating, but because of some sensitive items that have been reported stolen, they have not yet put out a media release confirming the number of victims and their locations.

One resident of Tichborne said, “We keep - that is, kept - our car door unlocked, leaving the key inside. I guess that's because we trust our neighbours,” adding that they only lost some loose change and an empty computer case from their car. “But it does make you feel uneasy to think someone would go through your car right at your house while you are asleep just inside the walls.”

More information will be released as it comes in.